A Monticello woman is proving a little love goes a long way. She's never had a child, but mothered up to15 children in one home all by herself.
They're larger than the Brady Bunch, perhaps even the Partridge family, and eight wasn't enough. This Monticello family is made up of dozens of men and women boys and girls, all of which call this woman mom.
She took care of all her brother’s and sister’s children, now working on this generation here, Miss Emily Branham has been a surrogate mother to her extended family for years. When her sister passed away in 1968 she raised her five nieces and nephews under this roof.
Miss Emily went on to raise a total of 15 children all by herself. She never married and she never had a child of her own. She credits her faith in God for her undying love.
“If the Lord hadn't helped me I couldn't have done it,” said Miss Emily.
Today Miss Emily's faith is her guiding light. In fact, her favorite saying is “a family who prays together stays together”, a motto this family is sticking to.
Miss Emily is 82 years old and didn't retire from work until last year. She celebrated Mother's Day with about half her family that lives nearby.
