In view of some new information concerning the names of his parents, I am going to post some information about my gg-grandfather Thomas Brown and hope that someone may know something that would help determine his origins. Thomas Brown was born in TN about 1822. This is all I have prior to 1845. About 1845 he married Daniel Hestand's stepdaughter, Nancy Carter, and took over the operation of Daniel Hestand's farm in the Hestand, Monroe Co, Ky area. In the 1850 and 1860 Monroe Co, KY, census records, Thomas Brown and family lived still on the old Daniel Hestand place and Thomas was listed as a farmer. Its a little harder to pinpoint his exact location on the 1870 Monroe Co census but it appears that he is still in the Hestand, KY area. However, in 1870 his profession is given as practicing physician. Now in 1870 a Charles Brown was living in the Hermitage Springs area in Clay Co. This same Charles Brown had earlier been living in Monroe Co in the Center Point area. In 1874 Thomas Brown bought the Hermitage Springs farm from Charles Brown (I have the deed) and Thomas moved his family down to Hermitage Springs. In the 1880 census Charles Brown was back in the Center Point area. Thomas Brown died in Clay Co in 1879. In 1880 his widow and several adult children were in the Hermitage Springs area. I believe that his widow Nancy Carter Brown died in 1896 (from the minutes of Trace Creek Church of Christ). Thomas Brown's oldest daughter Martha Armittie Brown married John Harrison Moore in Monroe Co in 1869 and they migrated to Hill Co, TX, in 1886. This is my line. I have never been able to trace Thomas Brown back past the year of his marriage (c1845) in Monroe Co. My father had given me an incorrect name (Alexander Spear Brown) for Thomas Brown's father and I have wasted some time chasing after this person without any success. I now know how my father came up with this name. The story is too long to tell, but if there is an Alexander Spear Brown he is not related to me. However I believe that I have now learned the names of Thomas Brown's parents. I discovered some genealogical notes written by a descendant (who is unknown to me) of Thomas Brown's oldest son, William Brown. The notes seem to be accurate in those areas where I can verify them. In the notes, the parents of Thomas Brown are given as "Billy Brown" and "Polly Eldridge". Nothing else is said about them. I don't know where they came from, but I do know that there was a large Eldridge clan in early Overton Co as well as a lot of Browns. So can anyone shed some light on this line of Browns? The surname Brown is the 4th most frequently found surname in the Social Security database (Smith, of course, is #1 and Moore is #11). There are many Browns in the Monroe-Clay Co area and also a number of Thomas Browns. I have a list of the children of Thomas and Nancy Brown at the end of this note and a more complete descendancy chart can be found at http://www.public.asu.edu/~moore/files/brown/tombrownall.txt Thanks. Doug Moore ===================================================================== Family of Thomas Brown 1 Thomas Brown b: c1822 TN d: 1874-1880 m: Nancy Carter b: c1827 TN m: c1845 2 William (Will) Brown b: c1846 Monroe Co,KY m: Nancy J Reecer b: c1851 TN m: January 14,1869 Monroe Co,KY d: 1880-1900 2 Martha Armittie Brown b: January 07,1848 Monroe Co,KY d: February 23,1887 Burial: Derden Cem,Covington area,Hill Co,TX m: John Harrison Moore b: March 17,1839 Tompkinsville,Monroe Co, KY m: January 15,1869 Monroe Co,KY d: August 24,1913 Comanche,Stephens Co,OK Burial: Derden Cem,Covington area, Hill Co,TX Father: John W Moore Mother: Mary (Polly) Greenup 2 Cornelia 'Belle' Brown b: 1849 Monroe Co,KY m: Marcus Right b: May 1841 m: September 06,1866 Monroe Co,KY d: September 27,1913 Monroe Co,KY Burial: Fraim Cem,Flippin, Monroe Co,KY Father: John Right Mother: Cynthia A Frame 2 Hayden Turner Brown b: July 24,1852 Monroe Co,KY m: Susan Mary Hestand b: c1855 Jackson Co,TN m: January 17, 1877 Clay Co,TN Father: Elkanah Dulaney Hestand Mother: Mary E Wright 2 Harvey Brown b: December 28,1854 Monroe Co,KY 2 Thomas Brown b: July 06,1857 Monroe Co,KY d: Bef. 1870 2 Freelove Brown b: December 1859 Monroe Co,KY m: John "Rag" Harlin b: September 1855 TN m: November 19,1876 Clay Co,TN Father: Alexander Harlan Mother: Mary Ann Fraim 2 Crittendon (Crit) Brown b: c1863 Monroe Co,KY 2 Hamilton (Ham) Brown b: c1865 Monroe Co,KY 2 Nancy Thomas Brown b: c1868 Monroe Co,KY m: James Pennington (Pent) Gee b: January 26,1859 Monroe Co,KY m: June 20,1895 Clay Co,TN Father: John Jefferson Gee Mother: Elizabeth Breed (Betsy) Thomas ======================================================================