Ephraim Browning (1763 - 1819)

Born 16 Jan 1763 in Charlestown, Kings, Rhode Island

Ancestors

Husband of Rebecca (Clarke) Browning — married 1 Mar 1787 in Rhode Island, United States

Died 13 Apr 1819 at age 56 in Colrain, Franklin, Massachusetts, United States [uncertain]

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Biography

Ephraim was born in 1763.^{[1] [2]}. After his 2nd marriage in 1787 to Rebecca Clark, he moved to Colrain, Massachusetts where he purchased a farm in 1811. He later took over a tavern in nearby Greenfield, running it to his death in 1819, after which his wife took over as proprietor until it burned in a fire on 8 February 1820.^[3] The sign for the tavern is still on display at Memorial Hall in Deerfield, MA.^[4]

He died in Colrain, Massachusetts on 13 April 1819.^[5] Probate records indicate he may have died in Greenfield, though that was the county seat so it could just be mislabeled. Probate records make clear the farm was in Colrain.

Research Notes

Children list in Browning (1908) but not listed here yet due to need for more research:

• Overall, the date the family moved to Massachusetts is not known. Ephraim did not buy his farm there until 1811. None of the histories note the date he arrived in the Colrain/Greenfield area. While birth location of all their children is given as in Colrain, these records are not town records, but rather based of the family records of Bertha Morton of Bernadstown, MA according to the 1934 Essex Institute listing of Colrain records. Many of their early children have birth locations in census documents in Rhode Island and Connecticut.
• Gideon C (b. 1788) : Likely is this Gideon, however still looking for firm documentation
• Charles (b.1795): Birth date is listed in 1795 in both 1908 Browning and in Colrain record collections. Died young. Place of death is given as Franklin, CT. In Franklin, there is a burial stone for a Charles, son of Ephraim and Rebecca - but the child died at 15 days old in July 1796.

Sources

1. ↑ Browning Genealogy, p.198
2. ↑ Arnold, James N. Vital Record of Rhode Island 1636 - 1850. Providence, RI: Narragansett Historical Publishing, 1894. Volume 5, Part 5: Charlestown, page 17.
3. ↑ Thompson, Frances. History of Greenfield: Shire Town of Franklin County, Massachusetts. Greenfield, MA: Press of T. Morey & Son, 1904. Page 761.
4. ↑ https://memorialhalldeerfield.catalogaccess.com/objects/3553
5. ↑ Browning Genealogy, p 198.

• The Narragansett Historical Register (Narragansett Historical Pub. Co., Providence, 1883) Vol. 2, Page 53

• Browning, Edward Franklin. Genealogy of the Brownings in America from 1621 to 1908. Newburgh, NY: Journal Print, 1908.

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/70656948/ephraim-browning: accessed 19 June 2023), memorial page for Ephraim Browning (16 Jan 1763–13 Apr 1819), Find a Grave Memorial ID 70656948, citing Brick School Cemetery, Colrain, Franklin County, Massachusetts, USA; Maintained by Kevin Avery (contributor 47024642).