Edward S Brown in GA & MS

Edward Stewart Brown

b 26 July 1806 GA 

My 3x great Grandfather

There were at least three Edward Browns among my early Browns:

· Edward Brown, Sr. b c 1730 – d c 1797 NC, possibly the son of Hardy Brown
· Edward Brown, Jr b c 1775, son of Edward Brown
· Edward S Brown b 1806 GA – d 1856 MS, son of Moses Brown

When working on this line I proceed carefully to keep them straight. The middle initial is a great help in identifying my 3x great grandfather. [There were also 2 Moses Browns and an Allen Moses Brown but let’s not get into that now.]

Edward S Brown was the son of Moses Brown & Sarah Robertson. His siblings were: Christina, James G. & Sarah Brown.[1] He also had half siblings.

Edward was born in Liberty, Georgia but he did not stay there long. By 1810 his mother had died[2] and his father moved the family to Mississippi[3] where he married again[4] and had more children. By 1813 the Moses Brown family was established in Marion County, MS.[5]

Edward S Brown married Mary Polly Spurlock who was born 1 January 1800 In Georgia. They had five children: Allen Moses, Mary Magdelene, Martha M., Adeline V. and James Pascal; all born in MS. By 1840 the family was in Amite County, MS where Edward had purchased three parcels of land totaling 153 acres in the Robinson Creek area.[6], [7] In 1850 his land was valued at $720.[8]

I do not have a primary source for the death of Edward S Brown but reliable family histories show his death as 7 May 1856 MS.[9] However, the Bureau of Land Management shows that Edward Stewart Brown made a second investment in land on 1 June 1859 when he purchased two parcels of land. Was there another Edward S Brown or was my 3x great grandfather still alive?

In 1860 Mary Brown was the head of the family. Her two sons were with her but not her husband, Edward.[10] It is most likely that he had died by this time but had he died in 1856 or after the 1859 land purchase?

 

1859 Land Patent for Edward Stewart Brown

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[1] Criminger, Adrianne Fortenberry. The Fortenberry Families of Southern Mississippi. South Carolina: Southern Historical Press, 1984.

[2] Criminger, Adrianne Fortenberry. The Fortenberry Families of Southern Mississippi. South Carolina: Southern Historical Press, 1984.

[3] Potter, Dorothy Williams. Passports of Southeastern Pioneers 1770 - 1823. Reprint. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 1990.

[4] Upton, Mrs. Robert Chester. Marriage Records Marion County, Mississippi 1812 - 1860. 1958. 976.221 1812 Marriage record of Moses Brown & Nancy Perkins Aug 7, 1812. Consent by James Perkins, father. Bondsman John Smart.

[5] Williams, E. Russ. Marion County Mississippi Miscellaneous records, 1812 - 1859. Easley, South Carolina: Southern Historical Press, 1986. 976.221. Names of Persons with Taxable Property 1813. Moses Brown, property: 1 pole; 1 slave.

[6] Boyd, Gregory A. Family Maps of Amite Co, MS. Deluxe. Norman, OK: Arphax Publishing Co., 2006.

[7] US Dept. of the Interior; Bureau of Land Management; MS State Volume Patent, Accession #MS0440-.55

Patent issued 10 Nov 1840 to Edward Stewart Brown; section 17; 153.39 acres.

[8] 1850 US Census, MS, Amite Co; Roll M432-368.  Line 30. E S Brown family.

[9] Criminger, Adrianne Fortenberry. The Fortenberry Families of Southern Mississippi. South Carolina: Southern Historical Press, 1984.

[10] 1860 US Census, MS, Amite, Liberty; M653-577, National Archives. Mary Brown and children.