Thomas Browne, II

Possible parents of Thomas : Nicholas Brown of Lynn & Reading

The origins and parents of Thomas Brown are disputed; no reliable source has been made viewable that concludes he was the son of Nicholas Browne and Elizabeth (Leids) Browne; please see Research Notes below for further explanation.

Biography

Thomas Browne was born about 1628 (in a deposition taken 1 July1668, he calls himself "ae 40 yrs or thereabouts")[1] He was a dishturner and was said to be of Grawton [Groton], Middlesex in June 1663, when he deeded land to William Longley of Lynn.[2]

Marriage and Children

Thomas Brown married Mary Newhall about 1652, based on the birth of their first child estimated to be in 1653.[3] [4][Note that Mary's first appearance in the records is not until 1658. Her name last appears on records April 21, 1701.[5]]

Children: [6]

Thomas Brown, Jr., b., Lynn, Massachusetts abt Jan., 1654; m. Lynn, Massachusetts, Feb. 8, 1677, to Hannah Collins, daughter of John Collins, of Lynn. They soon after removed to Stonington, Conn.
Mary, b. Feb. 10, 1655; d., Lynn, May 18, 1662.
Sarah, b. Aug. 20, 1657; d. Aug. 1, 1658.
Joseph, b. Feb. 16, 1658; m., Jan. 22, 1680, Sarah Jones.
Sarah, b. Sept. 13, 1660; d. Apr. 2, 1662.
Jonathan, b. and d. Apr. 12, 1662.
John, b. 1664; m. Elizabeth Miner
Mary, b. July 26, 1666; m., Aug. 24, 1685, Thomas Norwood.
Jonathan, b. Feb. 11, 1668.
Eleazer, b. Aug. 4, 1670; m. Ann Pendleton
Ebenezer, b. Mar. 16, 1672; d. 1700.
Daniel, b. Apr. 24, 1673; d. young.
Ann and
Grace, twins, b. Feb. 4, 1674; both d. Feb. 7, 1674.
Daniel, b. Feb. 1, 1676. He bought out the rights of his three brothers, who removed to Stonington, and lived and died on the old Brown homestead in Lynn.
Of this couple's fifteen children, only six survived to adulthood: Thomas, John, Mary (2nd) , Eleazer, Ebenezer, Daniel (2nd).

Death

Recorded at Lynn: August 28, 1693.[7]

Will

Note: The following is a copy of the orally declared last will and testament of Thomas Brown, senior, of Lynn, Mass.: His widow was appointed Administratrix of his estate October 9, 1693,[8]

The following was taken down in writing this day, being ye 7th of October, 1693:
Memorandum - About two years since: though in ye last sickness of Thomas Brown, hereinafter named, he declared the following sentences as his last will and testament, who died about six weeks ago.
Thomas Brown, of Lynn, Sen., being of proper memory and good understanding, declared what his last will and testament should be, in the presence of Jeremiah Shepard, John Newhall senior, and Mary Shepard.
After some serious discourse with Mr. Shepard about his spiritual condition, he earnestly desired Mr. Shepard to be helpful to him in settling his temporal estate, and said he was very apprehensive of the decay of nature, be reason of many bodily informities that did weaken him, and therefore could not put long continuance in this world. So he thought it meet to take the present opportunity of expressing his mind concerning his last will and testament; and desired Mr. Shepard to draw it up that he might read it and subscribe to the same. And having committed his spirit to God, and his body to the dust, wishing a decent interment thereof, suitable to his rank and quality, he did thus, fearlessly, freely, and voluntarily and deliverately express himself:
My will is, that after my honest debts and funeral charges are paid my home and homestead, with all my land in Lynn, as also my cattle and moveables, with doors, I give and bequeath to my son Ebenezer, who hath been very careful of me and my family, and whom I have betrusted with the management of my outward affairs, only my will is that my son Ebenezer provide for my wife, that she be comfortably maintained out of my estate.
I give and bequeath to my wife all my moveables within doors, pewter, brass, bedding, &c., to be at her absolute disposal.
I give to my eldest son Thomas, my long gun, which I value at forty shillings.
I give to my son Joseph twenty shillings, having already bestowed some lands upon him.
I give to my son Johyn twenty shillings.
I give to my son Daniel five pounds.
I give to my daughter Norwood twenty shillings.
My will is that my loving wife should be executrix, and my son Ebenezer executor.
To this, my last will and testament, I constitue my brother John Newhall, and Robert Potter, senior, to be my overseers.
Thomas Brown did thus express his mind, in reference to his last will and testament, in presence of us.
JEREMIAH SHEPARD,
MARY SHEPARD,
JOHN NEWHALL, SEN.
Before ye Honored Bartho Gedney, Esq., October 9th, 1693, Mr. Jeremiah Shepard and Mary his wife, and John Newhall, Sen., made oath that what is within as above contained in this paper was expressed by said Thomas Brown as his last will and testament; and that said John Newhall and Mary Shepard, add that he also gave to his son Eleazer five pounds.
Sworn to ye day aforesaid.
Attes: STEPHEN SEWALL, Register
Burial

Thomas Brown, Sr. is presumed to be buried in Western Burial Ground in Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts. [9]

Research Notes

There are several claims-- online and in print-- that Thomas Brown was son of Nicholas Brown. However, researchers (including one who detracted his previous claim) have concluded he could not have been for the following reasons:

Cyrus Brown, who initially believed Thomas to be son of Nicholas, wrote in 1915:[6]:
"Note — The compiler spent much valuable time in research to establish whether Nicholas Browne was the father of Thomas Browne, of Lynn. He found much about Nicholas Browne, and had written it out in full, only finally to come to the conclusion that he was not the father of Thomas. Other historians of recent date are of the same opinion; although I had so stated in my first volume, which I here positively contradict.
"At a good deal of trouble and expense I got a copy of the will of Nicholas Browne (which is kept in East Cambridge, Mass.) to publish here, and found that Thomas Browne was not mentioned, while his children by his wife Elizabeth were all particularly mentioned. Thomas is not referred to in any probate of Nicholas; nor can I as yet get any note referring to any gift from Nicholas of rights in Lynn.
"Mary, the wife of Thomas Browne in 1701 (record vol. IV, p. 93) was alive, in Stonington, when she, with her son Thomas, ]r. (2) sold rights to his brother Daniel.
"Thomas was of the right age to be a son of Nicholas, but the proof is lacking that he had any link to Thomas Browne referred to as dish-turner and constable of Lynn."
In 2003, Robert Charles Anderson addressed the association of Thomas and Mary Browne of Lynn and "John Hawcks" who was described as their cousin.[10] Anderson identified Mary (Newhall) Browne as the daughter of Thomas Newhall[11][12] and stating that "Thomas Browne first appeared in Lynn in the mid-1650s without apparent antecedents."[13] Anderson added: [12]
The claim has been made that [Thomas Browne] was son of Nicholas Browne {1638, Lynn} ..., but Savage doubted this ... and the will of Nicholas Browne, dated 9 March 1672/3, did not include a son Thomas.
Those who believe Thomas was son of Nicholas discount Thomas' absence from his father's will and cite:

A history of the Walter Palmer family of Stonington, Connecticut. Ancestry.com subscribers only link[14] showcases family bibles of allied families that show his parental relationship to Nicholas Brown.
NOTE: Please include a publicly-viewable link to this document.
Mackenzie, George Norbury. Colonial Families of the USA, 1607-1775 for Thomas Browne Colonial Families of the United States of America, volume II (1911): Newhall Family, pg 555. Showing that Thomas Brown's father is Nicholas Brown. Note: This is a family lineage for the Newhall family; no source is provided to support the claim, and a subsequent researcher (see Cyrus Brown above) attempted to prove the link, without success.
Ancestry.com subscribers only link.
FamilySearch.org link
Sources

↑ Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts, 1636-1686 (The Essex Institute, 1914) v 4,Page 32.
↑ "Massachusetts Land Records, 1620-1986," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99Z7-G8S7?cc=2106411&w... : 22 May 2014), Middlesex > Deeds 1649-1670 vol 1-3 > image 472 of 645; county courthouses and offices, Massachusetts. Vol 3 Pages 161-3.
↑ Savage, James. Genealogical Dictionary of New England Settlers. Boston, 1862.
↑ Torrey, Clarence A. New England Marriages Prior to 1700, Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. vol. 1, p 226; link for NEHGS members, link for Ancestry.com subscribers
↑ Breed Family Association #16 (March, 1963), Charles B. Newhall et.al.; : p. 163
↑ 6.0 6.1 Cyrus Henry Brown, Brown genealogy of many of the descendants of Thomas, John, and Eleazer Brown: sons of Thomas and Mary (Newhall) Brown, of Lynn, Mass., 1628-1907, The Everett Press, Inc., 1915. Page 13 (Google Play).
↑ Vital records of Lynn, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849.;; Salem, MA: The Essex Institute, 1906 in Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2016). https://www.americanancestors.org/DB190/i/7738/443/141580908
↑ Probate File Papers, 1638-1881.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. Essex County, MA. AmericanAncestors.org (free registration required) (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives.) Images of original will.
↑ Find A Grave, database and images (http://findagrave.com : accessed 6 June 2016), memorial page for Thomas Brown, Sr. (1626–1693), Find A Grave Memorial no. 42308150, citing Western Burial Ground in Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts; the accompanying photographs by Lawrence Whiting only provide an overall image of the cemetery and do not provide a legible image of the inscribed data.
↑ Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts, 1636-1686 (1914) 4:32 Archive.org as cited in Anderson, The Great Migration v III 255-256, "Adam Hawke: Associations."AmericanAncestors.org link for subscribers.
↑ Smith, Dean Crawford. The Ancestry of Eva Belle Kempton, 1878-1908 (NEHGS, Boston, 1996), vol 4, pages 506, 508. Archive.org.
↑ 12.0 12.1 Anderson, Robert C. The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England 1634-1635 Vol. III: G-H (New England Historic Genealogical Society, Great Migration Study Project, Boston, 2003) 255-256 Citing Ancestry of Eva Belle Kempton AmericanAncestors.org (by subscriptions)
↑ Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts, 1636-1686 (1912)" 2:157 archive.org, cited in Anderson, Great Migration, v III" p 256
↑ Rozanski, Verna R. Sanders.. A history of the Walter Palmer family of Stonington, Connecticut : and a supplementary history of Mrs. John Leland (Achsah Palmer) Sanders and her descendants. Assumption, Ill.: Daughters of the American Revolution, Illinois Society, Peter Meyer Chapter, 1968.
See also
Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook).Ancestry.com subscribers only Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988. [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
Nancy Ann Norman, "New England, Irish, Scotish, Isle of Man," entry for Rootsweb.Ancestry.com Thomas Brown ID I90; online family file, WorldConnect : accessed 2014.
Genealogical and Biographical Record of New London County, Conn.;
Bible Records (film 862,766, Vol.10, page 9;
Founders of Early American Families;
NEHGR, v78, p85;
A. Witter Family History by Edwin D. Witter Jr. (1988);
History of the Town of Stonington;

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born 1626, dead 1693 ???

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=42308150

Birth: Dec., 1626, Inkberrow, Worcestershire, England

Death: Aug. 28, 1693, Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts, USA

Thomas Brown.

Born: 1626 in Inkberrow, Worcestershire, England.

Died: 28 Aug 1693 at Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts.

Father: Nicholas Brown.

Mother: Elizabeth Leids

Spouse: Mary Newhall.

Married: 16 Jun 1653 in Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts.

Parents:

Nicholas Brown (1601 - 1673)

Elizabeth Leids Brown (1605 - 1674)

Spouse:

Mary Newhall Brown (1637 - 1694)

Children:

Thomas Brown (1654 - 1723)

John Brown (1664 - 1733)

Mary Brown Norwood (1666 - 1757)

Eleazer Browne (1670 - 1734)

Eleazer Brown (1670 - 1734)

Siblings:

Thomas Brown (1626 - 1693)

Cornelius Browne (1632 - 1701)

John Brown (1634 - 1717)

Josiah Brown (1642 - 1690)

Burial:

Western Burial Ground

Lynn

Essex County

Massachusetts, USA