Identifying Charles Brown

There are y-dna matches for descendants of Charles Brown of Weakley Co TN,
Thomas Brown of Clark Co IL, and John Brown of Dickson Co TN. I am seeking
any information which will tie these individuals together or to some common
ancestor.

   Weakley Co TN    Dickson Co TN
Clark Co IL

Charles Brown John Brown
Thomas B Brown

| 1826-1909    | abt 1770-1850
|1795-1859

Samuel Brown John Brown Jr
John Thomas Brown

|1864 1937 |1801-1869
| 1853-

William Brown    John Morgan Brown    Clinton
Francis Brown

| 1897-1985    | 1862-1936
| 1888-1949

Walter Brown John Turner Brown
Warren Delmar Brown

| 1920-2008 | 1884-1918
| 1917-1982

Garry Brown Odie Wilson Brown
Robert Warren Brown

   1944    1918
1943

All three data samples were analyzed by Family Tree at the 67 marker level.
Only the values that differ are shown here.:

DYS # Alleles

CDY b

39

39

38

442

14

13

13

446

13

12

13

It is clear that these three lines have a common ancestor: each pair is a
65/67 marker match. Moreover there has been only one mutation in each of
the three lines.

The research to connect these dna test subjects to the indicated progenitors
is solid and sourced. The open question is to determine how they are
connected.

There are many clues that may ultimately prove useful but nothing is
conclusive at this time. Consider these lines one at a time.

Charles Brown was born Feb 22, 1826 in Dickson Co TN according to his Civil
War Pension Application and according to his family bible. The first
mention of Charles in any records is his marriage to Mary Hew Thacker,
daughter of Pleasant Thacker, in Weakley Co TN on Mar 7, 1843.   He was
illiterate but consistent about his birth date and his birth place
throughout his life. There is a family story that he came to Weakley Co as
a boy traveling with the Pleasant Thacker family. Thacker is known to have
traveled from Pittsylvania Co VA to Weakley Co TN between May 1836 and Nov
1838 and there is no unaccounted for male in the Thacker household in the
1840 census. Charles was not named in the 1840 census. Charles answered
every subsequent census questionnaire the same way. He said he and his
parents were born in TN. The family lore is that Charles said he was born
in Dickson Co, near Waverly. But Waverly is in Humphreys Co. There is a
small portion of land in the west part of Dickson Co in 1826 that was moved
into Humphreys Co in 1836. There were some Brown families living in that
general area. This requires further study.

A tin type made between 1865 and 1885 was found mounted in the Charles Brown
family bible with the name Cousin Tuck Brown written on the page beside it.
No one knows who this person was. It does mean that Charles had an uncle, a
great uncle, or a brother. There is no known relative of Charles.

Charles and Mary had 10 children with the following names, all born in
Weakley Co.:

Martha    1844

Sarah Edna 1847

Susan T    1848

Lutitia    1850

Emeline D    1853

Charles William    1855

Laura    1857

Medora 1859

James Pleasant 1861

Samuel 1864

There is a connection with the Parker family in Weakley County that may
prove significant. Charles bought a farm in 1857 in the same neighborhood
as a Charles Parker b 1802-1805 in NC according to census data. Charles'
oldest daughter and 4th daughter married sons of this Charles Parker and the
younger couple moved to Texas in 1881. I don't know how or if this Parker
family is connected to Dickson Co TN. More information is available if it
is of interest.

The descendants of John Brown Sr. of Dickson County are the most numerous
Browns in that area. John Sr. came to Dickson County perhaps as early as
1803 and certainly by 1810-11. There is some ambiguity because the earlier
John may have been a different one. John Brown is an uncommonly common
name. Researchers of this line have relied heavily on family lore and
undocumented family references, such as bibles, which were merely cited but
not sourced so that others could find them. Even so, the basic family
history is reasonably well documented from John Jr. to today. The family
lore is consistent that this Brown family came to Dickson Co from Elbert
County, Georgia. They settled first on Nails Creek near the site of
Turnbull Primitive Baptist Church. This will be shown to be significant.
The family lore is that the Browns traveled with the Parker family as well
as a couple of other families.

This Parker family is quite famous and much better documented. They came
from Virginia to Georgia after the Revolution possibly (probably) with a
brief period in the Carolinas. They were a tight knit family that traveled
and settled in groups. They moved from Franklin County, GA to Dickson
County, TN in 1803. (Members of the family also settled in areas adjacent
to Dickson Co.) . They were a religious family and the oldest son of the
family became a famous Baptist minister who was a founder of the
Predestinarian Baptist Church. When they arrived in TN they established
Turnbull Primitive Baptist Church. John Brown and his family were in that
congregation. The Parkers also lived in the immediate vicinity. In 1817
there was a large migration of the Parker clan to the
Clark/Edgar/Coles/Crawford Co IL area. Other Dickson Co families went with
them.

In 1833 there was another Parker migration from Illinois to Texas. They
lived on the frontier, were subjected to a famous massacre, and in general
played a large role in the settlement of the state and the formation of the
Texas government. They were literally spread all over the state. Again,
several families went with them. One in particular was Reuben Brown married
to Sarah (Sally) Parker in Crawford Co IL in 1830. This Reuben Brown is
almost certainly the son of John Brown Sr. of Nail's Creek; the evidence is
persuasive but all circumstantial. (I can offer a detailed argument for
this assessment if it is of interest.) We know John had a son named Reuben,
he was named in John's will written in 1845. Reuben was still alive in 1852
when he received a share of his father's estate. But there is no record of
Reuben in Dickson Co; he apparently was gone before the 1830 census.

These migrations are important because they may explain how and why the
sources of the dna matches were so widely distributed.

The 3rd dna match is with Thomas B Brown of Clark/Edgar Co IL. First let's
cover what we know about this Thomas B Brown. He was born August 7, 1795,
probably in GA. He died in 1859 in Clark Co IL, so his state of birth was
given in the census only once while he was alive. In 1850, he or someone
told the census taker he was born in GA. In 1880, his son and daughter told
the census taker their father was born in TN. Thomas B married Elizabeth
Walker Parker, widow of Nathan Parker, in Crawford Co IL in 1837. We don't
know much about him prior to this marriage. There is a land entry in 1824
that may be his. It does seem like a late first marriage for him. When he
died in 1859 he was buried in the family burial lot of a John Brown who was
born in 1793 in VA. The only other people buried in this lot were John and
some of his immediate family. It appears from the census data that John may
have had an older brother, Samuel W, b. 1789 in VA. The descendants of
Thomas have no knowledge of any connection with either Dickson Co other than
the dna match or with John Brown with whom Thomas is buried.

There is, however, another possible connection. There is a Thomas Brown in
Edgar Co IL (Edgar was carved from Clark Co in 1823.) quite early. He is
the second husband of Abigail Parker Dixon, sister of Daniel Parker, founder
of the Predestinarian Baprist Church and son of Elder John Parker who
established Turnbull Primitive Baptist Church in Dickson Co. Abigail's
first husband was Levin Dixon , a farm owner in the Turnbull Creek area of
Dickson Co who died in 1816. Daniel Parker was the executor of Dixon's
will. This Thomas Brown was born between 1794 and 1800; I don't know where.
He married Abigail between 1816 and 1831; I don't know where or when. He
appears to have been about 10 or more years younger than Abigail. She died
before 1835 and I have no record of this Thomas after 1835 just as I have
almost no record of the above Thomas B before 1837.

These two Thomas's could be the same person or they could be related. The
common names and the connection to Dickson Co are what catches ones
attention.

There is one other set of relationships that may prove important. There
were several Brown's in that area of Humphreys Co along Hurricane Creek that
was transferred from Dickson Co in 1836. I haven't exhausted all
possibilities as yet; data is sparse, but there appears to be only one
family with unidentified male children born between 1825 and 1830. That is
the family of Robert Brown b. 1762 in Amelia Co VA and who lived in Wilkes
Co NC in the 1790 to 95 timeframe. He then moved to Abbeville Co SC and
then to Dickson (now Humphreys) Co in 1817. Robert had sons Eli, Laban,
Ezekiel and Robeson. One can rule out all but Laban as a potential father
of my Charles of Weakley Co. Unfortunately Laban died about 1837 or before
and little information exists about him. We do know he was born between
1795 and 1800, had 3 sons less than 5 in 1830 and his wife was probably
named Elizabeth.

In the course of my research I have seen the following anecdote but have
neither the reference nor the details. I desperately need both. When
Laban's father, Robert, died in 1840, Elizabeth was named the guardian of
Robert's minor orphans. (But Robert was 78 years old. He had no minor
orphans. Perhaps he had been the guardian of Laban's minors.) In 1842 or
43, Elizabeth was named as guardian of Laban's minors and the list of names
was reputed to be the same. Finding someone who can help me track down this
court action is really important.

It is interesting to note that Eli died in Henry Co TN before 1840. His
wife and children lived within 25 miles or so of where Charles lived in
Weakley Co. It is also interesting to note that after the Civil War,
Ezekiel and his family as well as elements of Robeson's family moved to
Hickman and Graves Co KY within 10 miles of where Charles lived.

I have much more data on all of these families and would be delighted to
share it with other researchers. I would welcome any help in developing
these relationships. It is clear that sorting out how my Charles is
connected to these families is going to shed some light on many
Dickson/Humphreys County relationships. I would like to talk to or
correspond with anyone who is researching any of the Brown families with
ties in the Humpreys/Dickson County area.

Thank you in advance for any assistance you might provide.

Garry S Brown

e-mail gsbrown@q.com