Fellow geneablogger Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small has issued the 52
Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge. Basically, we have to post something every week
on a different ancestor, whether a story, picture, or research problem. I'm not done
with my Week 11 ancestor William Pinson yet and I'll return to him next but to keep
from falling behind too far I'm writing my Week 12 post now. It's about my 8x great
grandfather Henry Brown (sometimes spelled Browne) of Salisbury, Ma.
The Browns are another early line I haven't done much research on as yet. Henry
is actually Henry, Jr., having coming to the Massachusetts Bay Colony with his
father Henry Brown, Sr. where they were among the original settlers of Salisbury.
From what I've found so far online in The Essex Antiquarian, Henry Brown Jr.
worked as a farmer, ropemaker, and shoemaker, as well as being a deacon of the
Church. He married a woman named Abigail (LNU) and they had seven children,
one of whom was my ancestor Philip Brown. While I was doing the research
for this I found two land transactions between Henry and Philip that I found
in Essex Institute Historical Collections, Volume 58 (Google eBook) Essex
Institute Press, (Salem, Ma. 1922)
The first:
"Henry Brown of Salisbury, for twenty pounds sterling, conveys to my sone Phillip Brown of same town, taylor, about ten acres of upland in Salisbury, being a division out of ye five hundred acres (given by ye town of Salisbury to ye Inhabitants thereof) belonging to Joseph Moys and purchased of sd. Moys by me ye sd. Brown, bounded with ye land of Jno. Easman and land now of Benjamin Collins, formerly of Richd Wells, late deceased, and with ye country highway leading to Amsbery, excepting three acres of it formerly already given by me unto sd. Phillip Brown. March 7, 1677-8. Wit: Tho: Bradbury and Henry True. Ack. by Henry Brown, April 11, 1678, before Sam" Dalton, commissioner." -p239-240
So from that I learned that my 7x great grandfather Philip Brown was a tailor.
The second transaction I got a kick out of because of a term used in the wording of
the document:
"Henry Brown of Salisbury, for love and natural affection and other considerations, conveys to his well beloved sone Phillip Brown, a planting lott between ye land of Sam" Buswell and John Stevens, sen., which was Jn° Clough's, and also a higledee pigledee lot of marsh which he bought of William Worcester, as it is bounded and expressed in his bill of sale, and also three acres of upland which is part of ye ten acre lott which he bought of Joseph Moys, on ye playne leading towards ye mill, only ye sd. Phillip Brown is to mayntaine his part of fence proportionably to ye three acres. Dated day of June, 1669. Wit: Ephraim Winsly and Joseph Easman. Ack. by Henry Brown and Abigail, his wife, before Sam" Dalton, commissioner."
p240-241
Now according to Merriam-Webster, the definition of "higgledy piggledy" is "in a confused, disordered, or random manner", so I'm guessing the lot had irregular
boundaries that weren't in a straight line, or that the terrain was a mixture of woods
and swamp.
There's still more to find out about Henry and son Philip, but I'm off to an interesting
start.
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