Chapter 1 - Family

Be glad you have a family. You don't have to be happy with your family all the time. But never, ever forget that they are your blood.

My family came to this country from County Sligo. My great-great grandparents, Thomas and Anna Brannen came over in the mid 1800's. We think they settled near Falmouth, Kentucky. Some records show that my great grandfather Mike was born in Falmouth, but memories of the family say he was born in Mayslick, KY. Either way he lived most of his life in Mayslick. The little settlement used to be called North Fork, because the north fork of the Licking River passed through there. Falmouth is on the Licking River (just about where it runs into the Ohio River) so it is quite possible that the family moved around the area some; possibly explaining the confusion on where my great grandfather was born.

He owned a farm on Mill Creek, the house is still there. He worked as a teamster. That apparently was the family business, and it went well enough for all the family in his generation to be able to own land. He was married to Elizabeth Maglone. They had eight children.

My grandfather Thomas was one of the younger children. He stayed on the farm with his father while the other children moved away, went to school, started their own lives. It was understood that the farm on Mill Creek would be his share of the family wealth. But his older siblings saw it differently. When their parents passed away they sat down and decided to divide up everything. One-eighth of the farm wasn't enough to make a living so the farm was sold and the money divided between them. It was during the Great Depression, so the money amounted to nothing. Thusly, my fork of the family tree was the poor branch. Thomas married Agatha Ritchie. They had three sons. My grandfather lived his entire life in Mason County, KY. He farmed when he could, worked as a carpenter for the State, building old wooden bridges. In his latter years he was a foreman for a highway crew. Never lost his love for farming. Never gave up on his family, even though they had forsaken him.

My father, Mike, loved the farm. But had to make a living, so after a few years in the Navy he married Martha Tully and they had four sons. Dad moved to Dayton, OH and was a policeman there. He never got over having to leave Mason County.

I grew up in Maysville, KY, then Dayton, OH, then I joined the service. I retired from the Marine Corps in Jacksonville, NC and made this my home. Married Vicki Lewis from Dayton, have three children and five grandchildren (as of right now).

I wouldn't begin to tell you that the Brannen's have had a happy time for the last 200 years. But we are still here, still working, and only a few hours from each other in times of need. It doesn't matter that I have a cousin that I haven't see for almost 40 years. If she needed something, I am only a phone call away. County Sligo is only a phone call away for that matter. If you were born a Brannen you are MY family.