Susan Brandford Eppes

The daughter of Dr. Edward and Martha Lewis Branch Bradford, Susan Branch Bradford was born March 8, 1846, north of Tallahassee, Florida, at Pine Hill Plantation.  Her father, Edward, had retired from the medical profession to administer  his several plantations.  At the beginning of the Civil War, he owned 142 slaves and several thousand acres of land.  Susan’s grandfather, John Branch, was a politician, serving as a North Carolina governor and U. S. senator, Secretary of the Navy, and territorial governor of Florida.

While Susan briefly attended a local female seminary, her education was primarily through a series of tutors.  Her family strongly supported the Confederacy and remained in the vicinity of Tallahassee through the war.  While north Florida was spared the worst of the actual fighting, the war had a severe impact on the region.

After the war, Susan married Nicholas Ware Eppes, who had been a Confederate officer.  Living with Susan’s parents, they had six children, five who survived to adulthood.  Eppes eventually took over administration of the plantation.  He also served several terms as county Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Nicholas Eppes was murdered September 3, 1904.  Three blacks were tried for the crime, but some believed he had been killed as part of a conspiracy of corrupt state official to prevent Eppes revealing their dealings.

Susan died in Tallahassee on July 2, 1942 and was buried at Pine Hill Plantation.