Pages

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Getting Ahead of Ourselves

Browning Timeline

When I say "getting ahead of ourselves", I mean really stretching inferential genealogy to its limits. I've been working on my Great-grandmother Isis Browning-Forgey's line. As I wrote before the first family line I found way back when FamilySearch went online was a Browning family tree. This pedigree file tree went back to the 1600's. It didn't contain any sources. I am now attempting to source it.
So far all we have linking the family line in Tennessee to Maryland is naming patterns. The Brownings in Maryland used the names Roger, Nathan, and Benjamin which are also used by our Tennessee family. Our Roger Browning would be in the age range to be the son of Benjamin Browning who died in Montgomery, Maryland. This Benjamin's land was inherited by Roger, the eldest son, through primogeniture. Roger sells that land in 1787 and disappears from local records. Does he migrate to Tennessee at this point? Maybe?
I decided to continue researching the line in Maryland even though it's not established for certain our Brownings are related. I hoped something in Maryland would point to the family migrating to Tennessee. Nothing so far. I have found some interesting facts about the Maryland Brownings. Jeremiah Browning (may be Roger's brother?) served on the Continental Line in the Revolutionary War. He was badly injured during his service. He did lived to old age despite of his injuries. He died in 1839 in Bracken County, Kentucky. His brother Zephaniah was killed in the Revolutionary War.
Elizabeth the wife of the said
Edward
I have disproven that Drusilla Burton was the wife of Edward Sr. Looking at land records Edward's wife is named Elizabeth. Drusilla may have been Edward Jr.'s wife? She would have been too young to have been the mother of Edward Sr.'s children.
What I've accomplished so far:

  1. I've thoroughly searched land records for Maryland  at the Archives site.
  2. I search Maryland records at Familysearch
  3. Maryland records at Ancestry.com
  4. DAR Patriot index

A lawsuit alleging one of Edward Browning's wills was destroyed was brought by a possible daughter of Edward. I am hoping this lawsuit may contain the proof I need to link my line to this Maryland line. Relying on naming patterns alone may be stretching inferential genealogy too far beyond reason. Tennessee and Maryland are a bit far away for my comfort when it comes to using naming patterns alone to prove relationship.

Children named on Edward Browning's will

1 comment: