Husband Abraham BROWN
Born: 26 Aug 1671 - Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Father: Jonathan BROWN (1635-After 1690)
Mother: Mary SHATTUCK (1645-1732)
Wife
Born:
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Children
Husband
Born:
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Wife Alice BROWN
Born:
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Father: William BROWN (Abt 1505-1565)
Mother: Joan ( -1573)
Children
Husband
Born:
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Wife Annis BROWN
Born:
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Father: William BROWN (Abt 1505-1565)
Mother: Joan ( -1573)
Children
Husband Benjamin BROWN
Born: 27 Feb 1681-27 Feb 1682
Christened:
Died: 11 Mar 1753
Buried:
Father: Jonathan BROWN (1635-After 1690)
Mother: Mary SHATTUCK (1645-1732)
Wife
Born:
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Children
Husband Daniel BROWN
Born:
Christened: 1607 - Sawbridgeworth, Hertsfordshire, England
Died:
Buried:
Father: Edmund BROWN (Abt 1547-1638)
Mother: Mary CRAMPHORNE (1562- )
Wife
Born:
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Children
Husband Ebenezer BROWN
Born: 10 Sep 1679
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Father: Jonathan BROWN (1635-After 1690)
Mother: Mary SHATTUCK (1645-1732)
Wife
Born:
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Children
General Notes (Husband)
He probably d unmarried. [It was formerly supposed, by the writer, that this was the Ebenezer Brown who d in Newton Mar 1740, but that is improbable if not certainly disproved.]
Husband Edmund BROWN
Born:
Christened: 1600
Died: 1665
Buried:
Father: Edmund BROWN (Abt 1547-1638)
Mother: Mary CRAMPHORNE (1562- )
Wife
Born:
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Children
Husband Edmund BROWN
Born: Abt 1547 - Sawbridgeforth, Hertfordshire, England
Christened:
Died: 1638-1639 - Sawbridgeworth, Hertsfordshire, England
Buried:
Father: William BROWN (Abt 1505-1565)
Mother: Joan ( -1573)
Marriage:
Wife Mary CRAMPHORNE
Born: 27 Sep 1562 - Sawbridgeworth, Hertsfordshire, England
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Father: William CRAMPHORNE ( - )
Mother: Jone PLOWE ( - )
Children
1 M Abraham BROWN
Born:
Christened: Bef 22 Oct 1588 - Sawbridgeworth, Hertsfordshire, England
Died: 1 Oct 1650 - Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts
Buried:
Spouse: Lydia ( - )
Spouse: Joan SHELTON ( -1628)
Marr: 21 Sep 1619 - South Weald, Essex, England
2 M Edmund BROWN
Born:
Christened: 1600
Died: 1665
Buried:
3 M John BROWN
Born:
Christened: 1598 - Sawbridgeworth, Hertsfordshire, England
Died:
Buried:
4 M Richard BROWN
Born:
Christened: 1586
Died:
Buried:
5 M George BROWN
Born: 1586
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
6 F Sarah BROWN
Born:
Christened: 1591
Died:
Buried:
7 M John BROWN
Born:
Christened: 1597 - Sawbridgeworth, Hertsfordshire, England
Died: Bef 1598 - Sawbridgeworth, Hertsfordshire, England
Buried:
8 F Mary BROWN
Born:
Christened: 1602 - Sawbridgeworth, Hertsfordshire, England
Died:
Buried:
9 F Hannah BROWN
Born:
Christened: 1605 - Sawbridgeworth, Hertsfordshire, England
Died:
Buried:
10 M Daniel BROWN
Born:
Christened: 1607 - Sawbridgeworth, Hertsfordshire, England
Died:
Buried:
General Notes for Child Abraham BROWN
Note:
!REF: Pope's Pioneers: p. 72
Admitted as freeman at Watertown, MA Mar. 6, 1631/2. He appears in the town
records in various public positions from 1634 to 1647, notably those associated
with survey work and land distribution. His lands inventory (1694) amounted to
191 acres in 5 parcels. The home lot of Abraham BROWNE passed to his grandson
Capt. Abraham BROWN, and the home as rebuilt by the latter remained in the
family for over 200 years, and is currently owned and operated by the Society
for the Preservation of New England Antiquities. Will filed Oct. 1, 1650,
Middlesex Co., MA. His estate was not settled until Jan. 22, 1693/4 when it was
divided between five claimants, with a double portion going to the estate of
Jonathan, eldest son of Abraham. The original will has not been located, but the
settlement provisions were apparently in disregard to its terms as summarized in
an abstract found in the County Court (1670). Abraham was married first on Sep.
21, 1619 at South Weald, Essex, England to Joan SHELTON (b. about 1599; bur.
Sep. 27, 1628, South Weald, Essex, England), the mother of his first three
daughters. He married second about 1629, England.
Change Date: 21 Oct 2005 at 09:22:19
Immigrated Yarmouth Isle of Wight England Apr/May 1630 >Salem Massachusetts Jun/Jul 1630 Aboard the Wintrop Fleet, Rem to and A Very Early Settler perhaps One of the First of Watertown, Admitted Freeman 6 Mar 1631/1632, Land Surveyor, Received Important Appointments and Trusts more numerous than were conferred on any other peson, No two men were more Respected and Confided in than he and his brother Richard Browne, Selectman 1636-1643, Conservator of timber trees, Surveyor of the Town "to survey all the lots that are granted", Will and Inventory "accepted at court" 1 Oct 1650.
A Genealogical Register of the First Settlers of New England, John Farmer, Genealogical Publishing Co, Lancaster MA 1829, p44: ABRAHAM BROWN Watertown, freeman 1632, had sons Jonathan and Abraham, born in 1635 and 1639. His wife was Lydia. The name of Brown is frequently written in ancient records with the addition of the e, and several families, as those in Salem, have ever retained this orthography.
In the grant of teh Remote Meadows Abraham Browne received ten acres. We can indentify seven personsin the household at thsi time: Abraham, his wife, and five children. Under the terms of the grant the other three acres might be granted for servants in the household, or for Abraham;s holdings of livestock; in either case, he again appears as abovve teh norm in wealth and social standing.
ANCESTRY.COM 3 Aug 2000
Database: Massachusetts Applications of Freemen, 1630-91
Date, Name, Residence, Original Source, Comment
06 March 1631-2, Abraham Browne, C. R., Vol. I. p. 74.
ANCESTRY.COM 12 Aug 2000
Database: The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-33
MIGRATION: 1631
FIRST RESIDENCE: Watertown
OCCUPATION: Surveyor [WaTR 6, 7].
CHURCH MEMBERSHIP: Membership in Watertown church prior to 6 March 1631/2 implied by freemanship.
FREEMAN: 6 March 1631/2 [MBCR 1:367].
EDUCATION: Abraham Brown's frequent employment as a surveyor implies a solid, basic education.
OFFICES: Watertown selectman, 1635 through 1641, annually [WaTR 2, 3, 5, 6, 7]. Appointed to several committees to lay out land and highways, and to regulate timber cutting [WaTR 1-7, 9].
ESTATE: Abraham Brown was granted twelve parcels of land in Watertown, greater both in number and in acreage than the average: ten acre homestall; three acres of marsh; twenty-eight acre homestall; ten acres of plowland adjoining the preceding plot; six acres of upland adjoining the preceding plot; one acre in Patch Meadow; half an acre of meadow with a piece of swamp; four acres of upland; a pond of one acre; a fifty acre Great Dividend; ten acres in the Remote Meadows; and a farm of one hundred and thirty acres [WaBOP 8, 11, 43, 76]. (A dispute over one of these parcels of land arose in 1660, in which his children were involved [WaTR 65-66].)
By the time of the Composite Inventory he had acquired a few more parcels, and disposed of at least one [WaBOP 21, 117]. He had obtained two parcels from John Browne - six acres of upland and a Great Dividend of thirty acres [WaBOP 21, 77]. He had exchanged land with John Collidge, parting with his fifty-acre Great Dividend and acquiring in return five acres of plowland and one acre of upland [WaBOP 21, 36, 92]. And he purchased from Abraham Shaw one acre of marsh adjoining the three acres that he already possessed [WaBOP 21].
The will and inventory of Abraham Browne were presented at Middlesex County Court on 1 October 1650 [MPR Misc 79].
On 6 October 1691 the county court ordered that "the parties concerned in the estate of Abraham Brown of Watertown deceased in the year 50 be sent to to attend the adjournment of this court in order to a settlement thereof." On 7 October 1691 it was ordered that "Lydia Lakin of Groton and Abraham Luist of Rumney Marsh and Mary the relict widow of Jonathan Brown of Watertown and her son Abraham Brown and Georg[e] Woodard of Muddy River and John Parkist of Watertown and all other persons concerned with the estate of Abraham Brown of said Watertown deceased do make their appearance ... on the first Tuesday in November next in order to a legal settlement of the said estate." On 3 November 1691 the court appointed Lt. Remington, John Ward and Thomas Greenwood "to make proposals for a full and final settlement" of "the estate of Abraham Brown Senr. of Watertown deceased" [MPR Misc 82-83].
BIRTH: Baptized Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, 22 October 1588, son of Edmund and Mary (Cramphorne) Browne [Kempton Anc 174].
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His Will
"The Court Records of Middlesex County show that 1 Oct 1650 his Will and Inventory were 'accepted at court.' And an order of court mad 6 Oct 1691 respecting the final settlement of his estate recites him as 'deceased in the year 1650.' These dates indicate, it is thought, satisfactorily, the year of his decease; though there are some circumstances that favor the belief that he died between the close of 1643 and 1648. The latest mention of his name in the Town Records, is 28 Nov 1643 which is the latest date previous to the before-mentioned hiatus of four years.It is, therefore, unknown when his public services terminated. As his name does not occur in the Records between 8 Nov 1647, when they recommence and in 1650, the supposed date of his decease, it is probable that ill health or bodily infirmityhad compelled him to withdraw from his very large participation in public business.
"No original Will of Abraham Browne has been discovered, but in the files of the County Court for 1670, is found the followeing, which, by the concluding certificate, purports to be copy of it. 'The Last Will and Testament of Abraham Browne, of Watertowne, dec'd; being of good and perfect membory but Weake, as is witnessed by us whose names are here under written. Impr: after the decease of his wife, he gave and bequeathed unto his two sonnes, Jonathan and Abraham Browne, his house and lands; but giving liberty to his wife, that if shee had need shee might sell some parcells of it. Also, he gave and bequeathed unto his two daughters, Sarah Browne and Mary Browne, each of them one ewe sheep, ahving each of them one fefore, as was testified. The rest of his goods and state he gave unto Lydea, his wife, making her his sole executrix to perform this, his Will and Testament. Witnesses, Richard Browne, John Whitney. Entered out of the original on file with the Register, at Cambridge, in the County of Middlesex in New England, and is a ture coppie (sic), being compared and examined by Thomas Danforth, Recorder.'
"This instrument resembles a synopsis, more than a literal copy of an original Will. It is not improbable that it was a nuncupative Will, and the above a copy of the declaration by the witness of its provisions.
"There was much delay and probably some difficulty in settling his estate. and the settlement seems to have been made finally, in entire disregard of the provisions of the Will. On the 6th Oct 1691 the Court ordered the parties concerned in the estate of Abraham Browne, ofWatertown, deceased in the year 1650, be sent for, to attend the adjournment of the Court, in order to a settlement of said estate; and they appointed a committee consisting of John Ward, Jonathan Remington, and Thomas Greenwood, to make proposals for said settlement. The claimants were: 1. The heirs of Jonathan Browne, deceased, the eldest son. 2. George Woodward, in right of his wife, only dau of Abraham Browne, Jr, deceased. 3. John Parkhurst, son of one of the daughters of said Abraham Browne, Sr. 4. The heirs of ?Isaac Lewis, decased, who were children of another dau of said Abraham Browne. 5. William Lakin, in right of his wife, youngest daughter of said Abraham Browne.
"Owing, as they said, to a change in the government of the Colony, by the coming over of a new Charter, the committee did not report until 22 Jan 1693/1694. They assigned 2/6 (double portion) of the estate to the heirs of Jonathan, and the other 4/6 to the other four claimants. At thesame time they recommended that these four claimants should sell their shares to Abraham Browne, eldest son of Jonathan, deceased, who was then ready to purchase; and in that manner the estate was settled.
"It appears from the schedules ofpossessions, that, besides a pond of one acre, 11 lots of land were granted to Abraham Browne, the town surveyor, and that previous to 1642, he had purchased 4 other lots, amounting to 39 acres, one of which, a 30 acre lot in the Great ____ lands, had been granted to his kinsman, John Browne. Two of the lots granted him were homestalls. The first upon which he probably settled at first, contained 10 acres, and was at the east of Mount Auburn. His second homestall of 28 acres, to which he is deemed to have removed very early, was bounded on the east by the way to the Little ____ (now Howard Street); N. by Sudbury Road (now Main Street); S. by the way to ____ Plains, sometimes called the way betwixt lots (now Pleasant Street); W. by his ____ land. Two other lots granted to him, on of 10 acres and the other of 6 acres, were con____ to this homestall of the West, and in the schedule of 1642, they were deemed part of the homestall, which was then enrolled as 40 acres. He must have purchased other adjoining lands not long afterwards, as in the final settlement of his estate in 1694, his homestall contained 60 acres. The Committee, appointed by the Court to settle the estate, ____ Inventory, in 1694 (of lands only), amounting to L187; viz: homestall 60 acres L100; remote meadow 10 acrews L12; salt marsh 4 acres L20; farm land 107 acres L15; lot on Charles River 10 acres L10.
"This is probably the only instance (unless the grant to Deacon Simon Stone be an exception) where an original grant has remained in the possession of the direct descendants of a grantee to the present time. As above stated, this property passed by inheritance and purchase, to his grandson, Capt. Abraham Browne. Although it is stated in the report of the committee for settling the estate, that Abraham 'was ready to purchase' the shares of the other claimants, subsequent transactions render it probable that he acted in behalf of the widow and other heirs of his father, and that he never became the proprietor of the whole homestall of 60 acres. From Capt. Abraham B, a part of the land belonging to him passed by Will to his son Samuel, who occupied a part of his house. After his death his son Samuel, about 1739, moved to Leicester, and not long after this, the property was mortgaged to Capt. John Homans, who probably occupied it only a few years, when the mortgage was cancelled by Jonathan, eldest son of Capt Abraham. From Jonathan it passed to his son Jonathan Jr Esq. From him it passed to his son Major Adam Brown, and it is now, at least a part of it, in the occupancy of his heirs.
"The dwelling-house, now standing, on this ancient homestall, is probably, with the exception of the ancient 'Nathaniel Bright house,' considerably older than any other in the town. The 'new part,' next the road, was built and occupied by Capt Abraham B, when he relinquished the old or south part to the use of his son Samuel. The accompanying cut is a view of this house, as at present seen from the northeast:
"[line figure 18.] "Mansion of Capt. Abraham Browne."
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There are a number of accounts in existence of Abraham Browne's origins. His brothers include John Browne of Watertown, and Edmund Browne of Boston. I have not yet found any relationship to Richard Browne, a prominent, stubborn and outspoken church leader who was involved in major controversies in Watertown.
Following note: In 1996, Dean Crawford Smith and Melinde Lutz Sandborn demonstrated the English origin and connections of this immigrant; he was brother of John Brown of Watertown, Edmund Brown of Boston by 1634, and Hannah (Brown) Ines, almost certainly wife of Mathew Ines [Kempton anc 168-96]. There was a brother Richard, but he was clearly not the immigrant of that name to Watertown.
Bond's Genealogies of Watertown reports data from a mid 19th century attempt to trace Abraham, John, Edmund and Richard to Stamford, Lincolnshire (Tolethorpe), and Hawkenden, Suffolk (Swan Hall). This was based on a confluence of some of the common names in the pedigrees of both families, like William, Mary, and Browne, and a lack of relevant church records. It was strictly a speculative genealogical reconstruction.
The immigrant Abraham Browne has been studied by many genealogists. The most comprehensive account is that of Smith22, which supersedes all earlier works (including Anderson's,43 who notes Smith's results in an addendum, p. 2087). Abraham Browne was a surveyor and a prominent settler and office-holder of Watertown, owning substantial property and playing an important role in the early establishment of the town. See Smith and Anderson for many details of his life and for transcripts of documents relating to him and his family.
Smith22 did much of the original research on this family and its connections. He reports (p. 173) that Edmund Browne's wife "Mary Cramphorne was aunt to another Mary Cramphorne, who married William Heath of Ware, Hertfordshire, and later of Roxbury, MA, making a cluster of Browne and Heath first cousins among the early immigrants to Massachusetts Bay.
"The identification of this family as that of the New England immigrants is also based upon the children's associations in Watertown and Boston and their connection to William Colbron. Of this couple's four known immigrant children, son Edmund Browne and daughter Anne Browne's husband Matthew Ines, were servants of Mr. William Colbron, who was of South Weald and Little Harley, Essex, England. William Colbron was married to Margery Huxton on 22 October 1618 in nearby Childerditch, Essex, England, the same parish in which son Abraham Brown's first marriage and the baptisms of three of his children were recorded. South Weald itself, held the burial records of Abraham's first wife and the only one of the three children baptized in Childerditch who did not appear in New England. Sons Abraham and John Browne of Watertown arrived along with many other Essex immigrants. While John left no records aside from his baptism in England, it was his land that Abraham Browne succeeded to in Watertown (vide post).
"On January 1672[/3], Jonathan2 Browne of Watertown and Mary his wife, sold rights to land in Boston in which he called himself 'cousin and next heir' of his 'uncle' Edmund Browne (Suffolk Deed 8:43-4 & vide post), confirming that the immigrants Edmund and Abraham Browne were brothers.
"In view of this evidence, speculations by Bond in the mid-1800s based on the work of Horatio Somerby regarding the Hawkendon origin of this family were clearly mistaken."
22. Dean Crawford Smith, The Ancestry of Eva Belle Kempton, 1878-1908. Part I. The Ancestry of Warren Frances Kempton, 1817-1879, Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1996.
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On Richard Brown of Watertown, I found this: (He may or may not have come from Hawkedon, Suffolk.)
Elder Richard BROWNE
Born: Abt 1575-1576, Swan Hall, Hawkedon, Suffolk, England
Married (2): Hawkedon, Suffolk, England
Died: 4 Feb 1660-1674, Charlestown, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA
Ancestral File Number: P3ND-FV.
General Notes:
BOOKS
The Winthrop Fleet 1630, Charles Edward Banks, Riverside Press, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1930
"Browne, Richard. Watertown. From Hawkdon, Suffolk. Freeman 18 May 1631 (M.C.R., I, 366). Aged 81/82 in 1657 (b 1575/1576, Bond). He probably came directly from London, where he 'kept a wherry,' and was a 'ruler' in one of the Separatist conventicles of the city (Hubbard)..."
Planters of the Commonwealth 1620-1640, Charles Edward Banks, Riverside Press, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1930
p65: "1630 The Winthrop Fleet
"Eleven vessels brought 'the Great Emigration' of this year, viz:
"Arbella (the flagship), Ambrose, William and Francis, Talbot, Hopewell, Jewel, Whale, Charles, Success, Mayflower, and Trial.
"The first five ships sailed 8 Apr 1630 from Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, and arrived at Salem 13 June and following days. The other half of the fleet sailed in May and arrived in July at various dates. Altogether they brought about seven hundred passengers of whom the following are presumed to have been on these ships (See Banks 'The Winthrop Fleet of 1630'):
p67: "...Abraham Browne, of Hawkdon Suffolk, Watertown
Mrs Lydia Browne
James Browne
Richard Browne..."
Genealogies, Families, and Descendants of Early Settlers of Watertown MA, Vol I, Genealogies, Henry Bond MD, Boston, Little Brown & Co, 1855
p122: "Richard Browne, son of Thomas and Joan, of Swan Hall, Hawkedon, Co. Suffolk; b about 1575/1576; settled first in London, where he was a ruler in a church of Separatists, and there rendered important services to some of the persecuted Non-conformists. He was one of the first settlers of Watertown, and the first Ruling Elder of the Church. He was one of the first that applied (Oct, 1630) to be admitted freeman, and was admitted 18 May 1631. Towards the end of 1632, he was removed from the office of Ruling Elder, on account of his sentiments, which were too liberal for the ecclesiastical notions then prevalent. There was, however, entire accordance between him and very worth pastor, Rev George Phillips; and such was Mr. Browne's influence, that Hubbard says, he 'was thoughtsometimes to overrule the Church.'"
ANCESTRAL FILE
Ancestral File Ver 4.13 P3ND-FV Born 1575/1576 Swan Hall Hawkedon Suffolk England Mar Edith (AFN:P3ND-DP) Died 1660 Charlestown Middlesex MA, 9ND1-PN Born 1575/1576 Hawkedon Suffolk England Mar Elizabeth (AFN:HMW5-VR) Died Prob Hawkedon Suffolk England, P6SS-T7 Born Abt 1575, and 84TP-KX Born Abt 1598 ?Wales.
Events:
1. Immigration; 8 Apr 1630, Yarmouth, Isle Of Wight, England. Winthrop Fleet. Arrived 13 Jun 1630, Salem, MA.
Marriage Information:
Richard married Edith.
Marriage Information:
Richard also married Elizabeth in Hawkedon, Suffolk, England.
Marriage Information:
Richard also married Ann BOWEN
General Notes for Child Richard BROWN
There is a questionmark found after his name; don't know its source.
General Notes for Child George BROWN
There's a questionmark after his name. I don't know its source.
Husband George BROWN
Born: 1586
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Father: Edmund BROWN (Abt 1547-1638)
Mother: Mary CRAMPHORNE (1562- )
Wife
Born:
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Children
General Notes (Husband)
There's a questionmark after his name. I don't know its source.
Husband
Born:
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Wife Hannah BROWN
Born:
Christened: 25 Aug 1622 - Childerditch, Essex, England
Died:
Buried: 10 Oct 1628 - South Weald, Essex, England
Father: Abraham BROWN (Bef 1588-1650)
Mother: Joan SHELTON ( -1628)
Children