Martin Browne, Copy Books of a Putnam County Resident
Collection
Collection Number: A&M 3598
The copy books in this collection date from 1810 to 1833 when Martin Browne was living in western Virginia and include primarily correspondence; the main correspondents are family members and his friend Thomas Stribling of Winchester, Virginia; topics include business transactions involving land, money, and slaves, as well as personal matters involving his family. Entries are detailed and literate.
Copy book 1 (28 pages) dates from 1810 to 1814; copy book 2 (25 pages) dates from 1817 to 1833 (the pages of copy book 2 are not in clear chronological order). Copy book 1 was originally tucked into a sleeve sewn into copy book 2.
There are also two loose leaves regard a slave sale in Frederick County, Virginia (1805), and a land sale in Mason County, Virginia (1806) respectively.
Copy book 1 includes:
slave sales (pg. 2);
discussion of runaway slave named Tom and slave transaction (pg. 5);
reference by Martin in 1811 as to when he moved to western Virginia ("I have been here coming three years") (pg. 8);
farm news and mention of neighbors (pg. 18);
request for whisky (pg. 19);
letter regarding Martin Browne's son Martin who joined Captain Bryant's Company of Volunteers in General Harrison's army in the northwest during the War of 1812; his other son was drafted but was able to pay a substitute (pp. 19-20);
calculation to employ four negro coopers (pg. 25).
Copy book 2 includes:
family matters and farming (pg. 7);
information on the Louisiana Territory (pg. 9);
reference to a cholera epidemic in the Salt Licks in 1833 (last page).
(There are additional Martin Browne records in the Manuscripts Department, Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.)
English
No special access restriction applies.
Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.
Born in 1749, Martin Browne was a native of Leeds, York County, England, and worked in the early 1770s as a merchant's clerk in Leeds, and later as a haberdasher in London. He married Phebe Green in 1774. He immigrated to America around 1785 to 1787 with his consort Mary and his eldest daughter Julyana, operating a tavern near Winchester, Virginia until about 1808. His wife was a weaver who helped run the taven. He then moved to Red House Shoals on the north bank of the Kanawha River in Union District, Putnam County, Virginia (now West Virginia). He died on 28 June 1834 in Madison County, Indiana. In addition to Julyana he had two sons, Martin Jr. and Abel.
0.1 Linear Feet (Summary: 1/2 in. (1 folder))
Two copy books and two loose leaves by Martin Browne, a land owner who lived near Red House Shoals on the north bank of the Kanawha River in Union District, Putnam County, Virginia (now West Virginia). Martin Browne was a native of Leeds, York County, England, and immigrated to America around 1785 to 1787. He operated a tavern near Winchester, Virginia until about 1808, when he moved to Red House Shoals. The copy books in this collection date from 1810 to 1833 when he was living in western Virginia and include primarily correspondence; the main correspondents are family members and his friend Thomas Stribling of Winchester, Virginia; topics include business transactions involving land, money, and slaves, as well as personal matters involving his family. Entries are detailed and literate. Copy book 1 (28 pages) dates from 1810 to 1814; copy book 2 (25 pages) dates from 1817 to 1833 (the pages of copy book 2 are not in clear chronological order). There are also two loose leaves regarding a slave sale in Frederick County, Virginia (1805), and a land sale in Mason County, Virginia (1806) respectively.
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / Fax: 304-293-3981 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Part of the West Virginia and Regional History Center Repository