Absalom Brown (c1778-aft1860)



Absalom Brown (sometimes spelled Absolom or Absolem or Absolum) was born about 1778 in Pendleton District, South Carolina, where he eventually owned property on Brushy Creek and Georges Creek of the Saluda River. He later moved to the Collins River Valley, Warren County, Tennessee. In Hubbards Cave (a Tennessee State Natural Area, now owned by The Nature Conservancy) located on the side of "Brown Mountain," which is named for him, an inscription reads: "Absalom Brown 1809." His name appears on the 1812 Warren County Tax List. On 7/31/1812, he purchased for $305 a 200-acre tract of land on the Collins River from Abednigo Green, Jr., Jeremiah Foster, Thomas Brown, and Polly Green, heirs of Abednigo Green, Sr. During the Creek Indian Wars of 1814, considered part of the War of 1812, Absalom served under Capt. James Tait (Tate), in Col. Stephen Copeland's 3rd Regiment of Tennessee Militia, which was at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. His name appears in the 1820 thru 1860 Warren County Census Reports, along with land surveys recorded in 1824 and 1827. He is listed as Warren County Turnpike Commissioner in 1822, 1826 and 1829. He also served as minister at Shiloh Methodist Church, established in 1809. A family reunion is held every year in Beersheba Springs, Tennessee.

Parents

 * 1) Father:  Uncertain (some believe it was John "Jack" Brown, son of Revolutionary Soldier Maj. Peter Brown from Edinburgh, Scotland. Both fought at the Battle of Kings Mountain.)
 * 2) Mother:  Uncertain (some believe it was either Alice Nodding or Alice Snoddy first wife of the John Brown above).

Spouse
Mary Green, based upon the inscription on his oldest son Thomas's tombstone, was Absalom's first wife. She is known to have been the daughter of Abednego (Abednigo) Green, who was originally from Maryland, but had lived in Rutherford County, NC, and Pendleton District, SC, before relocating to Warren County. According to family tradition, her name was Mary Jane Green; and, after her death, Absalom is said to have married her sister Joyce Green, who was the mother of his younger children. Though there is a nine-year age gap between Absalom's children Mary Margaret and William Sanford, no official records have yet verified the existence of Joyce Green. The 1850 Tennessee Census shows only a female listed as "Jone" b. 1805 in his household.

Children

 * 1) Russell Brown
 * 2) Thomas Brown
 * 3) Green Brown
 * 4) Missouri Brown
 * 5) Mary Margaret Brown
 * 6) William Sanford Brown
 * 7) Permelia Parry Brown
 * 8) Absalom Billoat Brown, Jr.