Sybbie Branson

## MissSybil Branson

 Miss Sybbie Branson
 Sybbie (by her family)
 Darling and love (by her father)
 Bairn (by Mrs Hughes)
 Little Duckling (by Alexander Crawley)

 Mrs. Branson (paternal grandmother)
 Mr. Branson (paternal grandfather)
 Mr. Kieran Branson (paternal uncle/godfather)
 Lady Mary Crawley (maternal aunt/godmother)
 Edith Pelham, Marchioness of Hexham (maternal aunt)
 Alexander Crawley, 8th Earl of Grantham (maternal uncle)
 Josephine Crawley, Countess of Grantham (maternal aunt)
 Mr. Matthew Crawley † (maternal marital uncle/fourth cousin once-removed)
 Herbert Pelham, Marquess of Hexham (maternal marital uncle)
Mr. Henry Talbot (former maternal marital uncle)
 Mr. George Crawley (maternal first cousin)
Miss Marigold Pelham (maternal first cousin)
 Miss Caroline Talbot (maternal first cousin)
Peter Pelham, Earl of Brancaster (maternal first cousin)
 Lord Theodore Pelham (maternal first cousin)
 Arthur Crawley, Viscount Downton (maternal first cousin)
Lord Benedict Crawley (maternal first cousin)
 Lord Christopher Crawley (maternal first cousin)
 Lady Diana Crawley (maternal first cousin)
 Lord Edmund Crawley (maternal first cousin)
Lady Rosamund Painswick (grandaunt)
 Mr. Marmaduke Painswick † (marital granduncle)
 Miss Delilah Mellark (martial grandaunt)
 Mr. Harold Levinson (granduncle)
Mrs. Martha Levinson † (great-grandmother)
 Mr. Isidore Levinson † (great-grandfather)
 Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham † (great-grandmother)
Patrick Crawley, 6th Earl of Grantham † (great-grandfather)
 Hon. Victoria Rachel Cora Aldridge (maternal third cousin)
 Hon. Hugh Daniel Atticus Aldridge (maternal third cousin)
 Hon. Robert Alexander David Aldridge (maternal third cousin)
 Mr. Reginald Crawley (maternal third cousin twice removed)
 Isobel Grey, Lady Merton (third cousin-in-law twice removed)
 Maud, Lady Bagshaw (distant cousin/step-grandmother)

Sybbie Branson (1940)

**Miss Sybil 'Sybbie' Branson** (b. 10 April, 1920) the daughter and only child of Tom Branson and the late Lady Sybil Branson. She is the eldest grandchild of Robert and Cora Crawley, and therefore the eldest great-grandchild of Isidore & Martha Levinson, and Patrick & Violet Crawley.

She is a member of both the Crawley and Branson families by birth.

Sybbie has three aunts: Lady Mary Crawley, Edith Pelham, Marchioness of Hexham, and Lady Josephine Crawley; and four uncles: Alexander Crawley, the late Matthew Crawley, Mr. Kieran Branson, and Herbert Pelham, Marquess of Hexham.

## Biography

Sybil was named by her father after her mother, who died from eclampsia shortly after her birth (her family heard her voice shortly after her mother died). Her father felt that it was right—even though painful, stating he wanted to remember her mother whenever he looked at her. She was born small for her age, which is a common complication in children born of mothers with pre-eclampsia.

After her mother's funeral, her maternal grandmother was the who gave her the nickname **Sybbie**, telling Tom that it is "the same, but different."

A dispute erupted between Tom and Robert over her christening. Tom asserted that his daughter was Irish, and should be "Catholic, like her father". Robert insisted he felt it would not help her to be baptized into a church other than the Church of England, though he was more motivated by his own traditions (as there had not been a Catholic Crawley since the Reformation) and a desire to have a greater influence over her upbringing. He also insisted the only chance Sybbie would have at achieving anything in life was due to her mother's blood, and that it was "ghoulish" to name her after her mother. Mary disagreed with him in all these claims, reminding him Sybbie was a Branson, not a Crawley.

The dispute ended after Mary revealed that before her death, Sybil told her she had no objection to her child being Catholic. Robert still protested, but Cora silenced him. Even though he no longer fought it, he still remained opposed.

Tom named Mary and his brother Kieran as Sybbie's godparents. She was christened at Ripon's Catholic church by Father Dominic, the service attended by her father, paternal uncle, and maternal family.

Sybbie calls her grandfather **Donk**, from the game *pin the tail on the donkey*—much to the amusement of the rest of the family. Robert however wishes she could call him Grandpapa, which he thinks is more dignified, but he seemed to be stuck with Donk, however he later not only gets used to it, but he embraces the nickname.

Sybil is officially addressed as "**Miss Sybil Branson**", as she is unmarried and her father has no title.

In 1928, her father met and subsequently married her stepmother, Lucy Branson. A year later, it is revealed that Lucy is pregnant and she gives birth to Sybbie's half-sister, whom they named Violet. In 1933, she welcomed a half-brother named Aidan.

## Appearance and Personality

Sybbie is very beautiful, with her beauty rivaling that of her aunts, cousins, and even her own mother. She shared a few physical traits with her mother Sybil; one being their lovely dark, curly hair, and shaped eyebrows. She also had her pale pink full lips, and silver blue eyes.

She is a very active and intelligent person—being the top of her class and a member of her school's Swimming team. She is also very polite and ladylike, as she is raised in an aristocratic setting—despite how much her father has despised it in the past.

Sybbie loves writing stories, and is an avid fan of both croquet and cricket.

## Name Etymology

* **Sybil** is female name of Greek origin, meaning *"prophetess"*.

* **Maire** is girl's name of Irish origin, meaning *"sweet; drop of the sea, bitter"*.
	+ She was named after Lady Mary Crawley, her maternal aunt and godmother.