Ebenezer Brown (abt. 1707 - 1749)

Born about 1707 in Eastham, Barnstable Co., Mass.

Ancestors

Husband of Rebecca (Smith) Brown — married 25 Oct 1733 in Eastham, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died 28 Sep 1749 at about age 42 in Middletown, Middlesex Co., Connecticut

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Richard Sears [send private message]

Biography

EBENEZER BROWN, perhaps son of George Brown and Elizabeth (Mulford?);^[1] born ca. 1707, probably in Eastham, Barnstable County, Massachusetts; died Middletown, Middlesex County, Connecticut, 28 September 1749; married by Benjamin Webb on 25 October 1733, Eastham, to REBECCA SMITH,^[2] born March 1710, Eastham, daughter of John Smith and Sarah Collins;^[3] Rebecca died in Portland (East Middletown), Middlesex County, Connecticut, in 1803. Like the two women who might be his sisters, Ebenezer Brown was married by Benjamin Webb to a Smith. In Eastham Town Records (which I have not seen) Ebenezer is listed as a “Negative Man” (whatever that means) and (in March 1743) as a fence viewer.^[4]

EMAILS

Ebenezor Brown M, b. between 1700 and 1715, d. 28 September 1749 Anecdote*: He lived with his wife in Eastham until around 1746, when he and his family moved to East Middletown, CT (now Portland). Eastham Town Records show him as a Fence Viewer and a Negative Man. He was never listed as one of the property owners after the final Great Land Division of 1743. [per 12 Oct 2007 email from Herbert L. (Bert) Brown Jr (bbrown9993@yahoo.com)].

Birth*: Ebenezor Brown was born between 1700 and 1715; [per 12 Oct 2007 email from Herbert L. (Bert) Brown Jr (bbrown9993@yahoo.com)].

Marriage*: He married Rebecca Smith, daughter of John Smith and Sarah Collins, on 25 October 1733 at Eastham, Barnstable Co, MA.1

Death*: Ebenezor Brown died on 28 September 1749; [per 12 Oct 2007 email from Herbert L. (Bert) Brown Jr (bbrown9993@yahoo.com), citing court documents].

ACTUAL RECORDS

Ebenezer Brown, Middletown. Died 28 September, 1749. Inventory £1093-13-00. Taken 14 December 1749, by Phillip Goff and Ralph Smith. Court Record, Page 131a -- 5 June, 1750: This Court grant Adms. on the estate of Ebenezer Brown unto Rebeckah Brown, widow, who gave bonds with Philip Goff of Wethersfield of £1000.^[5]

CHILDREN

Children of Ebenezer and Rebecca (Smith) BROWN, all born in Eastham, Massachusetts:^[6]

• i. NATHANIEL BROWN, b. 27 Oct. 1734; d. in Conn.; bur. Center Cem., Portland, Conn., 22 March 1826, aged 92 years; bur. Portland Burying Ground;^[7] m. 2 Oct. 1759 in Eastham, DORCAS PAINE, b. 14 Mar. 1734, Truro, Mass., d. 3 Apr. 1812, aged 78; bur. Portland Burying Ground, Portland [East Middletown], Middlesex Co., Conn.;^[8] “Nathaniel Browne of middeltown in Connetticut and Dorcas paine of Eastham were married by mr Joseph Crocker in Eastham.”^[9]
• ii. EBENEZER BROWN, b. 21 Aug. 1736.
• iii. REBECCA BROWN, b. 16 Oct. 1738; m. 2 Dec. 1756, STEPHEN STILES. Their marriage record states that “Stephen Stiles of Hebron married Rebecca Brown of Middletown.”^[10]
• iv. ELIZABETH BROWN, b. 18 Feb. 1741; m. [intentions] 9 Nov. 1765, JOHN CLARK—both of Eastham.^[11]
• v. DAMORUS BROWN, b. 2 Nov. 1743; m. BENJAMIN STILES.
• vi. HANNAH BROWN, b. 3 Nov. 1745; maybe m. JOHN HIGGINS on 21 Apr. 1766 in Wellfleet, Mass.^[12] John, b. 27 May 1742 at Eastham, was a son of Beriah and Jemima (Witherall) Higgins, and grandson of Elisha Higgins and Jane Collins.^[13]

Sources

1. ↑ Bert Brown states, “I believe Ebenezer was a son of George Brown, Jr., who married Elizabeth Mulford.” He offers no particular argument beyond his belief, but he points out that the Eastham VR has only Elizabeth and Bathshua listed as children of George, Jr. It is an unusually small family for that time. Mr. Brown says, “The Eastham Town Clerk has reported to me that 3 pages of VR are missing on George Brown.” [In a message posted 29 May 2006 at boards.ancestry.com/surnames.brown/17430.2/mb.ashx]. However, I have searched for the listings for Elizabeth and Bathshua, and I have discovered no record in the Eastham VR for either of them. From my own observations, I have to say that none of the children of George Brown were listed.
2. ↑ Eastham VR: MD 17:141.
3. ↑ Eastham VR: MD 6:202.
4. ↑ I have only a hearsay source for this information: someone else was citing an email from Herbert L. Brown. A tenuous clue, that’s all.
5. ↑ Manwaring, Digest of Early Conn. Probate Records, 3: 509.
6. ↑ Eastham VR: MD 20: 96.
7. ↑ Nathaniel Brown tombstone, www.findagrave.com, memorial #78869880.
8. ↑ Dorcas Paine Brown tombstone, www.findagrave.com, memorial #78869870.
9. ↑ Eastham VR: MD 27: 105.
10. ↑ Hebron VR: Barbour Collection, 129, citing 2: 106.
11. ↑ Intentions of marriage at Eastham, Massachusetts, 1763-1773; extracted in 1848 from “old book 5 called a book of births & marriages in Eastham,” in Vital Records of Eastham and Orleans, Massachusetts (Oxford, Mass., 2002).
12. ↑ Town Records of Wellfleet, 1: 521.
13. ↑ Katharine Chapin Higgins, Richard Higgins and His Descendants, 101.