The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1890-09-04
A FAMILY OF FIGHTERS.
Thirty five Sons, and Seventeen OF Them in tn
Union Army.

IhiFty-nTe Sons, and Seventeen or Them In the
Union Army.
"If it came within the line of his Inquiries" ="
said w. G.. Meyer, of st. Clairsville. W. Va.
the census enumeTatOr for MOundsville, near
where live. must have found about as wonder
fui q domestic history as any enumeratOr will
run against elsewhere in this country. | refer
to family Of the name of Brandon. The
father of that family Charles Brandon. died
when he was 90 years old, but his youngest
child was then less than a year Old. lie died
just as the civil war broke out from a broken
heart, his wife having refused to live with him
any longer, and brought suit for divorce against
him. He had ut the time 80 living children,
and had been married three times. His first
wife bore him only two children. lis second
wife died after bearing him lS. At the age Of
rs he married Sarah Barker, she being IS. and
the youngest Of 16 children. She lived with
him 81 years, bearing him ID children, and
then left him, taking her year old baby with
her. and sued for divorce on the grounds Of
incompatability Of temper. Brandon was then
still hale and hearty. but the desertiOn of his
wife broke him down, aud he died within
month after she left him
when his third wife married him the oldest
OF his 20 children by his two previous wives
was 80 and tho entire 20 lived under the pa
ternai roof The young wife reared all Of the
20 that were young enough to need rearing,
besides caring for the II of her own, the oldest
4.
The family of b kept together for many years
after their fathers death, and if the patri-
archal Brandon had lived few months longer
he would have seen II OF his sons enlist in the
Union army. 1t is question if in this Oh any
other country an instance can be found where
one family ever before contributed II sons TO
their country's service. There were two
Charleses and two Johns among these brothers
The names Of the other 13 were Simeon, Evans.
Peter, JOsepbus, Hiram James, Van Buren,,
Jacob, Abraham, Alexander David, Andrew
and Rnse. Besides these, three Of Charles
Brandon's sons served in the Mexican war.
The II brothers were all in Ohio aud Indiana
regiments. Two Of them, one Of the Johns
and one of the Charcses, were sous Of the
third Mrs Brandon. They were both taken
prisoners at the battle OF Chickamauga and
placed in AndcrsOnvillO Prison John died In
the prison. Charles was there 81 months when
he escaped. All the rest Of the sons were chill
dren OF the second wife They were in every
important battle of the war and all lived 20
get home when the war was over, except Peter,
who was killed at Shiloh.
p" These boys all came Of good fighting stock,
for their father was famous Indian fighter
himself, and veteran Of the war of 1912 and
the Mexican war. When western Pennsylva-
MIA was the frontier, and the Indian fighter
was the most important and Indispensable per-
son in the settlements, Charles Brandon, ac-
cOrding to all tradition, was one Of the best and
most daring Of all the active foes Of the red
men. His father was killed by Indians when
Charles was only three years old. lie himself
was made prisoner, and lived with the In
dians y years, hating them more the longer he
was with them. At the age of Is he escaped,
and, after learning his mother tongue, spent all
his time until they were driven away 70 more
remote settlements in hunting and killing In
dians. He was 81 years of age when the war Of
1912 broke out aud no was one of the first TO
join the American army, and was in il when
peace was declared. He was "a when he en-
listed in the Mexican war
' The third wife Of this virile old fighter is
living at Moundsvillo, hale and hearty at the
age of 81. She is over six feet high and as
straight rs sn arrow OF her 30 children, and
step-chldren, she knows positively Of the
whereabouts Of but 10. The rest are scattered
about the country and dead. The 30 children
were all sons"