The Brasswell family first appears in the early 1800s. The first recorded ancestor is Jordan Braswell. He was a mulatto man and in 1860 (before the end of slavery) he is listed as a freeman living in Bever Dam, Granville, North Carolina.
1. Jordan Braswell (1795-1875) The 4rd great-grandfather of D’Mar Love and Rayden Brown through their mother Marleena Thomas.
Jordan Braswell and his wife Elisabeth (Betsey) Braswell (born Booker) are named as the parents of Alexander Braswell. Jordan and Elisabeth appear in the 1860 census with their last name written Baswell. They are said to be mulattos (mixed race) and are living in Bever Dam, Granville, North Carolina. Jordan and Betsy are living with a man named John Baswell (27) and Thomas Baswell (18). John is likely their son. Given the age of Thomas, it seems more likely that Thomas is a grandson. A child named Joseph Baswell aged 1 is also living with the family. Next to Jordan and Betsy live the family of Right Baswell and his wife Jane. Right Basswell is likely a son of Jordan and Betsy.
In 1870 Jordan Brasil lives with his son John.
Children of Jordan and Betsey:
- Right Baswell (1826-?) married Jane and had children.
- John Baswell (1833-?) married Elisabeth and had several children.
- Alexander Baswell/Brasswell/Bazel (abt. 1835 – 1916)
2. Alexander Broswell (1835-1916) Son of Jordan Braswell and Betsey Booker
The name of Alexander’s parents can be found on his death ceritificate, dated 29th October 1916. Tracking him throughout his life is particularly challenging because the name recorded changes from Bazel to Braswell and back, and the inferred year of birth changes from ca. 1829 on his death certificate to about 1849 on his marriage certificate. On both the marriage and death certificate it is clear Alex(ander) was the husband of Nancy Taborn, so this is the same person we are looking at.
It appears that Alexander married a woman named Hawkins Bazel (maiden name not known) in ca. 1860 and had a daughter named Hazel in 1863.
In 1883 Alexander married the 22-year old Nancy Taborn (See Taborn family). Alexander is said to be 35, but it is more likely that he was in his 40s. At the time of his marriage, his name was written as Alexander Bazell. Nancy’s parents, Paul and Delia Taborn, were present at the marriage. The wedding license indicates that Alexander’s parents were both dead in 1883.
Alexander and Nancy had 3 children:
- William Braswell (1883–1935) William married Clara Lawrence in 1907 and had 12 children. The family lived in Granville, North Carolina.
- Bettie Braswell (1886–1936). Married Levi Hockaday in ca, 1906. They had 5 children and her elderly father Alexander Brasswell lived with Bettie and her husband since at least 1910. Levi was the person who provided the information for Alexander’s death certificate.
- Walter Broswell (1889–?)
3. William Braswell (1883-1935) Son of Alexander Broswell and Nancy Tabone (also Taborn) from the Taborn Family.
William Braswell married Clara Lawrence in 1906 according to the 1910 census.
The 1920 census records indicate that William and Clara had 2 stepchildren living with them. This indicates that Clara was a widow, and it appears that the last name of her first husband was Allan.
Stepchildren (presumably Clara’s children from a previous marriage)
- Roberta (“Berta”) Allen (1901–1992); listed as Berta Baswell in the 1930 census
- Buddy Allen
William Braswell and Clara Lawrence had 9 children together:
- Lizzie Braswell (also written as Bozzel ) (1908–?) mentioned in 1910, 1920 census
- Pauline Braswell (also written as Bazzell) (1911–) mentioned in 1920 census
- Alma Braswell (also written as Bazzell) (1915–1992) mentioned in 1920 and 1930 census. Married Wiley Lyon and had a son James Braswell Lyon
- Estelle Braswell (also written as Baswell) (1916–1990) mentioned in 1920 and 1930 census. She married Quincy Smith. Her obituary mentions her siblings Alma Lyons and Katie Massenburg
- Goode (Ione?) Braswell (also written as Bazzell) (1917–) mentioned in 1920 and 1930 census
- William E. (Buddy) Braswell (1919–1988) Mentioned as William in the 1930 census. Married Henrietta Freeman, see below.
- Katie Brasswell (1921–2003) mentioned in 1930 census. Is mentioned in the social security index under the name Katie Basswell Rhodes. Katie first married Melvin R. Jones in the early to mid 1930s. They had 3 sons before getting divorced: Melvin Rhodes Jr (1936), Bobby Lee Rhodes (1938) and William B. Rhodes. After the divorce, the sons live with their father and paternal grandparents. Katie married Moses Aron Massenburg in 1948. They have one son: James Edward Massenberg (1951).
- Mary Catherine (Mary K) Braswell (1924–1998) mentioned in 1930 census. Married Vernice Albert Massenburg, brother of Moses, on June 1, 1945. They had two children, and separated in 1964 and filed for divorce in 1973.
- Elizabeth Braswell (also written as Baswell) (1928–?) mentioned in 1930 census.
4. Buddy Braswell (1919-1988) Son of William Braswell and Clara Lawrence. Buddy married Henrietta Freeman (1930-1994), the daughter of Arthur Freeman and Carrie “Cora” Lyons.
Buddy was the only son in a fairly large Braswell family. The family lived on the old Hockaday Road in Brassfield, the county of Granville, North Carolina, in the 1930s. After his marriage, he lived in Wake Forest, Wake, North Carolina, on a road described as “Going South on U S Highway 1”.
Buddy Braswell registered for the army on January 13, 1941 for World War II. He is listed as living in Granville, North Carolina. His father, William Braswell, is named as his closest family.
Buddy enlisted on 20 Mar 1941 in Fort Bragg, NC, and was a private in the army. The records indicate he worked for a sawmill before enlisting. He was discharged 23 Nov 1945 at Fort Bragg at the end of the war.
Buddy and Henrietta had three children:
- Buddy Braswell (born 1949)
- Clara Mae Braswell (born 1953) Had 3 daughters, (See below for details)
- Caroline (“Colom”) Braswell (born 1955)
Buddy died in 1988 and is buried in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
5. Clara Mae Braswell (1953) Daughter of Buddy Braswell
Children:
- Shelia Brasswell
- Natalie “Nene” Brasswell
Married Bobby Earl Thomas and had a daughter:
- Marleena Thomas (born 1994) had 2 sons (see below)
6. Marleena Thomas (1994) Daughter of Clara Mae Braswell and Bobby Earl Thomas.
Marleena had a relationship with Darrion Brown and had a son :
- Rayden Brown (born 2013)
Marleena married Durrell Love in 2017 and they had one son:
- D’Mar Bart Love (born 2019)
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