John Brown (1746 - 1820)

Born 1746 in Croydon, Surrey, England

Husband of Ann (Field) Brown — married 12 Dec 1776 in Bletchingley, St Mary, Surrey, England

Descendants

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Biography

Birth

Baptism

Baptism of John Brown^[1]

Date: 9 Dec 1746

Place: Croydon, St John, Surrey, England

Father: John Brown

Mother: Lucy Brown

Marriage

Marriage between John Brown and Ann Field^[2]

Date: 12 Dec 1776

Place: Bletchingley, St Mary, Surrey, England

Issue

Children of John and Anne Brown

• i. John Brown: b. 24 Aug 1779; baptised 12 Sept 1779; d. 23 Dec 1841; In 1803 m. Ann Plowman (1784-?); 8 children
• ii. William Brown: baptised 4 Feb 1781
• iii. Mary Brown: b. 16 Jan 1784; baptised 1 Feb 1784
• iv. Anne Brown: b. 15 Nov 1786; baptised 10 Dec 1786
• V. Edward Brown: b. 27 May 1790; baptised 25 July 1790; d. 1864; In 1826, m. Charlotte Dransfield (1790-1854); 2 children

Registered baptisms from St. John the Baptist Church, Croydon, Surrey

Death

Burial

Burial of John Brown^[3]

Birth Year: abt 1749

Burial Age: 67

Burial Date: 1 Feb 1816

Archive Provided Parish: Croydon, St John

Parish as it Appears: Croydon

Notes

The Birth (1750) and death date (1820) is based on Brown family research documents from Helen (Burke) Brown's records. Burial records reveal one John Brown registered in 1816, between 1800 and 1830. One document claims John "descended from John Brown put to death in Scotland in the presence of his family during persecution of dissenters". That points to someone better known as John Brown, the Martyr of Priesthill. He lived between 1627-1685. To read about this possible ancestor check his bio out on Wikipedia.^[4]

Ryk Brown, a keen geneologist from Hamilton, Ontario best summarizes who John Brown of Priesthill was, and how he may connect with descendents:

"John Brown of Priesthill lived at the farm of Priesthill in Muirkirk parish, Ayrhshire, Scotland (shown below). John was born in Muirkirk parish in 1626 and was murdered on 1 MAY 1685. He was married twice and had six known children by his two wives, including one son born posthumously. John was an active Covenanter who sponsored secret Covenanter meetings ("Conventicles") on his farm and in the hills near his farm. He was discovered by the Crown's chief official persecutor of Covenanters, namely James Graham of Claverhouse, known as "Bloody Claverhouse" for his persecution of the Covenanters. Claverhouse allegedly confronted John Brown on the doorstep of his house and accused him of being a Covenanter. When John Brown refused to take the oath of allegiance to the Crown (which he could not do as a Covenanter) then Claverhouse executed him on the spot. Tradition has it that his pregnant wife, which one child at her side and another in her arms was at his side and witnessed the entire tragic event and was then left to care for her husband's remains.

John Brown's widow and at least their son, John, fled to Ulster where she allegedly gave birth to their posthumous son, James. However, some sources indicate that John's widow did not flee to Ulster until after the baby was born. John Brown's sons, John and James, both grew to young adulthood in Ulster and then emigrated together to Pennsylvania, USA sometime around 1710. They were lured by the culture of religious freedom that existed in Pennsylvania.

Sam Gibson has been overseeing a research project for the last twenty years or so, compiling the known descendants of John Brown of Priesthill, especially those descended from his sons, John and James Brown who came to Pennsylvania. According to his database, there is a match with the ancestor of one of the men from BROWN DNA Group #64. However, there are some inconsistencies in this match which we are presently trying to sort out. At the very least the story of the Tandragee Browns and Pennsylvania Browns fits in all ways with the known information about John Brown of Priesthill and his Ulster descendants.

The best way to confirm or refute any connection between the Browns of Priesthill and our Browns above would be through DNA."^[5]

Sources

• Graeme MacKay, firsthand knowledge (Ahnentafel GM-92). Click the Changes tab for the details of edits by Graeme and others.

1. ↑ Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Reference: 2888/1/9
2. ↑ Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Reference Number: 3925/1/12
3. ↑ Surrey, England, Burials, 1813-1987; Archive Provided Parish Croydon, St John; Reference Number: 2888/1/53
4. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown_(Covenanter)
5. ↑ (Source: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rykbrown/brown.htm)