clear space clear space clear space white space
A
 r c h i v e s   o f   M a r y l a n d   O n l i n e

PLEASE NOTE: The searchable text below was computer generated and may contain typographical errors. Numerical typos are particularly troubling. Click “View pdf” to see the original document.

  Maryland State Archives | Index | Help | Search
search for:
clear space
white space
A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature 1635-1789 by Edward C. Papenfuse, et. al.
Volume 426, Page 175   View pdf image (33K)
 Jump to  
  << PREVIOUS  NEXT >>
clear space clear space clear space white space

BIOGRAPHIES BRO

in Dorchester County (inherited 100 acres from
his stepfather, but sold it to his brother before his
election; purchased 650 acres and patented 250
acres). SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN LAND BETWEEN
FIRST ELECTION AND DEATH: patented 200 acres
in Dorchester County between 1741 and 1748;
sold 350 acres in Dorchester County to his sons
and one stepson between 1760 and 1765; sold 105
acres in Dorchester County between 1765 and
1768. WEALTH AT DEATH. DIED: will probated on
May 3, 1770, in Dorchester County. PERSONAL
PROPERTY: TEV, £322.5.8 current money (includ-
ing 8 slaves and books); FB, £255.9.4. LAND: at
least 694 acres in Dorchester County.

BROWN (BROWNE), JOHN (?-1793). BORN in
Queen Anne's County, of age by 1750. NATIVE: at
least second generation. RESIDED: in Upper Dis-
trict Hundred, Queen Anne's County. FAMILY
BACKGROUND. FATHER: James Brown (?-ca. 1756),
of Queen Anne's County, a planter. MOTHER. Sa-
rah. BROTHERS: James; Joel; William (1741-?); and
Samuel (1744-?). SISTERS: Elizabeth; Hesther
(Easter), who married Andrew Hall; Sarah; Ann
(1746-?); and Rebecca (1751-?). MARRIED on Jan-
uary 13, 1757, Catherine, daughter of William
Carmichael (?-1769), who immigrated from Scot-
land, a merchant, and wife Elizabeth; stepdaugh-
ter of Ann Brooke (1712-ca. 1754); stepgrand-
daughter of Roger Brooke (1673-1718), of Prince
George's County, and wife Elizabeth Hutchins.
Her brothers were Walter; James (?-1778), a ship's
captain, who married Selitia Emory; and William
(?-1795), of Chestertown, Kent County, an attor-
ney. Educated in Edinburgh, Scotland, William
served as secretary to the commission in Paris
comprised of Silas Deane, Benjamin Franklin, and
Arthur Lee, which attempted to persuade France
to aid the colonies, ca. 1775. He also served as a
delegate to the Continental Congress from 1778 to
1779, as secretary to John Jay, minister to Spain,
ca. 1780, and as charge d'affaires in Madrid, Spain
in 1782. Unpaid for years, and with his fortune
depleted, William died in Madrid in 1795. He
married first, (first name unknown) Stirling,
daughter of an Episcopal rector of Queen Anne's
County, and second, Antonia Reynon, of Spain;
she and their daughter Alphonsa came to live near
Chestertown, Kent County, after William's death.
Catherine's half or stepbrother was Richard Ben-
nett Carmichael (1753-1824). Her sisters were
Ann; Elizabeth, who married Samuel Thompson;
and Margaret (ca. 1741-1767), who married Ar-
thur Holt. Her stepsister was Elizabeth Brooke,
born before her mother's marriage to William Car-

michael, then adopted by him and who married
John Lambert Wilmer (1747-1799). CHILDREN.
DAUGHTER: Sarah (1757-?). PRIVATE CAREER.
EDUCATION: literate. RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION: An-
glican, St. Luke's Parish, Queen Anne's County.
OCCUPATIONAL PROFILE: farmer. PUBLIC CAREER.
LEGISLATIVE SERVICE: Lower House, Queen An-
ne's County, 1773-1774; Conventions, Queen An-
ne's County, 1st, 1774, 3rd, 1774, 5th, 1775;
Lower House, Queen Anne's County, 1778-1779
(Grievances 1; Tax Commissioners 1; Claims 3),
1779-1780 (Grievances 2, 3), 1787-1788, 1789
(elected, but did not attend), 1790 (elected, but
did not attend). LOCAL OFFICES: churchwarden,
St. Luke's Parish, Queen Anne's County, in office
1752 and 1769; justice, Queen Anne's County,
1756-1793 (quorum, 1763-1793); St. Luke's Par-
ish Vestry, Queen Anne's County, in office 1762-
1768, 1772-1773, 1783-1785; commissioner of
surveys, Queen Anne's County, in office 1766;
Committee of Correspondence, Queen Anne's
County, elected 1774; justice, Orphans' Court,
Queen Anne's County, in office 1777-1780, 1786-
at least 1791; commissioner of tax, Queen Anne's
County, in office 1777, 1782-at least 1792; judge,
court of appeals, appointed under the Act to Pro-
cure Troops for the American Army, Queen An-
ne's County, appointed 1778. MILITARY SERVICE:
captain, by 1756. WEALTH DURING LIFETIME.
PERSONAL PROPERTY: assessed value £1,923.0.0,
including 49 slaves and 108 oz. plate, 1783. LAND
AT FIRST ELECTION. 884 acres in Queen Anne's
County (received 298 acres from his father's es-
tate; patented 186 acres and purchased 400 acres).

SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN LAND BETWEEN FIRST
ELECTION AND DEATH: Owned a total of 1,145

acres in Queen Anne's County, 1783. WEALTH AT
DEATH. DIED: will probated on March 14, 1793, in
Queen Anne's County. PERSONAL PROPERTY: he
mentioned 16 slaves in his will. LAND: 1,137 acres
in Queen Anne's County.

BROWN (BROWNE), MATTHEW (?-?). IMMI-
GRATED, probably. RESIDED in Somerset County,
April 1773; Dorchester County by June 1774. PRI-
VATE CAREER. EDUCATION, literate. SOCIAL STA-
TUS AND ACTIVITIES: Esq., 1776. OCCUPATIONAL

PROFILE: lawyer, admitted to the following courts:
Charles County in November 1772 (sworn in as
"Matthias Brown" ); Dorchester County in March
1773; Prince George's County in March 1773;
Provincial Court in April 1773; Caroline County
in November 1775. PUBLIC CAREER. LEGISLATIVE
SERVICE: Conventions, Dorchester County, 1st,
1774, 3rd, 1774, 4th, 1775. LOCAL OFFICE: clerk of

175



 

clear space
clear space
white space

Please view image to verify text. To report an error, please contact us.
A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature 1635-1789 by Edward C. Papenfuse, et. al.
Volume 426, Page 175   View pdf image (33K)
 Jump to  
  << PREVIOUS  NEXT >>


This web site is presented for reference purposes under the doctrine of fair use. When this material is used, in whole or in part, proper citation and credit must be attributed to the Maryland State Archives. PLEASE NOTE: The site may contain material from other sources which may be under copyright. Rights assessment, and full originating source citation, is the responsibility of the user.


Tell Us What You Think About the Maryland State Archives Website!



An Archives of Maryland electronic publication.
For information contact mdlegal@mdarchives.state.md.us.

©Copyright  October 06, 2023
Maryland State Archives