Beriah Brown, 2nd

Other Events and Attributes:

• _UID: 5EB267DF4088437E94B6AD01DCEDCBE34E84

Notes:

(Research):Beriah Brown Papers, Sheriff, Washington County, R.I. Family papers, 1696-1874 Size: 3 linear feet Catalog number: MSS 109 Processed by: Rick Stattler, October 1992 Slightly revised, January 1998 ©Rhode Island Historical Society Manuscripts Division
Historical note:
Beriah Brown of North Kingstown (1714-1792) was sheriff of Washington County (originally Kings County) for most of 46 years. His grandfather, Beriah Brown (1648-1717), came from Rowley, Massachusetts to Kingstown toward the end of the seventeenth century, and was apparently not related to the illustrious Brown family of Providence. His son Alexander Brown (c1690-1758) also lived in Kingstown, and had seven children by his first wife Honor Huling, including the sheriff Beriah Brown.
Beriah Brown was first mentioned in public affairs in March of 1740/41, when he recovered three judgements from the last summer's court on behalf of plaintiffs. In 1745, he was chosen as town sergeant of North Kingstown, and the following year became county sheriff, a post he was to hold with scattered interruptions for the 46 years until his death.
The sheriff in early New England was, within his county, the foremost representative of the state, and was responsible for serving summonses, enforcing laws, arresting criminals and in general executing the orders of the court. Brown apparently did not work for a set salary; he collected sheriff's fees from the court, the plaintiffs and their lawyers, and was compensated by the state for any expenses he incurred. He was assisted in his work by a variety of deputies, appointed as he saw fit to act in his name. In practice, the main role of the sheriff was in the collection of debts brought before the court. Brown was charged with serving the writs, which instructed him to collect the stated sum or place the debtor under arrest. This often became intertwined with Brown's own personal finances, as he would frequently purchase debts from the creditors as an investment, or bring his own suits into court.
Apart from his duties as sheriff, Brown occasionally engaged in other business ventures. In 1748, he invested in a sloop, Elizabeth, which traded in the Caribbean for two years. In 1768, he became a leading investor in the Susquehanna Purchase, a controversial Connecticut-based settlement in the wilds of Pennsylvania, though his involvement seems limited to an organizational role from the safety of North Kingstown. During the Revolution, Brown supported the cause and mixed profit with patriotism, as he outfitted the privateer The General Mifflin to plunder the British fleet. In 1785, Brown's always complex network of debt and credit seems to have been shaken, as a warrant was placed for his own arrest, and his long-term business associate George W. Babcock was actually jailed. When Brown wrote his will in 1789, however, he still possessed extensive land holdings, as well as several hundred dollars, and innumerable notes payable.
Beriah Brown married twice. First, he wed Elizabeth Smith, who is scarcely mentioned in his papers, but who was the mother of his five children. In 1771, he then married Elizabeth Babcock (1725-1815). His oldest son, Beriah (1744-1819), usually called Beriah 2nd or Beriah Junior, followed to some extent in his father's footsteps, acting as a deputy and gaol-keeper from 1768 onward, receiving powers of attorney from his father in 1771, and generally assisting in public affairs, though he never held an official office. Beriah Senior's youngest son, Christopher (1751-1778), was less successful, running into extreme financial distress just before the Revolution, resulting in his imprisonment, and shortly thereafter his untimely death. Another son, Alexander (b.1748), apparently died young. Beriah Senior also had at least three daughters: Honor Gardner (b.ca.1740), Sarah Waite (b.1742), and Abigail Gardner (b.1746).
Bibliography:
Boyd, Julian Parks. The Connecticut Company: Connecticut's Experiment in Expansion (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University, for the Tercentenary Commission of the State of Connecticut, 1935)
Eakle, Arlene. "American Court Records" in The Source, ed. Eakle and Cerny (Salt Lake City: Ancestry Publishing Co., 1984), 173-174.
Harris, George J. A Visitation to the Cemeteries of Ancient Kingstown (manuscript), 25-27.
Smith, Joseph J. Civil and Military List of Rhode Island, 1647-1800 (Providence, 1900).
North Kingstown, R.I. (Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission, 1979)
Return to top
Scope and content:
The large majority of this collection pertains to Beriah Brown's duties as sheriff from 1746-1792. Most numerous are official writs, generally for debts that the sheriff was ordered by the court to recover. These are filed separately at the beginning of each folder. Also voluminous are documents regarding sheriff's fees due to Brown, often presented in the form of running accounts stretching over several years. There are many receipts, running in a vague spectrum from official to personal in nature, as much of Brown's work was done on commission.
There are a wide variety of other documents, only a sampling of which can be described here. There are documents giving Brown or his son power of attorney to manage a person's affairs, generally for the collection of debt. There are deputations (indexed here), deputies being basically subcontractors doing work for the sheriff on commission. There is extensive legal correspondence, mostly notes inquiring about debts, or desperate pleas from Brown's hard-pressed debtors. The collection also contains occasional warrants for crimes other than debt, including trespass or assault, though Washington County was generally a tame jurisdiction. There are also many of Brown's small notebooks, which detail the progress of various cases, as well as his personal affairs.
Scattered through the collection are many personal documents from Brown and his family. These are generally filed with the other papers, as the line between Brown's public and private lives was so blurred. Especially noteworthy are Brown's will from 1789, his 1771 marriage receipt, and the will and estate of his immigrant grandfather from 1717. All letters of a personal or family nature are filed separately, in box 6, folder 13.
Many of Beriah Brown Junior's papers are also scattered through the collection, especially from 1768 onward. His papers include sales at auction, attorney powers, some gaol documents and personal papers. There are several documents related to the wife of Beriah Jr., Amy Sherman, and her father Abiel Sherman, which have generally been filed in box 6, folder 14.
The papers were apparently passed on, along with the original family homestead, to Beriah Jr.'s son Beriah Brown 3rd (1768-1854), who contributed a few of his own personal papers, and then on to his daughter Amy Ann, who in 1828 married Isaac Hall. As late as 1880, the seventeenth century land of the immigrant Beriah Brown was in the hands of the heirs of Isaac and Amy Hall. Their daughter Anna P. Hall seems to be the last member of the family to contribute to the collection, and she also added some ancient papers of the Hall family, which are filed in box 6, folder 14.
There are several documents of interest to the student of African-American and Native American history, all filed with the main body of papers. The most interesting is an extensive case from 1779, in which a John Rice of North Carolina bought four slaves in Narragansett, only to discover it was illegal to move them out of state, at which point Brown was charged with selling them on Rice's behalf. There is also a large scrap of paper filed under 1778, on which Brown drafted a letter to the new government regarding Sipio, his slave, who had enlisted in the army. Brown claimed to be "willing to serve his country" but "wants his boy back".
In 1785, Brown drafted an advertisement for his runaway slave Pomp. A scrap note from 1786 indicates that Pomp worked in Scituate that year; he was presumably captured. Other items include an undated suit regarding a slave purchased by one Joshua Holmes, who later proved to be free; a deed dated 3/19/1785 from Beriah Brown Jr. to Beriah Brown Sr. of "one certain Negro named Pero aged about thirty-eight years"; a slave named Jim auctioned off in the estate of Charles Slocum in 1777; a receipt for "a Negro man named Jack" purchased by the sheriff in 1774; a 1765 reference to a slave that Beriah Brown Jr. received; and a 1761 mention of a writ to arrest a "Negro man named Quacco"; a July 4 1771 warrant against "Seaser, a Negro", suspected of assault; and a mention on March 11, 1771, of "Henry Harry, Indian"; a 1770 sentence of Hannah Sias, "Indian Woman", to be whipped for stealing; and an interesting 1780 case involves an "Indian woman" pauper named Abigail Westcott from Block Island. A careful review of the entire collection would undoubtedly yield more.
The following are the deputations issued by Brown, with years of filing.
Matthew Allen 1769
William Babcock 1785
Nathaniel Barber 1764
Thomas Brand 1784, 1787, 1789
James Brayman, Jr. 1787, 1788
Beriah Brown, Jr. 1769, 1773, 1792
Nathaniel Burdick 1757
Joseph Cross 1778, 1780, 1781
Phineas Edwards 1785, 1786, 1788, 1789, 1790
Ezekiel Gardner, Jr. 1778
Francis Gardner 1791, 1792
Parris Gardner 1782, 1783, 1784
Jonathan Hazard 1784, 1785, 1786, 1788, 1792
George Jones 1789, 1790
Thomas Kinyon 1746
John Lad 1753
Elias Lewis 1783
Joseph Maxson 1769
Robert Moore 1754, 1755, 1763
Peleg Peckham 1785
Peter Phillips 1767
Robert Potter, Jr. 1790
Robert G. Sand 1786, 1787, 1788. 1790-1792
John Sheldon 1746
Palmer Sheldon 1769
Samuel Stanton 1782, 1783, 1784, 1786, 1789
Joseph Thurston 1792
William Vincent 1762, 1764, 1772
Beriah Waite 1783
Samuel Wells 1790, 1791
Thomas Wells 1771, 1772, 1773, 1782, 1784
There are also several apprenticeship papers, as follows:
1741 Jonathan Bly to Beriah Brown
1745 Warrant for William Sweet, runaway apprentice
1762 Josias Ceaser to Beriah Brown
1774 Solomon Ceaser to Beriah Brown Jr.
There are several estate inventories in the collection, some taken by Brown or his deputies in an official capacity, and some from the family.
Year Folder Name
1696 Hall Abiel Carpenter of Pawtuxet
1712 1710-1719 Francis West, will and testament (son Peter deeded land to Alexander Brown).
1717 1710-1719 Beriah Brown (grandfather of the sheriff)
1739 1735-1739 --- Eldred
1746 Sherman Abiel Sherman (father of Beriah Jr's wife)
1758 A. Brown Alexander Brown (father of the sheriff)
1765 Hall Robert Hall
1772 1772 Several unnamed estates auctioned by Beriah Brown Jr.
1777 1777 George Sweet
1777 1777 Charles Slocum
1790 1790 Esek Thurber
Finally, these are a few interesting documents not mentioned elsewhere, all filed chronologically:
1751 Death warrant for execution of Thomas Carter, with receipt from hangman.
1751 A list of the sheriff's children in his own hand, on the reverse of a summons.
1759 Oath against bribery.
1770 An arrest warrant for nine men who forcefully freed prisoners from a South Kingstown jail.
1776 Release of Christopher Brown from jail; debt paid by his brother Beriah Jr.
1780 Tax bill from town of Exeter listing all rates paid
1785 Notice to town treasurers giving them 30 days to collect taxes or be jailed
1791 Death warrant for Thomas Mount and James Williams to be hung.
Return to top
Provenance:
The provenance of the bulk of these papers is unknown. In 1882-1884, "Selections from the Sheriff Brown Papers" were published in the Narragansett Historical Register, but these seem to have been culled from a different group of papers entirely; their present location is unknown except for three items donated in 1964. A letter by R.I.H.S. librarian Clarkson Collins in reference to that gift states that "we have had a large collection of Beriah Brown manuscripts for a long time and recently were given more." Several small additions to the main body of papers were added from a variety of sources, as follows:
#1875.13.1 A 1775 writ was donated by Horatio N. Knowles as part of a gift of "ten miscellaneous manuscripts".
#1944.62.8.1-4 Four Beriah Brown documents were donated by Frederick S. Peck as part of the massive Peck Collection: a 1757 bond, a 1771 letter from Mary Borden, an 1785 bond as sheriff, and a 1756 pay order from the Committee of War.
#1959.55.5.1- Mrs. Ralph M. Sommerville donated "Papers of the Brown and Hall families" along with several museum artifacts of Beriah Brown. The museum pieces, including Brown's watch, cane, cufflink and purse, can likely still be found in the R.I.H.S. Museum Department.
#1964.45.1-16 Albert S. Larrabee donated 16 items that he had found in an old desk. These included three of the items that had been published in 1882.
Return to top
Processing note:
The papers are generally filed chronologically, in groups through 1744, and then by single years through Beriah's death in 1792. There are many running accounts, or documents created over several years, and these are filed in five-year groups according to the bulk of their dates, a somewhat arbitrary but unavoidable arrangement. There are several folders reserved for special topics, but in general a chronological format has been maintained. There are several undated manuscripts, and the more interesting of these have been separated into box 6, folder 9. All severely damaged manuscripts and fragments are also in separate folders.
Return to top
Inventory:
Box 1 (1710-1759)
1. 1710-1719
2. 1720-1729
3. 1730-1734
4. 1735-1739
5. 1740-1744
6-10. 1745-1748
11. Records of the sloop Elizabeth, 1748-1750
12-18. 1749-1754
19. Records of the Committee of War, 1755-1763
20-22. 1755-1757
23. Estate of Alexander Brown, 1758 onward.
24-25. 1758-1759
Box 2 (1760-1769)
1-10. 1760-1767
11. Records of the Susquehanna Company, 1768-1769
12. 1768-1769
Box 3 (1770-1774)
1-6. 1770-1774
Box 4 (1775-1779)
1. 1775
2. Revolutionary War documents
3-7. 1776-1779
8. Records of the privateer General Mifflin, 1779-1781
Box 5 (1780-1786)
1-9. 1780-1786
Box 6 (1787-1874)
1-6. 1787-1792
7. 1793-1800, mostly the estate of Beriah Brown.
8. 1800-1874, papers of Beriah Jr., Beriah 3rd, Isaac Hall, Amy Ann Hall, etc.
9. Undated materials of interest
10. Miscellaneous undated material (child's notebook, poetry clippings, receipts, etc.)
11. Severely damaged manuscripts, as follows:
Will of Alexander Brown, 1758
Financial records of Christopher Brown (son of Beriah), November of 1777
Public sale of land of George Hazard, 1772
Note paper, 1762
Receipt of money owed by Brown to the Colony, 1752
Note paper, 1773
12. Manuscript fragments
13. Letters of family or personal nature
14. Estate of Abiel Sherman 1746, and guardianship of Amy Sherman 1746-1765
15. Hall papers, 1696-1740
Return to top
Subjects:
African-Americans - Rhode Island - Washington County
Brown, Alexander (ca. 1690-1758)
Brown, Beriah (1714-1792)
Brown, Beriah Jr. (1744-1819)
Capital punishment - Rhode Island - Washington County
Carpenter, Abiel (d.ca.1696)
Courts - Officials and employees - Rhode Island - Washington County
Exeter, R.I. - Taxes
General Mifflin (ship)
Hall Family
Inferior Court of Common Pleas - Rhode Island - Washington County
North Kingstown, R.I. - Social life and customs
Privateering
Sheriffs - Rhode Island - Washington Co.
Sherman, Abiel (1723-1746)
Susquehanna Company
United States - History - French and Indian War, 1755-1763
Washington County, R.I. Court of Common Pleas.
West, Francis (d.1724?)
End of finding aid - return to top
RIHS1822

Beriah married Elizabeth SmithNorth Kingstown, Washington County, Rhode Island, USA. Elizabeth (daughter of Joseph Smith and Sarah Stafford) was born in 1719; was buried in North Kingstown, Washington County, Rhode Island, USA, Cem. NK096 - Beriah Brown Farm Cemetery. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Honour Brown was born on 10 May 1740; died on 19 Aug 1760.
2. Sarah Brown was born on 30 Apr 1742; and died.
3. Beriah Brown, 3rd was born on 19 Apr 1744; died on 13 Jul 1819; was buried in North Kingstown, Washington County, Rhode Island, USA, Cem. NK096 - Beriah Brown Farm Cemetery.
4. Abigail Brown was born on 6 Oct 1746; died on 17 Jan 1774.
5. Alexander Brown was born in 1748; and died.
6. Christopher Brown was born on 16 Mar 1751; died on 20 Mar 1778; was buried in North Kingstown, Washington County, Rhode Island, USA, Cem. NK096 - Beriah Brown Farm Cemetery.

Beriah married Elizabeth Babcock on 11 Dec 1771. Elizabeth (daughter of George Babcock and Susannah Potter) was born on 25 Jan 1725 in Hopkinton, Washington County, Rhode Island, USA; died on 24 Sep 1815; was buried in Hopkinton, Washington County, Rhode Island, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• _UID: 67B874EF3BE04ED298E437C19C99BB1E3F5F
• Alt. Birth: 1680, North Kingstown, Washington County, Rhode Island, USA

Alexander married Honour Huling in 1709 in North Kingstown, Washington County, Rhode Island, USA. Honour (daughter of Alexander Huling and Elizabeth Wightman) was born in 1692; died in 1725; was buried in North Kingstown, Washington County, Rhode Island, USA, Cem. NK096 - Beriah Brown Farm Cemetery. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• _UID: 8FD02D9442FE4D568A929B7B448B69A10E9F

Other Events and Attributes:

• _UID: 79DBE0731B7C45479908E55E703F79E7BDCF
• Alt. Death: 20 Feb 1717, Kingston, Washington County, Rhode Island, USA

Notes:

Beriah Brown perhaps was not a son of Charles Brown of Rowley, MA.

Most Internet sources indicate that this Beriah Brown is the son of Charles Brown, and was born in Rowley, MA, in 1648. I believe that there is some doubt that this is the case and that Beriah Brown may have been born overseas and immigrated directly to Rhode Island.

First of all, the question arises as to whether Beriah Brown lived previously in Massachusetts and was married there and had a child before moving to Rhode Island. It is possible from the dates that this occurred. If he had been born in 1648 in Rowley, he would have been about 25 years old when he married Sarah Harris. He would have been about 30 when they had a daughter, Sarah, and he would have been about 39 when he was first recorded in Rhode Island in 1687. Sarah, his wife, and Sarah, his daughter had apparently died sometime prior to 1687. There is mention in brother Gershom's will of a legacy to this Beriah's daughter, Sarah. Gershom died on 5 Dec. 1683, so this suggests that the daughter, Sarah, was still living in 1683. The supposed father, Charles, also died in 1687.

Alexander, Beriah's first son by his wife Abigail Phenix, was born in Rhode Island in 1684 (although at least one source indicates this marriage occurred in 1685). This would suggest that Beriah was already in Rhode Island by 1683 or 1684 although he is not recorded until 1687. If Beriah had been previously married in Massachusetts in 1673, then it is likely his wife and daughter (or at least his wife) would have died prior to that time.

There is some evidence that there was another daughter of Beriah whose name is not known. R. G. Huling mentions in his letter to John B. Peirce of 23 Mar 1883 that there was a second daughter married to John Barber. Could this have been Sarah?

Secondly, where was Beriah born and when? There are also several references to Beriah being an immigrant from England or Wales rather than someone who was born in Massachusetts and moved to Rhode Island, particularly in the correspondence between L.W. Brown and John B. Peirce (Town Clerk of North Kingstown) and between R.G. Huling and Mr. Peirce in which there are several references to Wales and Beriah's birth date of 1640. There is, however, no specific documentation referenced in these letters.

If Beriah had not been born in 1648 in Rowley and previously married to Sarah Harris, then the alternative scenario is that he was born in Wales about 1640 and came directly to Rhode Island. If this is the case, then he would have been about 45 when he married Abigail Phenix and a few years older when he started having children. This alternative scenario is also possible, although it seems likely that he would have married and tried to settle down at a somewhat earlier age.

In the absence of concrete information to determine which scenario is correct, I have decided to take the conservative route and removed the link between Beriah and the supposed parents Charles Brown and Mary Acye of Rowley. By taking this approach, his parents remain unknown and there are no other descendants of Charles and Mary in my data.

Died:
During Great Snowstorm

Beriah married Abigail Phenix about 1675 in North Kingstown, Washington County, Rhode Island, USA. Abigail (daughter of Alexander Phenix and Abigail Sewall) was born about 1655 in North Kingstown, Washington County, Rhode Island, USA; died in 1690 in North Kingstown, Washington County, Rhode Island, USA; was buried in North Kingstown, Washington County, Rhode Island, USA, Cem. NK048 - in the Meadows Office Park. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• _UID: BBB54D456FA640CF993220A8F3375C09487F
• Alt. Birth: 1666, North Kingstown, Washington County, Rhode Island, USA
• Alt. Death: Between 1696 and 1710, , , Rhode Island, USA

Notes:

Buried:
Unmarked Grave

Other Events and Attributes:

• _UID: D3F366DB4EEB4889A608CA42C810C91884EA

Alexander married Elizabeth Wightman in 1687 in North Kingstown, Washington County, Rhode Island, USA. Elizabeth was born on 26 Jul 1664; died in 1756. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• _UID: D71F9B0DA7444D84A279E69CBA29647FBD43

Other Events and Attributes:

• _UID: 07221D54604F431AAB6D823F822933086540

Notes:

The following are notes received from Corrine Diller of Houston in e-mail sent to Larry Wilson on 11/29/99. (Don't know if Corrine did the research or someone else in her family). LDW

Most info. from Rowley V.S., which gives this obscure entry:
"____ s/o Charles Browne, bur. 16 Dec. 1687."
Note that some entries in the Rowley town records are undated.
I have typed them in the order I found them.

1638, Dec., Rev. Ezekiel Rogers and a group from Rowley, England,
landed in Mass.; in spring they established Rowley, Mass.

Rowley: Third division of Salt Marsh: "To Charles Browne two Acres
of the salt Marsh lying on ye North side Isaac Cousins Meadow
the East end abutting on a great Creeke the West end on the Comon."
Rowley: Certain parcels of meadow laid out…1st division of Fresh Marsh:
"To Charles Browne ___ Acres of Rough Marsh lying on the West
side of Richard Swans marsh the North end abutting on the vpland
the South end on Richard Thorlay his meadow…"
Rowley: Vplands laid out at the plaine Called the Great Plaine:
"To Charles Browne two Acres & an halfe of the land lying
on the north side of Thomas Millers land."
Rowley: Young Cattell: Charles Browne 0.1.8.

1647, Sep. 21, death of Francis Lambert.
1648, 11m (Jan) 20, Town meeting:
"from Charles brown to and with John Smith which bulls are to
be provided before the sixteenth of march next…"
1649, Feb. 14, "Estats for the Counstable" (taxables?)
Charles Browne 52.09.02.

1650, the names of those that has Calues (calves),
Chs Broune-1.

1651, 11m (Jan) 26, "vnto Charles Browne was graunted by the towne
a peece of sale marsh about an acre…at the shadd Creek…
where the lot of richard Swan and John Scaels…"
1653, Dec. 16, Town Meeting:
"Couper-ffor pinder Charles Browne."
1654, paid Charles Browne for a foxe, 0.2.0.
1655, 2m (April) 11, division of the bulls:
Charles Brownes.
1656, 12m (Feb.) 3, the 40 shillings the Deacon pays for Teaching is
thus Distributed… "to Charles Browne 0.1.5.0."
(he was 1 of 4.)
1659, June 7, burial of Jane (Barker) Lambert.

1661, Feb. 4, survey of landholders:
"To Charles Browne as to an acre and a half lot given by
the towne to be at cost to beate the drum for the benefit of
the town two Gates purchased of the Town one Gate."
(Gates aka commonages.)
1662, Nov. 26, "To Charles Browne one acre and a halfe be it more or
Lese lieing on the west side of Marke Primes land the south end
abuting on Marke Primes second division of land and part of the
east side bounded by severall marked trees in the Swampe the
north end abuting Simonds Brooke."
also,
"To John Lambert 4 acres lying on west side of Charles Browne's land."

Rowley: 2nd division of east end of town, mentions Charles browne
bounding Marke Prime's 2 ½ acres.
Rowley: laying out meadow: "Vnto Charles Browne bounds 10 acres laid
out for John Hesseltine."

1663/4, March 16, date of will of Gershom Lambert (b. 1643):
names (among others), Charles Browne and Cousin Mary Browne…
(some have interpreted this to mean she was the daughter of Charles,
but she could just as easily have been his wife.)
mentions "Aunt Rogers"…
(Rev. Ezekiel Rogers' 3rd wife was widow of Thomas Barker,
uncle of Gershom Lambert.)

1665, Town Meeting: "Bargained with Charles Browne to keepe the young
Catle Heard…and the said Charls is to keepe the Catle one weeke
of the time and his two sons Beriah and John another week…"

1665, paid to Charls Browne for burning younge Cattle walkes, 0.5.0.
1666, town paid to Charls Browne 0.4.0. and 0.3.6.
1667, May 20, Charles Broone rec'd lot in laying out of hog Iland.
1667, May 20, "To Charles browne for Three Gates lying on the
easterly side of John Lamberts marsh a percel of marsh on
all parts else incompased with a creeke."
1667, "Item Charles Broune for hay, 0.1.0."
"Defective fence comeinge to the Towne, Charles Browne 0.0.4.,
and 0.0.4." (fines)

1668, April 16, laid out 400 acres for Thomas Dorman, John Commins,
Robert Stilles, bounded by the South ends of John Jonson,
Charles Browne and others…

1668, April 16, "To Charles Browne Sixty Seven acres be it more
or less lying on the west side of John Jonsons land the South
end being fifty three Rod wide buting against the foresaid
dorman Commins and stilles there land the north end buting
on the foresaid John Hezeltines meadow.)

1672/3, March 14, division of the Nebery fence,
Charles Browne, 0 rods, 7 foots, 0 inches;
Marks XVI…list of the fence of the Common field…
Charles Browne 1 rods, 1 foots, IIII Number.

1683, Dec. 1, date of will of Gershom Browne,
names brother Nathaniel and his "mother";
cousin Sarah (d/o Beriah) to be brought up by his mother;
brothers John, Samuel, Ebenezer, William, Joseph, sister Mary;
Uncle John Acy;
father Brown and brother John to be executors.
(Gershom Browne is thought to be older than the other children, supposed
son of a first wife. "Mother" would be Mary Acye, actually his
step-mother,
but if she raised him, she would be the only mother he knew. Apparently
he had taken responsibility for the daughter of his brother.)

1687, Dec. 20, Rowley, date of will of Charles Browne,
"father Acy then alive"
brother John Acy,
eldest son Beriah,
granddaughter Sarah Brown a minor who had a legacy left
her by son Gershom, dec'd,
sons William, John, Samuel, Ebenezer, Nathaniel, and Joseph under age;
executors, John, Nathaniel, Ebenezer;
witnesses, Richard Dummer, Jonathan Wheeler, John Sterlin;
(will rec. with Essex deeds, 5 Ipswich, 303.)
1687, Sep. 14, Rowley, proved will of Charles Browne.
1687/8, March 12, inventory of estate of Charles Brown,
by Richard Dummer, John Wheeler;
total L.47.15.0.

Charles married Mary Acy on 14 Aug 1647. Mary (daughter of William Acy and Margaret Haiton) was born in 1623; died on 12 Dec 1683. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• _UID: 9FDFC3AA70E547079FC90019AF2845669181

Other Events and Attributes:

• _UID: 59BCDB6E40D0462EAC04E5FACB33B45578AC

Alexander married Abigail SewallNorth Kingstown, Washington County, Rhode Island, USA. Abigail (daughter of Thomas Sewall) was born on 14 Mar 1650 in Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts, USA; died after 1718. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• _UID: E78E5FD38A714654BAB8886A4720AC5B0EF7