Joshua Brown (1717 - 1798)

Born 5 Mar 1717 in Nottingham, Chester, Pennsylvania

Ancestors

Husband of Hannah (Gatchell) Brown — married 15 Dec 1736 in East Nottingham, Chester County, Pennsylvania

Husband of Zillah (Walker) Brown — married Sep 1767 in Radnor, Delaware, Pennsylvania

Descendants

Died 15 Oct 1798 at age 81 in Little Britain, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

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Biography

Joshua BROWN was born on March 5th, 1717 in Nottingham, Chester, Pennsylvania to parents Mary (Royal) and Jeremiah Brown.^[1]

Joshua married Hannah Gatchell on December 15th, 1736 within the Nottingham Monthly Meeting where the record states; "... Joshua Brown Son of Jeremiah Brown of West Nottingham in ye [County] of Chester and Province of Pennsylvania & Hanah Gatchell Daughter of Elisha Gatchell of ye township of E Nottingham & [County aforesaid] having Declared their Intentions of Marriage..."^[2]

In 1740, Joshua bought 110 1/2 acres of Nottingham Lot No. 27 from his father for five shillings. He later conveyed this land to his son Elisha.^[3]

Hannah Brown died in 1763 and Joshua married secondly, Zillah (Walker) Maule. Their first intentions to marry were declared at the Merion Women's Monthly Meeting on August 14th, 1767.^[4] Flipping through the pages starting at this entry, you can track the couple's second marriage declaration on September 10th when nothing was found to delay their marriage which they accomplished sometime before October 13th, 1767 when Zillah Brown requested a certificate to remove to the East Nottingham Monthly Meeting with her seven sons. She received the Certificate of Removal on November 13th, 1767.

In 1790, Joshua appears on the first United States census, in Little Britain, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.^[5]

Joshua died on 15 Oct 1798 in Little Britain, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.^[6] He is buried at Bradford Friends Burying Ground, Chester County, Pennsylvania.^[7]

On the same page of the Quaker death record as Joshua is the entry: "Zillah Brown widow of Joshua departed this Life...1811."

The Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College houses a collection of journals, including an autobiography by Joshua, dating from 1756 to 1790. The contents are described as, "...journals of religious visits throughout the colonies that bear witness to his testimony against slavery and war. ... Brown was a recorded minister of Nottingham, Pa.".^[8] Biographical information with references to his mother's early history in Pennsylvania, in Joshua's own words and so presumably from the autobiography just mentioned, can be further researched within Gilbert Cope's work, the "Genealogy of the Baily Family ...".^[9]

Sources

1. ↑ Ancestry.com, (2014). “U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935”, Swarthmore College; Swarthmore, Pennsylvania; Minutes, 1746-1768; Collection: Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Minutes; Call Number: MR-Ph 339, [database on-line], (https://search.ancestry.com.au/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=2189&h=99849645&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=zhs18&_phstart=successSource),

   “Name: Joshua Browne | Birth Date: 5 May 1717 | Birth Date on Image: 05 Third 1717 | Birth Place: Chester, Pennsylvania | Father: Jeremiah Browne | Mother: Mary Browne | EventType: Birth | Monthly Meeting: New Garden Monthly Meeting | Yearly Meeting: Philadelphia Yearly Meeting | Meeting State: Pennsylvania | Meeting County: Chester”.

   “Joshua Browne (son of Jeremiah Browne & Mary his wife) was born ye 5th day of the 3: mo/th 1717”.

2. ↑ U.S. Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935, Pennsylvania, Chester County, Nottingham Monthly Meeting, Minutes 1730-1889 (Ancestry record, image 33 of 392): "Whereas Joshua Brown Son of Jeremiah Brown of West Nottingham in ye [County] of Chester and Province of Pennsylvania & Hanah Gatchell Daughter of Elisha Gatchell of ye township of E Nottingham & [County aforesaid] having Declared their Intentions of Marriage..." [1]
3. ↑ See transcription of 1789 patent request for Brown's Possession, attached at right.
4. ↑ “Name: Joshua Brown | Marriage [1st Intention] Date:14 Aug 1767 | Marriage Place:Delaware, Pennsylvania | Residence Date on Image: Eighth 1767 14 | Residence Place: Delaware, Pennsylvania |Spouse: Zillah Maul | Event Type: Marriage Intention (Marriage) |Monthly Meeting: [Merion at -] Radnor Monthly Meeting | Yearly Meeting: Philadelphia Yearly Meeting | Meeting State: Pennsylvania | Meeting County: Delaware.” [Image at page 67 of 149]. “U.S., Quaker Meeting Records 1681-1935”, Swarthmore College; Swarthmore, Pennsylvania; Minutes, 1746-1781; Collection: Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Minutes; Call Number: MR-Ph 504, database on-line at Ancestry.com, (2014). (https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?viewrecord=1&r=an&db=QuakerMeetMins&indiv=try&h=1099440058).
5. ↑ 1790 United States Federal Census, Pennsylvania, Lancaster County, Little Britain (Ancestry.com, image 1 of 8): Joshua Brown heads a household of eight--two males 16 and over, two males under 16, and four females; also listed were Jeremiah Brown and Isaih Brown image
6. ↑ U.S. Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935, Pennsylvania, Chester County, Nottingham Monthly Meeting, Births and Deaths 1691-1883 (Ancestry.com, image 31 of 558): "Joshua Brown...Departed this Life the 15th day of the 10th month 1798...in the 82nd year of his Age" image
7. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #181760778
8. ↑ "[The index of] Journals at Friends Historical Library." Accessed January 30, 2020. http://www.swarthmore.edu/Library/friends/Journals.htm. “Author: Brown, Joshua (1717-1798) | Item: Journals | Date: 1756-1790 | Scope and Content: AMss, journals of religious visits throughout the colonies that bear witness to his testimony against slavery and war. Also an autobiography. Brown was a recorded minister of Nottingham, Pa. Gift of PYM, 1975. | FHL Call Number: MSS 003/033.
9. ↑ Cope, G. (1912). Genealogy of the Baily Family of Bromham, Wiltshire, England: And More … (original 20, Image at page 45 of 763). Contributor: University of Wisconsin - Madison, retrieved from Internet Archive: (https://archive.org/stream/genealogybailyf00copegoog?ref=ol#page/n44/mode/2up/search/Joshua+brown)

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