Genealogical and family history of the state of New Hampshire : a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation, Vol. IV, Part 5

Author: Stearns, Ezra S; Whitcher, William F. (William Frederick), 1845-1918; Parker, Edward E. (Edward Everett), 1842-1923
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: New York : Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 878

USA > New Hampshire > Genealogical and family history of the state of New Hampshire : a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation, Vol. IV > Part 5

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

In 1640, the first established code of laws for the Colony, which was adopted and continued in force until the arrival of the charter three years later, was written by a committee consisting of Robert Cole, Chad Brown, William Harris and John War- ren. To this report or agreement Chad Brown's name is the first signed and it is followed by forty others. It is probable that he wrote the draft. Rev. Chad Brown died probably in 1665.

(II) Elder John Brown, the eldest son of Rev. Chad Brown, was born in England, in 1629-30, and accompanied his father when he went to Provi- dence, being at that time about eight years of age. About 1665 he was chosen a member of the town conneil and was a deputy governor of the Colony, and was afterwards elder in the First Baptist Church of Providence. He resided at the north end of the town, northward of the house of Elisha Brown. He married . Mary Holmes, daughter of Rev. Obadiah Holmes, who was the second pastor of the First Church in Newport, Rhode Island.

(III) Rev. James Brown, son of Elder John and Mary (Holmes) Brown, was born 1666, in Providence, and died there October 28, 1732. He lived at the northend where his father had lived, and was pastor of the First Baptist Church. The various annals represent him as a man of great piety and power for good in the church and com- munity. He married Mary Harris, daughter of Andrew and granddaughter of William Harris, of Providence.

(IV) Elisha Brown, son of Rev. James and Mary (Harris) Brown, was born May 25. 1717, in Providence, where he resided and died April 20, 1802. He was a member of the general assembly for many years, and was deputy governor of the Colony from 1765 to 1767. He married (first ). Martha Smith, a descendant of John Smith, the miller : and (second), Hannah (Barker) Cushing. widow of Elijah Cushing, and daughter of James Barker.

(V) Elisha (2) Brown. son of Elisha (1) and Martha (Smith) Brown, was born June I. 1749, in Providence, Rhode Island, and continued to reside there throughout life, dying in March, 1827. He was a successful merchant of good standing in his native city. He married, April 24, 1774. Elizabeth Bowen, of Rehoboth, Massachusetts.

(VI) John Brown, son of Elisha (2) and Eliza- beth (Bowen) Brown, was born January 20. 1784. in Providence, Rhode Island, and was a prominent merchant in that city, where he died. He married Elizabeth Daggett, of Seekonk, Rhode Island, and they had five sons, all over six feet tall except Col- ville D., who was five feet and eight inches.

(VII) Colville Dana Brown. son of John and Elizabeth (Daggett) Brown, was born July 4. 1814, in Providence, Rhode Island. He began existence about the close of the second war with Great Britain, and was reared in an atmosphere fully charged with

I554

NEW HAMPSHIRE.

New England patriotism. He was employed in the cotton mills as a printer until 1860, when he was appointed to a position in the government commis- sary department. After the war closed he was ap- pointed superintendent of Capitol grounds at Wash- ington, D. C., a position he held for thirty years, until his death, January 2, 1898, in Providence, Rhode Island. He was a Whig until the formation of the Republican party, when he became an ardent supporter of that party. He married, 1840, Mary Eliza Rhodes (see Rhodes ancestry), and their children were: John Colville, Robert Dana, Mary Eliza, Elisha Rhodes, Lizzie Ellen, Carrie Mitchell, Emily Louise and Charles Nichols.

(VIII) Elisha Rhodes Brown, third son and fourth child of Colville Dana and Eliza (Rhodes) Brown, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, March 28, 1847. The family removed to Dover, New Hampshire, when he was a lad and here he was ed- ucated in the public schools. He began his business life as a clerk in the dry goods store of Trickey & Bickford, Dover, where he remained four years. In 1867 Mr. Brown entered the Stratford National Bank as teller, and from that time until the present ( 1907) he has been actively connected with that and its sis- ter institution, the Strafford Savings Bank. The first named was established in 1803 and ran as a state bank until 1865, when it organized under the national banking laws and became a national bank. The Savings Bank was organized in 1823. Both are highly rated and successful institutions. Mr. Brown was also a director of the National Bank, and in 1876 was advanced to the position of cashier. In 1897 he was elected president, the position he now worthily occupies. In 1883 he became a trustee of the Strafford Savings Bank, and in 1891 was elected president. Besides his active connection with the banks, Mr. Brown has been closely identified with many other important enterprises and public insti- tutions. He was a director in the Manchester & Lawrence railroad, Dover & Winnepiseogee railroad, West Amesbury Branch railroad, Eastern New Hampshire railroad and others. He is now a direc- tor in the Cocheco Manufacturing Company, and Concord & Portsmouth railroad. In fact during his forty-four years of business life in Dover every worthy and legitimate public enterprise has had his hearty support. On February 5, 1889, Governor Sawyer and Council appointed Mr. Brown one of the commissioners for New Hampshire at the cele- bration of the Centennial of the Inauguration of General Washington in New York City. Politically Mr. Brown supports the men and measures of the Republican party. He is a member of the Congre- gational Church of Dover, as is his family. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, of Dover. He stands very high in the Masonic order, being a member of Strafford Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Belknap Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Orphan Council, Royal and Select Masters, and St. Paul's Commandery, Knights Templar, all of Dover. In Scottish Rite Masonry he has all the degrees up to and including the thirty-second degree, and is a member of the New Hampshire Consistory of Nashua.

Elisha R. Brown married Frances Bickford (see Bickford), October 18, 1870. Their children are: I. Alphonso Bickford, born January 23, 1872. He graduated from Yale College in 1894, choosing medi- cine as his profession; he entered the Harvard Medi- cal College, graduating in 1897, after which he passed two years in the Boston City Hospital, thoroughly qualifying as a general practitioner. He located at Newburyport, Massachusetts, where he practiced

six years, until his death, October 17, 1906. He mar- ried October 3, 1899, Edith Lawrence, daughter of Mayor Huse, of Newburyport, who was also editor of the Newburyport News. They had one daughter, Elizabeth Lawrence Brown, born July 6, 1903. Dr. Brown was a member of the Dover Congregational Church, and at the time of his death was president of the Newburyport Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation. He was a man of commanding physique, thoroughly versed in his profession, and greatly beloved by those who enjoyed his friendship. 2. Harold Winthrop, born November 8, 1875. He is a graduate of Harvard College, and holds the respon- sible position of treasurer of the Strafford Savings Bank. He married, June 15, 1899, Catherine Van Hovenberg, of Eau Claire, Wisconson, a graduate of Smith College. 3. and 4. Raymond Gould and Philip Carter, born August 27, 1885. Both are graduates of Harvard College. Raymond G. is now attending Harvard Law School, and Philip C. the Boston School of Technology.

Mr. Brown's residence is on Silver street, Dover, where he has a well chosen library of choice litera- ture, historical works having the preference. His collection of steel engravings is very large, and among the thousands of engravings are reproduc- tions of the best work of the great masters in art.

Elisha Rhodes Brown descends through his mother, Mary Eliza (Rhodes) Brown, from (1) Roger Williams, the famous Baptist minister. Roger Wil- liams was born in Cornwall county, England, about 1600, came to Massachusetts Bay in 1630, being banished therefrom, and became the founder of Providence, Rhode Island, 1636. He was a captain of the militia and governor of Rhode Island. He helped organize the first Baptist Church of Provi- dence, and it is disputed whether he or the Rev. Charles Brown was the first pastor. He died in 1683, and his remains now rest under a monument in Roger Williams' Park, Providence. His wife died in 1676.

(2) Mercy Williams, daughter of Roger Wil- liams, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, July 15, 1640, and there she died. She married Resolved Waterman.

(3) Waite Waterman, daughter of Resolved and Mercy (Williams) Waterman, was born in Provi- dence, Rhode Island, 1668, and died in Warwick, Rhode Island. She married John Rhodes, son of Zachary Rhodes, a land proprietor and deputy of Warwick to the general assembly, 1663-64-65. John Rhodes was born in Warwick, 1658, married Waite Waterman, February 12, 1685, died in Warwick, August 14, 1718. He was a leading lawyer of the colony, and King's attorney for several years.

(4) Major John Rhodes, son of John and Waite (Waterman) Rhodes, was born in Warwick, Rhode Island, Nevember 20, 1691. He married Catherine Bolden, of Warwick, January 29, 1714, and died in Warwick, 1776. He was an officer in the Colonial army and deputy in the general assembly.

(5) Captain Charles Rhodes, son of Major John and Catherine (Bolden) Rhodes, was born in War- wick, Rhode Island, September 29, 1719. He mar- ried Deborah, daughter of Peter Green, January 31, 1739, and died in Cranston, Rhode Island, 1777. He was a sea captain and later a Baptist minister. Deb- orah Green, born February 4, 1720, the great-great- grandmother of Mary Eliza Rhodes, mother of Elisha Rhodes Brown, was the daughter of Peter Green, born January 20, 1682, died June 5, 1728, of Warwick, who was the grandson of John Green, who was deputy governor of Rhode Island several years, and a man of distinction and influence in the

E. R. Brown

1555

NEW HAMPSHIRE.

Colony. His father was one of the earliest settlers of Warwick, to which place he came from Salisbury, England. The Green family is one of the most distinguished and powerful in Rhode Island. It has had a member in every session of the general as- sembly from the founding of Warwick in 1642. The general in the Revolution who was second only to General Washington, Nathaniel Green, was of this family.

(6) Captain Peter Rhodes, son of Captain Charles and Deborah (Green) Rhodes, was born in War- wick, Rhode Island, February 24, 1741, and died in Warwick, 1823. He married Hesta Arnold, daugh- ter of Simon Arnold, March 22, 1761. Captain Peter Rhodes was a sea captain, was a private soldier in the "Pawtuxet Rangers" in the Revolutionary war, and was second officer of the guard ship "Pigot" that was stationed at Narragansett Bay and at one time was in chief command.

(7) Captain James Peter Rhodes, son of Captain Peter and Hesta ( Arnold) Rhodes, was born in Warwick, Rhode Island, July 11, 1773, died at Cranston, Rhode Island, December 26, 1832. He was a sea captain. He married Sarah, daughter of Zebedee Hunt, of Pawtuxet, Rhode Island, August 16, 1795.

(8) Captain Elisha Hunt Rhodes, son of Captain James Peter and Sarah (Hunt) Rhodes, was born in Cranston, Rhode Island, July 28, 1805, died at sea, December 10, 1858. He was a sea captain, and made his home in Pawtuxet, Rhode Island. He married Eliza Ann Chace, daughter of Dudley and Mary (Durfee) Chace, of Fall River, Massachusetts, June 17, 1823.

(9) Mary Eliza Rhodes, daughter of Captain Elisha Hunt and Eliza Ann (Chace) Rhodes, was born in Pawtuxet, Rhode Island, April 22, 1834, married Colville Dana Brown (see Brown, VII), in 1840, died in Dover, New Hampshire, March 8, 1864. (Fourth Family.)

The early record of the Massachusetts BROWN colony contains mention of several of this name, and descendants of various American ancestors are now found scattered through New England. The line herein traced has pioneers in New Hampshire, and is still represented in the state by living citizens of mental and moral worth.

(1) Henry Brown (sometimes spelled in the records Browne) was born about 1615 and was among the early residents of Salisbury, Massachu- setts, where he received land in 1640-41-42 and was made a freeman in 1649. He was a commoner in 1650, and appears on the records of the Salisbury Church in 1677, of which he was a deacon. His name appears on most of the early Salisbury lists. By trade he was a shoemaker. His brothers, William and George, were also early residents of Salisbury. He died in Salisbury, August 6, 1701. His wife's name was Abigail, and they were members of the Salisbury church in 1687. She survived him a few days more than one year, dying August 23, 1702. Their children were: Nathaniel, Abigail, Jonathan, Philip, Abraham, Sarah and Henry.

(II) Philip, third son and fourth child of Henry and Abigail Brown, was born December, 1648, in Salisbury, and was a tailor, residing in that town. He was admitted to the Salisbury church, June 10, 1688, and died July 21, 1729. He was married June 24, 1669, to Mary, daughter of Isaac and Susanna Buswell, of Salisbury. She was born August 29, 1645. in Salisbury, and died November 27, 1683. Their children included a son who died at the age of eight days, Susanna, Mary (died young), another

son died at three days, Abigail, Mary, Sarah, George, Phoebe and Hannah.

(III) George, third son and eighth child of Philip and Mary (Buswell) Brown, was born July I, 1680, in Salisbury, and was admitted to the first church of Salisbury, July 30, 1704. Ilis intention of marriage was published April 10, 1705, to Elizabeth Eastman, daughter of John and Mary (Boynton) Eastman, at Salisbury. She was born September 26, 1685, in that town. Their children were: Abigail, Sarah, Phoebe, Ruth, Elizabeth, Philip, David and Hannah. His will was made May 29, 1740, at which time his wife was living, and was proved February 5, 1753, indicating his birth about the beginning of the latter year.

(IV) Philip (2), eldest son and sixth child of George and Elizabeth (Eastman) Brown, was born June 29, 1718, and was baptized four weeks later, July 27, 1718, at the First Salisbury Church. He continued to reside in that town until his death, December 28, 1798. He married (first), Abigail Baker, who died July 29, 1755, and he married (second), February 8, 1756, Hannah Thompson, who died February 1, 1776. He survived his second wife nearly twenty-three years. Among their children were sons : Philip and Jeremiah. (Mention of Jeremiah and descendants appears in this article).

(V) Philip (3), son of Philip (2) and Abigail (Baker) Brown, was born August 6, 1753, in Salis- bury, and became one of the early settlers in Loudon, New Hampshire, where he died August 11, 1833. When a young man he went to East Kingston, where he learned the trade of cabinet maker with Thomas Batchelder, and with him removed to Lou- don in the early settlement of that town. They bought land together and cleared it, and Brown en- gaged in farming and also kept a hotel in the village. His building was the third in the village and is now standing and used as a dwelling. His grandson still preserves a communion cup which was used by Deacon Thomas Batchelder, the first deacon of the First Churrch of London. Philip (3) Brown was married January 16, 1775, to Elizabeth, daughter of Deacon Thomas Batchelder, who was born August 3, 1753. in East Kingston, and died October 6, 1812, in Loudon. Subsequent to her death Mr. Brown was married to Nancy Wedgewood, who was born March 28, 1769, and survived him, dying January 5, 1838. His children were: Thomas, William, David, Levi, Philip, Timothy, Asa and Eliphalet, besides Joanna, who died at the age of three years.

(VI) Levi, fourth son and child of Philip (3) and Elizabeth ( Batchelder) Brown, was born No- vember 7, 1784, in Loudon, and died in that town January 4, 1858. He was quite extensively engaged in lumbering and cleared off one hundred and twenty-five acres of heavy timber. In 1810 he began building a house into which he moved as soon as it was completed, having been married during its construction, and continued to reside there through- out his life. He was a member of the Congregational Church. He was a strong opponent of slavery, and was very active in the period preceding the Civil war in the agitation for the abolition of that evil. He was the nomince of the Free Soil public for repre- sentative when that party was very little in favor in New England, and received thirty votes. He was subsequently a Whig and one of the founders of the Republican party. He was married January 8, 1810, to Mary Morse, who was born April 15, 1785. and died April 30, 1817, a daughter of Henry Morse. He was married ( second), to her sister, Sally Morse who was born January 18, 1797, and died March 23.

1V -- 20

I556

NEW HAMPSHIRE.

1872. His children were: Anson W., Joanna E., Mary M. and John.

(VII) John, youngest child of Levi and Mary (Morse) Brown, was born June 9, 1820, in Loudon, and still resides in that town. He has always lived in the house in which he was born, and his active life was chiefly devoted to agriculture. When a young man he learned the carpenter trade and en- gaged to some extent in building in the village of Loudon. He has devoted some attention to stock raising and made a specialty of full blood Devon and Ayrshire. His farm has been noted for its large oxen and is now devoted chiefly to dairying. He added to the original domain cleared by his father until he was the possessor of two hundred acres of land and the farm now includes one hundred and seventy-five acres, a portion having been sold off for village lots. The farm is at present conducted by his son who usually keeps a dozen cows. Mr. Brown was a member of the Congregational Church of Loudon until it was disbanded, and was long a war- den of the society. He is a remarkably well pre- served man for his years and reads without the aid of glasses. He was married, December 23, 1840, to Anne Batchelder, daughter of True Batchelder. (See Batchelder, VII). They were the parents of two sons: Alvah Leroy, the elder, is now upon the homestead farm and has three children. The second, John Warren, mentioned below.

, (VIII) John Warren, second son of John and Anna (Batchelder) Brown, was born in Loudon, April 19, 1860. He attended the public schools of his native town and continued to reside there until 1882, when he went to Lebanon and entered the employ of Messrs. Mead, Mason & Company as a clerk, re- taining that position for five years. Going to Brat- tleboro, Vermont, he was for a short time em- ployed in the office of The Household Magazine, and returning to Lebanon in September, 1888, he engaged in the furniture business under the name of J. W. Brown & Company, having as a partner, Mr. Oscar W. Baldwin. He continued in business until the death of Mr. Baldwin in 1905, and since that time has occupied a responsible position in the office of the Baxter Machine Company in Lebanon. He is a member of Mascoma Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and also of the Centre Congrega- tional Church. In politics he is a Republican. He married Alice M. Baldwin, daughter of Oscar W. and Annie M. (Choate) Baldwin, of Lebanon. Mr. and Mrs. Brown have one son, Oscar Choate Brown, who was born in Lebanon, October 29, 1893, and is now attending the Vermont Academy at Saxtons River, Vermont.

(Fifth Family.)

The following line of Browns, which

BROWN includes some of the most successful men in the state, is apparently unre- lated to others of the same name whose history has previously been written. The first two or three generations of this family spelled their name with an "e," which was dropped about the beginning of the eighteenth century.

(I) Charles Browne, the immigrant ancestor of this line, was one of the first settlers of Rowley, Massachusetts, where he married, October 4, 1647, Mary Acie, of Rowley. He died in 1687, and was buried December 16, while his wife died four years earlier and was buried on December 12. Their daughter, Mary, died in 1683, the same year as her mother. Charles Browne's will mentions eight sons : Beriah, Gershom, deceased; William, John, Samuel, Ebenezer, Nathaniel and Joseph.

(II) John, fourth son of Charles and Mary

(Acie) Browne, was born February 5, 1653-4, prob- ably at Rowley, Massachusetts. He lived in his native town, near the Newbury line. In 1706 he requested to be dismissed from the First Church in Rowley to become one of the founding members of the church in Ryfield Parish, which included a part of the territory both of Rowley and Newbury. In 1690 he was the executor of the will of his grand- father, William Acie. On August 31, 1685, John Browne married Abigail Browne, daughter of John and Sarah Browne, who was born in Newbury Massachusetts, October 24, 1665. There were eleven children. John Browne's will was dated in 1721, and was probated in 1722, which indicates the year of his death.

(III) Samuel, eldest son of John and Abigail (Browne) Browne, was born at Rowley, Massachu- setts, July 20, 1686. In 1722 he purchased of his sister Hannah and his brother Joseph, then of Bos- ton, their rights to the estate of their father, John Browne, then deceased. He lived several years in Ryfield Parish and the town of Rowley. He was collector of the parish and a prominent citizen of the latter place. On February II, 1711, he was excused from military service on account of a lame hand, and on July 17, 1724, he was again excused, "provided he keep arms and ammunition to show when re- quired." In 1729 he removed from Rowley to Lit- tleton, Massachusetts, and with his wife was admitted to the church in Littleton from Ryfield Parish. In 1736 he was constable at Littleton. In 1743 he moved from that town to West Dunstable, now Hollis, New Hampshire, where he was prominent in church and -town affairs, and was one of the committee to arrange for the ordination of Rev. Daniel Emerson. Samuel Browne's name appears frequently in the registry of deeds in connection with the purchase of valuable tracts of real estate. On May 17, 1716, Samuel Browne married Elizabeth Wheeler, daugh- ter of Josiah and Elizabeth Wheeler, of Salisbury, Massachusetts, who was born July 12, 1695. They had nine children: John, who died young; Mary, Josiah, John, whose sketch follows; Hannah, who married Samuel Farley, of Hollis; Sarah, Susannah, Martha, who married Eleazer Cummings, and re- moved, after 1760, to Maine; and Samuel. Samuel Brown the father, died February 25, 1755, probably at Hollis, and his will, which was probated on June 18, of that year, names his son Josiah as executor. The widow, Mrs. Elizabeth Browne, was living in 1758.

(IV) John, third son and fourth child of Samuel and Elizabeth (Wheeler) Brown, was born prob- ably at Rowley, Massachusetts, and was baptized at Byfield by Rev. Moses Hale, March 29, 1724. When a youth of nineteen he moved with his people to Hollis, New Hampshire, and six years later he set- tled in the neighboring town of Monson, now a part of Amherst, New Hampshire, where he lived for sixteen years, serving as selectman during three years of that period. In 1762, in company with his brother Josiah, who had been a lieutenant in the French and Indian war, and five other pioneers, he traveled north along the Merrimack and Pemi- gewasset rivers till they reached what is now Plym- outh. Here they chose locations, built log cabins, and began to clear the land for farms. In the spring of 1764 they took their families into the wilderness. The names both of John and Josiah Brown appear among the grantees or proprietors of the new town, and John Brown was taxed there till 1774, being taxed the next year as a non-resident. He was one of a committee of arrangements for the ordination of Rev. Nathan Ward, of Plymouth. John Brown

The

Alson & Brown

1557

NEW HAMPSHIRE.

was a practicing physician, though he probably never graduated from a medical school. He was twice married and had ten children in all, of whom seven were by the first wife. She was Keziah Wheeler, daughter of James Wheeler, who was born in Con- cord, Massachusetts, March 10, 1726-7, married Oc- tober 9, 1744, and died October 31, 1760, leaving seven children. They were: Silas, who married Lucy Wheeler, lived at Plymouth, New Hampshire, and died in the Continental service, December 31, 1777; John, who married Abigail Phillips, and was a prominent citizen at Thornton, New Hampshire ; Keziah, who married William Hobart, of Campton, New Hampshire; Abigail, who married Samuel Shaw; Phineas, Rebecca and Elizabeth, who married Nehemiah Phillips. On February 18, 1761, Dr. John Brown married his second wife, Martha Jewett, daughter of Ezekiel and Martha (Thurston) Jewett, of Rowley, Massachusetts, and sister of Rev. David Jewett, of Candia, New Hampshire. They had three children : Martha, Sarah and Stephen Thurston, whose sketch follows. Dr. John Brown died May 6, 1776, and his widow survived him nearly twenty- one years, dying March 5, 1797.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Genealogical and family history of the state of New Hampshire : a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation, Vol. IV, Part 5

Author: Stearns, Ezra S; Whitcher, William F. (William Frederick), 1845-1918; Parker, Edward E. (Edward Everett), 1842-1923 Publication date: 1908 Publisher: New York : Lewis Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 878

Author: Stearns, Ezra S; Whitcher, William F. (William Frederick), 1845-1918; Parker, Edward E. (Edward Everett), 1842-1923
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: New York : Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 878