Abraham Brown I was the first known immigrant ancestor of our Brown family to settle in colonial America.
According to family history, Abraham Brown, his wife Margaret, and their family arrived in Philadelphia in 1735. They came during a period of heavy immigration into the American colonies, when large numbers of Scottish, Scots-Irish, and German settlers were arriving in Pennsylvania and gradually moving southward through the Shenandoah Valley.
Abraham Brown was born on April 19, 1702, in Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland. He married Margaret about 1730. Her maiden name has not yet been established.
After arriving in America, the Brown family eventually settled in Virginia. Abraham is associated with the area of present-day Lexington, Virginia, particularly the Wood’s Creek area of Borden’s Grant.
Borden’s Grant was a large tract of land in the Shenandoah Valley that attracted many settlers during the eighteenth century. When Abraham Brown lived there, county boundaries were still changing, and the area was at one time part of Orange County, Virginia.
Family research also associates Abraham with approximately 400 acres of land near the James River and with service as a local constable.
The exact date and place of Abraham Brown’s death remain unknown. Our present belief is that he died in or near the Lexington and Wood’s Creek area of Virginia.
Abraham and Margaret Brown
Abraham Brown married Margaret about 1730. They are believed to have had ten children.
Among their known or believed children were:
- Abraham Brown Jr. — born 1730, died 1786
- Cornelius Brown — born 1731, died 1793
- James Brown — born 1753, died 1814
Research into the remaining children and their descendants is continuing.
From Scotland to Virginia
Abraham Brown’s journey represents the beginning of our Brown family’s known history in America.
Born in Scotland, he crossed the Atlantic during the colonial period, arrived in Pennsylvania, and eventually became part of the settlement of Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.
From this Virginia family would come later generations of Browns who moved southward through the Carolinas and into Georgia. Their descendants eventually became part of the Brown families associated with Elbert County, Georgia.
As with many families who lived in the early eighteenth century, surviving records are incomplete. Some details concerning Abraham Brown are supported by historical records, while others have been preserved through family histories and later genealogical research. For that reason, this account will continue to be updated as additional documentation is discovered.