I've been looking more studiously at the family of Irena Branson, daughter of Valentine Branson (youngest son of Jarred E. Branson). Some questions have arisen. Can anyone answer these:

1) Most genealogies have her as Irene. This does not appear to be correct. So far in every _original_ source I've found, she is shown as Irena or some variation thereof -- Rena, Arena, Erena among them. Are people just assuming it was actually Irene because Irena is not as common a name? The only way-back-when source I have found that has her as Irene is her obituary in the Mariposa Gazette.

2) Most genealogies, if they contain her birthdate, have it as occurring in January, 1823. Where did this come from? In the 1900 census, she states it was June, 1826. This is consistent with the 1870 census. In the 1850 census (Jasper County, MO as Arena Scott), she is shown as only TWENTY, meaning a birthdate of 1829 or 1830. No source I've found other than modern-day genealogies has it as early as 1823 -- with the exception of that darn Mariposa County obit. I am convinced the obit informant did not know what he or she was talking about.

3) All sources agree that Irena was married to William Wyatt Scott, the father of her many children. Yet she appears in the 1870 census as Erena Clark. Who was Mr. Clark, does anyone know? By 1870, he appears to no longer be a part of Irena's life. I imagine Irena had by then been widowed a second time, after a very brief remarriage. She would have had to marry Mr. Clark after 1864, when William Scott was killed by lightning on the way out West.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

Dave Smeds