Nathaniel Brown (abt. 1740 - abt. 1777)

Born about 1740 in Hampshire, Colony of Virginia [uncertain]

Descendants

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Becky Wright [send private message] and Brenda Stark [send private message]

Biography

Nathaniel may have been born in about 1740 (based his daughter's birth year of 1765). He may have passed away about 1777, although evidence is lacking. According to William Kozee in Early Families of Southeastern Kentucky, he was the brother of Thomas C. Brown,^[1],but "very little has been learned of him." Thomas is named in his father Daniel's will (filed in Hampshire County Virginia in Dec 1777), but unlike Thomas, Nathaniel is not. Nathaniel's year of death is usually reported as 1777 which, if true, would explain his absence from the will. However, no primary source evidence has been found to support the date.

We know that Nathaniel Brown's wife's name was Ann based on the Bible record ^[2] of their daughter Sarah (Brown) Auxier. The Bible record was submitted by Sarah's son Enoch Auxier as part of Sarah's (sucessful) attempt to obtain a widow's pension based on the service of her husband Samuel Auxier.

The The Auxier Family^[3] gives Nathaniel Brown and Ann Enoch as the parents of Sarah Brown Auxier without comment.

Research Notes

There is one single record that exists concerning Nathaniel Brown -- the Bible record of his daughter Sarah Brown Auxier. The rest is made up, either whole cloth or based on unstated circumstantial evidence.

His birthdate is often quoted as 11 Jun 1740 in Stonington, New London, Connecticut, to Daniel and Elizabeth Brown, but that is clearly the wrong Nathaniel and the wrong Brown family. This record is then "fixed" by some researchers by moving the birthplace to Hampshire County, Virginia and keeping the birthdate the same. But then the mother's name doesn't match the wife of Daniel Brown of Hampshire County, so he is given a second wife to "fix" that problem. And on and on it goes with researchers not realizing that they are commiting fraud when they "fudge" the data to match the desired narrative.

Sources

1. ↑ Early Families of Southeastern Kentucky, by William Kozee, 1961, p. 97
2. ↑ Revolutionary War pension data submitted by the family of Samuel Auxier familysearch link
3. ↑ The Auxier Family, 2nd edition, by Dave Auxier and Judith Tickel Need, p. 8