Thomas Brown, IV

12 April 1706: Thomas Brown, age 15, of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England, was indentured to George Battersly for seven years.

Thomas Brown came to the British Colonies as an indentured servant; he first settled in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. This fact is recorded in the Minutes of Buckingham Monthly meeting Bucks County, Pennsylvania, at the same time that Thomas was requesting membership in the Buckingham Monthly Meeting. On 3 July 1723, Thomas submitted a "Recommendation from his Master and Mistress Hands of his faithful servitude and frequently Friends Meetings while with them."

6 June 1723: Thomas attended the Buckingham Monthly Meeting of the Society of Friends (Quakers); requesting to join himself to that meeting.

3 July 1723: "Thomas Brown's proposal of joining himself to this meeting having been taken into consideration and his having produced a recommendation in writing from under his Master and Mistress hands of his faithful servitude and frequenting Friends Meetings while with them and also a paper of recommendation from some persons belonging to Abington Meeting to the like purpose therefore this Meeting accepts as far as his life and conversation corresponds with the Truth he desires to join unto..."

8 August 1723: "At this Meeting Thomas Brown and Ruth Large declared their Intentions of Marriage with each other; it being the first time..." (a committee was appointed to make sure that neither one was involved with anyone else. This committee reported at the Monthly Meeting held 5 September 1723, and on 3 October 1723 the committee appointed to attend the marriage reported that it had taken place, but the exact date is not mentioned.)

2 January 1741: Thomas requested certificates for himself, wife and children, except eldest daughter, to go to monthly meetings at Hopewell, Orange County, Virginia, in order to move there. On 6 February 1741, a favorable report was read and on 4 March 1741, a certificate was produced.

20 October 1742: Thomas had 800 acres on the west side of Sherando River, and in 1743, 600 acres that lay upon the drains of Middle Creek, and in the possession of Thomas Brown was surveyed for George Hobson, Jr.

30 December 1749: Thomas wrote his will, it was probated on 8 May 1750, in Frederick County, Virginia.

1753: Ruth and most of her children moved to Guilford County, North Carolina. They are found listed in Cane Creek and New Garden Monthly Meetings of the Quakers.

22 May 1763: Ruth died and is buried in the New Garden Graveyard, North Carolina.

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http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=100478564

Some genealogies say Thomas was born Aug 31, 1691, in Cambelton, Argyllshire, Scotland, to parents from Mansfield, and came to America in 1706. Others say he was christened in Mansfield in 1689. So his date of birth is uncertain. The exact date of his death is uncertain as well, because the Quaker records of that place and time were destroyed in a fire. What is clear is that his will was probated on May 8, 1750, so he died prior to that. There were no hospitals there at the time, so he almost certainly died at home, which was in Berkeley County, across the county line from the Quaker Meetinghouse in Frederick County. At the outbreak of the Civil War, the northwestern counties of Virginia, including Berkeley County, broke away from the state and became West Virginia.

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Thomas Brown's biography, by Joan Case:

Thomas Brown, age 15, of Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, England was indentured to Mr. Georg Battersly, 12 April 1706 for 7 years.

On the 6th of June 1723, Thomas attended the Buckingham Monthly Meeting of the Society of Friends (Quakers) requesting to join himself to that meeting. Then on the 3rd of July 1723, "Thomas Browns proposal of joyning [sic] himself to this Meeting having been taken into consideration & he haveing [sic]produced a recomendation in writing from under his master & mistress hands of his faithful servitude & frequenting friends Meeting whilst with them & also a paper of Recomendation from some persons belonging to Abington Meeting to the like purpose therefore this Meeting accepts as far as his life and conversation corresponds with the Truth he desires to join unto.."

On the 8th of August 1723. "At this Meeting Thomas Brown and Ruth Large declared their Intentions of marriage with each other it being the first time..." (a committee was appointed to make sure that neither one was involved with anyone else. This committee reported at the Monthly Meeting held ye 5th of ye 9th Mo 1723. On ye 3rd of ye 10th mo 1723 the committee appointed to attend the marriage reported that it had taken place, but the exact date was not mentioned.)

On 2 Jan 1741 Thomas Brown requested certificates for himself, wife and children, except his eldest daughter to go the monthly meeting at Hopewell in Orange Co., Virginia in order to remove there. On Feb 6th a favorable report was read and on March 4th a certificate was produced.

On 20 October 1742, Thomas had 802 acres on the west side of Sherando River. In 1743 600 acres that lay upon the "drains of Middle Creek, and in the possession of Thomas Brown was surveyed for George Hobson Jr.

On December 30, 1749 Thomas Brown wrote a will. His will was probated the 8th May 1750 in Frederick County, Virginia.

Thomas and Ruth had 9 children: Sarah, William, Thomas, Samuel, Deborah, Frances, Ruth, Elizabeth and Joseph.

In about 1753, Ruth and most of her children went to Guilford County, North Carolina. They are found in the Cane Creek and New Garden Monthly Meetings of the Quakers. Ruth died the 22 of May 1763 and is buried in the New Garden Graveyard in North Carolina.

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Excerpt from Thomas Brown's biography, by Imo Brown (http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=joancase&...):

Thomas Brown, the ancestor from whom the Brown family name is derived, first settled in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He is apparently the only member of his family who came to America, as no definite data about his parents and his early life in England or in America are known. John A. Brown, a descendant of Thomas Brown, states in his records that Thomas Brown's father was also named Thomas Brown, who remained in England. Undoubtedly Thomas Brown came to America as an indentured servant, a person obligated for a period of years to another person who paid for his or her passageway to America.

After Thomas Brown and Ruth Large were married, they continued to live in Bucks County in the vicinity of the other Large families. Their first child, whom they named Thomas Brown, Jr, was born in 1728. Other children were Samuel, Joseph, Deborah, Frances, Ruth, Elizabeth and William. The family remained in Bucks County until cir. 1740, when they, along with other Quakers, migrated to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. In 1741 Thomas Brown, Sr. his wife Ruth (Large) Brown and their family from Buckingham Monthly Meeting in Bucks county, Pennsylvania were accepted into the Hopewell Meeting.

Thomas Brown, Sr. died in Frederick County Virginia 8 May 1750. His will was signed with his initials on the "thirtieth day of December in the year of our Lord 1749.

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From "Thomas Brown House (Inwood, West Virginia)" in Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Brown_House_(Inwood,_West_Virg...)), accessed Nov 10, 2012

The Thomas Brown House in Inwood, West Virginia, was built about 1741 as a log cabin for Thomas Brown, a Quaker farmer. Brown was one of the first to grow fruit in an area where orchardry would become a major agricultural industry. The house is the oldest known dwelling in Berkeley County. Brown had assembled 1,200 acres (490 ha) in the area of Mill Creek, and left the log house and 60 acres (24 ha) to his wife Ruth on his death in 1750.

The house is built of large logs, 16 or 17 inches wide and hewn on two sides. The 1-1/2-story structure measures about 23 feet (7.0 m) by 29 feet (8.8 m) in the original block, a log west wing about 16 feet (4.9 m) by 21 feet (6.4 m), and a frame east wing about 16 feet (4.9 m) by 20 feet (6.1 m). The central block has two large stone chimneys. The logs are clad with weatherboards. The central block has two rooms downstairs. The wings are a single room downstairs and upstairs. The front and rear elevations feature gun ports cut into the logs, high in the walls.

Also on the property are a log meat house, a stone springhouse and a frame privy. The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

Coordinates: 39.39444N 78.04861W

Parents:

Thomas Brown (1654 - 1723)

Hannah Collins Brown (1660 - 1723)

Spouse:

Ruth Large Brown (1703 - 1763)

Children:

William Brown (1726 - 1800)

Susannah Brown Moon (1727 - 1819)

Thomas Brown (1728 - 1796)

Sibling:

Thomas Brown (1691 - 1750)

Daniel Brown (1696 - 1771)

Note: There is no identifiable headstone. Quaker markers at this time were often just field stones with no inscription or just an initial.

Burial:

Hopewell Friends Burial Ground

Clear Brook

Frederick County

Virginia, USA

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/pedigree/landscape/LZW7-V7N

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/100478564/thomas-brown