Re: Mary, Wife of James Landrum, Essex Co. Virginia

I have recently found in other records where "mother-in-law," "son-in-law," and "daughter-in-law" actually meant "step-mother/son/daughter" in "today's terminology."So, a Mrs. Elizabeth (Unknown) Brown was apparently the step-mother of Mrs. Mary (Brown) Landrum (wife of James Landrum).I note that some records seem to show that the father of Mrs. Mary (Brown) Landrum named William Brown was married to an Elizabeth (a daughter of Valentine Allen and Mary Page), while other records show that he was married instead to a Mary.Like you, I do not see where anyone has really solved this "mystery."

A fellow researcher was recently at the Essex Co., VA courthouse, and she found a later marriage record there where a William Brown married a Mary Allen in 1693.I wonder if that was perhaps the brother of Mrs. Mary (Brown) Landrum who was named William Brown, Junior (versus if that was William Brown, Senior simply marrying again)?

I note that James and Mary (Brown) Landrum were mentioned on a deed record in Spotsylvania Co., VA in the 1720s (though one post shows that they actually died back in Essex Co., VA).There was also a William Brown who was a witness on a deed in Spotsylvania Co., VA in the 1720s, and I can't help but wonder if that was William Brown, Junior (or perhaps, maybe a William Brown "III" by that time).Does anyone know what happened to William Brown, Junior?Did he father any male Brown children whose ancestors might be alive today?We really need a living male Brown from this overall family to join the Brown DNA testing project....if such a living male Brown exists.

There was another William Brown in VA who was out of a man who was named Original Brown....and that William Brown fathered a son who was named Maxfield Brown.This family was primarily in Westmoreland Co., VA, it seems.Based on my research, I see no strong reason to suspect that this family was related to the above-referenced Brown family of Essex Co., VA....though I see several things on the internet that attempt to "combine" these two families into one.

Based on a few clues, it appears that the above-referenced William Brown who was in Spotsylvania Co., VA in the 1720s was the same William Brown who was in Caroline Co., VA by 1735.That William Brown was among the men chosen to appraise the estate of an Abraham Brown in Caroline Co., VA in 1735.Abraham Brown was a member of DNA "Group 10" at the Brown Genealogy Society DNA testing project website, and it seems that this William Brown MAY have married a daughter in Abraham Brown's family (per other clues that I will not "get into" in this post).I do not believe, however, that William Brown was related to Abraham Brown.Sons were not allowed by the courts to appraise the estate of a deceased father, but there was apparently no such restriction placed on sons-in-law (per other researchers with whom I have addressed this issue).More research on this is needed, but the William Brown in Caroline Co., VA may very well have also been the William Brown who was then in Amelia/Prince Edward Co., VA (PECo) by 1740....and DNA evidence shows that the William Brown in Amelia/PECo was a member of DNA "Group 69."

The above-mentioned Abraham Brown was a son of Daniel Brown "I" and Jane Copeland, and a grandson of Francis Brown "I" (died about 1691/1692 in Essex Co., VA...he apparently was married to Elizabeth Cole).Daniel Brown "I" had a brother who was named Francis Brown "II," and Francis "II" also married an Elizabeth Allen.Some claim that SHE was the daughter of Valentine Allen, while other believe that she was certainly the daughter of one of Valentine Allen's male relatives (and the later would SEEM to be the correct conclusion, based on all that we know).As stated above, however, I do not suspect at this time that the family of the William Brown who married Elizabeth Allen (daughter of Valentine Allen and Mary Page) was related to the family of the above Francis Brown "I" who apparently married Elizabeth Cole....though both families apparently married into the same overall Allen family of Essex Co., VA (and, as stated above, they MAY have even intermarried with each other by the 1730s).