Abraham Browne (bef. 1588 - bef. 1648)

Born before 22 Oct 1588 in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Joan (Shelton) Browne — married 21 Sep 1619 in South Weald, Essex, England

Husband of Lydia (Unknown) Hodges — married about 1629 in England

Descendants

Died before 4 Dec 1648 at about age 60 in Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Puritan Great Migration Project WikiTree [send private message] and Mark Swarthout [send private message]

Abraham Browne migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See Great Migration Begins, by R. C. Anderson, Vol. 1, p. 244) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

Abraham Browne was baptized on October 22, 1588 at Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, England, the son of Edmund Browne and Mary Cramphorne ^[1][2]

He was brother of John Brown of Watertown, Edmund Brown of Boston, and Hannah (Brown) Ines, almost certainly wife of Matthew Ines. There was a brother Richard, but he was clearly not the immigrant to Watertown. ^{[1] [3]}

He married first, Joan Shelton in South Weald, Essex, on September 21, 1619. His wife Joan died at South Weald in September, 1628 and was buried there on September 27. ^[1]

He married again, in England, about 1629, a woman named Lydia ___. ^[1]

The Brownes then moved from Childerditch, Essex, to New England and arrived in Watertown, Massachusetts in 1631, where Abraham was a surveyor.

Abraham was made a freeman in 1632. He was a grantee of 12 lots in Watertown and purchased 4 more. Abraham and Lydia had four children born in Watertown.

Abraham died in Watertown between March 26, 1645 when his land was 'bounded'^[1] and 4 December 1648 when the "widow Browne" is referred to in the town meeting.^[4]

His will and the inventory of his estate were presented at Middlesex County Court on October first, 1650. ^[3] For some reason, his estate wasn’t settled until 1691.

After Abraham’s death, his widow Lydia married Andrew Hodges in Ipswich, Massachusetts as his second wife on November 27, 1659. ^[1]

Lydia died at Watertown on September 27, 1686. ^{[1] [5]}

Children

by Joan

1. Sarah, baptized Childerditch, Essex on July 30, 1620; died probably shortly after the birth of her last child, c 1649, named in her father's will; married Watertown, Massachusetts on December 16, 1643 (WVR 1:10) George Parkhurst who was baptized at St, Margaret, Ipswich, Co. Suffolk, England June 5, 1621 (Register 27[1873):364); died Watertown 16 March 1698/9, aged 81 years (WVR 2:13), son of George and Phebe (Leet) Parkhhust. George married second Mary Veasey on September 24, 1650 at Watertown. (WVR 1:15) ^[1]
2. Hannah, baptized Childerditch, Essex on August 25, 1622; buried South Weald, Essex on October 10, 1628 "Abraham Browne a child buried." ^[1]
3. Mary, baptized at Childerditch, Essex on February 8, 1623/4; died before January 22, 1693/4 when her sons' heirs were entitled to a share of her father Abraham's estate and she is not mentioned (Middlesex Probate #2941); married first John Lewis, as his second wife. at Malden, Massachusetts on April 10, 1650 [10 2mo 1650] (MVR, 260); John Lewis, died at Malden in September, 1657 [7mo 1657] ~MVR, 358); and Mary married second c 1663 , John Cutler as his second wife. He was born England say 1625, died 1678 of smallpox (Nahum S. Cutler, Cutler Memorial [Greenfield, Mass., 1889], 318), son of John 1 and Mary ( ) Cutler. John Cutler was declared insane and a guardianship was established for him in 1663, at which time he was married, presumably to Mary (Browne) Lewis, although her name is never given. The guardianship made specific mention of property in Malden to be security for his wife's children, i.e., second wife (Middlesex County Court 1:300). ^[1]

by Lydia

1. Lydia, born at Watertown, Massachusetts on March 22, 1631/2 (WVR 1:3); died at Groton, Massachusetts between January 22, 1693/4 when she received a portion of the division of her father's estate (Middlesex Probate #2941) and 1707 when she did not figure in the administration of her husband's estate (Middlesex Probate #13501); married Reading, Massachusetts by 1649 William Lakin who was born about 1624 (deposed age 70 in 1694 Middlesex Inferior Court) and died on Groton 22 February 22, 1700(/1] (GVR, 238 & Middlesex Probate #13501). ^[1]
2. Jonathan born at Watertown on October 15, 1635 [15 8mo 1635] (WVR 1:4); died at Watertown between February 19, 1690/1 when he wrote his will and April 1, 1691 when his estate was inventoried (Middlesex Probate #3080); married Mary Shattuck at Watertown on February 11, 1662 [ 1 12mo 1661/2] (WVR 1:23) who was born at Watertown on August 25, 1645 [25 6mo 1645] (WVR 1:11) daughter of William and Susannah Shattuck, and died at Waltham, Massachusetts on October 23, 1732, in her 89th year (gravestone, Grove Hill Cemetery, Waltham).
3. Hannah, born Watertown on March 1, 1639 [1 1 mo1638/9] (calculated from age at burial, vide post); buried Watertown March 1638/9 "14 Daies ould" (WVR 1:6). ^[1]
4. Abraham, born Watertown on March 6, 1639/40 [6 1mo 1639/40] (WVR 1:6); died at Watertown shortly before September 28, 1667 [28 7mo 1667] when an inventory was taken of his estate (Middlesex Probate #2940); married Mary Dix, daughter of Edward and Jane (Dickinson) Dix, at Watertown on February 5, 1663 [5 12mo 1662/3] (WVR 1:24). She married second August or September 1668 Samuel Rice of Sudbury, Massachusetts and died on June 18, 1678 (Bond, 119). On April 1, 1679 the court ordered that "Samuell Rice who married his [Abraham Browne's] widow" was to settle the estate (Pulsifer, 266). ^[1]

Timeline:^[6]

Abraham Brown arrived in New England in 1631, and settled in Watertown, Massachusetts, receiving freeman status 6 Mar 1631/2. He was above the norm in wealth and social standing based on the amount of land he was granted, which suggests he had three servants.^[7]

• Admitted freeman, March 6th, 1631-2.
• He was selectman from 1636 to 1643, inclusive.
• In 1634, he was appointed, in conjunction with Robert Seeley, to survey all the lots that are granted; and they were also appointed conservators of timber trees-none to be cut down without their assent.
• In 1635, he was one of the several freemen appointed to divide every man " his propriety" of meadow and upland that is ploughable, and the rest to lie common.
• In the same year, he was appointed with John Warren, to lay out all highways, and to see that they are repaired. Also, to survey lots granted by the selectmen.
• In 1638, ordered that all lots, both of freemen and foreigners, shall be measured and bounded by Abraham Browne, who shall give a note of each survey to be enrolled in the town books. In the same year, he and Thomas Bartlett were appointed to measure and lay out the remote meadows, according to their best judgments. He was also appointed, with four others, to lay out the farms as they are ordered and they were authorized to include any rock or swamp in any survey, not counting it in number of acres.
• In 1639, the highway from Dorchester Field to the Flats as Abraham Browne laid it out, was confirmed forever. Also, the highway leading from Robert Jennison's to the river, betwixt the lands of John Barnard and Jeremiah Norcross, together with about half an acre of land on the river, for the landing of goods, was ordered to remain forever as laid out by Abraham Browne, Ap. 30, 1630. Also, that when Ah. Brown shall lay out any whole squadron of the great lots, they to whom the land belongs shall make him present pay.
• In 1640, Abraham Browne, ' Surveyor of the ~ was directed to survey the subdivisions of the Hither and Further Plains; and the next year (1641), was directed to do the same. Also, it was ordered that he have 4d. the acre for surveying the two plains and the remote meadows. Also, he was empowered, 1643, to warn trespassers on public timber, and to have one-fourth of the fines.
• Oct. 7, 1641 the General Court appointed him one of the committee for laying out the 1000 acres of land granted to the Artillery Company at its first organization.
• The latest mention of his name in the Town Records, is Nov. 28, 1643, which is the latest previous to the before-mentioned hiatus of four years.
• The Court Records of Middlesex County, show that Oct. 1,1650, his Will and Inventory were accepted at court. "And an order of court, made Oct. 6, 1691, respecting the final settlement of his estate. recites of him as "deceased in the year 1650."

Estate

No original Will of Abraham Browne has been discovered, but in the files of the County Court for 1670, is found the following, which, by the concluding certificate, purports to be a copy of it.

"The last Will and Testament of Abraham Browne, of Watertowne, dec'd being of good and perfect memory 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 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, having each of them one before, as was testified.

The rest of his goods and estate 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 original on file with the Register, at Cambridge, in the County of Midd., in New England, and is a true coppie, being compared and examined by Thomas Danforth, Recorder.""

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, 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 dr. of Abraham Browne Jr., deceased. 3. John Parkhurst, son of one of the daughters of said Abraham Browne Senr. 4. The heirs of (?) Isaac Lewis, deceased, who were children of another dr. 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 Jan. 22, 1693-4. They assigned 2/6 (a double portion) of the estate to the heirs of Jonathan, and the other 4/6 to the other four claimants. At the same 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 of possessions, that, besides a pond of one acre, 11 lots of said were granted to Abraham Browne, the town surveyor, and that previous to 1642, he had purchased 4 other lots, amounting to 39 A., one of which, a 30 A. lot in the Great Dividends had been granted to his kinsman, John Browne. Two of the lots granted to him were homestalls. The first, upon which he probably settled at first, contained 10 A. It was at the east of Mount Auburn. His second homestall of 28 A., to which he is supposed to have removed very early, was bounded on the E. by the way to the Little Plain (now Howard Street); N. by Sudbury Road (now Main Street); S. by the way to Beaver Plains, sometimes called the way betwixt lots (now Pleasant Street); W. by his own land. Two other lots granted to him, one of 10 A. and the other of 6 A., were contiguous to this homestall on the West, and in the schedule of 1642, they were deemed part of the homestall*, which was then enrolled as 40 A. 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, made an Inventory, in 1694 (of lands only), amounting to £187; viz.: homestall 60 A. £100; remote meadow, 10 A., £12; salt marsh, 4 A., £20; farm land, 107 A., £15; lot ~~ Charles River, 10 A., £10.

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 record 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 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 then, 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.

The next lot, adjoining this homestall on the west, was 10 A. granted to Edward. How, whose heirs sold it to Robert Harrington. From him it passed to his son Edward, and probably afterwards to his grandson Edward. The next lot, west of How's was 40 A. granted to Rev. George Phillips, bounded N. by Sudhury Road; S. by the way betwixt lots [Pleasant Street]; W. by the driftway (now Gore Street). This driftway was the boundary between the small lots" and the Beaver Brook plowland. About 1650, the heirs of Mr. Phillips sold this lot to Edward Garfield, by whose family it was held many years. In later times, it has been the well known and elegant residence of Governor Gore, and it is now in the possession of J. S. Copley Greene, Esq.

Research Notes

Disputed Parents:

He was not the son of Thomas Browne and Joan Sayer of Swan Hall. See: Dean Crawford Smith and Melinde Lutz Sanborn, "The Ancestry of Eva Belle Kempton 1878-1908" These parents were incorrectly published by Henry Bond in "Genealogies of the Families & Descendants of the Early Settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts," by Henry Bond, 2nd ed. (1860, reprint 1978), but have been disproven. See elaboration below.

Abraham Browne was the son of Edmund Browne, son of William Browne, born say 1547, buried at Sawbridgeworth, 21 January 1639 (at age 95), and Mary Cramphorne, baptized there 27 September 1562, living in 1607. She was the daughter of William and Jone (Plowe) Cramphorne.

His parents were incorrectly published by Henry Bond.^[8] Robert Charles Anderson called Bond's genealogy incorrect.^[9] In 1996, the correct English origins were published by NEHGS: Dean Crawford Smith and Melinde Lutz Sanborn, "The Ancestry of Eva Belle Kempton 1878-1908" (Boston : New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1996) Part 1 p 180^[10]

Below are some of the original objections put forth by Anderson before Kempton Ancestry published the true origins of this family:

In 1995, Charles Robert Anderson questioned the suggested paternity and origins of Abraham Browne:

"Bond published a pedigree which stated that Abraham, Richard and John Brown of Watertown were all from Hawkedon in Suffolk, that Abraham and Richard were brothers, and that John was their nephew. [Bond 116] The pedigree was researched by Horatio Gates Somerby, arranged by William P. Browne and annotated by Bond himself. In his comments, Bond notes that Abraham might well be a nephew of Richard rather than a brother. [Bond !122]"

"The claimed identification rests on only two records: the 1590 will of Thomas Brown of Hawkedon, naming five sons, including John, Richard and Abraham [Archdeaconry of Sudbury Probate Register 428 Goddard]; and the 11 Oct 1601 baptism at Hawkedon of John Brown, son of John. This latter record connects tenuously with John Brown of Watertown, who was 36 at his death in 1636. [WaVR 4]"

"Beyond this, there is no evidence in favor of the proposed connection, and some against. Nothing in the English records suggests that any of these people were in New England, and nothing in New England record points to Hawkedon. In fact, there is nothing in the New England records to suggest that Richard and Abraham were brothers, and only some very slender evidence of a connection between Abraham and John: in the Watertown land inventories, the record of John Brown's land immediately follows Abraham's (which may or may not be probative), and after John's death Abraham acquired two parcels of his land.

"Richard... his birth no later than about 1590 (and perhaps earlier) and thus on chronological grounds at least he could have been a son of Thomas of Hawkedon. Abraham on the other hand, seems to have been a decade or more younger. His eldest daughter was born about 1627 (or perhaps a year or two earlier) and so Abraham need not have been born before about 1600, which would make him very close in age to John Browne of Watertown. If he was, as claimed, a son of Thomas of Hawkedon, he must have been at least thirty-seven years old at the birth of this first child, and perhaps even into his forties."

"Bond sets forth, and then dismisses, some strong evidence which may point to the correct ancestry of Abraham Brown. On 1 January 1672/3 Jonathan Brown of Watertown "cousin and next heir of Edmund Brown formerly of Boston... deceased" relinquished to Richard Taylor of Boston the reversion of two parcels of land owned by Edmund Brown, who is also referred to as "uncle" of Jonathan Brown. [Bond !122; SLR 8:43] Edmund Browne of Boston (not to be confused with Reverend Edmund Brown of Sudbury) would seem to be a brother of Abraham Brown and this is not reflected in the Hawkedon pedigree.

"Much more research is necessary before anything certain can be said of the origins of Abraham Browne."^[11]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12} Smith, Dean Crawford & Melinde Lutz Sanborn. The Ancestry of Eva Belle Kempton, 1878-1908, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts, 1996, p. 173-186
2. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NKWN-344 : 19 March 2020), Abraham Broune, 1588.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Anderson, Robert C. Abraham Browne in: Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to N.E. 1620-1633, Vols. I-III, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts, 1995, p. 244-6 (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010)
4. ↑ Watertown Records (Fred G. Barker, Watertown, Mass., 1894) Vol 1 Page 16. Original: Book 1, Page 76.
5. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #154228551 No photo or source; presumed burial.
6. ↑ Henry Bond, Genealogies of the families and descendants of the early settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts, 1860.
7. ↑ Charles Edward Banks, The Winthrop Fleet, Genealogical Publishing Publishing Co, Inc., 1989, Page: 62
8. ↑ "Genealogies of the Families & Descendants of the Early Settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts," by Henry Bond, 2nd ed. (1860, reprint 1978), but throw out the English origins.
9. ↑ Robert Charles Anderson, "The Great Migration Begins; Immigrants to New England 1620-1633" (NEHGS, Boston, 1995), I:244-246.
10. ↑ "The Ancestry of Eva Belle Kempton, Part I, the Ancestry of Warren Francis Kempton 1817-1879" by Dean Crawford Smith (Boston, Mass.: NEHGS, 1996),Vol 1, pp. 168-196. Borrow from Internet Archive.
11. ↑ Anderson, Great Migration Begins, p 245-246

See also:

• Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration Begins, 1620-1633, vol I-III, pp 243-246
• Abraham Browne 1588-1648 of Watertown, Massachusetts by Martin Hollick, published in The Slovak Yankee blog, 4 November 2014.
• Threlfall, John B. "The Brownes of Watertown and their Phony Pedigree." The American Genealogist (Barrington, RI, 1980) Vol 56, Pages 24. View with NEHGS Membership.