This page contains some notes on families whose origins we are researching. Some families we know more about than others, but we hope that by publishing this summary here we can make contact and exchange data with people who can help to complete the picture.
The Brown family we are researching lived in Cornwall, in and near Truro. We are interested in the following people who bore this surname, although we have not yet proved that they belong to the same family:
John Brown and Mary Polgrain (married 1725)
Richard Brown and Philippa Harris (married 1750)
Henry Brown (c1756 - 1823) and Elizabeth Bilky (c1760 - 1833)
John Brown (1795 - 1870) and Mary Mitchell (c1804 - 1890)
Emily Brown (1844 - 1922) and Samuel Venn (1842 - 1919)
Henry Brown was married in the parish of St Erme, near Truro, but we can find no record of his baptism. Richard and Philippa Brown lived in St Erme at that time, and there is a gap in the recorded baptisms of their children to leave room for Henry if he were part of their family. Henry later lived in the adjoining parish of St Allen, where John Brown was born. Emily Brown was born in 1844 near Chacewater, and was living in Devonport at the time of her marriage to Samuel Venn. Other members of her family continued to live in Truro.
There are two possible candidates for Elizabeth Bilky, the wife of Henry Brown. One was baptised in Creed (parents Thomas and Jane Bilky) and the other was baptised in St Stephen in Brannel (parents Richard and Elizabeth Bilky). We know a little about both families, but we have no sure way to decide which is the right one. We also have data on the Mitchell family, who came from Perranzabuloe in Cornwall, and on the Venn line in Devon.
Some of the names above are linked to the corresponding record in the on-line family tree. When you click on a link, the linked record will be displayed in a separate window. There you can see the family relationships as we understand them, together with notes on what we have found in parish registers, census returns and other records.
Please contact Chris and Linda Warren if you have a connection with this family
We also know of an earlier Brown family in St Erme, but we have not so far managed to find a connection between the two. The following generations have been identified by another Brown researcher, Christine Searle.
William Brown (c1650 - 1718) and Ann (no details known)
James Brown (1672 - 1748) and Ann (no details known)
Francis Brown (baptised 1707) and Joan Hocken (no details known)
Francis Brown (1738 - 1823) and Elizabeth Cock (baptised 1741)
James Brown (1769 - 1859) and Ann Bilkey (baptised 1769)
The later generations became property owners in Creed and Grampound, although at least some members of the family remained in St Erme until the 1770s. We believe that Ann Bilkey came from Creed (parents James and Joan Bilkey), so we may be able to connect the two families through this line too.
Please contact Christine Searle if you have a connection with this second family