Brownson, John

Other Events:

• OCCU: Miller
• RELI: Puritan

Notes:

Immigrated: 8 Oct 1635 Boston on ship Defence (probably) 1
Removed to: 1636 Hartford, Hartford, CT 2
Military Service: 1637 Pequot War received lot Soldiers Field Hartford 1
Resided: Neck Rd northern part of Hartford CT
Founded: 13 Oct 1652 Church in Farmington CT 1
Inventory: 28 Nov 1680 amounted to L312-01-06 1
Removed to (2): About. 1641 Farmington, Hartford, CT 2
Served: May 1651 Deputy to the Connecticut General Court from Farmington 1
Freeman: 1659 Farmington Hartford Co CT 1
Served 2: Oct 1655 Deputy to the Connecticut General Court from Farmington 1
Served 3: May 1656 Deputy to the Connecticut General Court from Farmington 1
Served 4: Oct 1656 Deputy to the Connecticut General Court from Farmington 1
Property: Feb 1639/40 Assigned several parcels of land 1
Will: Died Intestate 1
Election/Elected: 4 Mar 1651/52 Constable of Farmington Hartford CT


[12147] Though there is no record of John Brownson in
Massachusetts Bay, it may be assumed he was among those men in
or around Newton [Cambridge] who felt compelled to leave due to
the crowded conditions of the Colony. "Within
months of Hooker's arrival in Massachusetts Bay, there were
stirrings of restlessness. [The Rev. Thomas Hooker had arrived
on September 4, 1633, aboard the Griffin.]
Reports reached the Boston area of fertile land along the
Connecticut River in an area where Indians were depleted by
small pox. Newtown was a town inconveniently shaped like an
hour glass, eight times longer than it was wide. Its soil was
found to be too sandy and dry for cultivation. On May 15, 1634,
its inhabitants complained to the Massachusetts General Court
'of straitness for want of land, especially meadow, and desired
leave of the court to look either for enlargement or removal.'
Watertown and Dorchester experienced the same 'want of
accommodation.' By September the Newtown men had opted for
removal to Connecticut _ during the summer of 1635, plans were
laid in Dorchester, Newton, and Watertown to remove to
Connecticut, and by the end of 1636 about 800 settlers from
Massachusetts had formed three plantations on the west side of
Connecticut River-Windsor, Wethersfield and Hartford."

[12148] [12149]

[12150] "five years after permission to settle was granted, the
plantation of Tunxis became the town of Farmington"

[12151]

[12152] While the Brownson's and their contemporaries may
have opted to emigrate from England for religious reasons,
there were additional factors behind the migration. It has been
shown "that local economic and agrarian distress was acutest in
that part of England whence came the greatest numbers during
the period of the Great Emigration. This was a widespread
situation superimposed on the dead hand of the manorial system
which for generations had been bleeding the patient tenantry
white. The copy-holders of 1630 were exactly where there
ancestors of 1330 left off - hopeless and helpless. The sweat
of their brows gave them no return beyond mere existence. To
say that the victims of such a system of serfdom to lords of
manors could be influenced to abandon a life of profitless
drudgery for religious reasons only, would be to convict our
ancestors of ignoring their obvious future welfare and that of
their children as freeholders. The opportunity to own land in
fee simple was offered to them and was more important than the
alleged desire for religious liberty"

[12153]

[12158] "Pequot Indians raided Wethersfield, murdered 6 men and 3
women, and kidnapped 2 girls. It was the final provocation in a
series of acts and set off what the English believed was a
purely defensive war"||"was among the 90 militiamen who
destroyed the Pequot tribe and gave to the other Indian tribes
of southern New England visible demonstration of the military
superiority of the new English settlers"

[12159]

[12161] "It should be understood that emigration to parts
beyond seas was not an unrestricted right of Englishmen.
Permission to leave England had to be obtained in each
individual case from the Privy Council and this included
persons of all classes - nobility, gentry, and merchant - who
desired this privilege for any reason whatsoever. The records
of the Privy Council are full of these grants _ persons
desiring to emigrate thither were required to take the Oath of
Supremacy and Conformity"

[12162]

[12163] If the Brownson's did sail upon the
Defense, the following journal entry of Rev.
Thomas Sheppard [traveling on that ship under the pseudonym of
John Shepard] is relevant, "in our voyage upon the sea the Lord
was very tender of me and kept me from sea-sickness. The ship
we came in was very rotten and unfit for such a voyage, and
therefore the first storm we had we had a very great leak,
which did much appall and affect us. Yet the Lord discovered it
unto us when we were thinking of returning back again; and much
comforted our hearts. We had many storms in one of which my
dear wife [Margaret, age 31] took such a cold, and got such
weakness as that she fell into a consumption of which she
afterwards died. And also the Lord preserved her, with the
child [Thomas, age less than a year], from imminent and
apparent death. For by the shaking of the ship in a violent
storm her head was pitched against an iron bolt, and the Lord
miraculously preserved the child and recovered my wife. This
was a great affliction to me, and was a cause of many sad
thoughts in the ship, how to behave myself when I came to New
England. And so the Lord after many sad storms and wearisome
days, and many longings to see the shore brought us to the
sight of it upon October 2 Anno 1635. My dear wife's great
desire being now fulfilled, which was to leave me in safety
from the hands of mine enemies, and among God's people, and
also the child under God's ordinances."

[12164]

[12165] the General Court ordered "for the satisfaction of those of
Hartford & Windsore, who formerly mooved the Court for some
inlargement of accomodaçon, and also for o[u]r neighbors of
Wethersfeeld who desire a pantcon there" that a committee of
six men was to view those parts of Tunxis Sepus "wch may be
suitable for those purposes"

[12166]

[12167] "All Farmington inhabitants, the town's permanent residents,
whether members of Hooker's church or not, were required by law
to repair to some meetinghouse for church services whether in
fine weather or foul. The long trip by horseback along a narrow
cart path to Hartford was tedious under the best of
circumstances; bad weather rendered the passage hazardous as
well._The records indicate that Farmington families traveled to
Hartford in all seasons; Farmington marriages, deaths, and
baptisms were recorded in Hartford in all months of the year
until October 1652."

[12168]

[12136] in England


[12138] in the Connecticut records


[12140] aboard the Defence "(Edward Bostock, master),
which sailed from London. . . and arrived at Boston 8 Oct.
1635. Passengers on the Defence included the
celebrated Mr. Thomas Shepard, who had preached at Earl's Colne
in 1630, and was later to become minister at Cambridge, Mass. .
. Other passengers on the Defence were Mr. John
Wilson, future teacher of the church at Boston; Mr. Hugh Peter,
former pastor of the English church at Rotterdam and future
minister at Salem, Mass.; Mr. John Norton, future minister at
Ipswich, Mass., and later teacher of the church at Boston; Mr.
John Jones, future minister at Concord, Mass., and Fairfield,
Conn.; and most significantly for the Brownsons, Mr. Roger
Harlakenden, aged 23, of Earl's Colne, with his wife Elizabeth
(Bosvile), aged 18, and his sister Mabell, aged 22, the said
Roger and Mabell being younger brother and sister of Richard
Harlakenden, esquire (1606-1677), lord of the manor of Earl's
Colne. The passenger list of the Defence is
incomplete, and though the Brownson's name does not appear on
it, there is no reason to believe that they did not come on
that ship, and every reason to think they did"


[12142] "Several parcells of land in Hertford upon the river of
Cannecticott belonginge to John Brunson & to his heires
forever.
"One parcell on which his dwellinge house now standeth
wth yards or gardens therein beinge containinge by Estimacon
two acres (more or less) abuttinge upon the highway leading
into the neck of the land to the East & on Willm Heatons land
on the South.
"One parcell lynge on the souldjers field contayninge by
Estimacon foure acres (more or less) abuttinge upon the high
way leading to the neck of land on the west & on the little
River on the East & on Willm Heaton land the south & on Thom:
Spencers land on the North.
"One parcell more lyinge in the neck of land contayning
by Estimacon one acre (more or less) abutting upon the Pale now
common on the west & on the high way leading into the neck of
land on the East & on Willm Heatons land on the South & on the
neck of land on the North.
"Another parcell lyinge in the neck of land contayning
by Estimacon foure acres more or lesse abutting upon the
Cowpasture on the west & on the South & on the neck of land on
the North.
"One parcell lying on the East side of the great river
containing by Estimacon eight acres more or less abutting upon
the great river on the west & on the land now common on the
East & on Willm heatons land on the South & on Willm Phillups
land on the North"


[12145] as a deputy


[12156] "This Court grant Adms. to the Children of the Dec. and appoint
Marshall Grave to assist them in the division. There being no
will made by the deceased, and finding the sayd John Brunson
had in his lifetime allotted to his foure sons each of them a
fifth part of his lands in Farmington, This Court confirms the
same to them and their heirs forever; & whereas John had
received short of his brothers £8, it is now considered in the
distribution, as also what his daughters have formerly
received. . .And the Court orders that there be payd towards
the maintenance of the Widdow, yearly, the sum of £10 in good
current pay during the time of her natural life, to be paid by
the children in proportion, and more if necessity arise"


[12170] was sworn Constable of||for one year


[12172] "where as it is represented to this Court by George Kilbourn,
Thomas Hopkins, John Bracy, Daniel Steele, & Hezekiah Hopkins,
Heirs by marriage and descent from John Brunson, formerly of
Farmington, decd. that there is a considerable Estate in Land
of the sd. Decd that has not yet been Dist., and necessary to
be apprised in order to be Dist. to and among the heirs of John
Brunson, This Court grant Adms. on the sd. Real Estate which
has not been Dist. unto the sd. Thomas Hopkins and John Bracy
and order that they make an Invt. thereof and exhibit the same
to this Court as soon as may be, for Dist."


[12131] [S1163] Records of Farmington


PAGE: p 323

[12132] [S1167] Early Connecticut Probate Records, Hartford District, vol. 1


PAGE: p 278 (Court record vol. IV, 1677-1687, p 52)

[12133] [S1172] Records of Particular Court of CT 1639-1683


PAGE: pp 81-82, 109

[12134] [S1173] Public Records of Connecticut, 1665-1678


[12135] [S1168] Brownson, Bronson, Brunson


PAGE: p 196; Parish Registers of Holy Innocent's Church, Lamarsh, co.

[12137] [S1163] Records of Farmington


PAGE: p 323

[12154] [S1163] Records of Farmington


PAGE: p 323

[12160] [S1174] Farmington in Connecticut


PAGE: p 83

[12139] [S1168] Brownson, Bronson, Brunson


PAGE: p 196; Parish Registers of Holy Innocent's Church, Lamarsh, co.

[12141] [S1168] Brownson, Bronson, Brunson


PAGE: p 194

[12143] [S1170] Original Distribution of Lands in Hartford


PAGE: p 182-183 ; the original compiler noted "This record is in the

[12144] [S1172] Records of Particular Court of CT 1639-1683


PAGE: p 77

[12146] [S1173] Public Records of Connecticut, 1665-1678


[12155] [S1167] Early Connecticut Probate Records, Hartford District, vol. 1


PAGE: p 278 (Court record vol. IV, 1677-1687, p 52)

[12157] [S1167] Early Connecticut Probate Records, Hartford District, vol. 1


PAGE: p 278 (Vol. IV: 52; Court record, page 32)

[12169] [S1172] Records of Particular Court of CT 1639-1683


PAGE: p 81-82

[12171] [S1172] Records of Particular Court of CT 1639-1683


PAGE: p 109

[12173] [S1167] Early Connecticut Probate Records, Hartford District, vol. 1


PAGE: p 278 (Vol. X: 179)

[18727] [S1168] Brownson, Bronson, Brunson


PAGE: p 196; Parish Registers of St. Andrew's Church, Halstead, co

Other Events:

• OCCU: Tailor
• BAPM: 15 Sep 1576, Earl's Colne, Essex, England
• WILL: 04 Aug 1635, Colchester, Essex, England; Will proved: 22 Oct 1635

Notes:

Manor of Colne Priory, Register of Admission Fines
1610 Admitted to reversion of 3 acres called Chalkeney Crofts Roger Brownson L1-06-08
1619 Admitted to house called Humpherys and garden Roger and Mary Brownson L2-15-00
1623 Admitted to house uppon the west in Chiffen Lane Roger Brownson L3-00-00 (Note he hath the estate in only for life then it is to be returned to Richard Halakenden)Will of Roger Brownson of Aldham in the county of Essex, taylor
To margaret my wife L6, furniture, and all that was hers before marrraige. To my daughter in law (stepdaughter) Mary Brewer, 20s. To Edith my daughter, wife of John Evered of Cogshall, L3. To Susan daughter of John Evered of Cogshall, my grandchild, 20s at her age of 21 or marraige. To my two sons john and Richard Brownson and my daughter, 12 d each if they ever come to demand the same. Residue to Cornelius Brownson my son, he to be executor.
Signed by mark
Witnesses William Adams, John Brownson

Need to add:
Alse Bronson 1 SmartMatches
Birth: Before. 22 Aug 1612 in Earl's Colne, Essex, ENG 1
Death: Before. 30 Aug 1612 in Earl's Colne, Essex, ENG 1
Sex: F
Father: Roger Bronson b. Sep 1576 in Earl's Colne, Essex, ENG
Mother: Mary Underwood b. Before. 2 Feb 1585/86 in Lamarsh Essex ENG

Burial: 30 Aug 1612 St Andrew's Church Earl's Colne, Essex, ENG 1
Baptism: 22 Aug 1612 St Andrew's Church Earl's Colne, Essex, ENG 1


Roger Bronson 20 SmartMatches
Birth: Before. 12 Jul 1601 in Lamarsh, Essex, England 1
Death: Unknown 1
Sex: M

Edith Bronson 30 SmartMatches
Birth: Before. 13 Jan 1603/04 in Earl's Colne Essex ENG 1 2
Death: After. 1645 in unknown 3
Sex: F
Father: Roger Bronson b. Sep 1576 in Earl's Colne, Essex, ENG
Mother: Mary Underwood b. Before. 2 Feb 1585/86 in Lamarsh Essex ENG

Baptism: 18 Jan 1604/05 St Andrew's Earl's Colne Essex ENG 3

Elizabeth Bronson 28 SmartMatches
Birth: Before. 23 Mar 1616/17 in Earl's Colne, Essex, England 1
Death: Before. 24 May 1618 in Earl's Colne, Essex, England 1
Sex: F
Father: Roger Bronson b. Sep 1576 in Earl's Colne, Essex, ENG
Mother: Mary Underwood b. Before. 2 Feb 1585/86 in Lamarsh Essex ENG

Burial: 24 May 1618 St Andrew's Church Earl's Colne, Essex, ENG 1
Baptism: 23 Mar 1617/18 St Andrew's Church Earl's Colne, Essex, ENG 1

Roger married Underwood, Mary in 12 May1600 in Holy Innocents Church, Lamarsh, Essex, England. Mary was born about 1591 in Lamarsh, Essex, England; died in in Earls Colne, Essex, England ; was buried on 18 Mar 1623 in St Andrew's Church Cemetery, Earls Colne, Essex, England . [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• BAPM: 02 Feb 1574/75, Lamarsh, Essex, England

Notes:

vol38 #4

Notes:

wife: Mathen Taylor married 19 May 1617, St. Andrew's Church, Earl's Colne, co. Essex,, England

Also married to Joan ?

John married Phyllis in , , England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Cornelius married Elizabeth about 1561 in Derbyshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]