This text was obtained via automated optical character recognition.
It has not been edited and may therefore contain several errors.


1892, Nancy writes the Judge asking that Addison be removed as her guardian because of the poor treatment he has given her. She says she is 84 years old (born 1808) at that time.
She was apparently dead by May 7, 1898 for her estate probate notice was being advertised in the local Gulf Coast Progress newspaper. The estate papers name her children, to include: Martha Harriel, William Bounds, James Bounds, Addison Bounds, Annie Mitchell, (wife of Thos.), Jane Mitchell (wife of W.W.), Elizabeth Mitchell (wife of J. D.), and Mary Rester, deceased, with her children named.
While there is some indication that Nancy Bounds was a Brown, various researchers on Ancestory.com show her to be Nancy A Sumrall, daughter of William Sumrall and Lucy Ann Blackledge. None of these researchers give a source for their information. We have much more information on her descendants should she be proven a member of our Brown family.
Another possible sibling of our Robert Brown is Rebecca Brown. Mrs. David (Iona) Wainwright of Waveland, MS, in 1978 told us her grandmother was Caroline Williamson from Clarke County, Alabama, who first married Andrew J. Sones and second married Victor Moran. She said her grandmother, Caroline, said her mother was Rebecca Brown who married Dr. Frank M. Williamson in Clark County, AL, and was related to the Browns that lived in Gainesville, Hancock County, MS. Our online research shows Dr. Williamson married Matilda O. Brown on October 17, 1853 in Clarke County, AL, and she was bom in 1828 in Gainesville, Clarke County, AL. After studying the information available to us, we can not verify any close connection to our Browns.
A final possible sibling of our Robert Brown is Thornton Brown of Baldwin County, AL. Mrs. Betty Davis of Houston, TX, said she is related to this Thornton Brown. She has his “Probate” record from Baldwin County, AL, that was opened in 1824, meaning he died in 1823 or 1824. His Will states he had three children: William, Julian (wife of John Wells), and David Brown. The Will says the children should not contact their mother because “she deserted him and her children.” His wife is named as “Mary Carter, daughter of Hezicha Carter.” In the 1815 Baldwin County, AL, (Mississippi Territory Tax Roll) Thornton Brown is listed as head of a household with his “brother” (possibly our Robert Brown, who was not married at the time). There is also a Thornton Brown in the 1820 census of Wilcox County, AL, with a family. Mrs. Davis thinks our Browns came form Elbert County, GA, which is near Clarke County, GA, because she found many Browns with the same first names that our Browns used.
Mrs. Vivian Davis Bomemann published a book called “The Batson Family” in 1959, and a copy can be found at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. Her book contains plenty information on the “Davis” family who tie into Robert Brown’s wife’s family - Jane Davis. While her book has plenty of valuable and accurate information on Jane Davis’ family, she has a number of errors and some “made up” information in her research. For example, she states that Robert Brown’s wife, Jane Davis was bom in 1812, lived on Rotten Bayou near Kiln, MS, and had about 20 children. She said that Robert’s wife appears in the 1850, 1860, and 1870 Hancock censuses. The fact is that she did not appear in the 1860 or 1870 census records. There is no 1860 Hancock County census. In the 1870 census, Robert Brown is living with his daughter - Jane Hutchinson and no wife and the same for the 1880 census. In the 1850 Hancock County census, Robert’s wife, Jane Brown, appears for the only time. She was 37 years old that year (bom in 1813) and bom in “Mississippi.” When we interviewed Mrs. Bomemann on August 21, 1973 at her home in Lacombe, LA, she could not tell us where she found that Jane Brown was bom in 1812. She also told us that she
3


Brown & Davis Families Robert-Brown-&-James-Davis-of-South-MS---Descendants-and-Related-Lines-004
© 2008 - 2024
Hancock County Historical Society
All rights reserved