Basic information and history. Version 2
Pioneer Thomas Brown, Revolutionary War Soldier. Thomas Brown was born 28 February 1753 in Augusta Co, VA, son of William Brown and Elizabeth Black.
In his pension application, Thomas gave a detailed account of his Revolutionary war service and many relocations throughout his lifetime, although he stated “many years ago he received a severe hurt upon his head by the fall of a tree which together with extreme old age has greatly impaired his memory”.
In 1758 Thomas relocated to Rowan Co, NC with his father. Later, the family moved to “Waxau, SC, not far from the NC line, a quarter mile from the Catawba River, 45 miles from Camden, and 3 miles from Widow Jackson, mother of Gen. Andrew Jackson”. (Waxhaws, Camden District, SC). Thomas’ father then apprenticed him to a hatter, who moved to Tryon Co, NC, taking Thomas with him.
Thomas served 7 tours during the Revolutionary War in NC and SC from March 1776 to 1780 and served a term for his father who, “requested applicant to serve his tour … which applicant agreed to and did do.” He married a Miss Green, year and place unknown at this time. In 1780, he settled in what is now Sullivan Co, TN, later removing to Roane Co, TN, then later to Smith Co, TN. He finally settled in Warren Co, TN in 1808. An 1812 deed shows "key tract; 150 acres to Thomas Brown”. Thomas died 3 September 1849 in Warren Co. at the age of 96. The 1850 TN Mortality Index shows he died at age 105.
Thomas’ will, proved 4 Nov 1849 Warren Co, TN, named sons William Brown, “heirs of my son Alexander Brown, dec’d”, daughters Margaret Hall, Martha Jarle, Nancy McGregor and Rebecca Brown, granddaughter “Elizabeth Brown, daughter of my son Alexander Brown...
Thomas Archibald Brown
I was especially intrigued with this for two reasons. 1) The DNA flagged a link between this man, Absolem B. Brown and my Isaac Brown of Warren Co., TN. and 2) our family had a "Brown Legend" that involved origins in Scotland, a flight from an apprenticeship, military service and a wife of Native American roots.
These are all elements that are found in this life of Thomas Archibald Brown. Intriguing indeed!!
In the 1970's some mature women were working diligently in Kansas, Colorado, Indiana, and Texas to record and connect their family trees. One group had marvelous old letters from the pre Civil War era, some had Bibles with trees and notes, and some just worked diligently in archives, overgrown cemeteries, and musty record halls locating information.
Combining information found in all those sources they were able to verify and build a probable family tree. Some were old enough to have actually spoken to the grandchild of some of the early players. They had heard - sometimes misheard - stories.
There was a probable tree - but no strong proofs. There was a preponderance of evidence, but no court room read evidence. No chapter and verse to point to and so many wanted a chapter and verse type of evidence.
Logic, informed and intelligent guesses, and circumstantial evidence built a tree that made sense eve as it lacked much proof.
My own DNA test has now revealed a link straight through my tree to my ancestor William Terry who married Barbara Ennis (daughter of Elizabeth Ennis who was a sister to Zachariah Ennis) and to both her sister and William's brothers Josiah, John Jr. and others. That also means a direct link to John (no Burris middle name) Terry and his wife Esther Brown (and links to her parents). That also includes a direct link to William Terry (b circa 1725 and died Nov. 1792) and Rachel Manson in Botetourt Co., Virginia (she died about 1803).
Additionally, there has been a direct link crop up among descendants of Richard Terry and Robert Terry and Thomas Terry - all who came to Massachusetts in 1835 aboard the ship THE JAMES. Court records indicate Richard and Thomas identified as brothers. Robert could be an older brother or a cousin. They came from England and most moved into Southold, Long Island, New York. Several descendants move early New Jersey (esp. that area that became Bucks Co., Pa), Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.
My known line had come from Botetourt Co., Virginia to Hawkins /Sullivan Co., (TN) to Perry and Gibson Co. (IND) and then into northwest Arkansas and Southwest Missouri. One son migrated south into the Republic of Texas and remained in Red River County for decades.
Along the way, other branches (brothers and cousins of William and Barbara) also migrated) and over the centuries there was a tendency to marry 1st and 2nd cousins.
There will no doubt be many double connections due to this trend traced all the way back to the earliest years of the families on the continent. It was a common trend to marry within the "connection" and the broader "family". Sometimes it was to insure issues of health and sanity and avoid incest as defined in that day. Marrying a stranger carried with it many unknowns. Remember in the fairy tales where the poor boy makes good and shows he is a man of honor and strength and is rewarded with the hand of a princess? That was a true reflection of the fact until a person was known by nature and actions he would not win a wife.
If only Nell, Ruth Jed, George and Dennis were still alive to see the results of all their hard work and all those - mostly correct - informed guesses.
In the records of the stately and historic First Presbyterian Church in Morris Co., NJ was found a reference to a Susannah Sturgis, widow of a David, in the session notes of 1795. She was cited for moral character and reports; primarily she was indigent 2 May 1804 and not on the church roll for 1804. Early Presbyterians - and others - viewed poverty and homelessness as a moral failure, a sign of a lack of God's favor or electedness. They had charity but only for members.
What made this interesting is I have an alleged Susannah Sturgis who married Philip Cochren (or any of the variations noted above) 18 Oct. 1806 in Morris Co., NJ (It was recorded in 1811; probably when an older book or set of records was transferred to a fresh "book." Some early searchers found this confusing and marriage dates sig-zagged between 1806 and 1811 until the digitized versions became easier to access.
Now, "our" Susannah is believed to have been born ca 1789, so if she was a widow in 1804, she would have been about 15. Not unheard of, but, young nonetheless. Now, other researchers have claimed she was the daughter of a John Sturgis and Susannah Pope but oddly I have not found any evidence of this mentioned anywhere. It is a bit frustrating.
Ancestry DNA seems to support the connection but the lack of evidence is still noticeable.
"My Philip and Susannah Cochran/Cochren" die in Delaware Co., Indiana where they had moved after marrying in New Jersey. They may have made a brief stop in New York before the thrust into the "west".
Philip was the apparent son of Daniel Cochren in New Jersey who was born in New York and was in the Revolution.
At some point along the line the last name became "Cochren" for some and "Cochran" for others (often in the same family group!!).
There is some confusion about the Isaac H. Brown born 1806 in TN and an Isaac H. Brown born 1804 in (probably PA). Both had wives named Mary. That is as far as similarities actually run.
There is no evidence that the Isaac H. Brown of Tennessee and then Texas Co., Missouri, father to a large group of children with classical and historic names, was named Isaac Hairie Brown. All census records found simply read H. Only one line suggested the "Hairie" but later long after the date and possibly in response to some careless research then at work.
One individual - who had contacted me at the time - was an adopted woman interested in only growing a tree - any tree - if the names seemed right. As a result, a lot of trees are a bit tangled because people took those connections and ran with them.
As to the Isaac H. Brown of my family line - - -
All census records of Isaac H. Brown of Missouri also reflect his birth year consistently as 1806 or abt 1806 and the place as Tennessee.
Further, DNA work completed by several descendants of this large Tennessee-Missouri based group of Brown's indicates no connections to the Pennsylvania group.
Therefore, it may be clear to say that the man buried in Northumberland Co., Pa (FAG page at Isaac Hairie Brown (1804-1883) - Find A Grave Memorial) is NOT the Isaac H. Brown of Missouri (see his FAG page here Isaac H. Brown (1806-1892) - Find A Grave Memorial)
A family legend, thought initially to refer to the Missouri Isaac Brown and now thought to be a generation or so back, must also be included. There are no tales of ties back to Pennsylvania - only to Scotland and into the forests of possibly Va, NC or the like.
DNA studies have vastly changed the field of family history : what previously had to be parsed from a preponderance of primary and secondary source materials is now added the evidence of biology at the microscopic level.
For many years the line of William Terry and Rachel Manson of Botetourt County, Virginia was a brick wall. Evidence of their children existed in various deeds, records, and family liens. Then, along came a conclusion that many accepted connecting him to Orange Run and a John and Elizabeth Pierpont, and etc.
Now, according to some new thinking, there is another option. One that, at its heart connects to an old and very early tale of the family en masse and that was "there were three brothers..." In this linking, there were indeed three primarily brothers (lines) that came from England very early.
This new line, based on DNA evidence of a vast group of Terry's strongly suggests that the line is thus:
Robert TERRY, 1610, Hampshire, England
Thomas TERRY, 1653, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Clement TERRY Sr., 1677, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Clement TERRY Jr., 1700, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
William TERRY, 1724, Virginia
John Burris TERRY,
William TERRY who married Barbara ENNIS
Who suggests this is Richard L. Tolman, PhD writing in several studies, including, "Addendum 1.Analysis of Y-DNA Markers Relevant to Thomas Terry of Bucks Co., PA., b. 1653" (Addendum 1. Analysis of Y-DNA markers – 29deadpeople) that appeared in the Utah Genealogical Association journal, "Crossroads", Winter 2019, pg.18f.
See also his work on the Five Generations of Terry's in Bucks County,PA at Five Generations of the Terry Family of Bucks County Pennsylvania – 29deadpeople
The Family Face: Issac Brown - DNA UPDATE (Previous posting circa 2008)
Historic Analysis of 1969 Brown Letter: Does the letter provide clues to historical time frames for the Isaac Brown Family?
Marilyn A. Hudson, MLIS (2014, 2021)
UPDATE TO UPDATE: As more and more are doing DNA the answers may soon be more certain. If you are a descendent of this group and have had DNA ancestry done please share.
UPDATE: Recent DNA tests in two lines call into question some of the current understandings about this line. In neither test was there any clearly defined and identifiable Native American DNA. This possibly erodes part of this legend. The downside is that that statement assumes there are clearly defined markers in all cases.
*One line was also given information that connected them to a line that was in NC, VA. and PA.
* One descendent through a maternal line descending through a son of Isaac, had his DNA done and his maternal line was U5alal.(That line was P.P. Brown).
* One descendent through Isaac (paternal Y DNA) revealed a marker of JM172. (That line was M.S. Brown).
*It is interesting to note that in at least two of these lines is also a story of a Native American wife but it is several generations EARLIER.
Any male Brown descendants of this line are urged to have their DNA test done and begin to clarify this situation.
The Legend
The story within the family of Isaac H. Brown of Texas County, Missouri was that the family name had originally been a) MacDiernie and was from Scotland and b) that on running away from an apprenticeship he (Isaac) changed it to Brown. It was generally understood the original individual thus defined was Isaac H. Brown. A closer reading of the document used to support this theory offers some interesting ideas while also raising some important questions regarding the timeline. This legend appears to have originated in the line of one of Isaac's sons. It should be noted Isaac always said on the census that he was born in Tennessee. Only one of his children appears to have ever identified him as having been born in Scotland. This would seem to suggest a misunderstanding of a family story (not a rare thing at all).
Transcript of relevant letter parts dated December 21, 1969:
Dear Georgia [1] : It seems only yesterday that I received your letter…your letter was a lovely letter and full of news and hope of finding more of our kin. Maybe I can help you in some way to continue your search.
You see my father told me a story when I was a small boy, when I asked him how we were named Brown. Then I asked him again when I was in my teens. Also again a short time before he died. The story was the same. Some things that I can’t remember, as hard as I have tried the last two months.
[This is important because it shows a consistency in the narrative but also that there were some details lost]
In the beginning our real name was Scotch – MacDiernie pronounced MAC-DEER-KNEE….
[Spelled variously there is evidence that a family group of that name and similar (Macdermid) was a protectorate under the broader Clan Campbell of Breadalbane umbrella in Argyll, Scotland.]
The story I remember is this. MacDiernie ran away from the apprentice school in Scotland. He was 14 years old at the time that he stowed away on a ship and came to the United States.
[Mary Brown, was she a Choctaw or is the story older?]
[ Born ca. 1806 he is about fourteen in 1820. There were problems with apprentice schools many years earlier. One Edinburgh paper mentioned the issue often in papers dated to the 1780's]
He joined some group to fight the Indians. – Was wounded and left to die. A tribe of Indians found him and brought him back to good health again. He lived with the Indians for a while and married one of them. [2]
[Arriving in the U.S. around 1820 on the eastern seaboard there was not much 'Indian fighting' going on except west of the Mississippi, in Indiana Territory and in Florida. There were localized events but more detail is needed on them. The belief she was either Choctaw or Cherokee places the event within the areas of the Carolinas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia depending on the tribal group. When asked to identify the suggested name Washatah (phonetic spelling of name as it descended) Cherokee speakers did not identify it.]
Being afraid that someone would find him and send him back to the school, he changed his name from MacDiernie to Brown. That is the story our Grandfather told my father.
I believe the story because while I was in Canada I checked with some Scotch people and they checked … MacDiernie listed. Out clan is the CAMPBELL’S OF BREADALBANE (BREEDAL’BRIN).
Maybe this will help you, but I forgot the name of the Indians also weather it was a greatgrandfather or not. Maybe our Great, Greatgrandfather – I can’t remember……..Fred” [3]
[This is important because it leaves open the idea that the story may be older than supposed. ]
Analysis:
Only one of his children claimed a Scottish birthplace for Isaac. Isaac on every census gave his birthplace (and the birthplace of his father) as Tennessee. Now, in the first years of being a runaway a person might fear being found and sent back to make good on their apprenticeship (since money was put forward often as a loan to a third party in such situations) but after decades?
To make the entire tale a lie seems misplaced as well. Although lovers of "tall tales" abound and were often appreciated this answer to an honest question from a man known as sober does not seem to ring true. To do so would then make Isaac a truly grand liar and a man, as the Good book says, who had no truth in him. While that may indeed be the case, it would seem that given the nature of many of children as stalwart people of high moral caliber that they would have been raised with high ethical standards.
So, it seems out of character that he would have continued to lie once the need no longer existed. Indeed, in similar cases, there is often found a renewed pride in that first nationality that the person and their heirs appreciate. Everyone needs "roots" and a sense of belonging.
Conclusion: Given the uncertainty of the letter writing in being able to pinpoint to whom the story referred, given that the greatest chance of encountering large scale 'Indian fighting' was a generation before Isaac, and given the fact he consistently responds to census takers with a Tennessee birthplace, and given that in a previous generation there was a recognized problem with runaway apprentices reported in Scottish newspapers it is most probable that this story concerns a generation or two previous to Isaac and lost something in transmission.
In addition, several other Brown lines also share this common story of a Native American woman indicating that perhaps all are retelling a shared family myth or legend (which may be rooted in fact). Together these all present a strong case for the story referring to the father or other ancestor, of this Isaac. It is at least a possibility that should be explored and considered.
Recent studies in "Native American DNA" have indicated some southeastern and northeastern tribal groups have shown to reflect what was once thought of as strictly European DNA. Advancements in knowledge of how early people groups did indeed explore into North America are constantly changing the face of exact pronouncements on what constitutes any people group specific DNA.
Marilyn A. Hudson, UPDATE 2021
Comments from Ancestry:
I also am a decedent of Isaac whose DNA test shows no Native American connection. Thanks for your analysis.
Isaac Brown of Tennessee/Missouri is not the Isaac Brown of Pennsylvania. These two Isaac Brown's are often confused. Isaac Brown of Tennessee/Missouri had unique historical names for many children. Paternal Y-DNA of child Marcius Sabines Brown is likely J-M172. Not Scottish not MacDiernie.
Census information from 1850 reveals Lewis Cain was born about 1811 in North Carolina and Milly in Kentucky about 1817. She had married first a CULLEN or CULLIN WESLEY CARTER in Hancock Co., Indiana on 5 August 1835.
For one family line, they could not be found beyond the 1850 census and when found it was in another county and everyone had a different surname. The likelihood of so many of two families sharing names, birth places, and dates was slim and I noted the possibility that their had been another marriage and the another husband had died between the 1850 and the 1860 census. It took awhile but finally a record was found indicating that the woman had remarried and the man she married had the last name found on the 1860 census.
The problem arises in using some computer programs online and connecting this record with the individual on my page! The names are not the same! So, I had to copy and paste a record and add it to the entry, along with the links to the marriage of the mother to the stepfather....and such a mess.
The problem with so many of the new computer online programs is the mandate of supportive evidence makes no allowances for some of the wonky situations encountered!
This record relates to the family of Lewis Cain and Millie Greer Carter Cain Sailes Parker and their son William James Cain. The Cain family minus William James is found in Wayne Co., Indiana in 1850. In 1860 there is only Millie, Henry, Emily and James Sailes listed in the Hamilton Co., Indiana census. Millie's older children from her first marriage are out of the home and not all found in 1860 to determine if they lived or died. Emily will grow up to marry William Hudson in Evansville, Indiana and move to southern Illinois.
TALE OF TWO MARGARET VAN SCYOCS: Untangling VAN SCYOC, SHIRLEY and CRABBS lines
Trained as a Nurse's Aide and served as special care attendant at local hospitals in Wellington, Kansas. 
Retired
to the Ozarks in the 1970's and published two books of poetry before
the death of her husband and her own subsequent failing health. 
Jed Darrel Terry, 86, of Purdy and Springfield, passed away March 8, 2019, at Oak Pointe of Monett. He was born Oct. 18, 1932, in Purdy to Homer Terry and Mellie Burg
Terry. In 1958, in Bellflower, Calif., he was married to Norma Judith
Lewis; she survives.
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| Margaret Ann Niner Boyd , here labeled Mary but also often called Maggie, with her granddaughter Edith Terry and Martha Terry Ulmer. |
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| Margaret Ann Niner Boyd |
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| History of Findley Lake, Chataqua Co., NY with note Findley was one of the first settlers and gave the name to the waterbody. |
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| Henrich Niner, 26, Germany to Baltimore 12/3/1841 |
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| Margaret Huner, 24 with a John F. Huner, 1 yr. |
P.S.- - An amusing lesson in manners comes from an email I had sent to the Shirley Association in an attempt to clear up a mistake they had made concerning the line of one Margaret Van Sycoc Shirley. Always remember to be polite and courteous to others.
I had noted when writing the text of this article that a source of further confusion was the fact that the information on the SHIRLEY ASSOCIATION WEBSITE associated the wrong Margaret VanScyoc with John Shirley. (http: //www.shirleyassociation.c om/NewShirleySite/Photos/ShirleyAssociationHistoricCollection/branch14margaretannshirleyandsonwillia mashirley.html).
I had contacted them in 2005 about the confusion but it was not changed and continues to be found on trees.
Then in 2018: An email I sent to the SFA, Re: Correct family of origin information for Margaret Van Scyoc Shirley.
A Kenneth S.(name deleted) in 2018 replied: " Lady, I provide free info. I am not clicking on any link you lazily provide. You are supposedly an author. How about writing a clear and concise email, explaining what you want to say. Ken "Original: My husband has a family line that falls from the family of this woman. She is mentioned in a 1909 will of her mother as living in Lucas Co., Ks. verifying both she and her daughter as heirs of the widow of Ashbel Van Scyoc of Fremont County, Iowa (Sarah Farley Van Scyoc Fletcher). I have tracked the "other" Margaret Van Scyoc d/o John who marries another man entirely. I submitted this information several years ago. I was amazed to see the information still on the Shirley website. But you note a tendency of some emails to fall into 'bounce' mode so maybe that is what happened. Here is a link to the article untangling the two Margaret's. https://familyface.blogspot.com/2011/04/tale-of-two-margaret-van-scyocs.html?m=0."