William Branham Maternal Genealogy
Was William Branham's Mother's Mother a full-blooded Cherokee Indian?
William Branham stated:
And it kind of reminds me, one time I was… My father was… My mother is from Oklahoma and Texas. And she was born in the state of Kentucky. And my grandfather went west. My mother’s mother come off the Oklahoma reservation. She’s full-blooded Cherokee Indian. And my father’s Irish. And my mother, on the other side, by her father, was Irish.[1]
I love the mountains. My—my mother’s mother was full-blooded Cherokee Indian out of the valleys here, and my conversion never taken that away from me; I love nature.[2]
Most all Branhams when they get old… Some of them live long lives. My grandmother was a hundred and ten. My grandfather died at ninety-seven. My grandmother on my mother’s side, she died young with scrofula. But she was the one that was a half-breed, Cherokee Indian. And my grandfather died about four years ago, on mother’s side, being somewhere in his nineties.[3]
Note: The age at which the Grandparents died is considerably different than the quote above.
William Branham's Father's Father George W. Branham died at 87.
William Branham's Father's Mother Mary L. Farleigh died at 93.
William Branham's Mother's Father Francis M. Harvey died at 88.
William Branham's Mother's Mother Nancy V. Branham died at 72.
Notice. One day I was… I’d go to the mountains, not so much to hunt the wild game, but to be alone. My mother’s almost a half Cherokee Indian. And the… My conversion never took that love of the wild out of me.[4]
Much of my time… My—my mother’s mother came from the reservation, and there’s been something in me that loves the outdoors.[5]
My mother… My mother’s mother come off this reservation up here. And my conversion didn’t take the call of the deep out of me; I love the woods.[6]
Down deep in my veins flows just a little bit of the blood. My mother’s grandmother come from the reservation. And I’ve always deemed that one of the greatest privileges, to say that down in me is part really American. For there’s a little background somewhere of Indian blood that I’m very happy for, very thankful.[7]
In the above statements, William Branham is certain his Mother's Mother is a full-blooded Cherokee Indian even expressing that he knew what reservation she was from.
William Branham's Maternal Genealogy is.
Lewis Riley Branham + Malissa Jean Smith (abt 1850 - abt 1923)
Francis Marion Harvey + Nancy Victoria Branham (abt 1868 - abt 1940)
Charles E. Branham + Ella Rhee Harvey (1891 - 1961)
William Branham
William Branham's Mother's Mother was Nancy Victoria Branham. For her to be a full-blooded Cherokee Indian as William Branham claimed her parents Lewis Branham and Malissa Smith would both have to be full-blooded Cherokee Indians.
What does the US Census report for William Branham's Maternal Genealogy?
The 1870 and 1880 US Census under description had three categories; Age, Sex, and Race.
Under race there were 5 choices for the census takers. 1-White(W) 2-Black(B) 3-Mulatto(M) 4-Chinese(C) 5-Indian(I)
1870 US Census record:
Lewis Riley Branham, Location=Adair County Ky, Age=19, Race=White
Malissa Jean (Smith) Branham, Location=Adair County Ky, Age=19, Race=White
Nancy Victoria Branham, Location=Adair County Ky, Age=1, Race=White
1880 US Census record:
Lewis Riley Branham, Race=White
Malissa Jean (Smith) Branham, Race=White
Nancy Victoria Branham, Race=White
1900 US Census record:
Nancy Victoria (Branham) Harvey, Race=White
Additional Evidence Melissa J. (Smith) Branham's Race was white.
If William Branham's claim was true, all of Melissa J. Branham's children would have been full-blooded Cherokee Indians.
The problem is that all of Melissa's Sons were record on official records with their race as White.
Melissa Branham Sons in birth order:
John H. Branham (April 13, 1871 - Jan. 5, 1945) Race is listed as white on his death record.
James R. Branham (April 18, 1874 - Jan. 26, 1953) Race is listed as white on his death record.
Ruben W. Branham (Oct. 20, 1877 - Jun. 29, 1945) Race is listed as white on his WWI draft registration card.
George Alfred Branham (Aug. 6, 1881 - July 24, 1961) Race is listed as white on his death record.
Francis C. Branham (Jun. 24, 1886 - May 29, 1965) Race is listed as white on his death record.
Lucien T. Branham (April 15, 1895 - May 22, 1961) Race is listed as white on his death record.
Mitochondrial inheritance
The fact that mitochondrial DNA is maternally inherited enables genealogical researchers to trace maternal lineage far back in time.[8] Mitochondrial DNA is grouped into haplogroups. A Haplogroup is a genetic population group of people who share a common ancestor. All Native American maternal lineages are from 4 haplogroups that have ancestors from Asia. These Haplogroups are given alphabet names A, B, C, and D. For Willaim Branham's claim to be true that his mother was of Cherokee Indian descent means any of the maternal line descents from Malissa Smith would test positive for mt-DNA haplogroup A, B, C, or D.
Footnotes