After relocating to Jackson, Mississippi, he settled at Liberty, Texas in 1835 after having been hijacked on his way to Cuba and put ashore at Anahuac.
He later re-enlisted and served a stint as first lieutenant under Benjamin Franklin Hardin in 1837.
Residents of Liberty County sent Branch as their representative to the First and Second Congresses of the Republic of Texas (1836–1838).
Branch was appointed a District Judge in 1838, which also made him an associate justice of the Texas Supreme Court.
[1] In private life, Branch split his time between farming and his law practice.