Definitely, the most fun part of genealogy research is discovering the surprises. While I know quite a bit about Joe Brasher, his life and his family, his “second” family with Della was a lost branch of the family tree.

I decided to see if I could change that. It can be difficult finding living people today, particularly if a surname is not very unusual and you have no idea where cousins might be living.

Persistent is a word that has been used to describe me and my persistence paid off. My husband and his brother now know their cousin Cindy and we have been sharing family photos. Joseph
Brasher is a very recent common ancestor and they are first cousins once removed!

Best of all, Cindy is also interested in the family history and we’ve been able to help each other fill in the gaps. Neither of us had any of the family photos that the other had, which maybe isn’t too odd given that Joe married twice.

Cindy has given permission for me to share these pictures, which help round out the Brasher family:

Joe and Della Mae Benton, probably on their wedding day in 1904

Della with Johnnie and Wilmer Louis, c1912

This might be the only photo that exists of Johnnie. I love this picture with the children’s fashions. Mom Della is also dressed beautifully with her hair up.

From the plot section and grave numbers for Wilmer Louis and Johnnie, it looks like W.L. purchased the gravesites. He and his wife are buried next to his big brother, Johnnie.

Joseph Brasher, in Sulphur Springs, Texas

This photo is quite intriguing to me, as it was taken in Sulphur Springs, Texas. That’s in Hopkins County, as is Cumby, where Joe was born.

Boy, do I wish that someone had left this photo intact because I have to wonder who else was in this picture. I have never seen it before. There is clearly a person standing behind Joe’s right shoulder and, if you look carefully, you can see white fabric to the left of Joe. Could this have been a picture of Joe with his first wife, Minnie Mae Williams, and her family?

That would explain why they were cut out of the picture, wouldn’t it?

Cindy, I am so glad that we found each other and have been able to fill in more of the details of the life of Joseph Henry Brasher.