N.N. Brevard

It is not certain that Matthew Wallace, Resident of Manokin in Colonial Maryland was her father; could have been his cousin.

Biography

Unknown daughter of Matthew Wallace and Elizabeth Alexander married Jean Paul Brevard at Somerset Co MD before 1698 and died before 1711. They were the parents of Sarah Brevard b abt. 1707 who married John Nisbet, There probably were other children.

From James E. Baucom Jr.

Sarah Brevard who married John Nisbet was the daughter of Jean Paul Brevard and an unnamed daughter of Matthew Wallace and Elizabeth Alexander.

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"Tradition says that Jean Brevard came to America with the William Wallace family and that he may have married a member of that family about the time he left Ireland. There is no documentation of this marriage nor any record of issue from such a marriage. It is not known exactly when he reached America, but the will of William Wallace which was proved in Somerset Co MD on 15 Jun 1698 mentions him, thus establishing him as an American resident in or before 1698. "

Jean Brevard, a Huguenot born around 1665 in France, left that country for Northern Ireland between 1681 and 1685 where he formed an acquaintance with a family of McKnitts, in company with whom he sailed for America. They settled on the waters of Elk River, Cecil County, in the northeastern corner of Maryland, bordering on Pennsylvania. It is believed the young Brevard married around 1685, shortly after his arrival in America. His first wife was a girl from the Wallace family. She died, probably in Cecil County, Maryland before 1711 without leaving any surviving children.

Jean then married Katherine McKnitt, around 1711. She was the oldest daughter of John McKnitt, Sr. and Jane Alexander McKnitt. The Brevard family were active in Presbyterian affairs in Cecil County. Jean was an elder in the Broad Creek Presbyterian Church in 1723, and attended a meeting of the General Synod at Philadelphia on September 21, 1726.

"About 1700 Jean Brevard went with John McKnitt, Matthew Wallace, and some of the Alexander family to Cecil Co MD. There he married a daughter of John McKnitt about 1711 or 1712 and settled with her near her father's home in the Elk River neighborhood of Cecil Co. There is no documentation of this marriage, but Cecil Co court records clearly establish Jean Brevard as John McKnitts' son-in-law. His wife may been Katherine McKnitt, who was born in Manokin, Somerset Co. MD in 1686; or the wife may have been Katherine McKnitt's younger sister Mary McKnitt, who was born in Somerset Co in 1691."

Documented John Nisbet and Sarah Brevard

Many sources claim that the John Nisbet who married Sarah Brevard was the son of James Nisbet of Hardhill Castle at Edinburgh Scotland. It is a made up myth by someone who wanted to connect his line to a famous Nisbet.

James Nisbet had no children as documented in:
https://archive.org/details/analectaormateri03mait/page/518/mode/2up

John Nisbet married Sarah Brevard at Head of Christiana Presbyterian church at Newark DE or at Rock Presbyterian Church in Cecil Co MD about 1730 The Wallace, McKnitt and Alexander families are documented as attending both churches They are five miles apart and about a mile south of the PA MD border. Sarah, born 1705-1710 at Somerset Co MD, was the daughter of Jean Paul Brevard and his first wife a daughter of Matthew Wallace and Elizabeth Alexander. The will of William Wallace, who died at Somerset Co MD 1698, had a bequeath to his cousin John Brevard. This also proves that William was not the 12-year-old son of Matthew b 1686 d 1698 as posted everywhere. William was probably Matthew’s brother born in Ireland and came to MD with who left Ireland and came together to Somerset Co MD. about 1670.

After his first wife died, Brevard married Katherine McKnitt at Somerset Co MD about 1711. The Brevard, Alexander Wallace and McKnitt families are first documented in Cecil Co MD about 1714.

Sources

• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wallace-14666
• Genealogies of Pennsylvania Families from the Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine. Volume II: Hinman-Sotcher. Section: John McKnitt (ca. 1600-1714) and Some of His Kinsfolk: Alexanders--Brevards--Dales. Page 205. AncestryImage