Some Geneology about Laytonville.

They say that the family tree is a pole in laytonville. It's not that bad, but you do have to be careful who you marry, because if you are from an old family chances are awfully good that you are related.

So Spyrock wants to talk about how a school near Spyrock, California, on the railroad got named "The Branscomb School".

He Posted:
spyrock said...
after reading your blog last night we watched a show about the drug war up your way and they said that Garberville was the center of activity. and that dog is obviously biting his own tail. so to change the subject. back to family threads.
found my katie mayo book today and reading about your family history i've made some connections. joe branscomb got married in jackson county, ohio when my dad's ancestor big george was living there. joe's son ben was the one who moved to northern california and homesteaded the town of branscomb. his oldest son charles moved to covelo to raise cattle and then became a famous blacksmith. his daughter etta who later married bert carner went to school with my grandma at the branscomb school in spyrock and in 1918, my mom and uncle delbert went to the yoew or yow school which was the home of etta's sister florence who married thomas yoew. they called the yoew school the spyrock school. after 2 years the school was moved to the cafeteria building built by north western pacific railroad when the railroad was built. the school was moved from there to the north and they changed the name from spyrock school to simmerly school.
i've got a picture of this school and of some of the kids in 1921. the leggets, shorts, dunlaps and simmerlys all went to these schools. as your great uncle had 3 girls is the reason your name doesn't pop up more often. but obviously they were responsible for getting kids educated up there from the beginning.

March 1, 2009 5:56 PM


My answer:
Spy I'm going to add some dates and other information so maybe others can follow your story, but you are right about the information in Katie's book. First consider this as “Bullshistory” because I’m writing what I’ve heard and cannot verify.

Yes, us Branscombs are prolific girl makers. My Dads brothers, uncle Edwin had five girls, and no boys. My uncle Ben had three girls and one boy, my father Everett had one girl and me, a boy. I had one daughter. My cousin Roy, Bens son, had two boys and a daughter. Good for Roy, or the Branscomb family would have ended in the South Fork of the Eel.

Katie Mayo got most of it right. As you know the Old-Timers were as careful with history as they could be, but spelling and dates didn't mean much to them, so they got a lot of things mixed up. As far back as we have been able to trace the family is Edmond Branscom (as spelled) born in the late 1700’s with no other details. He was the father of Joseph Branscomb, born in 1813. No other details. Joseph moved to Jackson County Ohio, where he married Diane Pierce in about 1835. The couple then moved, and bought a farm on the Spoon River, in Knox County, Illinois. From there they moved to Dubuque, Iowa in 1854, and from there to De Kalb County, Missouri, in 1856.

This is where the history gets confusing. He was the Sheriff of De Kalb, Mo. Where the records show that he was shot to death several days before Lincoln was assassinated. (April 15 1865) I’ve heard that Joseph Branscomb was also the Sheriff of Grass Valley, California, where he was shot to death there. So, the records show that he was killed in two places.

Joseph and Diane had nine children, six lived. Medical care back then was, if you lived, you were okay, if you didn’t, they put you in a box and buried you. The surviving children were, Benjamin Franklin Branscomb, (My dear old 3G grandfather that came to California in 1857) Emma (Branscomb) Pritchard, who I believe was Humboldt County Supervisor Harry Pritchard’s 2G Grandmother. Small world back then wasn’t it? Virginia (Branscomb) Littleton of Santa Rosa. Eliza (Branscomb) Cook, Burlington. Joseph Edmond Branscomb, Wyoming. Charles A. Branscomb, Grangerville. Idaho.

The records show that “the Branscomb family moved to California in March of 1857, with the Benjamin Taylor Ox-team wagon train”. Benjamin Taylor was my 4G Grandfather. Benjamin Taylor had a pretty young daughter named “Jane”. Jane was born in De Kalb County Mo. Daughter of Benjamin and Rachael (Ernest) Taylor. My 3G Grandfather Benjamin Branscomb and Jane Taylor were married August 1859 on the Taylor Ranch near Sebastopol, California.

On first arriving in California Benjamin Branscomb worked a ferry at Bidwell’s Landing near Chico. In 1858 he moved to Sonoma County, a year later he married Jane. Benjamin engaged in the dairy business, and farmed in the Guerneville and Laguna area. He and Jane had Ten children. That was back when birth control was practically not practiced. Lucky for me!

Of the ten children, one was Charles William Branscomb, the world famous blacksmith. Of course the world was much smaller then. Charles married Melvena Uarka Middleton daughter of John and Suzanna Middleton, who were my 2G Grandparents. They moved to California in 1853, and they stayed in Timbuctoo in the gold country until the mid 1860‘s, then they moved to Mud Springs on Mud Creek, near Branscomb Calif. They were Quakers and found their way to California with the help of Indian guides. They had a daughter at Salt Lake on their way to California her name was Mary. She is said to be the first White non-Mormon baby to be born at Salt Lake.

Melvene went by her middle name Uarka, we called her “Aunt Arky”. She and Charles Lived in Covelo and had two daughters, Etta Rachel Branscomb and Florence Estelle Branscomb. Spyrock, these two girls are the ones that I believe taught at the “Branscomb School” near Spy Rock.

You need to read pages 53, John and Elizabeth Kauble and The Simmerleys. Luther Sherburn is on page 55. Needless to say “Pioneering in the Shadow of the Cahto Mountain” is about our families.

Kym Kemp didn’t say who her Eel River Ranger ancestor was or I could probably tell her how we are related.