BROWN GENEALOGY
Compiled by Glenn Gohr
Brown is my wife Marion's maiden name, and at this point in my research I can only go back 5 generations to my wife's great-great-grandfather Brown who lived in Washington County, Tennessee. There are still a number of Brown relatives living in that area, and I have only just recently (2003) made contact with two cousins who are interested in family research. They are Bill Dunn and Dorothy Brenner. These two cousins were able to help me take the Brown lineage back one generation further than William B. Brown (the common ancestor of Bill, Dorothy, and Marion and who is the namesake for Marion's father) to John Brown and wife Nancy "Annie" Ford.
I have tried searching in Washington Co., TN and checking the Tennessee Census index books for 1850 and 1860, but cannot locate William B. Brown or his family. One tradition says he was originally from North Carolina and was called "Fox Hunting" William Brown. Some of the Brown descendants in East Tennessee still today are active in the tradition of fox hunting. Cousin Allen Brown of Greeneville, Tennessee, is one who still does fox hunting. This is an interesting pastime which I would like to witness someday.
I have been placing updated information on the BROWN Genealogy from Washington Co., Tennessee on the WorldConnect site with Rootsweb. It includes the basic information on every family member traced (except I have omitted birth and marriage dates on living family members, for privacy reasons.). The Brown Genealogy from Washington Co., Tennessee database on WorldConnect can be accessed at: http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=g-brown
Here is my wife's BROWN lineage as far as can be proven:
- John Brown, b. abt. 1835, d. TN; md. Nancy "Annie" Ford, b. abt. 1835, d. TN
- William B. BROWN, b. 28 Oct. 1858 North Carolina, d. 21 Jan. 1935 Roane Co., TN; md. 18 Feb. 1883 in Greene Co., TN to Richard Ella "Ellen" MURDOCH (In one place I found her name listed as Louella), b. 21 June 1864 North Carolina, d. 12 March 1937 Roane Co., TN
- Walter P. BROWN, b. 9 July 1903 Greenville, Greene Co., TN, d. 1 Nov. 1955 Home Gardens, Riverside Co., CA; md. 12 July 1927 at Riverside, Riverside Co., CA to Mary Marie STUMPF, b. 8 June 1907 at sea (Atlantic Ocean), d. 7 June 1975 San Bernardino, San Bernardino Co., CA *These are my wife's grandparents.
I am also trying to track down any information regarding a Bond V. BROWN who lived in Caswell County, North Carolina and was married first to Susannah KERNS, b. ca. 1780 TN, d. aft. 1850 McNairy Co., TN. Bond V. BROWN were married in about 1795 in Caswell County, and then divorced around 1800. She later married Joshua PYRON. (See Glenn's PYRON GENEALOGY for more information on this line.)
Another Brown connection that I am trying to trace down is Nancy BROWN who married Simon BRIGHT. Simon was born in Virginia, and died 28 Nov. 1835 Chatham Co., NC. He married 1st in Virginia--unknown (mother of daughter Patsy who is my ancestor). He married 2nd, Nancy BROWN. I know very little about Nancy Brown. I'd like to know more about Simon and his two wives. (See Glenn's BRIGHT GENEALOGY for more information on this line.)
If you have queries concerning the BROWN surname, you may post these at the Brown Family Genealogy List, which is a part of the Rootsweb e-mail discussion lists. It offers free queries and discussion on the Brown surname and some variant spellings.
To subscribe, send an e-mail to: BROWN-L-request@rootsweb.com
Leave subject line blank (This will be ignored).
In the body of the message type: subscribe
Then a welcome message will be sent telling how to post messages. Once you are subscribed, you may send a query to everyone on the list by sending e-mail to: BROWN-L@rootsweb.com
There are several Message Boards on Rootsweb which are set up for the BROWN surname. These boards are for posting information in the following categories: BIBLE, BIOGRAPHY, BIRTH, CEMETERY, CENSUS, DEATH, DEED, IMMIGRATION, LOOKUP, MARRIAGE, MILITARY, OBITUARY, PENSION, QUERIES, and WILLS. The search perameters and drop down screen on the main page allow you to do a key word search or to view all postings according to one of the above categories. Click on the icon below to access the Brown Message Boards.
Post a query (or information from any one of the above categories) on any BROWN name or related family. Please give dates, and locations they lived. Try to give as much information as possible.
An online genealogy forum for posting queries has also been set up specifically for the BROWN family. It can be found at the following address:
***Note***During the Fall of 1998, GenForum combined with Family Tree Maker, which means that all queries and information posted to that site becomes the property of Family Tree Maker. This is still a good site to look up information and get contact names for the BROWN lines you are searching, but be advised that if you now post a new query or a response to something on that site, chances are that sometime in the future Family Tree Maker will include that information on a CD-ROM which they will sell for profit to anyone who is interested. I do not like the idea of someone else using my hard researched information and ideas and selling them for a profit without my knowledge. This same practice is evident on all of the Family Tree Maker pages which are found on the internet, if you will read the disclaimer notices on those pages. I recommend the Family Tree Maker pages as good look up pages, but I don't recommend posting information there. Similar things can be said for Ancestry.com and MyFamily.com which are connected to each other and seek to make a profit from genealogical materials on the internet.
Copyright (c) 1998-2003.
Last updated January 1, 2003.
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