The Brown Family Homestead in Maryland. (Clapboard siding is a newer recent addition.)

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Edward and Peggy Brown

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We now turn to Edward Brown, son of George and Mary Brown. Edward Brown has been confused by genealogists seeking to attach a family to a name. Roe's genealogy of the Wells, Browns, and Holmes Families tells us that Edward Brown was a sea captain. Edward Brown was a sea captain in Rhode Island, but not our ancestor.

Edward has a much more interesting story to tell.

 

Central Maryland and the Pipe Creek Hundred, circa 1728 (left) and 1745 (right) (Credit: Unknown)

Edward was born on September 16, 1733 or 34, depending on which calendar you use, and he was born on the family estate in what is now Westminster, Maryland. It is important to note that during and after Edward's time, local government was developing. Edward's father, George, was counted in the Pipe Creek Hundred. A 'Hundred' was an old system that was not based on land area, but on an area capable of raising a militia of 100 able-bodied men. The Pipe Creek Hundred was not the same land area as the neighboring Monocacy Hundred. Later, the County System came along, and as counties developed, Brown's Plague was listed as part of Frederick County or Carroll County, depending on the time period. It is not that the Brown's were moving, it was a government developing.

Edward married Margaret Durbin. Margaret went by Peggy. Peggy came from established Baltimore families, the Durbins and the Logsdons. Edward and Peggy were married in 1753 and started a large family. This list comes from combination of the will of Edward Brown (the first number) and the Brown Family Bible (the second number),

The Children of Edward and Peggy Brown

i - i Ruth Brown, b 1753; d May 28, 1827; m James McGuire
ii - v John Brown, b November 8, 1760 (1756?); d February 12, 1802
iii - iii Joshua Brown (GAR), b 1758; d January 5, 1826, Madison County, Kentucky; m Honor Wells
iv - iv Caleb Brown, b March 23, 1759; d August 30, 1837
v - ii Nancy Ann Brown, b 1760; d September 9, 1802; m1 _________ Tesch, m2 William Jessup
vi - vi Jane "Jinney" Brown, b 1762; d October 18, 1822 or 1831; m Richard Wells
vii - vii Sarah Brown, b 1764; d September 11, 1829; m Solomon Porter
viii - viii NICHOLAS BROWN, b October 17, 1765; d June 29, 1858; m SARAH WHITACKER
ix - ix Margaret Brown, b 1768; dsp July 29, 1849; m James Sappington
x - xi Mary Brown, b 1772; d 1849
xi - x Hugh Brown, b June 8, 1770; November 1, 1843; m Keziah Hoy

Edward was a farmer and owned a grist mill and distillery. In those days, excess grain was often turned into whiskey. This fact has led genealogist to speculate that his father's origins lie in Scotland.

Enlisted by Capt. John Reynolds, Frederick Co., July 18th, 1776.

Passed by Joseph Smith.

William Walker	Wm. Patrick	Edward Brown
Moses Hobbins	Archibald Mullihan	Henry Coonse
John Ferguson	Edward Pain	George Deale
Wm. Bradford, volunteer	Wm. Coffeeroth	Benedict Eiginor
Jacob Hosler	John Wade	Edward Dumatt
Thomas Fowler	Thomas Stogdon	Daniel Murphey
John Been	Silus Tomkins	Ludowick Kiding
David Grove	John Class	Christopher Curts, (Cortz)
Thos. Bissett	John Hurley	Henry Knave
Wm. Messersmith	Thomas Pitcher	Thomas McKoy, D. S. T.

Edward served in the Militia during the Revolution; he was in his forties. At the time, the general rule for service in the militia was 'any able-bodied man, fifteen to fifty.' His sons served as well - which could have been Edward's contribution in and of itself - even down to 12-year-old Nicholas. Also of note is Daniel Murphey, who was close to the family. Family lore states that Edward was present at the surrender of Lord Cornwallis.

Following the Revolution, Edward and Peggy decided that the area was becoming too crowded to live in. The Western Frontier was opening up and Edward moved his family to near Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, southwest of Pittsburgh near the Ohio River. This was not new territory to Edward. His Land Warrant shows that by 1773, Edward had built a cabin near Cross Creek along with several members of the Wells family.

We the Commissioners for adjusting the claims to unapportioned lands in the Counties of Monongalia and Yohogania & Ohio do hereby certify that Edward Brown is entitled to four hundred acres of land in right of pre-emption in Yohogania County situate on the waters of Cross creek to include his cabin & other Improvements made in the Year of our Lord Seventeen hundred & seventy three.

          Given under our hand [...] the third day of February 1780 [...] of the Commissioners [...]

Edward appears on the Tax Roll for Washington County, Pennsylvania, in 1780. Members of the Wells family appear in Washington County, Pennsylvania, as well. On March 23, 1780, Edward Brown took up 276 acres on a Virginia treasury warrant and Joshua Brown, Edward's brother took 396 acres known as "Brownfields" in 1788. It might seem odd that Virginia was giving land to people in Pennsylvania, but it was not. At that time, nobody really knew where Pennsylvania and Virginia was out here. Pennsylvania's charter gave a north and south boundary, but no one said how far west Pennsylvania could be. Virginia's Ohio Company was busy sending people west to occupy as much land as possible, but Virginia and the Ohio Company were pre-occupied with Kentucky. Soon, a committee was formed and Pennsylvania took responsibility within the present day borders of the state.

Edward named his tract "Fair Hill." A present day map of the area shows a combination of well-cleared farm land and thick woods. We often think of a farm as clear and flat, but in this part of the country, there is little flat land. Fields are good to plant crops and pasture livestock, but wood was an important commodity too. Logs are useful for building houses, barns, and other buildings, and the branches provide heat as firewood.

Edward was not far from Cross Creek. Fair Hill was due east of Eldersville on the Jefferson Township line with Cross Creek Township on what is now Walker Road. Edward was just a few miles from the village of Cross Creek. At the time, Cross Creek was an important, vital, and prosperous village for trade and as an a stop for people travelling west. Fair Hill seemed like a good place to live. Edward and Peggy arrived in time for two important events.

Gnaddenhutten

Here triumphed in death ninety Christian Indians, March 8, 1782

Inscription on the Monument at Gnaddenhutten

On March 6, 1782, militia men from Washington County, Pennsylvania, killed 96 Indian men, women, and children.

Nathan Rollins & brother [who] had had a father & uncle killed took the lead in murdering the one Indians, ...& Nathan Rollins had tomahawked nineteen of the poor Moravians, & after it was over he sat down & cried, & said it was no satisfaction for the loss of his father & uncle after all

Obadiah Holmes, Jr, objecter to the Raid on Gnaddenhutten

The village at Gnaddenhutten was started by Moravian missionaries who had succeeded in converting quite a few Indians to Christianity. The village featured all the necessities of frontier life - a church, a school, cabin dwellings, stores for supplies.

The problem with being a Christian Indian was two-fold. Indians did not view you as Indian and frontiersmen did.

The people around the greater Fort Pitt had grown tired of Indian Raids across the Ohio River. The British, eager to sow seeds of choas against the new United States, had lied to the Wyandots. The Wyandots were taken to believe that the American Revolution had failed, the leaders of the Revolution had been hung for treason or taken to England to be hung for treason. The British, as the Indians were told, were in control of the colonies. These people who had come from the East had fled the British. The Lanape believed it.

Likewise, they did not take much stocks of the Moravian missionaries, led by David Zeisberger. The Lanape raided Gnaddenhuten, as well as Shoenbrunn, another Moravian mission village, and either took or destroyed crops. They also raided in and around Fort Pitt.

On March 8, 1782, the Americans destroyed Gnaddenhutten under the belief that these were the Indians who had attacked them.

The event is much richer and more complex. There is no evidence that a Brown took part in the Gnaddenhutten Massacre.

The Whiskey Rebellion — 1791-1794

The Whiskey Rebellion was about taxation. One side of the argument was that the new Federal government was trying to raise money to pay for the debt of war. The other side argues that the tax was unfair. Because farmers could make whiskey more cheaply in the West and ship it to the East, the Whiskey Tax was a tariff. Further, they argued that because the Western farmers and distillers were not represented in Washington, this amounted to nothing more than taxation without representation. Accordingly, most of those who rebelled against the Whiskey Tax were soldiers who had fought in the Revolution.

Even the term "Whiskey" is a bit misleading. This was actually a liquor or 'spirits' tax on products distilled from grain, any grain. Thus, if a farmer produced alcohol from leftover corn, wheat, barley, rye, or any mixture made from these grains, the result was a tax. Since reliable currency was not readily available, whiskey was often substituted for currency. For Westerners, a Whiskey Tax was a tax on income, and this was rejected.

There were other problems. Stills had to be registered. If an unregistered still was found, the summons was issued for the Federal Court in Philadelphia. The accussed did not have the option of appearing in a local court and instead had to travel more than 300 miles, over the Appalachians to appear in court. This was a long, arduous, expensive, and potentially fatal journey. Finally, the frontiersmen felt the Federal government was doing to little to protect the Western Frontier from Indians making this tax the straw that broke the camel's back.

The Colonies at the beginning of the American Revolution

While Western Pennsylvania was portrayed as the location of the Whiskey Rebellion, resistance to the tax was found throughout the Appalachian states except Kentucky. No one in Kentucky could be convinced to become a collector for this tax and Kentucky remained a place where Whiskey could be made in peace.

To both lawmakers and President Washington, the Whiskey Rebellion appeared to be an armed revolt against the Federal government. To this end, the President sent a diplomatic contingent to negotiate a solution, while at the same time, raised a militia army in case diplomacy failed. Many, including Washington, saw this as the supremacy of Federal government over local government.

The Rebellion failed when the rebels disappeared before the march of Federal troops into Pittsburgh. By October, 1794, the Rebellion was considered to be finished. While many researchers will claim that the Southwest Pennsylvania families moved into Kentucky, taking their whiskey with them, this is not true. Many families moved from Southwest Pennsylvania to Kentucky, but the Whiskey industry was already working in Kentucky. They moved to escape the troubles of Western Pennsylvania.

In Southwestern Pennsylvania, hanging the portrait of Alexander Hamilton upside-down shows support for the Whiskey Rebellion.

On April 1, 1796, Edward sold fair Hill to Daniel Henderson. Two years later, Henderson sold it to David Walker. The farm remained in the Walker family for at least a century.

The Browns then moved further west to Holliday's Cove, West Virginia, on the Ohio River. The Ohio River was the practical western boundry of United States at the time. The Ohio Territory was just opening up thanks to the Coxes in Pennsylvania and West Virginia and the Van Cleaves in Kentucky.

Peggy died at Holliday's Cove on March 20, 1795, and is buried there.

At some point around the time of Peggy's death, Edward purchased land on Tate's Creek in Madison County, Kentucky. At about the same time, the Logsdon family was moving into Madison County. Logsdon family historians indicate the Browns and Logsdons tended to move together. These Logsdons are relatives of Peggy through her mother. The land was located south of Lexington and the Kentucky River somewhere near Old Boonesborough Road and Lexington Road. Hoy's Station and Tate's Creek Baptist Church are located here. It should be said that the Browns were Episcopalians. Edward moved his family down the Ohio River to Kentucky after Peggy's death and remarried on November 29, 1797, in Madison County, Kentucky. His new wife was Sarah Calloway, the widow of Major William Hoy. These are people that had been through the Indian Raids with the Van Cleaves. Sarah had a large number of children. One of Sarah's children, Keziah, married into the Brown family, namely Edward's youngest son Hugh.

Hoy's Station

Fort Boonesborough gives us an idea of what Hoy's Station may have looked like

Capt. Edmund Baxter, whose 1781-82 militia company of Weirton, West Virginia- Burgettstown, Pennsylvania is in the Pennsylvania Archives. This document is mislabeled as a Chester County unit. […] This company had service in the Moravian Massacre. Interestingly, John Sappington Sr. was also in the company and led militia members of the Logan Massacre of 1774.

Clifford W. Lanham

At least 15 men of Captain Baxter's Company found their way to Madison County, Kentucky.

The residents of Hoy’s Station, which was described as being on the dividing ridge between Tates and Otter Creeks, were the founder Major William Hoy, who was killed, and his wife; Jonas Hoy, son of William, who was captured by Indians; Jack Calloway who was taken prisoner with Jonas Hoy; the daughter of William Hoy who was married to Jno. Newland; Rowland Hoy who was killed; old man Crook (Crooks) who was killed; Jonathan Crook (Crooks); Daniel Williams; Ven (?) Williams; George Brown ["The Patriot," Brother of Edward Brown]; Jos. Durbin [Brother-in-law of Edward Brown]; Thos. Lanham; John Sappington [father of James Sappington - the 'Sappington Boys'] whose first wife was a sister of James Hoy; and Mr. and Mrs. Calloway, she being the mother of Major William Hoy, with her second husband.

Draper Papers (MMS12,CC190)

Having a large family tended to be the rule among pioneer families. There are many benefits,

• An investment towards retirement, your children take care of you in old age.
• Free labor, you need help with the planting and harvest, livestock, chores, and so on.
• Defense, there are a lot of people and animals which were deadly.
• A hedge against infant mortality, not all children survived.
• Entertainment, a large family means something is always going on.
• Community, these children will marry and form communities.
• Population growth for a new country in a sparsely populated land.

Apparently, watermelons were hard to come by in Kentucky in the late 1700s.

Major William Hoy was a native of Virginia. He married the Miss Sarah Callaway and William went west into Kentucky and had a large family. William established a pioneer station, "Hoy's Station," south of Lexington. The Hoys and Callaways, perhaps as well other associated families lived there.

On August 10, 1782, the men of Hoy's Station went out to cut a race from Tate's Creek. Back then, a race was a channel of water, often diverted from a creek, that could be used to power a mill. Two young boys, Jonas Hoy, and his younger uncle, John "Jack" Callaway - large family phenomena - went out to help the men dig the race. Along the way, they stopped to examine the Watermelon Patch. There, they were kidnapped by Indians. Although a pursuit was taken, the Indians escaped and the boys remained captive for a number of years. This became a pivotal event among the pioneers and shaped what would happen next.

The Children of Major William and Sarah Callaway Hoy

i Elizabeth (Betty/Betsy) Hoy, m April 20, 1784, John South
ii Roland Hoy, d 1790, Madison County, Kentucky
iii Jonas Hoy, born May 1,1773; m July 1, 1805, Elizabeth Brown
iv Theodocia Hoy, m 1791, Lawrence Flournoy
v William Hoy, b January 5, 1783; m January 25, 1805, Mildred DeJarnette
vi Kezia Hoy m Hugh Brown
vii Faunia (Fanny) Hoy
viii Celia Tania Hoy, m John Newland
ix Parthenia Hoy, b 1782; d September 7, 1834; m1 May 20, 1804, John DeJarnette; m2 John Sappington

William Hoy died at the hands of Indians in Madison County, Kentucky, in 1790. Sarah married Edward Brown in 1797, and according to Hoy and Callaway family sources, died in Estill County, Kentucky, after 1822.

Edward Brown passed away on August 14, 1823. Most genealogist place his death in Madisonville, Hopkins County, Kentucky, while others place his death in Estill County, Kentucky, next to Sarah. Most of Edward's estate goes to those closest to him. In his will, he leaves One Dollar to his son Nicholas. Nicholas has his eyes on Ohio.

Mr. and Mrs. George Brown, Esquire

The Flag of Maryland

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Mr. and Mrs. George Brown, Esquire

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The origins of the Brown Family in England are uncertain. For some time it was thought that the Browns originated in the Colony of Saint Mary's in Maryland. This has been disproven. Likewise, some place the origin of the Browns in America on the Mayflower. This has also been disproven. Still others claim the Browns were Germans who settled in Pennsylvania. They were not, they were English who lived in Pennsylvania amongst Germans. Research is being conducted for that one piece of evidence that will link our Brown ancestor to a family of Browns in England. Several researchers now think there might have been a minister seeking religious freedom might be involved. For now, the origins of the Browns in England remain undiscovered.

We begin with George Brown. Here is what we used to think — George is the first Brown of our family born in the New World. George was born in Baltimore, Maryland somewhere around 1714. Sometime around 1730, George married Miss Nancy Stevenson, who was apparently 16 at the time, the daughter of Colonel Stevenson. The couple had a large family and there are conflicting lists of their children. George died in 1770. No date of Nancy's death was recorded.

Recent research offers a more complete picture — George Brown was a gentleman of wealth who was born in Nottinghamshire, England, in 1690. In 1712, in Baltimore, Maryland, George married a native of Baltimore, Mary Stevenson, daughter of Edward and Mary King Stevenson. Col Edward Stevenson was George's brother-in-law. George's first child, Mary, was born about 1715.

George was a landowner, which speaks to his wealth. George's marriage into the Stevenson family speaks to his social status. There is another section devoted to the Stevenson Family. Mary's brother was a Colonel in the King's Army, which is fairly high in the aristocracy of the colony. Further, George's grandson, George Brown, DD, states his grandfather was known as George Brown, Esquire, which denotes a degree of landed gentry. George Brown goes on to say, "My Grand Father was from England. He was about five feet one inch in height, strongly built, and of great strength." The following lists the Land Patents of George Brown with the year, name of patent, and size,

• 1734 — Brown's Chance, 150 acres, near Baltimore, Maryland.
• 1743 — Brown's Delight, 350 acres, near Westminster, Maryland.
• 1743 — Pleasant Grove, 50 acres.
• 1761 — Brown's Plague, 565 acres, includes a resurvey of Brown's Delight.

George died on February 24, 1770, and Nancy passed sometime between 1771 and 1776. It is a long-held belief that George and Mary were laid to rest near Westminster, Maryland, on land originally patented as Brown's Delight. George's will is instrumental in establishing the family.

Will of George Brown, Esquire

In the name of God, Amen I, George Brown of Frederick County in the province of Maryland being sick in health but of sound mind and memory Thanks be to god for it [illegible] to the c[illegible] of nature my departure draweth near, so this nineteenth day of February in the year of our Lord seventeen hundred and sixty seven make and publish this my last will and testament in the manner and form following. That is to say, Item: I will and bequeath unto my son John Brown, all that [illegible] tract of land called Pleasant Grove containing fifty acres lying in Baltimore County to him and his heirs forever and nor more of my estate real or personal. Item: I also give and bequeath to my sons, George, Edward, and Richard, each of them the sum of one shilling sterling money to be paid unto each of them on demand at the end of one whole year after my decease and no more of my estate real or personal. Item: I give and bequeath unto my daughters, Mary and Elizabeth each of them the sum of one shilling sterling money to be paid unto them on demand at the the end of one year after my decease and no more of my estate real or personal. Item: also I give and bequeath unto my daughter Rachel, one feather bed and furniture and no more of my estate real or personal. Item: also I give and bequeath unto my four sons William, Henry, Hugh and Joshua after the payment of my just debts all that part of the tract of land called Brown's Plague which I shall [illegible] of being by estimation near three hundred acres to be equally divided among them after the decease of my well-beloved wife Mary Brown, to them and their heirs forever. Item: also, I order and desire that sale be made of such goods and chattels as is not above disposed of with all convenient speed in order to pay my debts. Otherwise, some part of my land called Brown's Plague as to my [illegible] hereafter mentioned shall sum and convenient and I also make and ordain my well-beloved wife, Mary Brown and my son, Henry, executrix and executors of this my last will in trust for the [illegible] in this my last will contained. In witness whereof I the said George Brown have to this my last will and testament set my hand and seal this day and year first written above. George Brown - Signed, sealed and delivered by the said George Brown as and for his last will and testament presence of us Jost Runkly, John Logsdon, William Logsdon

Children of George and Mary Brown (as listed in the Will of George Brown)

i Mary Brown, b. 1717; d. 1757; m John Baxter

ii [Nancy Anne Brown, b 1723; d 1765; m Richard Tidley Wells - assigned by tradition]

iii John Brown, b 1725; d 1810; m Elizabeth McQueen

iv [Sarah Brown - assigned by tradition]

v George Brown, Junior, "George the Patriot", b 1730, d 1812, m Mary Hall

vi EDWARD BROWN, b September 16, 1734, d August 14, 1823; m MARGARET DURBIN

vii Richard Brown b 1739; d February 8, 1811; m Honor Wells

viii Elizabeth Brown, m Jacob Sappington

ix Henry Brown, b 1741; d 1827; m Regina ________

x William Brown, b 1742; d 1771 (age 29); bur Suffolk, England October 26, 1771

xi Rachel Brown, b 1743; d 1818; m Michael McQuire

xii Hugh Brown, b 1745; d July 11, 1811; m Ruth Barney

xiii Joshua Brown, b 1748; d September 17, 1832; m Susanne ________

xiv [Assigned by tradition]

xv [Assigned by tradition]

xiv [Assigned by tradition]