Branch

A portion of the descendants of a person, who trace their descent to some common ancestor, who is himself a descendant of such person. The whole of a genealogy is often called the "genealogical tree," and sometimes it is made to take the form of a tree, which is in the first place divided into as many branches as there are children, afterwards into as ample, it be desired to form the genealbg^ical tree of Peter's family, Peter will be made the trunk of the tree; if he has had two children, John and James, their names will be written on the first two branches, which will themselves shoot out into as many smaller branches as John and James have children; from these others proceed, till the whole family is represented on the tree. Thus the origin, the application, and the use of the word "branch" in genealogy will be at once perceived.

See Line.