James Brown b. 1655

/ Kirstin Miller

James Brown 8th great grandpa on RootsMagic tree.

James Brown was born on May 4, 1655 in Rehoboth, Massachusetts. His grandparents John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley were on the Mayflower, married and had 10 children, with millions of descendants today. Elizabeth lived with James and family from 1687 to 1673 and would have shared her stories of the Mayflower and those first years in colonial America.

John married Margaret Dennison on June 5, 1678, and they had at least 10 children. James was known as a Lieutenant in the ‘militia’, the history of his service is lost. He could have been in one the biggest battles of the time, the Great Swamp Massacre of December 1675, recently in the news, the sacred land has been returned to the Narragansett Indians.
https://thepublicsradio.org/article/site-of-great-swamp-massacre-returned-to-narragansett-indian-tribe

James wrote his will June 28, 1717 and died on April 15, 1718 . “James Brown of the Town of swanzey In the County of Bristol In his majesties Provence of the massachusets Bay In Newengland yeoman ; Being Crazie of Body but of Perfect minde and memory Thanks be Given to God … Do make & ordain this my Last will & Testement. The oldest son James received the family farm, upland & meadows, -with this Reserve that my wife margrett Brown have the use of all the meadow I now make use of Dureing her Naturall Life or widdowhood”. Younger sons received other lands, daughters received money. James’s inventory included clothing, housewares, looms and yarns, livestock, rights to the sawmill and more.

James is buried at Ancient Little Neck Cemetery, on the Providence River. His headstone is there, inscribed with, “In Memory of Lieut. JAMES BROWN who Died April 15th 1718 in the 60th Year of his Age”. Many of James’s family are buried there too including his grandma, Elizabeth Tilley Howland.

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