I'm new to the Rowan list, and am searching for information on a John Brown, b. abt 1760, d. 20 Dec 1794, who married Sarah Ervin, d/o an old Rowan Co. settler, Christopher Erwin and his wife Jane McDowell. The information I have on Christopher Erwin, himself, is that he was b. in Scotland in 1725, but have only found reference to his being a son of a John Irwin, and no further info on his immediate family. I do understand that Christopher was a blacksmith who dedicated his shop to the cause of the Revolution, but I would like to have sources for verification purposes. I have no information on the McDowell family at all. According to the Williamson Co. (TN) Historical Journal, #4, pub. in 1973-74, John and Sarah Ervin Brown, whose names appear in my 6th gen., left Rowan Co. and headed west with Sarah's sister, Margaret, and her husband, David McEwen. They apparently went to KY first, where Margaret and David settled for several years, and where some of their children were born; but John and Sarah and Sarah's bachelor brother, Andrew, decided to move on south to Ft. Nashborough in 1780. They reportedly became, "solid" citizens in the pioneer community. According to this Journal, John Brown and Andrew McEwen were among the 70 Cumberland settlers who were given land by the State of NC. This Journal goes on to state that at some point, bachelor-brother Andrew returned home to NC due to his father's illness, but John and Sarah stayed on in TN. In 1783, John was appointed as one of the two clerks of the peace treaty between the government and several Indian chiefs, and in 1787, he was elected Judge of the Superior Court of Law and Equity. He founded Brown's Station, now a part of Nashville, but his leadership in the community was cut short by the Creeks. He was scalped, along with two other men while hunting bear. The account of this murder was related by TN Gov. William Blount to Washington's Sect. of War, Timothy Pickering. An article written in 1875 by Maj. John Lapsley McEwen, and published in the Nashville Banner retold the story of the Holly Tree Gap massacre. The Journal goes on to say that Sarah was left a widow with two small children, Jane Brown, b. in 1790, and John Lapsley Brown, b. 24 Dec. 1793, my g.g.g grandfather. Shortly after the murder, Sarah's sister, Margaret, her husband, David McEwen, and their seven children came to Ft. Nashborough from KY. Both families left Nashville together, and moved to Spencer's Creek in Williamson Co., TN. Soon after their arrival there, David McEwen built the first brick house in Williamson Co, and family members resided there until the home burned in 1877. If anyone recognizes my John Brown and his family, I would greatly appreciate hearing from them as I'd sure like to scale this brick wall. I am also interested in finding the source of the connection to the Lapley family, as both David McEwen and John Brown had sons named, John Lapsley, and these sons in turn had sons named John Lapsley. I also have to add that I am really enjoying reading the archives of this list. Jeanetta Parker Sharp