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Note: HI1
Note: (Research):DISCOVERING ASA�S 1ST FAMILY
According to the 1820 Census of Allegheny, Venango, Pennsylvania, Asa was head of the house consisting of 3 males under age ten, 1 male age 26-45, and one female age 16-26. This enumeration suggests that Asa married prior to 1820. He was not found in the 1810 Census of Connecticut or surrounding states so he was probably married after 1810. This clue, coupled with the following statement from Mabel Hilton's letter to Virginia Larsen dated 9 Oct 1957 instigated further research, �he had one other wife but don�t know the name.�
The 1865 Census of Minnesota brought the next clue to a possible first family. Though it provides only the names of the household members and their gender, three families away from Asa was Wm C. Brown. William, born 3 Apr 1841 in Scrubgrass, Venango, Pennsylvania was Asa�s third child with Eleanor. Living with William is Minna F. (his wife) and Lorenzo. Since family relationships or ages were not listed, efforts began to identify who Lorenzo was.
Lorenzo D. BROWN was listed in the Civil War pension index, and while his voluminous pension papers did not indicate parentage, his immediate family was constructed with these documents. Lorenzo D. BROWN was married to Susannah FRANTZ, daughter of Jacob and Susanna. They were married 3 Aug 1843 in Venango County, Pennsylvania and had at least five children. Most importantly, was an affidavit signed by his daughter, Minnie, where she stated his birth date and place as 9 Jul 1822 in Tionesta, Pennsylvania. Tionesta is where Asa and Eleanor were married, and where their first two children were born. A coincidence - maybe, but not likely.
No mention of Lorenzo�s death was in the papers so his death certificate was sent for. Like the censuses, his occupation listed on his death certificate was that of minister. The William C. with whom he was living in 1865 was also a minister. The certificate listed Lorenzo�s father as A.C. BROWN. The mother was unknown to M.F. BROWN, the informant and Lorenzo�s fourth child. Though not definitive proof, it is highly likely that A.C. is Asa C. In the majority of records found for Asa, he was listed with his middle initial. Lorenzo�s obituary, explains that he was ordained to the ministry in 1846 in Pennsylvania and came to Minnesota ten years later. He was the pastor of churches at Lakeville, Champlin, Newport, Pine Bend and Maple Grove.
Further evidence was needed to make a more positive connection of Lorenzo D. to Asa C. This evidence began by ordering the Civil War pension files for an Asa D. BROWN. At the time, this individual had not been identified as part of the family, but he was the only Asa BROWN in the thousands of index entries. The pension file included Asa D.�s death certificate and other important affidavits. The certificate listed his date of birth as 4 Jan 1838 in Pennsylvania, and his death as 8 Feb 1908 in Chanhassen, Carver, Minnesota. Asa D.�s father is listed as Nathan R. BROWN. Nathan�s birth could be estimated as twenty years earlier, or about 1818. Again, the listing of middle initials is very common for the Asa C. BROWN family, and both Asa D. and Nathan R. follow this trend. One document in Asa D.�s files was an affidavit signed by Milton F. BROWN. The document stated that Milton was Asa�s cousin. This Milton is probably Lorenzo�s son. If this is true, then Lorenzo D. and Nathan R. would be brothers.
Nathan R. BROWN also served in the Civil War. His pension papers revealed that he was born in Pennsylvania. Included was a marriage license and record of Nathan�s second marriage to Hannah M GRAY, daughter of William C. and Elizabeth A. GRAY. The marriage license listed Nathan�s parents as Asa C. BROWN and Elizabeth REYNOLDS. This too, would mean that Lorenzo�s parents were the same, and we now have Asa�s first wife�s name. Elizabeth must have died before March 1832 as Asa was remarried to Eleanor by this time.
DID ASA HAVE OTHER SIBLINGS?
The records of Woodstock, Windham, Connecticut (including Woodstock's history, its vital records, and the family compilations in the vital records) list just three children of Nathan BROWN and Mrs. Polly CLARK: Asa, Rebeckah, and Samuel Miller. Samuel was born 11 Jul 1795. It was unlikely during this time to stop having children after just three. Children in these records could have stopped for a few reasons - Nathan or Polly died, they divorced, or the family moved out of the area. An entry in William C. BROWN's diary of Woodstock (not identical to Asa C's son) mentions a marriage of a Polly BROWN to Aaron PHILLIPS on 11 Jan 1798. This brought the possibility that Nathan died and Polly remarried, so Nathan's death was searched first. Searches were made in Woodstock's vital records and in the probate districts from 1794 to 1800 to find any indication that he may have died. The only possibility was a Nathan BROWN, who was probated in 1795 in Brooklyn, just ten miles south of Woodstock. However, this Nathan was born abt 1788. Nathan probably did not die. Back to the BROWN-PHILLIPS marriage. The Woodstock vital records list this marriage as Aaron PHILLIPS to Mrs. Polly BROWN, making the possibility that Polly remarried even stronger. A search of the International Genealogical Index (IGI) strengthens this connection. As part of this marriage entry, a James Polly BROWN is listed as a submitter to this record. This same submitter was listed on Asa C. BROWN's entry in the IGI. One of Aaron's individual entries listed Aaron's parents are listed as Andrew BROWN and Ruth RAWSON, and his wife is listed as Polly BROWN. He being a son of Andrew BROWN does not seem correct. The History of Woodstock Connecticut, included information on Andrew BROWN's family: Andrew BROWN was born 15 Aug 1752, died 7 Jul 1830 and married 3 Oct 1776 to Ruth RAWSON, who was born in Woodstock 2 Aug 1760 and died 1833. Five children were listed, of which Mary was the eldest. Mary (Polly) was born 28 Sep 1778, married Aaron PHILLIPS Jan 1798, both of Woodstock. So we can conclude that Mary/Polly's maiden name was BROWN, and that she is not our Polly CLARK. The "Mrs." in her marriage entry is probably short for mistress. Other marriages in this locality and time period use the Mrs. prefix even when the bride has not previously married. No other marriages of Polly BROWNs or Polly CLARKs occurred in this area during this time period.
The best possibility is that the small family moved away. Just 13 miles north in Charlton, Worcester, Massachusetts is a family where a Nathan BROWN and Polly are the parents. Their first child in Charlton is Alanson BROWN, born 16 Sep 1797, just two years after Samuel Miller BROWN was born in Woodstock. They continued having children: Frank, born 20 Sep 1799; Ruth, born 10 Jul 1801; and Charles, born 12 Apr 1803. Consulting the original records, a notation is listed next to Alanson's birth entry: "at Woodstock, CT". This entry ties the two localities together. The only other Nathan BROWN having children in Charlton was listed as Nathaniel BROWN married to a Ruth. Their first child was in 1814.
The 1800 Census strengthens these new family relationships. The only Nathan BROWN listed in Charlton's enumeration had 4 males under age 10 [Asa, Samuel, Alanson and Frank], 1 male age 25-45 [Nathan] and 1 female age 25-45 [Polly]. Though they are just numbers, this enumeration helps prove that Nathan BROWN and Polly were parents of seven children. The family must have come to Charlton between 1 Oct 1798 and 20 Sep 1799 as Nathan was not listed in the Massachusetts direct tax census of 1798 enumerated on 1 Oct.
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Note: : 3 [Samuel, Alanson, Frank]; 16-26 yrs: 1 [�b�Asa�/b�]; over 45 yrs: 1 [Nathan]; females: under 10 yrs: 1 [Ruth]; 26-45 yrs: 1 [Molly]
Note: Nathan Brown; males: under 10 yrs: 1 [Charles]; 10-16 yrs
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Note: anson, Frank]; 25-45 yrs: 1 [Nathan]; females 25-45: 1 [Molly]
Note: Nathan Brown; males: 4 under 10 yrs [�b�Asa�/b�, Samuel, Al
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Note: -45 yrs: 1 [Asa]; females: 16-26: 1 [Elizabeth]
Note: �b�Asa Brown�/b�; males: under 10 yrs: 3 [?, Nathan, ?]; 26
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Note: ; 15-20 yrs: 2 [Lorenzo, ?]; 20-30 yrs: 3 [?, ?, ?]; 50-60 yrs: 1 [Asa]; females: 10-15 yrs: 1 [Hannah]; 15-20 yrs: 3 [Catherine, ?, ?]; 40-50 yrs: 1 [Eleanor]
Note: �b�Asa C Brown�/b�; males: 5-10 yrs: 3 [Joshua, Samuel, ?]
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Continued: 1) �b�Asa Brown�/b�, age 56, male, carpenter, born in Kentucky
2) Eleanor Brown, age 46, female, born in Canada
3) Marsden Brown, age 17, male, labourer, born in Canada
4) Samuel Brown, age 14, male, born in Pennsylvania
5) William Brown, age 9, male, born in Pennsylvania, attended school within year
6) John Brown, age 7, male, born in Pennsylvania, attended school within year
7) David Brown, age 4, male, born in Pennsylvania
8) Frederick Goas, age 19, male, born in Pennsylvania
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Continued: 1) �b�Asa C. Brown�/b�, age 67, male, farmer, $275 personal, born in Connecticut
2) Elnor Brown, age 55, female, born in Canada
3) Wm. C. Brown, age 19, male, student, born in Pennsylvania, attended school within year
4) John W. Brown, age 17, male, student, born in Pennsylvania, attended school within year
5) David C. Brown, age 13, male, born in Pennsylvania, attended school within year
6) Phoebe Dayton, age 13, female, born in Pennsylvania, attended school within year
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