Richard Brownson
1615 - 1687 (72 years)-
Name Richard Brownson Birth 23 Jul 1615 Earls Colne, Essex, England 
Christening 23 Jul 1615 Earls Colne, Essex, England Gender Male Burial Sep 1687 Farmington, Hartford, Connecticut, British Colonial America Death 26 Sep 1687 Farmington, Hartford, Connecticut, British Colonial America Person ID I312684225184 Oswald Genealogy Last Modified 15 Jun 2025
Family 1 Abigail Wyborne, b. 25 Nov 1619, Wrotham, Kent, England d. Abt. 1646, Farmington, Hartford, Connecticut Colony, British Colonial America (Age 26 years) Marriage 1642 Farmington, Hartford, Connecticut, United States Children 1. Abigail Brownson, b. 08 Sep 1643, Farmington, Hartford, Connecticut Colony, British Colonial America d. 27 Mar 1710, Suffield, Hartford, Connecticut Colony, British Colonial America (Age 66 years) [Father: unknown] [Mother: unknown]2. John Bronson, b. Abt. 1645, Hartford, Connecticut Colony, British Colonial America d. Bef. 17 Nov 1696, Waterbury, New Haven, Connecticut, United States (Age 51 years) [Father: unknown] [Mother: unknown]Family ID F1603 Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 15 Jun 2025
Family 2 Elizabeth, b. Abt. Oct 1620, England d. 06 Apr 1694, Farmington, Hartford, Connecticut Colony, British Colonial America (Age 73 years) Marriage Abt. 1665 Farmington, Hartford, Connecticut Colony, British Colonial America Family ID F1604 Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 15 Jun 2025
Family 3 The Second-of-Richard's-Three-Wives d. Abt. 1665, Farmington, Hartford, Connecticut Colony, British Colonial America Children 1. Cornelius Brownson, Sr, b. 1647, Farmington, Hartford, Connecticut, United States d. May 1732, Farmington, Hartford, Connecticut, British Colonial America (Age 85 years) [Father: unknown] [Mother: unknown]2. Hannah Bronson, b. 1650, Farmington, Hartford, Connecticut, United States bur. 1712, Milford, New Haven, Connecticut, United States (Age ~ 62 years) [Father: unknown] [Mother: unknown]3. Elizabeth Brownson, b. Abt. 1653, Farmington, Hartford, Connecticut Colony, British Colonial America 4. Edith Brownson, b. Abt. 1655 d. Aft. 1687 (Age 33 years) 5. Mary Brownson, b. Abt. 1658 d. Aft. 1684 (Age 27 years) 6. Samuel Bronson, b. Farmington, Hartford, Connecticut, United States d. Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut, United States Family ID F1602 Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 15 Jun 2025
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Notes - Sources of Information:
Sources of Information:
1) "The Will of Mrs. Elizabeth Carpenter Orvis Brunson" The American
Genealogist (FHL 973, B2ag, vol. 41).
2) Orvis Family in America (FHL 929.273, OR90).
3) Will of husband & wife (FHL 974.6, P ZM V. 1 pp. 414-5)
Richard Bronson, Hartford Founder
Compiled by Timothy Lester Jacobs, SDFH Genealogist
Richard Bronson, Hartford Founder
Compiled by Timothy Lester Jacobs, SDFH Genealogist
RICHARD BRONSON, HARTFORD FOUNDER (ROGER BROWNSON) was baptized 23 Jul 1615 in Earl’s Colne, Essex, England, and died bef. 26 Sep 1687 in Farmington, CT (inventory). He married (1) ABIGAIL? WYBORNE abt. 1643 in prob Hartford, CT, daughter of JOHN WYBORNE. She was born abt. 1613 in England, and died bef. 1646 in Hartford, CT. He married (2) ___________ abt. 1647 in prob Hartford, CT. She died abt. 1665 in Farmington, CT. He married (3) ELIZABETH ____ abt. 1666 in Farmington, CT. She was born in England, and died bef. 26 Apr 1694 in Farmington, CT (inventory).
Richard Bronson (Brunson, Brownson) emigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635, probably aboard the ship “Defence” with his brother John and sister Mary (who would later marry Nicholas Disborough), but there is no record of him in Massachusetts. This family must have removed to the new settlement at Hartford in May to June 1636. There is no mention of land ownership in the Original Distribution of Land in Hartford. Perhaps he was living in the home of his older brother John on a two acre plot located on the west side of the road to the Neck of Land. The only mention of him in the early records of Connecticut is in Hartford Town Votes, in which it is noted on 9 March 1648/9 that the town owed him 10 shillings.
He seems to have been a land owner in Farmington in 1648/9, and was certainly there when his wife joined the church 19 July 1653.
His will was dated 27 February 1684/5, and his inventory was taken 26 September 1687.
Genealogy: There are several genealogies dealing with Richard Bronson, none of which can be recommended due to numerous confusions between the children of Richard and his brother John, and the maintenance of a myth that the three Bronsons of Hartford were children of a Richard Bronson. The only definitive work on the Bronsons is that of John I. Coddington in “The American Genealogist” Vol. 38 article “The Brownson, Bronson, or Brunson Family of Earl’s Colne, Essex, England, - Connecticut, and South Carolina”. This extraordinary work, which was intended to be continued, ceased after 1963’s Volume 39. In 1987 he had deposited his papers at the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston.
Concerning the 3 wives and 8 children of Richard Brownson
3 WIVES AND 8 CHILDREN OF RICHARD. Source: The American Genealogist Vol. 38 article “The Brownson, Bronson, or Brunson Family of Earl’s Colne, Essex, England, - Connecticut, and South Carolina” (pp 204-08) by John Insley Coddington, published in 1963.
This source is considered the definitive bio of Richard Brownson, according to the Society of the Descendants of the Founders of Hartford. According to Timothy Lester Jacobs, Genealogist with The Society (on the Society web site on Jan 2020): "There are several genealogies dealing with Richard Bronson, none of which can be recommended due to numerous confusions between the children of Richard and his brother John, and the maintenance of a myth that the three Bronsons of Hartford were children of a Richard Bronson. The only definitive work on the Bronsons is that of John I. Coddington in “The American Genealogist” Vol. 38 article “The Brownson, Bronson, or Brunson Family of Earl’s Colne, Essex, England, - Connecticut, and South Carolina”…." https://www.foundersofhartford.org/the-founders/richard-bronson/
TRANSCRIPTION from this source: Richard Brownson ... married, first ... ca 1642-3, ___ (whose given name is usually stated to have been Abigail) Weyborn or Wyborne, apparently youngest child of John Wyborne of Wrotha, co Kent, England, yeoman, by an unknown wife ... There is, in fact, no actual proof known to the contributor that the given name of the first wife of Richard Brownson was "Abigail" ... so far as is known, her name does not appear in New England records. Richard Brownson (Bronson, Brunson) married secondly, perhaps ca 1646-7, ___, whose name is completely unknown, and who probably died at the birth of her son Samuel at Farmington in 1665. He married, thirdly, ca 1666, Elizabeth ___ (Carpenter) Orvis, widow of David Carpenter (d 1652) and of George Orvis (d 1665) ... Children of Richard Brownson by his first wife: i. ABIGAIL², b. prob at Hartford 8 Sept 1643; bapt at Farmington 30 May 1659 "aged abt 15"; d. at Suffield, Conn, 27 Mar 1710, intestate ... She m. at Farmington, 16 May 1666, Jonathan² Winchell, then of Windsor, later of Suffield ... ii. JOHN, b. at Hartford or Farmington in Aug 1645; bapt at Farmington 20 Feb 1658/9 ae abt 12; d. at Waterbury, Conn, in 1696. Children of Richard Brownson by his second wife: iii. CORNELIUS, b. prob at Farmington ca 1647/8; bapt at Farmington 19 July 1653 ae abt 5; d. at Woodbury, Conn, May 1732. iv. HANNAH, b. at Farmington ca 1649/50, bapt there 19 July 1653 "aged abt 3," d. shortly before 5 Feb 1712; m. 16 Apr 1674 (not 16 Aug 1674), Samuel² Sanford ... v. ELIZABETH, b. at Farmington ca 1651-2; bapt there 19 July 1653 "aged abt 1;" not mentioned in her father's will and prob d. young. vi. EDITH, bapt at Farmington 22 Apr 1655 as Eade ... vii. MARY, bapt at Farmington "abt 12 Feb 1658;" unmarried when her father's will was made, 27 Feb 1684/5 ... viii. SAMUEL, b. prob at Farmington in 1665; d. at Wethersfield, Conn, 23 Jan 1741/2, aged 76.
Richard married Abigail Weyborn 1642.
Richard married Abigail Weyborn 1642.
!Manwarig Vol 1,p278 Winthrops med.jol.
!Manwarig Vol 1,p278 Winthrops med.jol. p52-90; Bronson Bros. hist. Waterbury p137-Braintree Eng.;1600 Camb. Mass 1632; Hartford 1636, Farmington 1641; joined church 13 Oct 1642 ;Am. Gen p299;Gen. of Gr Puritans Conn,16-342; N.E.Dict Vol p280 ;There is another family group under the name of Brownson see RIN 713;
!Could have died as late as 1687. Savage
!Could have died as late as 1687. Savage Gen. Dict., Hinnan Puritan Families Bronson Bros. , Hist., Waterbury Bronson Linages. Winethorp Medical Journal. Dr. E.E. Brownson. Hartford Times - 1935; Comp Am Gen, Vol 4 p. 586.!Could have died as late as 1687. Savage Gen. Dict., Hinnan Puritan Families Bronson Bros. , Hist., Waterbury Bronson Linages. Winethorp Medical Journal. Dr. E.E. Brownson. Hartford Times - 1935; Comp Am Gen, Vol 4 p. 586.
Richard Brownson's Will as Reported in WikiTree; URL:http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Brownson-150. Date Acessed 26 February 2015.
I Richard Bronson of Farmington do give to my wife during her life half the Use or benefit of my whole Homestead, as also the Lower room of that called the old house & the chamber next above it, & a good Cowe. She having beding & household Implements necessary of her owne, I ad nothing herein, but doe ordain & appoint my son Samuel Bronson my soale executor To my personal and reall estate at the end & Term of my naturall Life, only the Legacies hereafter expressed I doe appoynt him my sayd son Samuel Brunson to pay, viz: That which as abovesayd is bequeathed to my wife he is not to enter upon during her natural Life, & then to take possession of that part of my estate as my whole & soale executor, as also to pay these following Legacies: I having given to my two other sons their portions, I give to my daughter Hannah £4 more, to my daughter Eddy £3 more, to my daughter Abigail 40s more, to my daughter Mary one bed, a new Blanket, one payre of sheets, & to be paid 40s per annum so long as she liveth unmarried, & on her marriage day a good Cowe. What I doe give unto my son Samuel Bronson, my Executor, is as followeth: all my Homelott with houses, out howses, barn orchyard, garden or gardens, timber wood, underwood, with all the appurtenance thereon or thereunto belonging, excepting that part given to my wife during her Life; then this Instrument standeth good to my son Samuel to possess the whole of my Homelott except that part which is given to my son John Brunson. I give to my son Samuel 5 acres of Pequabock meadow adjoyning John Wadsworth's Land, John Stanly's Land, and on Samuel Gridley's Land, As also 4 acres more or less in Pequabock meadow adjoyning a highway, Moses Ventruss & Thomas Barnes his Land. I also give to my son Samuel Bronson all my other estate, as cattell, horses, neet sheep or swine, with all my Implements of Husbandry, brass or pewter, beding, whatsoever is truly mine, to him and his heirs forever.
RICHARD X BRUNSON
Witness: Wlliam Lewis sen., Samuel Lewis.
NOTE: Primary Sources listed therein on WikiTree's site.
!Source of Information: 1) Parish regist
!Source of Information: 1) Parish register of St. Andrew's Church, Earl's Colne, Essex, England Baptisms, 1559-1651 2) Parish registert of Holy Innocent's Church, Lamarsh, Essex, England 3) Name spelling BRONSON, BRUNSON & BROWNSON.
“The American Genealogist” Vol. 38 article “The Brownson, Bronson, or Brunson Family of Earl’s Colne, Essex, England, - Connecticut, and South Carolina”.
According to Timothy Lester Jacobs, Society of the Desc. Founders Hartford, Genealogist:
John d. 1696 m. Sarah is son of Richard;
John d. 1711 m. Hannah is son of John.
He writes: There are several genealogies dealing with Richard Bronson, none of which can be recommended due to numerous confusions between the children of Richard and his brother John, and the maintenance of a myth that the three Bronsons of Hartford were children of a Richard Bronson. The only definitive work on the Bronsons is that of John I. Coddington in “The American Genealogist” Vol. 38 article “The Brownson, Bronson, or Brunson Family of Earl’s Colne, Essex, England, - Connecticut, and South Carolina”.
REF:Hinman, CONNECTICUT PURITANS; Coddin
REF:Hinman, CONNECTICUT PURITANS; Coddington, "Brownson Family" TAG Oct 1962. REF:Death from Court Records, Farmington, Hartford, Connecticut.
"Richard Brownson (in later life usuall
"Richard Brownson (in later life usually Bronson or Brunson), fourth son and sixth child of Roger and Mary (Underwood) Brownson, was baptized at Earl's Colne, Essex, 23 July 1615, and died at Farmington, Conn., shortly before 26 Sept. 1687, aged 72. He married, first, probably at Hartford, Conn., ca. 1642-3, _______ (whose given name is usually stated to have been Abigail) Weyborn or Wyborne, apparently youngest child of John Wyborne of Wrotham, co. Kent, England, yeoman, by an unknown wife. According to S. Flethcher Weyburn, Weyborn-Wyborn Genealogy, 1911, p. 2, her name was Abigail, and she was born about 1613; Mr. Weyburn gives the names and dates of eight of her older brothers and sisters, extracted from the Parish Registers of Wrotham, but Abigail's baptism was not recorded at Wrotham, nor were the burials of her parents, so the family apparently moved away from Wrotham before 1613 and we do not know where they went. There is, in fact , no actual proof known to the contributor that the given name of the first wife of Richard Brownson was "Abigail," though this may well be correct; so far as it is known, her name does not appear in New England records. At all events, the first wife of Richard Brownson was certainly a daughter of John Wyborne, sometime of Wrotham, Kent, and a much younger sister of Mrs. Margaret (Wyborne) Pantry. Margaret Wyborne was baptized at Wrotham 7 Jan. 1591/2, daughter of John Wyborne; she was married by Canterbury Marriage License dated 24 Nov. 1619 to William Pantry of Ashford, co. Kent, carpenter, and her father John Wyborne, tanner consented to the marriage. William and Margaret (Wyborne) Pantry settled at New Town (Cambridge), Mass., in 1634, and removed to Hartford by 1641, where William died prior to 16 Nov. 1649, leaving an estate valued at slightly more than £1000. His widow Margaret (Wyborne) Pantry made her will at Hartford 12 Sept. 1651, in which she devised most of her estate to her son and daughter, but also bequeathed "un to my sister Brunson her two children by Richard Brunson, John and Abigail Bronson, to each of them £6 sterling." From this language we deduce that Mrs. Pantry's "sister Brunson" was deceased, leaving two minor children who were remembered by their wealthy aunt. It is probable that Mrs. Pantry's sister the first wife of Richard "Brunson," came to New England with the Pantry family, and shared their peregrinations to Cambridge and then to Hartford. [Charles H. Pope, The Pioneers of Massachusetts, 1900, p. 311; Lillian L. M. Selleck and Donald L. Jacobus, One Branch of the Miner Family, 1928, p. 144; Hosea Starr Ballou, "Dr. Thomas Starr, Surgeon in the Pequot War," NEHGR, 96:370-1; Manwaring, Probates, 1:142.] Richard Brownson (Bronson, Brunson) married secondly, perhaps ca. 1646-7, ______ ______, whose name is completely unknown, and who probably died at the birth of her son Samuel at Farmington in 1665. He married, thirdly, ca. 1666, Elizabeth (______) (Carpenter) Orvis, widow of David Carpenter (d. 1652) and of George Orvis (d. 1664), and by her Richard had no issue. Richard was not as prominent in civic affairs as his older brother John. He seems to have been a landowner in Farmington in 1648. His (unnamed) wife joined the church at Farmington 19 July 1653, when three of her children were baptized; Richard joined the church there Apr. 1654. He and his third wife were listed as communicants of the church there on 1 March 1679/80 ["Farmington Church Records, NEHGR, 11:323-6; 12:35]. The will of "Richard Brunson of Farmington" was dated 27 Feb. 1684 [1684/85]. He devised to his wife (unnamed) during her life the use of the whole homestead, the lower room of the house, "& one good cowe," bedding and household implements. Son Samuel to be sole executor and to have residue, "having given my two other sons their portions"; to daughter Hannah, £4 more; to daughter Eddy £3 more; to daughter Abigail 40s. more; to daughter Mary, 40s. per annum as long as she liveth unmar ried, and on her marriage a good cow; homelot to son Samuel. The inventory, amounting to £405-08-00. Was taken 26 Sept. 1687, and the will was proved 26 Oct. 1687. [Manwaring, Probates, 1:279.] The will of Elizabeth Brunson of Farmington, widow, was dated 6 Apr. 1694. She bequeathed to her Carpenter and Orvis children and grandchildren, and did not mention any Brunsons. Inventory, amounting to £69-14-08, was taken 26 Apr. 1694. [Ibid., 1:414-415.] Ernest R. Brownson, MD, Genealogy of One Branch of the Richard Brownson Family, Manville, North Dakota, 1951, is (sad to say) a book which should be used with great caution, for it contains a number of errors, beginning with the belief in the existence of "Old Richard" Brownson. On 10 April 1658 the Farmington minister made a list of "The Children that were in adult [i.e. not adult], when we entered into covenant at Farmington… not being above 13 years old." The list included 34 children in nine family groups, of whom 24 were under fourteen, the other 10 between fourteen and seventeen, years of age. This list includes "Richard Bronson's Children" - "Abigail Bronson, 14 years old, abought 8th Sept 1657" and "John Bronson, 12 years old abought August 1657." Apparently this list was drawn up to show the ages of children, not yet baptized, of church members, those still under 14 being eligible for baptism in the right of their parents. Hence dates of birth may be figured from this list. The two named children of Richard "Bronson" are recorded as baptized at a somewhat later date which appear in the list. [Farmington Church Records, NEHGR 11:325-6.]" Above taken from The American Genealogist Whole Number 152, October 1962, Volume 38, No. 4.
Book called "The Winchell Genealogy" fou
Book called "The Winchell Genealogy" found in Salt Lake City L.D.S. Genealogy Library, Starts in chapter called - Windsor Branch Name sometimes written Brownson.
Richard came to New England with his bro
Richard came to New England with his brother, John and his family, and his sister, Mary, on the ship "Defence" which left London in July 1635 and arrived in Boston 8 Oct 1635. REF: Bronson Lineage 1636-1917- H.B.Sibley- 1917- p 56; Appendix XXI,p 135 [Brownson,Bronson,or Brunson Family of Earl's Colne,Essex,Eng.-Conn. & S.Carolina- John I.Coddington..(Amer.Genealogist-Oct 1962-pp 193-201)]
Margeret Pantry in her will dated 12 Se
Margeret Pantry in her will dated 12 Sept 1651, mentions her "sister Brunson" and her children by Richard Brunson, John and Abigail (1-p142). Richard died in Farmington in 1687 (1-p279). Inventory of his estate was taken 26 September 1687, by Thomas Porter, Jonathan Smith, and John Norton and his will dated 27 February 1684 (1-p279). Sources: (1). Digest of Early Connecticut Probate Records; Charles William Manwaring; Hartford CT: RS Peck & Co. Printers, 1904; Volume 1 Hartford District 1635-1700 (FHL Film 0873816 it 1)
The name was variously written Brownson,
The name was variously written Brownson, Brunson, Brimson and Brinco n.
Richard lived at Farmington, Hartford County, CT.
On 5 November 1668, the court desired John and Richard Brunson to as sist widow Mary Wyatt in the administration of the estate of her decease d husband John Wyatt of Haddam.
!Richard had two other marriages.
!Richard had two other marriages.
- Sources of Information: