Edmund Browne (bef. 1600 - abt. 1665)

Born before 4 May 1600 in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Oklye) Browne — married 14 Feb 1653 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay

Died about 1665 after about age 64 in Michaelmas, Surinam

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Edmund Browne migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Great Migration (Series 2), by R. C. Anderson, vol. 1, p. 416) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

Edmund Browne immigrated to New England between 1621 and 1640 and later departed for Michaelmus, Surinam.

Edmund Browne was baptized on May 4, 1600 at Sawbridgeworth, England. Anderson's Great Migration sketch on Edmund says Sawbridgeworth, Essex, however Wikipedia says Sawbridgeworth is in Hertfordshire, close to the border of Essex. He was a son of Edmund and Mary (Cramphorne) Browne. His siblings were Abraham Brown and John Brown of Watertown and also Anna (Brown) Ines, wife of Matthew Ines of Boston.

He migrated in 1634 and was employed by William Colbron. Following his time of service to Colbron, he was given the houselot promised to him and continued to resided at Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony. He became a ship master and merchant.

On May 6, 1635 he was granted freemanship and became a member of the church on June 22 of the same year, along with Jared Bourne, both "servants of our brother Willyam Coulborne." There was a land allotment on December 14, 1635 in which he was granted eight acres. Later in year 1645 the Boston Book of Possessions indicates he owned "one house and garden."

He married Elizabeth Oklye at Boston on February 14, 1653/4. Their children were:

1. Mary who was born at Boston on December 15, 1656 and supposedly died soon.
2. John who was born at Boston on October 9, 1660 and supposedly died soon.

Edmund Browne died in 1665 while living in the country of Surinam on the northeast coast of South America. He had held an interest in the ketch Hope, and in March of 1662/3 they sailed for Connecticut. An intense storm forced them into the Caribbean, where they waylaid at the island of Nevis. Edmund Browne, however, did not return home but stayed in the islands and eventually moved to Surinam where he lived the rest of his life.

When the Hope arrived back to Boston, the owners of the ketch came to the wharf to claim their shares. Elizabeth, Edmund's wife, came aboard and said "half the ketch is mine," and took away the compasses out of the cabin.

Administration of his estate was granted to his widow, Elizabeth, on October 11, 1666; saying he had died without children ("without issue") and that "he gave all his estate to her to pay his debts and for her livelihood." Elizabeth said that Edmund had an estate in New England and in Old England. The inventory of his possessions was taken January 28, 1666/7 and totaled L216 3s., of which L114 15s. was real estate; "a dwelling house and orchard," "a piece of ground lying next to Nicolas Baxter," a piece of ground lying next to the house and orchard of Baxter," eight acres of land at Mudiriver," and two acres and a half of land at Long Island."

It is possible that his widow, Elizabeth died as early as November 2, 1666. At probate court she asserted that Edmund had no children but a month later on said November 2, 1666, the record shows that "whereas Elizabeth the wife of Edmond Browne of Boston lately deceased hath left two children," the court "judged it meet to order and impower Mary the relict of the last Robert Bouchier, alias Garret, grandmother to the said children, and Benjamin Ward, shipwright, feoffees in trust." This "Mary (_____) Bouchier alias Garret must have been Elizabeth's mother, Edmund Browne's wife's mother.

Further emphasizing that Edmund Browne had no living children, on January 1, 1672/3 his "cousin and next heir... deceased without issue of his body," and claimed the reversion of the houselot in Boston.

The conclusion drawn by Anderson in "Great Migration" is that before Elizabeth Oakley's marriage to Edmund Browne, she must have been a widow who had two children with a previous husband.

Sources

Unless otherwise cited, this biography is based on Great Migration.

• Great Migration 1634-1635, A-B. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume 1, A-B, by Robert Charles Anderson, George F. Sanborn, Jr., and Melinde Lutz Sanborn. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1999. Featured Sketch of Edmund Brown. pp. 416 - 418.link for subscribers$

See also:

• Smith, Dean Crawford and Sanborn, Melinde Lutz. "The Ancestry of Eva Belle Kempton, 1878 - 1908. Part 1: The Ancestry of Warren Francis Kempton, 1817 - 1879" Boston 1996. (a detailed account of Edmund Brown and his connections).

Acknowledgements

• Browne-2076 was created by David Mason through the import of Mason_Cutting Family Tree.ged on Jun 25, 2015.