Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Mary (Spurlock) Brown: Parents Found?


Mary ‘Polly’ (Spurlock) Brown is my 3rd great grandmother. She married Edward Stewart Brown. I know almost nothing about her early life. She appeals to me because she was born 1 January 1800 in Oglethorpe, Georgia. She was born with the new century. She lived 88 years; living through the War of 1812 and the Civil War. 

Unfortunately, I know nothing more about the Spurlock family.
That may have changed.



Ancestry DNA now has ‘ThruLines’ that suggest how you may be related to your DNA ancestors through common ancestors. If I click on ThruLines I am shown my parents, grandparents, great grandparents, etc. When I scrolled down those names recently, I saw familiar names that I have spent many hours researching. Then I noticed a new name. 

Allen Spurlock (unproven)
Aug 1774 NC – 8 Aug 1864 Amite, MS

Is this Mary’s father? The name sends me to an Ancestry tree which is fully sourced. Allen Spurlock lived in Amite, MS from at least 1820 according to those sources. His wife was Frances (Traylor) Spurlock. 8 children are listed, including Mary. 

Now, how do I proceed? Maybe I should begin with the marriage of Mary & Edward. I do not have a marriage record. However, their oldest child, Allen Moses Brown, my 2nd great grandfather, was born 26 January 1836 in Amite, MS. Look at the name of this child. Edward’s father was Moses. Was Mary’s father Allen? Was their first son named for both of their fathers?

In order for Mary & Edward to marry they had to have met. Both families were certainly in Mississippi. The Ancestry tree for Allen Spurlock shows the family in Amite, MS in 1810, 1820, 1830, 1850 & on to Allen’s death. Edward’s father, Moses Brown, was in the Carolinas & then in Marion, MS circa 1812. He left MS for OH circa 1825. But Edward remained in MS. He married Mary in Amite c. 1835 & purchased land in Amite, MS in 1840. 

Timing & location appear to fit. Allen Spurlock, his daughter, Mary, and her future husband, Edward S. Brown were all in Amite MS at the same time. Could this be a family connection? 



4 comments:

  1. Very exciting! I hope this proves out for you.

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  2. Exciting find, but I have to ask if Mary was really 36 when her oldest child was born?

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  3. How exciting! I hope it all pans out.

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  4. Thanks for the nice comments. I am both excited & cautious about this. I will move slowly, discovering all I can about the families. In the end, i doubt I'll find a birth certificate so I will have to decide if this connection seems likely. Maybe a church record...

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