John Browder

First son of Isham Richard Browder and Mary Ann Harris, John was born either in late 1819 or early 1820 in Rockingham County, North Carolina. If he had a middle name, which is likely, it is unknown. He is NOT, however, the same as a John J. Browder who also resided in McNairy County, Tennessee at about the same time he did. It is entirely possible, but not proven, that he might have been named after his father's good friend, John Green Randolph, which might have made his name John Green Randolph Browder. However, it is best not to simply share such speculation as if it is fact, as some have a tendency to do. Interestingly, the second son of Richard and Mary Ann Browder was Isham C. Browder, named after Richard's father.
It is interesting for me to think about the fact that he would have known his great-grandmother, Talitha Browder growing up (she would have died when John was about 8 years of age) and would also have known his grandfather, Isham C. Browder (he would have died when John was about 12 years of age). But he would not have known his grandmother, Martha Browder, or probably any of her family.
I have found no record naming John Browder or referring to him, other than census material, for his time in Rockingham County, North Carolina. John Browder arrived in McNairy County, Tennessee in 1844 (at about the age of 24) along with his parents and siblings. He may well have taken part in the establishment of Clear Creek Baptist Church in 1844 just as his father, Richard, may well also have done, shortly after the family’s move to McNairy County.
John Browder married Cordelia "Delia" Elizabeth Martin in about 1851 after she and her family also moved from Rockingham County, North Carolina to McNairy County, Tennessee. There can be little doubt that they had known each other growing up.
There can be no real doubt that John Browder would likely have known that the Martin family had elected to move from Rockingham County, North Carolina to McNairy County, Tennessee. In fact, he was probably instrumental in encouraging this move. They had been close neighbors in Rockingham County and, no doubt, John and Delia had continued to correspond by mail during the intervening years since the Browders had moved away. In fact, there is really no reason why John would have elected to wait so long to marry, until he was about thirty-one years of age, unless he was waiting for that very special person he had known in his youth. Add his age to the fact that she also waited until she was almost thirty herself, and the fact that John is the only one among his siblings to marry someone whose family was not already established locally in McNairy County, and this scenario becomes obvious. In addition, two of John’s brothers, Isham and Augustus, had already married local women who would have made wonderful companions for John, had he chosen to compete for their attention.
But this obviously did not happen. Instead, John waited with much anticipation for his new bride, whom he had apparently courted for all of those years while he established himself in McNairy County, and married her shortly after her family’s arrival. In this way, John became the first son of Richard and Mary Ann Browder to marry a woman from his “ancestral homeland” like his own ancestors had done. Later both Andrew Jackson Browder and Franklin Browder did the same thing, the differences being that the Helbert family had already established themselves in McNairy County and that there is no indication that the Browder family knew the Helbert family prior to their move to McNairy County.
What took the Martin family so long to make this move is anyone’s guess, but there can be little doubt that both John and Delia would have been hoping for it to have taken place long before it actually did. There is no indication that either John or Delia had married, or even entertained marrying, anyone else before hand.
It is believed that the wedding ceremony took place during a Camp, or “Brush Arbor”, meeting held at Spring Hill. These meetings and revivals were very common in McNairy County, Tennessee during this time-period and occurred at various locations, including at Spring Hill. This was so much the case that it has been said that “[a]t that date McNairy [County] was the Nazareth of West Tennessee” (Smith, Jonathan K., "Genealogical Abstracts", p. 1). Spring Hill Church was established there following the revival of 1851. So, it could be said that John and Delia were effectively married at Spring Hill Church even though the church, as such, did not yet exist. It also seems clear that John Browder was likely among those who were instrumental in the establishment of Spring Hill Church, around 1851, along with Delia's father, Walter Martin.
The John Browder family likely attended Spring Hill Church, along with the Isham C. Browder and Augustus Browder families, as well as the Walter Martin family and the Duncan Baker family, and probably even the Benjamin F. Sanders family. They all seem to have been decidedly religious. And it is known that the Isham C. Browder family were Cumberland Presbyterians. So, even though I have not been able to corroborate the same for these other families through documentation or family tradition, it does seem obvious that they also were members of that church.
In addition, John and Delia, like Richard and Mary Ann, were probably members of the Clear Creek Baptist Church, and also attended a local Methodist church (probably Shiloh) on occasion. It is unlikely, However, given the local historical events, that they attended any Methodist church at all after the American Civil War since the Browder family seems to have sided with the Confederacy and the Methodist churches in the area were decidedly pro-Union.
On March 5, 1860, John A. Reding was appointed as overseer of “the road from R B Rays to Mrs Rebecca Rains’”, and to have the following hands; John Browder, Jackson Browder, Franklin Browder, William Lindsey, John Browning, William R. Reding, and Boswell Reding, according to the McNairy County, Tennessee County Court Minutes Abstracts, Jan 1858-Feb 1866.
Further, Narcissa L. Black notes in her journal, in July of 1862 (p. 58), that “brother John” was sick. It is my belief that she is referring to John Browder and that he probably had the same illness, whatever it was, that caused the deaths of several children and others who are buried in Spring Hill (Old Browder) Cemetery from 1861 through 1863. This “brother John” is obviously a fellow Cumberland Presbyterian, as is his wife, whom she also mentions often, but not dierctly by name.
The next earliest extant record, other than census records, that I have found for John is a single reference to him serving as one of the multiple witnesses in July of 1855 (when he was about 35 years of age) in the case of William Ervin [or perhaps Erwin] vs. James Forythe for damage (of what is unspecified in the record). The justices in said case were Isham G. Forsythe and B. P. Moore. Some of the other witnesses were James Ray, John Ray, Brice Ray, and Andrew McCoy (McNairy County Court CED, July 1855 to March 1860, p. 2). The side each witness took is unknown as is the outcome of said case.
Otherwise, he and his brothers; Augustus, Jackson and Franklin, are all listed in the 1850 census as having attended school within the year. It seems obvious that they must have attended Purdy Male and Female Academy as they were all too old to have attended an ordinary school in 1849 or 1850. But what did they study there and what was their objective in doing so? All extant records show each one as functioning in society afterward simply as farmers. There is absolutely no evidence for anything else, as far as I have been able to ascertain, with the exception of a notation in the will of Richard Browder himself in which he states “also I desire them [his executors, Isham and John Browder] to counsel my friends as to the proper & legal course for them to pursue in winding up & settling my business generally”.
It seems, then, that at least Isham and John Browder had studied law since Richard was confident that they understood the legalities of winding up his estate. It also seems to me, again, that at least John, and probably also the other brothers, had studied education/teaching, and later taught at Browder Schoolhouse. In both ways, then, they would have followed in their ancestor’s footsteps generally, even though they were mainly farmers.
It is probable that our John Browder also served in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. There is a record of a Pvt. John Browder who served in Company H of the 15th Confederate Cavalry, Consolidated. This John Browder appears on the muster roll of the unit’s organization, dated May 11, 1864 (listing him as present). This roll lists John Browder as having enlisted on July 14, 1863 at Cagerville, Haywood County, Tennessee under Cpt. Eperson for a period of 3 years. No further record is found of him and, presumably, he remained a Private throughout his service.
The reason that I am certain that this is our John Browder, having no other direct corroboration, is that he was only one of three or four John Browders in all of Tennessee who were of the “right” age to have enlisted. The John J. Browder, who also resided in McNairy County, would have been about 49 years of age, about six years older than our John Browder. He could have enlisted, but this is less likely. Another John Browder resided in McMinn County - all the way across the State. So, there is little reason to believe that the John Browder who resided in McMinn County would have gone all the way to Haywood County to enlist, and it is unknown whether he enlisted in his own area or not.
And there was another John Browder who did serve during the war. The 1890 Civil War Veterans Census for Tennessee (p. 37) lists John D. Browder as residing at Wheat in Roane County. It states that he had served as a private from 1861 to 1861. This is clearly not our John Browder, and he did not serve during the same years as our John Browder did, so there can be no confusion between them.
In addition, there was also a John Franklin Browder (b. October 16, 1841) who served in the American Civil War. His wife, Sarah “Sallie” Elizabeth Gallahee/Gallaher-Browder (b. July 28, 1844), applied for a widow’s pension based on his service (#W6774). According to her application, they resided in Lenoir City/Wheat City, Roane County, Tennessee during the war and afterward. He enlisted in July of 1861 at or near Sweetwater, Tennessee. He served until September of 1861 at which time he was severely wounded. There can be little doubt that this John Franklin Browder is actually one and the same person who is listed as John D. Browder in the Veteran’s Census (so the middle initial is an error). Other persons with the name of John Browder were clearly too old to have been likely to enlist.
According to the Gravel Hill Masonic Lodge Book, John Browder petitioned to become a Freemason at Gravel Hill Lodge No. 232 F&AM in June of 1869 (p. 138). He was elected as a member in July of that year (p. 139) and he was initiated into Freemasonry there (1st degree) on September 1, 1869 (Lodge returns, and p. 141). But no further record of him is found in the returns of any local lodge. Since, for whatever reason, he evidently chose not to proceed further into Freemasonry, there is also no mention of his funeral. Perhaps John felt that the first degree was enough since it did, in fact, make him a Freemason. We may never know his thoughts on this matter. However, as an Entered Apprentice (first degree) he still could have continued to attend some Lodge functions and it seems clear that he did, at least for a short time. And he appears to have been the only one of the sons of Richard and Mary Ann Browder to do this. Why he waited so long to petition to become a Freemason (at about 49 years of age), and why he went no further than the first degree are indeed mysteries.
Now, any records of any land transactions between John Browder and his father, Richard Browder, or anyone else, have apparently been lost. But it is certain that John received land from Richard, just as Richard’s other sons did, and that this would have taken place no later than 1852 when their first child was born. Richard Browder refers to this in his will, but does not mention the acreage of land John was given. McNairy County records concerning these transactions were apparently destroyed either during the war or later when the court house burned. It is, however, believed that some of the court house books were lost or misplaced during transportation to and from Falcon or Selmer, and may still exist, forgotten and neglected, even today, somewhere. That is information that was relayed to me during my earliest research many years ago.

It is also known (from early interviews) that the John Browder family resided in a home within easy walking distance of his parent’s home, and it is also known that John’s land was located in the north-central section of entry #1071 (from records). That section contained a total of at least 102½ acres of land.

So, the John Browder family originally resided close to what is now the intersection of Hwy 142 and Moore Road. My uncle Winfred Browder showed me the location of the old home site in 2001. I already knew of the home site of the Richard Browder family from interviews with other family members. Winfred had run electrical lines to the old John Browder home when he worked for Pickwick Electric Company years before, he said. But no trace of either of the actual homes exists today as far as I have been able to determine.

The home of John and Delia Browder would have been built about 1851, the year of their marriage. According to my uncle, Winfred Browder, and others, this home was still standing and being used as late as the 1950s. So, it survived for at least one-hundred years. However, it is unknown what eventually happened to it. The Hockaday family were the last owners of this home.
In later years John came to be called “Pap” and later “Big Pap” by subsequent generations who knew him or of him. My own father told me that he used to hear him referred to as "Old Man, John Browder". John was, again, also a farmer and a hunter, just as his father, Richard, had been.
Frankly, during my earliest interviews I found that no one really knew much at all about John and Delia. Only the records and photographs that have survived, along with a little family tradition and a good deal of detective work, have here provided a picture of who they were.
Records show that John Browder was deceased by November of 1893, having died in McNairy County, Tennessee (probably in October), aged about 73 years. Delia certainly lived past June 3, 1880 (date of census for that year), aged at least 58 years. How long she lived after this date is not known for certain since no 1890 census exists and the 1891 census listed only male heads of household. Still, it is fairly obvious that she lived at least to 1894 (aged about 72 years) based upon extant evidence.
At the time of his death, John owned at least 200 acres of land, and this is probably all of the land he ever owned. According to the McNairy County Clerk Records of Miscellaneous Land Sales Book, p. 60, it seems obvious that John Browder’s land of 200 acres was “sold” to the various creditors and family members listed about 1893, just after his death, and that T. R. Sanders then purchased said land from them, and then transferred one-half interest (100 acres) in this land to John Wesley Browder, John’s son. So, in effect, everyone transferred their inheritances to Thomas Richard Sanders, who then transferred half of that to John Wesley Browder (which appears to have been the #1071 tract). This land transfer would only have occurred once John was deceased. Also, it becomes obvious that Delia was still living, as she must have been still residing on John’s property until her death; the rest of John’s property having been transferred to family and others in 1895 after her death.
Sadly, there are no monuments to mark the graves of John and Delia Browder, so their exact birth and death dates can not now be ascertained. However, their burial places have been located at Spring Hill (Old Browder) Cemetery in McNairy County, Tennessee, and their brick headstones and footstones remain, along with some bricks bordering their gravesites. Delia is buried next to her sister, Arthelia, and John is buried next to Delia. I found this evidence myself in January of 2003, having determined that it was indeed John and Delia through a process of elimination of all other reasonable possibilities for the location of their gravesites.