John Brown, of London & Hampton, NH

Not a known son of Sarah Brown & Angus Brown

John Brown migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Directory, by R. C. Anderson, p. 45)

John Brown was from London England. Occ. a baker. He came to America on The Elizabeth, 1635. He lived in Salem, Mass. Then moved to Hampton, N. H. He was married to Sarah, 1640, in Charlestown; they had 8 children born in Hampton NH. He died at about age 98 on Feb, 28, 1686.

• Res. Salem. Mass.
• Res. removed to Hampton,N.H.
• Married Sarah walker in 1640,At Charlestown, Mass
• Died at age 98 Feb. 28, 1686

Family

• 1. Sarah Brown,   b. about 1643, Hampton, Rockingham Co., NH ,   d. 28 December 1677, Charlestown, MA  (Age ~ 34 years)
•   2. John Brown,   b. about 1644,   d. 29 August 1683, Hampton, Rockingham Co., NH  (Age ~ 39 years)
• + 3. Benjamin Brown,   b. about 1647, Hampton, Rockingham Co., NH ,   d. about 1736, Rye, NH  (Age ~ 89 years)
• + 4. Elizabeth Brown,   b. ca 1648/1650, Hampton, Rockingham Co., NH ,   d. 5 October 1689, Hampton, Rockingham Co., NH  (Age ~ 39 years)
• + 5. Jacob Brown,   b. about 1653, Hampton, Rockingham Co., NH ,   d. 13 February 1740, Rye, NH  (Age ~ 87 years)
•   6. Mary Brown,   b. 13 September 1655, Hampton, Rockingham Co., NH ,  
• + 7. Thomas Brown,   b. 14 July 1657, Hampton, Rockingham Co., NH ,   d. 29 June 1744, Hampton, Rockingham Co., NH  (Age 86 years)
•   8. Stephen Brown,   b. about 1659, Hampton, Rockingham Co., NH ,   d. 29 June 1677  (Age ~ 18 years)

Notes

From Savage:

John Brown, of Hampton 1639, d. 28 Feb. 1687, age 98 years as is said. Much more probable is the age set against his name, 40, on his embarkation 17 Apr 1635, at the London custom house especially if he be that baker, whose fellow-passengers were two servants James Walker, aged 15, and Sarah Walker, 17, the latter of whom in 1640, became his wife as descendants suppose. By what I think the wrong statement, he was born 1589, and this maiden was born 1618. Beside the number and dates of his children disprove or make highly improbable the great age: Sarah; John, b. 1644; Elizabeth; Benjamin; Jacob, 1653; Mary, 13 Sept. 1655; Thomas, 14 July 1657; and Stephen, 1659, who was killed by the Indians at Scarborough 29 June 1677.24

From Dow’s History of the Town of Hampton:38

“John Brown, born in England in 1588 or ‘89, emigrated in 1635, and is said to have settled in Hampton as early as 1639. A tract of four acres, for a house lot, lying near a branch of the river, afterward bearing his own name, was granted to him, though he seems not to have settled there. His residence was on a ten-acre lot bought of John Sanders, on which Zaccheus Brown, a lineal descendant of the seventh generation, now [1893] resides. He afterward, by purchase, made large additions to this lot, and obtained various other tracts in different parts of town.”

From

From http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Soc/soc.genealogy.medieval/...

A John Browne, "aged 40," sailed from England on board the Elizabeth with William Stagg as the Master, under a certificate of conformity dated 17 April 1635 with James Walker, 15, and Sarah Walker, 17.  The Walkers were relatives to Mr. John1 Browne (the "Widow Walker," whose name last appeared 18 Feb. 1646/7, was his sister [French, MQ, 50:5], but the John Browne on board the Elizabeth was another person altogether, having been born about 1595 and having been listed as a baker.  The Walkers were being sent "to the care of John Browne," not "in the care of" [French, MQ, 49:110].

Ref:

1. History of Rye
2. Boston and Eastern Massachusetts page 404
3. Paine- Joyce Gen.
4. New England Families Genealogical and memorial page 1898
5. New England Historical register page 221

John Brown came to America in June 1635. He sailed on the "Elizabeth" on April 17, 1635. He moved from Salem, MA to Hampton, NH in 1638

John Brown was born in 1589 in London, England. His father was Angus BROWN. John owned a bakery in London and decided to come to the colonies. His assistant, James Walker came with him and brought his sister, Sarah who worked for a linen draper in Cheapside. They left England on 17 Apr 1635 the Elizabeth and arrived in Boston 2 months later. He married Sarah WALKER in 1640 in Charlestown, Mass. John died 28 Feb 1687 in Salem, Mass.

He built the first ‘barque’ (small boat) ever built in Hampton, New Hampshire in 1641 or 1642 at the river near Perkins Mill. It would seem that this barque was the one that John Greenleaf Whittier features in his poem, ‘The Wreck of River Mouth’.” This poem expands on the true story of a Hampton shipwreck (click for original report) from 1657, when a group of eight were killed in a sudden storm. The Browns River is named after John. It is a 2.9 miles long river, primarily tidal, in southeastern New Hampshire in the United States. It is part of the largest salt marsh in New Hampshire, covering over 3,800 acres.

The river rises in the town of Seabrook just east of U.S. Route 1 and quickly enters the salt marsh and tidewater. For most of its length, the river forms the boundary between Seabrook and Hampton Falls. The river ends in Hampton Harbor, where it joins the Hampton River. He stayed in Salem until 1638 when he received one of the first tracts of land in Hampton, NH (4 acres) next to Browns River (named later for John). He owned four farms and became one of the wealthiest men in the area.

Hampshire. First called the Plantation of Winnacunnet, Hampton was one of four original New Hampshire townships chartered by the General Court of Massachusetts , which then held authority over the colony.

” Winnacunnet” is an Algonquian Abenaki word meaning “pleasant pines”. The town was settled in 1638 by a group of parishioners led by Bachiler , who had formerly preached at the settlement’s namesake : Hampton, England .

John received a grant of 4 acres for a house lot on Brown’s River. He eventually became the third wealthiest man and the largest landowner in Hampton, owning four farms. John served as Selectman in 1651 and 1656

16 Dec 1652 -[our ancestor] William SARGENT of Salisbury sold to John BROWNE of Hampton, the meadow and upland adjacent to Aquilla Chase and widow “Bristos”.

John sued Thomas Swetman for a debt due “for two fat oxen” in 1654.

He also brought suit against the “prudential men” and the Town of Hampton for not building a road to his farm, which was near the Falls River toward the part of Salisbury, Essex County, MA that became Seabrook, Rockingham County, NH. The court decided in his favor and the road he wanted was built. Once in New Hampshire, John built the first bark, a small ship, in Hampton, Rockingham County, NH at the river near Perkins Mill. This ship was mentioned in John Greenleaf Whittier’s poem “The Wreck of River Mouth.” Familyorigens.com

John Brown was born about 1589 in London, England. He emigrated on APR 17 1635 from London, England.

Genealogy of John Brown : “He sailed out of London on the ‘Elizabeth’, 17 April, 1635.” He immigrated in JUN 1635 to Boston, MA.*Genealogy of John Brown : They arrived in Boston in June 1635 and he remained, as tradition says, in Salem, Massachusetts, until 1638. He died on FEB 28 1687 in Hampton, NH. *Genealogy of John Brown : “John Brown was born in London, England, in 1589 of Scottish parents. For several years he ran a bakery in London and at age fourty-six years decided to go to American Plantations. He sailed out of London on the ‘Elizabeth’, 17 April, 1635.

   Among his fellow passengers were Sarah Walker, age 17, (later to become his wife) and her brother, James Walker, age 15, who was formerly employed by John in the bakery. John registered at customs as a baker and they registered as servants. Sarah had been in the employ of William Brazey, a linen Draper in Cheapside. They arrived in Boston in June 1635 and he remained, as tradition says, in Salem, Massachusetts, until 1638. Then John went to Hampton, New Hampshire, where he was one of the first settlers to receive a grant, a tract of four acres, for a house lot, lying near a branch of the river afterwards called Brown’s River. [ Note: This referrs to Browns River, along the Seabrook / Hampton Falls border.]

In 1640 he married Sarah Walker. She was born in 1618, and presumably, left London as a servant to John.” “…the fact that John Brown signed his own name, instead of a mark, shows that his education was not limited, and since he was a single man of fourty-six years when he came to this country, it is presumed that he did not leave London entirely destitute of property but was a man of considerable wealth. This may be one reason why Sarah married a man so much older than herself…”
“John built the first ‘barque’ (small boat) ever built in Hampton in 1641 or 1642 at the river near Perkins Mill.” “… it would seem that this barque was the one that John Green Wittier mentions in his poem, ‘The Wreck of River Mouth’.”
“John was a sober, industrious, hard-working and enterprising man, having made purchases of large additions to his four acres of land in various transactions in the different parts of town. He became one of the largest land owners and the third man of wealth in Hampton, being owner of four farms. He bought of John Sanders in March 1645 house and houselot with 12 acres of upland in the north field next to Morris Hobbs, six acrea of fresh meadow lying by the Great Boar’s Head next to William Fifield’s meadow.
Even though John was a selectman in 1651 and 1656, he never seemed to have taken an active part in town or church affairs. From the records of the court, it appears that John and his sons were engaged considerably in stock, and in 1654 they sued Thomas Swetman for a debt due for two fat oxen, for the want of which money they claimed to have been much damaged. In 1673 and 1674 he and his eldest son, John, brought suit against the’prudential men’ and also against the Town of Hampton for not causing a road to be built to his farm near the Falls River toward Salisbury, Mass. (now Seabrook, NH). The courts decided in his favor and Landing Raod was built. All five of John’s sons were farmers and were all engaged in conflict with the Indians in King Philip’s War.”…
Children

Some genealogies say that John first had a son John BROWNE Jun born 4 Jan 1637/38 in Newbury Mass. But the consensus is that his parents were James BROWN and Judith CUTTING.

For example, Savage says

   “JOHN [Brown], Newbury, m. 20 Feb. 1660, Mary Woodman, had Judith, b. 5 Dec. 1660; and Mary, 8 Mar. 1662. He was s. of James of Charlestown.”

1. Rebecca BROWNE (See John SCOTT Sr.‘s page)

2. Sarah Brown

Sarah’s husband John Poor was born 1636. John died 19 May 1686 in Boston, Suffolk, Mass

3. Benjamin Brown

Benjamin’s wife Sarah Browne was born 12 Apr 1658 in Salisbury, Essex, Mass. Her parents were William Browne and Elizabeth Murford, pioneer settlers of Salisbury, Mass. Sarah died 1730 in Hampton Falls, Rockingham, New Hampshire.

Benjamin was a farmer residing on Rocks Road, in the southeastern part of the town, now Seabrook, NH, on land received by his father. Benjamin fought in King Phillip’s War, as did all his brothers. He was one of the signers of Weare’s petition in 1683, a selectman in 1690 – 1701 and 1711, and a representative in 1697. He was engaged in raising cattle. Tradition says that in his old age he took great delight, as he leaned on his staff, in seeing his oxen driven past his home to the watering place.

4. Elizabeth Brown

Elizabeth’s husband Isaac Marston was born 1648 in Hampton, Rockingham, New Hampshire. His parents were Thomas Marston and Mary Eastow. Isaac died 5 Oct 1689 in Hampton, Rockingham, New Hampshire.

Isaac was made a freeman 26 Apr 1678, and he was a selectman in 1681. His farm was on North Hill, which is now part of North Hampton.

In 1680, Isaac was bondsman for Isabella Towle, a Hampton woman accused of witchcraft. Joseph Dow’s History of Hampton Chapter 3 — Part 23 Isabella Towle b was a woman in her late forties, married, and the mother of nine children. Her husband, Philip, was first a seaman,” and later a “yeoman” of average position in the community. Beyond this the record does not speak. Particularly unfortunate is the lack of any material on the substantive charges against Goodwife Towle. All that survives is a court order, from September 1680, that “Rachel Fuller and Isabel Towle, being apprehended and committed upon suspicion of witchcraft . . . still continue in prison till bond be given for their good behavior of £100 apiece, during the Court’s pleasure. Both defendants were discharged in the following year.

   In July, 1680, a little child of John Godfrey died, and the old cry of witchcraft was raised again. An inquest was held, with twelve solid men of Hampton for jurors, and a verdict rendered: “We find grounds of suspicion that the said child was murdered by witchcraft.”

Godfrey’s wife and daughter, Sarah , deposed that Rachel Fuller came in with her face daubed with molasses, and sat down by Goody Godfrey, who had a sick child in her lap, and took his hand; when the mother, in fear, drew the hand away and wrapped it in her apron. Then Rachel Fuller “turned her about and smote the back of her hands together sundry times and spat in the fire.” Then she strewed herbs on the hearth and sat down again and said: “Woman, the child will be well;” and then went out, beat herself thrice with her arms, as men do in winter, to heat their hands, picked something off the ground, and went home. The next day, the children told their mother that Goody Fuller had said if they did lay sweet bays under the threshold, it would keep a witch from coming in. So they laid bays under the threshold of the back door all the way, and half way of the breadth of the fore door; and soon after, Rachel Fuller came about to the fore door, though she had always formerly come in at the back door, which is next her house; and she crowded in on that side where the bays lay not, and rubbed her back against the post so that she rubbed off her hat, and sat down and made ugly faces and nestled about and would have looked on the child, but not being allowed to do so, went out as she had come in, after having looked under the door where the bays lay; and she had not been in the house since.
John Godrey, Nathaniel Smith and Hezron Leavitt made depositions, equally damaging.
Elizabeth Denham (wife of Alexander), deposed that Rachel Fuller told her “Witches did so go abroad at night, they did lay their husbands and children asleep;” and she said there were eight women and two men in the town, who were witches and wizards.
The men’s names were not given, but the women Goody Fuller reckoned as witches were: Eunice Cole, Benjamin Evans’ wife and two (?) daughters, Grace (Swaine) Boulter, Mary (Boulter) Prescott, Isabella (Austin) Towle, “and one that is now dead. ” Goody Towle, was, in fact, arraigned about the same time, on a different charge, and both she and Rachel Fuller were committed to prison till the sitting of the Hampton Court, September 7. Then, “The Court having heard ye case of Rachel ffuller and Isabel Towle being apprehended and committed upon suspition of witchcraft doe ordr yt they still continue in prisson till bond be given for their good behavior of £100 a piece during the Courts pleasure.”
John Fuller became bondsman for his wife; and Isaac Marston and John Redman, for Goody Towle. They were discharged at the Dover Court the next year.
5. Jacob Brown

Jacob’s wife Sarah Brookings was born 1662 in Portsmouth, Rockingham, New Hampshire. Her parents were William Brookings and Mary Walford. Sarah died in 1740 in Hampton, Rock, New Hampshire.ved

Jacob Brown lived on the homestead in Hampton, New Hampshire. He was the principal heir to his father’s estate and was a deacon of the Congregational Church in Hampton, a patriotic and much trusted man. He served in King Phillips War and King Williams War. He was active in politics and was granted a liberty to build a Tide Mill on his property.

6. Mary Brown

Mary’s first husband Nathan Parker was born 26 Aug 1651 in Newbury, Essex, Mass. His parents were Nathan Parker and Susanna Short. His mother died in his childbirth. Nathan died 25 Jun 1685 in Andover, Essex, Mass.

Mary’s second husband William Eliot was born 1654/55 in East Coker, Somersetshire, England. His parents were Andrew Elliot (Eliot) c: 24 Apr 1627 in East Coker, Somersetshire, England and Mary Vivion (Vivian). William died in 1721/22 in Beverly, Essex, Mass.

7. Thomas Brown

Thomas’ wife Abiah Shaw was born Oct 1662 in Hampton Falls, Rockingham, New Hampshire. Her parents were Joseph Shaw and Elizabeth Partridge. Abiah died 21 Dec 1739 in Hampton, Rockingham, New Hampshire.

Thomas was a soldier in King Phillip’s War

Thomas ied in Hampton, Rockingham co., NH on 29 June 1744; he was 86. Thomas married Abial Shaw and lived in Hampton, Rockingham co., NH. Carolyn Depp’s research notes that Thomas’ age at death is 77 years. However, for that to be so either his birth or death record is off by ten years.

8. Stephen Brown

Stephen was killed at Black Point (Scarborough, Maine) on Jun 29, 1677 during King Philip’s War.

At the outbreak of King Philip’s War in 1675, Scarborough, Maine was an important coastal settlement with over one hundred houses and one thousand head of cattle. By 1676, the town had been laid to waste as a result of the war – some settlers were killed and others were taken hostage by the Native Americans. Subsequently, Massachusetts sent soldiers accompanied by Indian allies in 1677 to secure the town for resettlement.

On June 29, 1677, while pursuing some Indians sent as a ruse, the company was ambushed by warriors under Chief Squando. In the New England militia of nearly one hundred soldiers, fifty to sixty were left dead or mortally wounded. Among the casualties was Captain Benjamin Swett. Called the Battle at Moore’s Brook, it was an embarrassing rout for the military.

Early in the King Philip’ War, the Indians made a descent upon Captain Scottow’s garrison at the Neck, and captured it; and the inhabitants at once abandoned that locality. In 1677, two hundred friendly Indians and about forty English soldiers under Capt. Benjamin Swett and Lieut. Richardson, came to Black Point by water from Massachusetts. On June 29, Capt. Swett with a detachment from the vessel, together with a number of the inhabitants, swelling the force to ninety, set out to meet the Indians, who were lurking in the vicinity. In the neighborhood of the hill, they discovered a body of Indians in retreat, and pursued them. The flight was a ruse, and led them into an ambush. In the desperate fight that ensued, all but thirty were left dead or wounded on the field, Capt. Swett among the number.