Brown Jotham

Jotham married Robbins Hepzibah about 1733 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA. Hepzibah was born on 29 Mar 1715 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA; was christened in Sep 1715 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA; died on 02 Jan 1784 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Brown Abigail was born on 11 Dec 1733 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA; died on 07 Nov 1739 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA.
2. Brown Asa was born on 13 Nov 1735 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA; died on 11 Feb 1817 in Hubbardson, MA.
3. Brown Abel was born on 15 Feb 1737 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA.
4. Brown Jesse was born on 08 Jun 1740 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA.
5. Brown Hope was born on 22 Jul 1742 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA; died on 10 Apr 1812 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA.
6. Brown Abigail was born on 19 May 1744 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA.
7. Brown Isaac was born on 20 Jun 1746 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA.
8. Brown Reuben was born on 28 May 1748 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA.
9. Brown Hepzibah was born on 15 Aug 1750 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA.
10. Brown Paul was born on 22 Jul 1752 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA.
11. Brown John was born about 1755; died in 1837.

Josiah married Moore Abigail on 26 Jul 1708 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA. Abigail (daughter of Moore Benjamin and Wright Dorothy) was born on 02 Dec 1686 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA; died on 30 Dec 1718. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Jabez, according to his father, Thomas Browne's will, he was the eldest son. He was born in Concord in 1644 and died at Stow 17 July, 1692.

He married first Hannah Blandford, in Sudbury 23 Dec. 1667. After her death, he remarried to Deborah Haines/Haynes, daughter of Sergeant Josiah Haines/Haynes and Elizabeth Noyes. Her sister, Abigail married Hopestill Browne, Esq., son of Deacon William Browne of Sudbury, and a first cousin of Jabez's.

Jabez settled in Sudbury in 1667 where he sustained losses by fire set by the Indians during their assaults on Sudbury in 1676, King Philip's War. On January 20, 1776, to fight in the Revolutioanary War, the county of Middlesex was ordered to raise a regiment of 571 men. Concord furnished 36. John Robinson was Colonel; John Buttrick, Lieutenant-Colonel; and Jabez Brown was appointed Adjutant. He was admitted a freeman there in 1680.

In 1681, 12 lots were listed as having been taken up in 1678 or 1679 in Stow. One lot went to Boaz Browne, his brother. Jabez Browne was granted a lot there in 1683 where he moved at that time. He was chosen Representative to the General Court in 1692 under the new charter.

He was the second highest taxed in Stow, owing to the large amount of property he owned.

Administration of the estate of Jabez Brown is found in the records of the Middlesex County Probate Court, Vol. 8, pp. 419-421 during the years 1692-1694. The widow, Deborah received one third of the estate. Thomas Browne, the eldest son received lands in Sudbury, Lancaster and Stow to the value of thirty pounds. Jabez, Jr. received land and houses to the value of twenty pounds. The eldest daughter, Mary received property to the value of twenty pounds as did the youngest daughter, Sarah and youngest son, Josiah.

After his Jabez's death, his widow, Deborah and son, Thomas received a letter from Jabez' son-in-law, Mary's second husband, John Gove of Cambridge, who called her, "my sister Brown" and offered to sign their administration bond on Sept. 29, 1692.

Thomas and Bridget, his parents, removed to Concord from Sudbury by 1640. Their children where born in Concord but after Bridget died on Jan. 5, 1681, Thomas then removed to Cambridge where he died on Nov. 3, 1688.

The "Mayflower DescendantsThrough Five Generations" William White/Vol. 13, published by the Mayflower Society, claims that Deborah Haynes was the mother of Thomas. In the family history researched by Dorothy H. Kelso of Duxbury, MA in her book, "Hard Hands and Brawny Conciences" she claims that Thomas was the son by Jabez's first wife, Hannah Blandford. No birth records for Thomas have been found.

Benjamin married Wright Dorothy on 11 Nov 1686 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA. Dorothy (daughter of Wright Edward and Upson Hannah) was born on 20 Oct 1662 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA; died on 20 Oct 1717 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Thomas Browne was born to Sarah Browne, who died in childbirth, and probably Thomas Browne. He was raised as a "son" by uncle, Edmund and Ann Woder Browne; came over on the "Confidence" in 1637 with his "brothers", Rev. Edmund and William, arriving in Ludlow, MA. They were preceded by two uncles, Richard and Abraham, who came over with the Winthrop fleet in 1630 and settled in Watertown. They were all from Lavenham, Suffolk county, England.

It was probably by the efforts of Abraham and Richard that persuaded Thomas, Edmund and William to join them for Richard in 1634 had been granted 600 acres of land in Watertown. Their cousin, John also came earlier, having first landed in Boston from London on 16 Sept. 1632 on the "Lion". He too, came to the Massachusetts Bay Colony of Puritans to join Reverand Winthrop and his followers, settling in Watertown.

Thomas and his brothers, Edmund and William arrived in Ludlow,MA in 1637. They probably went to Watertown for a brief period. By 1638 Thomas and his brothers petitioned the General Court for permission to settle a new town, which they named Sudbury. The General Court gave the authority to begin the plantation on 6 September 1638.

Rev. Edmund, a graduate of Cambridge University, became the first minister of Sudbury. He stayed on in Sudbury, marrying but died childless in 1677. He was highly regarded in the town as a religious leader even though some of the leaders in the town did not always agree with his views.

Thomas was a husbandman and a planter. He was admitted a freeman of the Bay Colony on March 14, 1638, and was a proprietor in Sudbury in 1640. His 34-1/2 acres of land were on Bridal Point Highway and later received another 29 acres. At the same time, his brother, William had received 8 acres.

The General Court on October 7, 1640, granted Thomas 200 acres of land in Sudbury in payment for the 25 pounds which was put into a joint stock by his aunt, Mrs. Harvey who authorized his application. His brother, Captain William Browne made a similar application and was granted 200 acres laid out for him in Sudbury.

Thomas married Bridget, perhaps Bateman, around 1639/40 and started their family in Sudbury.

Thomas soon grew tired of the religious arguments the town was embroiled in and departed for Concord in 1640. In Concord, he became a large landowner after he purchased land on 20 May, 1655, 9 January 1661 and 3 April 1671. All the Brownes were farmers and large landowners. Some of the lands belonging to Thomas were still in the family as late as 1896.

After his wife, Bridget died in 1681, he moved to Cambridge, Middlesex County, MA. He died there in 1688 and is buried in The First Parish Cemetery.

In the history of New England, Thomas was always known as Thomas Browne of Concord. He was a trooper of a Middlesex Company in the King Philip's War. (Colonial Wars Lineage Book, p. 71) He also was a town officer, probably of Concord in 1660, 1663 and 1668. On May 18, 1666, he was admitted to the church and was named a member of a committee to divide certain Concord properties on March 26, 1675. On November 20, 1680, "Late of Concord, now of Cambridge", he deeded his Concord lands to his son, Thomas Browne, Jr. and acknowledged the deed before Randolph, Dec.6, 1687. He filed on March 11, 1681/82, a list of properties which he had given to his son, Boaz Browne before the latter's marriage. John Gove, his daughter, Mary's second husband, was one of the witnesses. Son, Jabez Browne remained in Sudbury until the founding of Stow at which time he joined with his brother,Boaz and others.

Thomas's daughter, Mary did not conduct herself properly causing Thomas to write two letters to the Governor in December, 1670. He himself at one time was fined with others on February 9, 1658 for a nominal offense.

The Browne brothers were from a wealthy family of Brownes going back to John Browne of Stamford, County of Lincolnshire, England in the 1330's. One of John's descendents, Christopher was of Swan Hall of Hawkedon, County of Suffolk.

Thomas's Uncle Abraham was the son of Richard Browne of Swan Hall, Hawkedon,Suffolk County, England. He migrated to America in 1630 with his wife, Lydia and several children.

Thomas's adopted father, Edmund was born in Summerton, County of Suffolk, England in 1576.

The final "e" in Browne was dropped two generations after Thomas, beginning with Thomas, son of Jabez.


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From "The Wives of Boaz Brown" NEHGR V140 Brown:

"Thomas Browne, husbandman and planter, was one of the founders of Sudbury, MA in 1638. He removed to Concord in 1640 and resided there until his wife Bridget died in 1680, at which time he removed to Cambridge, MA where he d. in 1688."

From "From Concord, MA to the Wilderness: The Brown Family Letters,
1792-1852" Brown-Groover, NEHGR V131 1977:

"The founding father of this family was Thomas Browne (1601-1688), a native of Lavenham, Suffolk Co., England, who had settled, with his wife Bridget, in Concord by the year 1640. Thomas was not the first of his family to emigrate to America, having been preceeded by two uncles, Abraham and Richard Browne, who crossed with the Winthrop fleet in 1630, and by a cousin, John Browne, who came c. 1632 on the Lion. They were all from Lavenham, and all settled in Watertown. The exact circumstances of Thomas's emigration are not known, but it is probably that he, accompanied by the Reverend Edmund Browne, 5 years his junior, arrived in 1637, joining their relatives in Watertown. In 1638, the settled in the newly established town of Sudbury, where Edmund, a graduate of the University of Cambridge, became the first pastor and both were assigned land. Although generally reguarded as brothers, they were more likely cousins. It is known that they had different fathers, each bearing the same name as his father. Since Thomas's mother Sara died in childbirth, it is not unreasonable to assume that he and his cousin Edmund, grew up as "brothers." In 1640 Thomas decided to make his permanent home in the nearby town of Concord."


THE PIONEERS OF MASSACHUSETTS, Ancestry Charles Henry PopeThomas, husbandman, planter, Sudbury, one of the petitioners to whom the Gen. Court gave authority to begin that plantation 6 Sept. 1638. Rem. to Concord; bought land 20 (3) 1655, 9 June, 1661, 3 (2) 1671,--" of Concord." Dau. Mary m. first William Woodhead, of Chelmsford, whose conduct made it necessary for Mr. Browne to write two letters to the governor in Dec. 1670; he deposed at that time, aged about 61 years; his son Thomas, Jr, deposed at the same time, aged about 19 years. [Mdx. files.] Mary m. second, John Gove of Cambridge. Thomas B., Sen. was a member of a committee to divide certain Concord property 26 March, 1675; [Mdx. Deeds]; but 20 Nov. 1680,--" late of Concord, now of Cambridge," --he deeded his Concord lands to his son Thomas, Jr., and acknowledged the deed before Randolph Dec. 6, 1687. He filed on March 11, 1681-2, a list of lands which he had given to his son Boaz before the latter's marriage; John Gore was one of thewitnesses.

The son Jabez, who remained in Sudbury until the founding of Stow, in which he joined with Boaz and others, deposed 6 (2)1669, aged about 25 years; he died in 1692; his widow and son Thomas had a letter from Gove, who called her "my sister Brown," and offered to sign their administration bond, Sept. 29, 1692.
GenMassachusetts-L ArchivesFrom: Subject: BROWN, Thomas Sr. b. 1605 ENG d. 1688 Cambridge,Middlesex, MADate: Sun, 11 Oct 1998 16:22:50 EDTSurname: BROWN, Thomas son of Edward Brown & Anne Woder.b. 1605 > Cambridge,(Mrs.) Bridget BROWN was born about 1609 in of, Suffolk,England. was buried 5 Jan 1681 in Concord, Middlesex, MA.Amer. Comp. 7:836; Savage 1:265; Early MA Marr.; ConcordV.S. p.1; B.T.1934; MA V.S. ChelmsfordMARRIAGE: New England Marriages: Prior to 1700 (C. A.Torrey) p.109Bridget married (1) Thomas BROWN [Sr.], son of EdwardBROWN andAnne WODER about 1640 in Concord, Middlesex, MA. Thomaswas born10 Jan 1605 in of Lavenham, Suffolk, England. He died 3Nov 1688in Cambridge, Middlesex, MA.Amer. Comp. 7:836; Savage 1:265; Early MA Marr.; Concord V.S.p.1; B.T. 1934; MA Vit. St. Chelmsford.; Lavenham Par. Reg.(Suffolk , England)MARRIAGE: New England Marriages: Prior to 1700 (C. A.Torrey) p.109IMMIGRATION: 3 June 1635 "JAMES" of London. William Cooper,Master, three hundred tons. She sailed from SouthamptonApril 5and arrived June 3 with passengers and cattle. Winthrop callsher master 'Mr. Graves' and says that he 'had come everyyear forthese seven years.' [Winthrop: Journal 1:152] [Charles EdwardBanks, "THE PLANTERS OF THE COMMONWEALTH: 1620-1640 Passengersand Ships", Genealogical Pub. Co., Inc., Batlimore (1972)974.w2p, pg.137] Servant to Thomas ANTRUMOCCUPATION: Weavers's assistant

Thomas married Bateman? Bridget about 1640 in England or MA. Bridget was born about 1609 in Hawkedon, Suffolk County, England; died on 05 Mar 1681 in Concord, Middlesex Co., MA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Could William Bateman who was admitted a freeman 18 May, 1642 be her father? He had son, William, of Concord, Freeman 1641 and removed to Chelmsford; Thomas, Concord, admitted freeman in 1642, died. 6 Feb. 1699 at age 55 yrs.

Thomas Bateman had sons, John, Thomas, Ebenezer and Peter who died in Woburn, 1676.

John married RICE Elizabeth. Elizabeth was born in England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Edward married Upson Hannah on 18 Jun 1659 in Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA. Hannah (daughter of Upson Stephen and Elizabeth) was born in 1638 in Of Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA; died on 18 May 1708 in Of Sudbury, Middlesex Co., MA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]