CSA 6, 5¢ light blue single (4 margins, but close on 3 sides) tied blue PETERSBURG Va MAY 31 1862 CDS on printed grocer and commission merchant corner card of Thos. Branch & Sons; addressed to John Fitzgerald Esqr, Blacks & Whites, Va.; minor edge wear but still overall Very Fine appearance. Ex David Burton $250.

Thomas Branch, of Petersburg and Richmond, was born in 1802. He established himself in Petersburg as a highly successful commission merchant and banker through businesses such as: Thomas Branch & Bro.; Thomas Branch & Sons; and Branch Sons & Co. During the Civil War, he established Thomas Branch & Co. in Richmond, making his permanent home there after the war. In 1871, he founded the Merchants National Bank of Richmond. Thomas Branch, who died in 1888, had 16 children, 13 by Sarah Pride Read and 3 by Anne Adams Wheelright. In 1880, Thomas resigned the presidency of the Merchants National Bank. John Patteson Branch, his third and oldest surviving son by Sarah Pride Read, succeeded him. Branch was a moderate Unionist and initial opponent of secession. He was chosen in early 1861 as Petersburg’s representative at the state convention to consider secession. Because of his age, he played a minor role during the war but continued operating his business.