Brown Surname

This Brown family has an unknown origin. The earliest members of the family were living in Kentucky in the late 1700s. More research is needed.

This Brown family settled in what is now Garrard County, Kentucky during the 1780s. The family came from somewhere in Virginia or Maryland, but we have so far been unable to connect them to earlier generations. Based on many different clues, we know that they were somehow related to the "B Browns of Brown's Cove" (i.e. the family of Benjamin Brown (c. 1695-1762) who lived in Hanover county, Virginia settled at Brown's Cove in Albemarle County, Virginia). In addition to that connection, there are various clues that suggest that the Browns of Garrard County might have come from northern Virginia (general area of Fairfax, Loudoun, Fauquier and Prince William Counties).

Frederick Brown was on October 29, 1753 ⁴, probably in Virginia or Maryland. He died on January 19, 1829 ⁴ in Madison Twp., Clark Co., Ohio. He is buried in the Greenlawn Cemetery, South Charleston, Clark Co., Ohio.

Frederick's origins are unknown. He was probably born in Virginia, yet some clues suggest he or his family might have originally been from Maryland. Frederick was probably related to other Browns that lived in Garrard County, Kentucky but we have so far been unable to connect any of these families. Details on many of these other Browns are listed at the bottom of this page. My guess is that Frederick was related to Absolem Brown (c. 1740-1830), Joseph Brown (c. 1740s-1820), and Benjamin Brown (c. 1740s-c. 1805).

Frederick probably married somewhere in Virginia in the 1770s, yet the name of his wife is unknown. Frederick is also said to have served in the American Revolution, yet no record has so far been located to corroborate his war service. Sometime before 1787, Frederick moved out west to Kentucky. He settled in a part of Madison County, Kentucky that became Garrard County in 1797. There he lived on a 127-acre farm on Gilberts Creek and Sugar Creek (rural area east of Lancaster), which he had acquired sometime by 1794. Frederick lived on land adjoining William Jennings. In 1796, he was also described as owning 200 acres of land in Clark County, Kentucky; and from 1801 to 1803, he was described as owning 100 acres of land in Montgomery County, Kentucky (Montgomery County had been created from Clark County in 1796). There is no evidence that he ever lived in Clark/Montgomery County, and there is also no record of how he acquired that property or when/if he sold it.

Frederick was possibly a blacksmith, in addition to a farmer. In 1827, Frederick mortgaged his property in Garrard County, Kentucky and moved to Clark County, Ohio to live with his son Rowland. Frederick wrote his will in Clark County on January 13, 1829, in which he named his children as: Martha Gibbs, Charles Brown decd., Polly Brown, Susan Martin, Roland Brown, Nancy Martin, and Burrell Brown.

Possible origin?:

Between 1775 and 1784, there was a Frederick Brown documented in Cumberland County, Virginia; part of a family that had settled in that county sometime by 1761. Legal records from that county document that his wife was named Milly, his father was John Brown, Cooper, his mother (or stepmother) was Sarah "Sary" Brown, and other inferred relatives included Benjamin Brown, Joseph Brown, and Davis Brown. In August 1784, that Frederick Brown sold his land in that county and presumably moved away. It is currently unknown what happened to this Frederick Brown after he moved away. Many online family trees incorrectly combine him with other Frederick Browns, including a Frederick Brown (c. 1746-1814) who married Mary Haley and lived in Lunenburg, Halifax, and Pittsylvania Counties, Virginia and Hardin County, Kentucky. During the 1780s, Frederick Brown of Cumberland County and Frederick Brown of Halifax County were the only documented people by that name anywhere in the state of Virginia (according to annual personal property tax lists for each county).

Many online family trees incorrectly identify her as Rachel Pace (1735-1820), daughter of William Pace and Hannah Booten. However that was incorrect. There was a Rachel Pace, but she was married to John Martin and settled in Clark County, Kentucky. Not to mention that she was born too early to have been the wife of Frederick Brown and mother of the below children.

There are as yet no known records that include the name of Frederick Brown's wife. However if her husband was the same Frederick Brown who lived in Cumberland County, Virginia between 1775 and 1784, then her first name was Milly. (Note that this Frederick Brown had one granddaughter named Milly).

1	Martha Brown was born circa 1771-1780 in Virginia. She died after 1829, possibly in Indiana. She married Ezekiel Gibbs on or after October 1, 1792 in Lincoln Co., Kentucky. He was born circa 1764 in South Carolina and died in about 1818 in Garrard Co., Kentucky. They had one known child: Thomas P. Gibbs (1804-1867) md. 1st Margaret Tresner md. 2nd Sarah Ruth Garvin Martha's birth year is unknown. Her father provided his consent to her marriage in 1792, which suggests that she was under 21 and thus born no earlier than October 1771. However I'm guessing that she was considerably younger than that, and possibly born towards the late 1770s. She was named first in her father's will, which suggests she was the oldest child. Martha's husband Ezekiel Gibbs had died by May 1818, when Jeremiah Gibbs (probably his brother) was appointed as the administrator of his estate. Since she was not described as deceased in her father's 1829 will, she was probably still alive. Her son Thomas Gibbs was living in Garrard County, Kentucky until 1829, but then moved away by 1830, before eventually moving to Putnam County, Indiana before 1836. Perhaps Martha moved with him there and probably died before 1840. She probably died before 1831, when she did not participate with the rest of her siblings in the sale of their father's property. Ezekiel Gibbs was the probable brother of Jeremiah Gibbs, who married Barbara Brown (daughter of Joseph and Mary Brown - see below). Ezekiel and Jeremiah were likely brothers, or uncles, of Susannah Gibbs who was married to Bazaleel Brown (another child of Joseph and Mary Brown).
2	Charles Brown was born circa 1782 in Virginia. He died before October 1817 in Garrard Co., Kentucky. He married Margaret "Peggy" Harris on February 1, 1809 in Garrard Co., Kentucky. She was born circa 1795 in Surry Co., North Carolina and died circa 1869, possibly in Clinton Co., Missouri. They had two children: Aristippus Brown (c. 1810-aft. 1880) md. Elizabeth Crawford Arathusa Brown (1811-1860) md. James Duncan Watkins In March 1810, Charles and his wife participated in the sale of the estate of his wife's father, Robert Harris. Charles probably died before October 1817, when Margaret Brown (his widow) remarried to William R. Powe. In February 1818, his father Frederick was appointed guardian of his two orphaned children ("Arathusa" and "Artippus"). In reality though, the children likely lived with their mother and stepfather and moved with them to Missouri in about 1825. In October 1827, William R. Powe* was the guardian of Arathusa when she married in Clay County, Missouri. * William R. Powe was married to Margaret Brown in October 1817 in Garrard Co., Kentucky, with Frederick Brown acting as bondsman (this has led many people to assume that Frederick was her father, but she was not named in his will). They moved west to Missouri in about 1825 (where they lived in the same county as Charles Brown's sisters Susannah Martin and Nancy Martin). The theory that Peggy Harris Brown was the same person as Margaret Brown Powe makes sense because Margaret Brown Powe was listed as being born in North Carolina (and none of the Brown family lived there), because she was not acknowledged in Frederick Brown's will, and because Charles Brown's two children Aristippus and Arathusa both moved west to Missouri with the Powe family.
3	Polly Brown was born circa 1780s. She died after 1831, probably in Garrard Co., Kentucky. Polly never married. Family history is that she remained behind in Kentucky after her father and all of her siblings moved away. She was possibly the "Polly Brown" enumerated in Garrard County in the 1830 census (however it's more likely that that person was the widow of Joseph Brown who had died in 1820, see below). Polly's name appeared in an 1831 record concerning her father's estate. Some family history claim that she confessed on her death bed to murdering her sister Fanny in 1820.
4	Susannah Brown
5	Rowland Brown was born on or about May 3, 1791 3 in Madison (now Garrard) Co., Kentucky. He died on November 12, 1850 3 in Platte Co., Missouri. He is buried in the Noland Cemetery, Weatherby Lake, Platte Co., Missouri. He married Phebe V. Grisson on June 13, 1810 in Garrard Co., Kentucky. She was born circa 1785 in Virginia and died sometime between 1860 and 1870 in Platte Co., Missouri. They had the following known children: Anchises G. Brown (c. 1811-1869) md. Ruth Ann Simpkins William Harrison Brown (c. 1813-1849) md. Sarah Plaist Milton Brown (1815-1904) md. Christina Ferres Frances Brown (1819-1891) md. Robert Robinson America Brown (c. 1825-1846) md. Elsberry Martin Emily Brown (c. 1828-aft. 1860) md. James Hartley Roland Brown (c. 1831-aft 1850) His name was usually spelled Roland or Rowland in contemporary records. After his marriage, he lived with his family in Knox County, Kentucky. While there, he served in the War of 1812. He was issued a license in 1814 in Barbourville, Kentucky. In 1818, he was a security for the Sheriff of Knox County. Sometime during the 1820s, he moved with his family to Clark County, Ohio, where they lived for about 15 years. There, they lived near South Charleston in Madison Township. Eventually, Roland decided to move out west to Missouri where several of his siblings were already living. Sometime during the early 1840s, he moved with his family to Platte County, Missouri, where they settled in Pettis Township. Roland is referred to in records as a lawyer, a judge and a captain; although it is acknowledged that he had "little education" 1. When his son-in-law Elsberry Martin died in 1847 and his son William Harrison Brown died in 1849, he served as administrator of both estates. He had not closed both estates by the time he died in 1850. His son Anchises Brown then served as administrator of all three.
6	Nancy Brown was born circa 1793 in Madison (now Garrard) Co., Kentucky. She died sometime between 1837 and 1840, probably in Platte Co., Missouri. She married Joseph Martin on September 8, 1810 in Garrard Co., Kentucky. He was born circa 1787 in North Carolina and died before August 9, 1852 in Platte Co., Missouri. They had the following children: Brightberry Martin (1811-1890) md. Elizabeth Willis Greenberry T. Martin (1813-1858) md. Elizabeth Bones Sarah Martin (c. 1816-1884) md. 1st Jonas Sutton md. 2nd Thomas Harrington Elsberry Martin (1820-1847) md. America Brown Franklin Martin (1824-1882) md. Anna May Burnett Malinda Martin (c. 1824-1850s) md. Robert C. C. Gray Rhoda Green Martin (1827-1861) md. Franklin Young Flannery Elizabeth Ann Martin (1829-1887) md. Alvin A. Ross Isaac Martin (c. 1833-aft. 1880) md. Jane Bell Amanda Martin (c. 1835-1850s) Stephen Martin (c. 1840-aft. 1863) After their marriage, Joseph and Nancy lived in Knox County, Kentucky. They moved out west to Missouri in the 1810s with Joseph's brothers Isaac and Zadock. They settled in what is now Clay County, Missouri. In November 1837, they moved to nearby Platte County, Missouri, where Nancy died soon after. One source provides her birthdate as May 1781 and her marriage in 1800. Since the marriage year was 10 years off, perhaps the birth year was as well and perhaps she was the twin of Roland Brown.
7	Burwell L. Brown was born circa 1797 in Garrard Co., Kentucky. He died after 1831. He married Mary Holcombe on July 24, 1824 in Garrard Co., Kentucky. It is not known if they had any children. Burwell was a blacksmith. In January 1822 while living in Garrard County, he mortgaged some of his personal property, including his blacksmith tools, to his father. In October 1828, he enlisted in the military at Newport (Virginia?). In October 1829, he was discharged at "Cant Leavenworth" [Cantonment Leavenworth, renamed Fort Leavenworth in 1832]. This suggests that he might have moved out west with his sisters Susannah and Nancy, who were both in northwest Missouri near Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Burwell was alive in 1831 when he was named in a record about his father's estate, although it did not indicate where he was living.
8	Frances Clara Brown was born circa 1802 in Garrard Co., Kentucky. She died circa 1820 in Garrard Co., Kentucky. There is a lot of mystery surrounding her, but most sources agree that she was murdered (beheaded) on her father's property in late 1820. Some stories claim that she was 18 and unmarried, while others suggest that she was much older and was married to James Clark. Several slaves were tried and executed for her murder, but the inference is that the real perpetrator of the crime was never found. There are legends that she was murdered by her sister Polly Brown, who apparently confessed to the crime on her deathbed.

Susannah Brown was born in the 1780s in Virginia. She died after 1862.

Father: Frederick Brown
Mother: Unknown

The 1850 census provides Susannah's age as 68, which would indicate she was born in 1781 or 1782 (assuming the census record was accurate). The 1810 census records her age as between 16 and 26, suggesting she was born between 1784 and 1794. Her husband was born in 1789 (although is entirely possible that she was at least 8 years older than her husband, it is more likely that she was closer to his age.) Because sources are consistent that she was born in Virginia, she must have been born before 1787, when her father was already living in Kentucky.

Susannah was born in Virginia, at an unknown location. She was a young child when she moved with her family to Kentucky. They settled near Lancaster in what is now Garrard County. Susannah was married to Zadock Martin on August 13, 1807 in Knox County, Kentucky. At the time of the marriage, Zadock was 18 years old. Susannah was at least two years older, probably more. After the marriage, Zadock and Susannah lived together in Knox County, Kentucky; where they began to raise a family. Susannah had 9 children: Green, Hardin, Franklin, Gill, William, Millicent, James, Josephine and Elizabeth.

In about 1816, Susannah moved with her family out west to what is now Clay County, Missouri. They remained there for several years until about 1828, when they moved to what is now Platte County, Missouri. There, her husband operated ferries over nearby rivers. The family also farmed and operated mills, and a tavern and a hotel out of their home. In 1846, the family moved out west once again and traversed the Oregon Trail. The family settled in rural Yamhill County, Oregon. Susannah was living there when Zadock died suddenly in 1849. Afterwards, Susannah lived with her son Hardin and his wife in Yamhill County. In 1856, Hardin and his wife sold their land and moved to California. Susannah probably remained behind at that time, and probably lived with her son Franklin, also in Yamhill County.

In October 1858, she was listed as a resident of Yamhill County, Oregon, when she was named as the legal heir of her deceased grandson William Martin who died in Douglas County, Oregon. Susannah was also listed on tax lists for Yamhill County in 1857 and 1859. Then in April 1862 she was alive and described as "old and forgetful" in a record about her son Franklin's estate. She was probably living with her son Franklin when he died in July 1860. This might explain why neither she or her son's widow Lucretia Martin (both of whom were still alive) have been located in the 1860 census enumeration a few months later. Susannah was not found buried in her family's burial plot in McMinnville, Oregon; which would have been likely if she died in that area. My guess is that after her son Franklin died in 1860, she left to live with one of her other children. At that time, her daughter Elizabeth was closest in St. Helens, Oregon (and during the 1860s also lived in Vancouver, WA; The Dalles, Oregon; and Boise, Idaho); her son William was in Roseburg, Oregon (and during the 1860s also lived in Myrtle Creek, Oregon and Galesville, Oregon); her son Hardin moved frequently and during the 1860s was in California, Yamhill Co., Oregon, Washington Co., Oregon, and possibly in Idaho and Washington; her son Green was in California; and her daughter Milly was in Missouri. It might be wise to check newspapers and cemeteries in those other areas see if there is evidence of Susannah moving to or dying in one of those locations. She had most likely died prior to 1870.

Susannah used the pet name "Sooky" or "Sukey". Her name was sometimes also shortened to Susan. She was described as "a quiet, domestic lady" ⁵

For information on their children, see his page.

Unknown Connections

The below Brown families all lived in Garrard County, Kentucky during the same time as Frederick Brown and must have been related in some way, especially considering the frequent sources connecting them. My guess is that Frederick Brown (died 1829), Absolem Brown (died 1830), Joseph Brown (died 1820) and Benjamin Brown (died c. 1805) were likely brothers - or otherwise close relatives.

Joseph Brown was born circa 1740s, possibly in Virginia. He died before October 1820 in Garrard Co., Kentucky.

He married Mary circa 1760s. She died after 1815, probably in Garrard Co., Kentucky.

They had the following children:

Jerusha Brown (c. 1767-aft. 1824) md. William Powe

Beverly Brown (1769-1857) md. 1st Margaret "Peggy" Adams md. 2nd Fanny Fletcher

Barbara "Barbary" Brown (c. 1772-aft. 1818) md. Jeremiah Gibbs

Bazaleel Brown (c. 1776-c. 1828) md. Susannah Gibbs

Joseph Brown moved to what is now Garrard County, Kentucky sometime before 1787. He lived on Sugar Creek in Garrard County. Joseph wrote his will on January 10, 1815, in which he described his wife Mary, his son Beverly Brown, his son Bezaliel Brown, his daughter Jerusha Poe, his daughter Barbary Gibbs and his grandson Elisha Brown. He will was proven in October 1820. His wife Mary was probably still alive in July 1826, when a deed from her son Beverly Brown to A.J. (Arabia J.) Brown described that a "Mary Brown" was then living on the property.

Absolem Brown was born circa 1740, probably in Virginia. He died before December 31, 1830 in Garrard Co., Kentucky.

He married Anna (maiden name possibly Willis). She died after 1824.

They definitely had these children:

Benajah Brown (???-c. 1806/1807) md. Judith "Judy" Brown in 1791 Benajah's wife Judith was the daughter of Benjamin Brown of Garrard County (see below). In a 1785 court record, Benajah was described as the son of Absolem. In October 1808, Benajah's son Nathan Brown was "bound out" to Absolem Brown.

Anna Brown (c. 1776-aft. 1833) md. Thomas Routon in 1796

Lucy Brown (c. 1782-1860) md. Francis Sasseen in 1800

Absolem Brown Jr. md. 1st Cile Kyler in 1800 md. 2nd ??? in 1818

They possibly had these children:

Elizabeth Brown (c. 1765-1850) md. John Arnold in 1787 Elizabeth Brown's identity is not proven, but the names of some of her children (Absolem, Lucy, Willis and Anna) likely tie her to this family. In 1828, Absolem Brown deeded land to John Arnold (her husband).

Matthew Brown (1770s-c. 1841) md. Sarah Simpson in 1792

Willis Brown Many online family trees describe a son named Willis, yet I have not been able to find any contemporary record identifying any Willis Brown in Garrard County with any connections to any of the people on this page. There was a Willis Brown in neighboring Lincoln County, yet he was apparently unrelated.

at least one more (perhaps William Brown?)

Absolem Brown was a Revolutionary War veteran, probably the private who served in the 11th Virginia Regiment. He was issued a grant for 359 acres in Lincoln County, Kentucky in 1784, but might not have moved there at that time. In 1787, he was living in the part of the Madison County, Kentucky, that became Garrard County. Absolem wrote his will on December 22, 1824, in which he only named his wife Anne and his daughter Lucy Sasseen. He described seven other children, but did not name them - although he did name his son-in-law as Thomas Routon.

Benjamin Brown was born at an unknown date (circa late 1740s) and died circa 1804/1805 in Garrard Co., Kentucky.

He married unknown. (Many family trees provide her name as Elizabeth Ross, yet the marriage between Benjamin Brown and Elizabeth Ross was in 1785, which was after all of Benjamin's known children were born. Perhaps Benjamin's first wife had died and he remarried to Elizabeth Ross - thus she would have been the stepmother to the below children.)

He definitely had these children:

Judith "Judy" Brown (c. 1774-aft. 1820) md. Benajah Brown in 1791

Lucy Brown (c. 1775-aft. 1792) md. James Haggard in 1792

Benjamin Brown Jr. (1778-1860) md. Mary "Polly" Powe in 1800

Peyton Brown (1780-1835) md. Betsy Slatten in 1805 In March 1802, Benjamin Brown Sr. deeded land to both Benjamin Brown Jr. and Peyton Brown and the assumption is that they were both his sons. In 1808, Peyton sold his land in Garrard County and moved away. He lived in Casey County, Kentucky and then Adair County, Kentucky before moving to Morgan County, Illinois before 1830.

He possibly had these children:

Bartlett Brown (1760s-1846) md. Ann Bryant in 1789 Bartlett lived in what is now Garrard County, Kentucky between at least 1789 and 1810. He was one of the sureties to the marriage of Jerusha Brown (daughter of Joseph and Mary) in 1789. His relationship to other Browns is unknown, but it is inferred he was from this family because 1) he married Ann Bryant, the sister of John Bryant who married Sarah Brown and 2) because he settled in Ripley Co., Indiana, where Benjamin Brown Jr. also settled (they were neighbors in 1820).

Sarah "Sally" Brown (c. 1770-1846) md. John Bryant in 1788

Benjamin had settled in what is now Garrard County, Kentucky by 1787. Benjamin was living in what is now Garrard County, Kentucky in 1791 and 1792, when he provided his consent for the marriages of his daughters Judith and Lucy. In March 1802, he deeded adjoining land to Benjamin Brown Jr. and Peyton Brown, and the assumption is that they were his sons. (At the same time, he also deeded part of the same tract of land to a Samuel Whitney. Was Samuel somehow related? His wife was named Lydia.) Some family trees indicate that Sarah Brown Bryant was his daughter, yet I'm not aware of proof of that connection.

Note that many online family trees provide both him and his son Benjamin with the middle name Davidson. Although he did have a grandson named Benjamin Davidson Brown, there is no known contemporary record that provides any middle initial or name for Benjamin Brown or his son Benjamin Brown Jr.

Thomas Brown was an early resident of Garrard County, Kentucky. He was married to "Annie" (also listed as "An", "Ankey" and "Aisley") Harris in 1807. Annie was the sister of Margaret Harris (who married Charles Brown, son of Frederick Brown) and also Sally Harris (who married William Powe, son of Jerusha Brown Powe). There was also a Thomas Brown who married Caty Adams, yet that was a different person. Interestingly though, that Caty Adams was the sister of Margaret Adams who married Beverly Brown (son of Joseph and Mary, above).

Elizabeth "Betty" Brown (c. 1770-1837) was also an early resident of Garrard County, Kentucky. She married Ozias Jennings in 1792; Joseph Brown was one of the bondsman. She later settled in Jefferson Co., Indiana (near where Bartlett Brown and Benjamin Brown Jr. settled). She was probably the "Elizabeth Jennings" described as a daughter of John Brown of Garrard County, Kentucky in his will of December 10, 1802. Other family members of John were his wife Margaret, and other children David Brown, William Brown, John Brown, Jean Riggs, Mary Pheris, Maigret Marett, Joseph Brown, Robert Brown and Charles Brown.

Arabia Jackson Brown (1755-1844) was also one of the early settlers of Garrard County, Kentucky. He married Elizabeth Dooley and had a large family of children. Although they lived in the same part of Garrard County and often had legal or land dealings with other Browns, there are no other clues that he had any familial relationship to any of the above Browns, it might just be a coincidence that they had the same common last name.

Other Related Families

The Browns of Garrard County, Kentucky were likely related to other families that they frequently intermarried with and/or had legal dealings with. These other families might hold some clues to the origins of the Browns.

"B" Browns of Brown's Cove

As stated in the intro of this page above, our Brown family was probably related in some way to the "B" Browns of Brown's Cove. Specifically, this was Benjamin Brown (c. 1695-1762) who lived in Hanover County before settling at Brown's Cove in Albemarle County in the early 1750s. He married twice and his children were named: Bartlett, William, Elizabeth, Lucinda, Agnes, Benjamin, Lucretia, Benajah, Bernard, Bernis, Barzillai, Bazaleel, and Brightberry.

The primary reason for assuming the connection is the use of some of these peculiar names between the multiple families, notably: Bazaleel, Benajah, Bartlett and Brightberry (as well as the more common "Benjamin" and some other random "B" names that show up in our family: Beverly, Barbara and Burwell). In addition, some of our Garrard County Browns were related to this family through a maternal line. Specifically Benjamin Brown Sr.'s daughter Lucretia Brown who married Robert Harris. Several of her children moved to Garrard County, Kentucky and three of her grandchildren married into the Brown family: Margaret "Peggy" Harris married Charles Brown (son of Frederick Brown), Sarah "Sally" Harris married William Powe (son of Jerusha Brown Powe), and "Ankey" Harris married Thomas Brown (not yet identified). Was it just a coincidence that Lucretia Harris' descendants married into "our" Brown line? Or were they following a tradition of marrying into the same families?

It seems that many researchers in the past have also come to the same conclusions, as there are various family trees that identify the Garrard County Brown family progenitors (Frederick, Absolem, Joseph and Benjamin) as being grandchildren of Benjamin Brown Sr. (c. 1695-1762), variously through his sons Bartlett, William or Benjamin Jr. Unfortunately the family of Benjamin Brown Sr. is well documented and none of our Browns were his direct descendants. In addition, there is zero evidence of our Browns in Albemarle County, Virginia during the time that Benjamin Brown Sr.'s family was living there. Instead, my guess is that we were less closely related to them. Perhaps Benjamin Brown Sr. had brother(s) or cousin(s) that we descend from?

Harris

Robert Harris was one of the earlier settlers of Garrard County, Kentucky, where he died in about 1804. Three of his children married into the extended Brown family: daughter "Ankey" married Thomas Brown (identity unknown), daughter Peggy married Charles Brown (son of Frederick) and daughter Sally married William Powe (son of Jerusha Brown Powe). Robert had previously lived in Surry County, North Carolina before moving to Kentucky. He was the son of Robert Harris Sr. and Lucretia Brown. Lucretia was a documented member of the "B Brown" family of Brown's Cove in Albemarle County, Virginia. She was the daughter of Benjamin Brown Sr. who died there in 1762.

Adams

Feathergail/Feathergill Adams was one of the original settlers of Garrard County, Kentucky. Two of his children married into the extended Brown family: daughter Margaret married Beverly Brown (son of Joseph and Mary) and daughter Catherine "Caty" married Thomas Brown (identity unknown). Feathergill's father and brother were both named Absolem (the same unusual name of Absolem Brown). Within the Adams family, there was also an Absolem B. Adams (perhaps Absolem Brown Adams?) The Adams family was originally from Fauquier County, Virginia; they apparently lived briefly in Culpeper, then Montgomery and then Russell Counties, Virginia before moving to Kentucky by 1789.

Powe

There was a Powe family that was among the early settlers of Garrard County, Kentucky; several of them married into the Brown family: William Powe married Jerusha Brown (daughter of Joseph) in 1789; Polly Powe married Benjamin Brown Jr. in 1800; and William R. Powe married Margaret Harris Brown (widow of Charles Brown) in 1817. There were later connections as well, including the marriage of William Powe to Sally Harris (related to the Browns) and Rice Powe to Harriet Brown (This William and Rice were sons of William Powe and Jerusha Brown).

Gibbs

There was a Gibbs family that was among the early settlers of Garrard County, Kentucky. Three of them married into the Brown family: Ezekiel Gibbs married Martha Brown (daughter of Frederick), Jeremiah Gibbs married Barbary Brown (daughter of Joseph) and Susannah Gibbs married Bazaleel Brown (son of Joseph). In 1792, Jeremiah and Ezekiel were both witnesses to the marriage bond between Matthew Brown (son of Absolem) and Sarah Simpson. In 1791, Jeremiah Gibbs was a witness to the marriage bond between Benajah Brown (probable son of Absolem) and Judy Brown (daughter of Benjamin). In 1789, Jeremiah Gibbs was a bondsman for the marriage between Jerusha Brown (daughter of Joseph) and William Powe.

Various sources seem to confirm that the Gibbs family lived in South Carolina before moving to Kentucky; so they probably had no earlier connection to the Browns. (Although some of the Browns of Brown's Cove did move to South Carolina).

Jennings

William Jennings was an early settler of Garrard County, Kentucky. There, he was the neighbor of Frederick Brown. They lived on adjoining farms and often had legal/land dealings with each other. In 1815, Frederick's grandson William Jennings Martin was named in his honor. Were they just honoring a friend/neighbor? Or was the family actually related? William Jennings' family originally lived in Fauquier County, Virginia before moving to Kentucky.

In Garrard County, there was an Elizabeth Brown who married an Ozias Jennings in 1792 (see above). Yet that Elizabeth was probably the daughter of John Brown (died circa 1802) and his wife Margaret who we had no known connection to. In addition, when Lucy Brown (daughter of Absolem) married Francis Sasseen in 1800, Augustine Jennings served as one of the bondsmen. The "Browns of Brown's Cove" family also had connections to a Jennings family. Many family trees indicate that Benjamin Sr.'s son William Brown married to a Sarah Jennings. There have also been myths that Benjamin Sr.'s second wife was also descended from a Jennings family, yet that seems to have been debunked.

1. Paxton, W. M. Annals of Platte County, Missouri. Hudson Kimberly Publishing Co., 1897.
2. History of Clay and Platte Counties, Missouri. National Historical Co., St. Louis, MO, 1885.
3. Tombstone inscriptions, Noland Cemetery, Platte Co., Missouri.
4. Tombstone inscriptions, Greenlawn Cemetery, South Charleston, Clark Co., Ohio
5. Newspaper article, Liberty Tribune [Liberty, MO], Apr. 7, 1876, Pg. 1