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Very important information in the newspaper articles! Very good of you to post these. A bit off the topic of Robert Brown specifically, however I was wondering if any of the posters knew something about any of the siblings of Robert Brown? Samuel (from whom I descend) was born in 1772, and was the eldest. Robert (born in 1784) was sixth. There was also Mary, John, Martha, Alexander, David, Jean, Thomas and Margaret. I believe the name of the parents were Alexander and Martha Brown (and Alexander would probably have been born around 1750 or so..)

Thank you so much for all those who share their information. The one daughter of Robert Brown - Nancy - who married David Torrens, was the Grandmother of the distant cousin, Mrs. Mary Ann Torrens Johnston, with whom my Cousin Genevieve Brown was in communication with. As was already mentioned in this 'thread", it is indeed unfortunate that our predecessors did not record more of their information and recollections! That would certainly have facilitated our efforts in this present age!

Often I find the world smaller than we might at first imagine! Looking into the "Brown's" (as you previously mentioned - is a challenge, since there are so many of them! Different families, living in close proximity - and using similar given names. Have you any idea who the "daughter-in-law" was that was putting together the "family tree"? I also had understood that some of the relations of Robert Brown had immigrated to America (which is discussed in some other "posts" here.) Since in most all "listings" if families, the head-of- household is listed first, then his spouse; then children in descending order by age, from the 1796 "visitation list" Samuel is listed as the eldest - which is true according to family tradition. Also his birthdate is known - 1772 - , and Robert is #6 - his birthdate being 1784. This fits very well. And Mrs. Johnston was very certain that her great-grandfather and my Cousin Genevieve Brown's great-grandfather were brothers. One difficulty, of course, is the absence of any church records going back that far which would list (for example) the baptism of either Samuel or Robert, that would include the names of their parents. The only extant document of which I am aware, is the 1796 "visitation list" for the congregation of the original First Garvagh Presbyterian Church - to which the family of Alexander Brown belonged. Another hindrance is the fact that there are no "early" burial stones for any of these persons. Most of their deaths would have occurred prior to the building of the present church. I will look for additional correspondence to see if anything else appears.

Thank you for the replies to my initial message. I am in America, and descend from Samuel Brown (1772-1834) who was married to Letitia Canning (1783-1879). Samuel Brown was the elder brother of Robert Brown (1784-1867). Samuel Brown was my third great-grandfather. I am trying to establish who the parents of Samuel and Robert Brown were. In the enumeration ("visitation") of 1796 for the First Garvagh Presbyterian Church (Household #48) there is listed an Alexander Brown (with Martha brown probably being his wife) and then numerous children, including Samuel and Robert. These families all lived in and around the Townland of Moneydig. I DO know that Robert Brown, brother of Samuel Brown, was the caretaker for the Marquis of Waterford at Bovagh House. At times, these families used the spelling of the surname as "Brown" and at others, "Browne". This adds a bit of confusion, as well as the fact that the surname "Brown(e)" was very prolific in that part of Northern Ireland! Any and all information would be greatly appreciated...