Mary Brown (bef. 1755)

Born before 1755 in Rhode Island [uncertain]

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Skip Locke [send private message]

Disputed Marriage

It is claimed in a small number of online family trees that after the death of his first wife Elizabeth -- the date of whose passing is unknown, though it was after 1774 -- Jonathan Tourtellot (1728-1820) of Rhode Island was remarried in 1807 to a Mary Brown, but no primary or reliable secondary record of such a union has been found. For this reason, the two profiles have been disconnected; if primary or reliable secondary records are found proving the marriage, the connection can be reestablished.

Research into the possible identity of this Mary Brown -- possibly, for example, a descendant of noted early Rhode Islander Chad Brown -- is continuing (Feb. 2020).

Biography

Mary Brown, perhaps born in Rhode Island in the mid-1700s, has been claimed as a second wife of Jonathan Tourtellot of Providence (see above).

Research Notes

One possible source of a belief in the marriage of Mary Brown to Jonathan Tourtellot might be confusion of similar surnames.

As one possible example, the marriage intentions are recorded of “Jonathan (Follet), of A[ttleboro, Massachusetts]., and Mary Brown of Rehoboth, int. Aug. 10, 1763.”^[1]. Attleboro sits on the Massachusetts-Rhode Island line, very close to Providence; and "Follet(t)" is just close enough to "Tourtellot" that the two might conceivably be confused.

Another possible example -- with a marriage date much closer to the 30 May, 1807, originally offered for the Brown-Tourtellot union -- is the 1806 Rhode Island wedding of a Mary Brown to a Jonathan _Bigelow_ (certainly something of a soundalike for "Tourtellot") among ceremonies performed by Rev. Stephen Gano: "BIGELOW Jonathan and Mary Brown, July 22, 1806".^[2] And further afield, at Salem, the marriage is recorded of a Mrs. Mary Brown to Jonathan _Bacheller_ on 30 May ... of 1813.^[3]

User ID

ID: 1D6A201F30914F19AC4502C57669C578C308

Data Changed

Changed:

4 SEP 2011

Prior to import, this record was last changed 4 SEP 2011.

Sources

1. ↑ "Attleborough Marriages (V1), Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2016); https://www.americanancestors.org/DB190/i/7652/420/141246876 (subscription)
2. ↑ "Rev. Stephen Gano's Marriages" (p. 479); Rhode Island: Vital Records, 1636-1850. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014), Originally Published as: Vital record of Rhode Island 1636-1850: First Series: births, marriages and deaths: a family register for the people, by James N. Arnold. Providence, RI: Narragansett Historical Publishing Company; https://www.americanancestors.org/DB532/i/14491/479/264570401 (subscription)
3. ↑ Salem V3; Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2016); https://www.americanancestors.org/DB190/i/7793/149/140909806 (subscription)

Acknowledgments

• Thank you to Skip Locke for creating WikiTree profile Brown-17678 through the import of LockeGedcom.ged on Feb 17, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Skip and others.