Abigail Wyborne
1619 - 1646 (26 years)-
Name Abigail Wyborne Birth 25 Nov 1619 Wrotham, Kent, England 
Gender Female Death Abt. 1646 Farmington, Hartford, Connecticut Colony, British Colonial America Person ID I312684225200 Oswald Genealogy Last Modified 15 Jun 2025
Family Richard Brownson, b. 23 Jul 1615, Earls Colne, Essex, England d. 26 Sep 1687, Farmington, Hartford, Connecticut, British Colonial America (Age 72 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
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Notes
Abigail Wibourne, or Wyborne, was from the county of Kent, England, and she was the mother of all of Richard Brownson's children. She died about 1666.
The 3 wives and 8 children of Richard Brownson - name of second wife not found
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.
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Origin
Origins
The first (known) wife of Richard Bronson is identified as Unknown (no source has been found yet giving her first name) "Wilbourne" (spelled various ways), sister of Margaret Wilbourne, wife of William Pantry. In Margaret's will of 12 Sep 1651 she bequeathed to "Abigail and John, children of Richard Bronson by my sister". This does leave the possibility open that "Abigail" was her sister-in-law rather than blood sister, so possibly "Abigail" Pantry. More research on the Wilbourne family could be done.[4]
Coddington in his TAG vol. 38 article notes that while her surname of Wilbourne/Welbourne/etc is established by the will of her older sister Margaret in 1651, a first name of "Abigail" seems to be widely assumed but not supported.
The most likely explanation for the assumption of her name is that she had a daughter named Abigail.
Family
Children of Richard Bronson & ?? Wilbourne:
1.Abigail (our line), b. prob. At Hartford 8 Sept. 1643; bapt. at Farmington 30 May 1659 "aged abt. 15" (NEHGR, 11:325-6); d. at Suffield, Conn., 27 Mar. 1710, intestate. She received a bequest of £6 in the will of her maternal aunt, Margaret (Wyborne) Pantry, dated 12 Sept. 1651, and she received "40s. more" in the will of her father, dated 27 Feb. 1684/5. She m. at Farmington, 16 May 1666, Jonathan Winchell, then of Windsor, later of Suffield, who was b. prob. In Mass. Before 1635, and d. at Suffield 5 Mar. 1715/16, intestate, a son of Robert Winchell by his unknown wife. Jonathan Winchell was on the list of freemen of Windsor, 1659, and was an original grantee of Suffield, 16 May 1671.
2.John, b. at Hartford in Aug. 1645; bapt. at Farmington 20 Feb. 1658/9 ae. abt 12 ; died at Waterbury, Conn., in 1696.
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wilbourne-2
Marriage & Children
Torrey in "New England Marriages to 1700" says this about her marriage to Richard (noting that none of his cited sources provide a primary record or source showing her name to be "Abigail"):
BRONSON, Richard (-1687) & 1/wf Abigail WILBOURNE; 25 Nov 1619, by 1643; Hartford/Farmington, CT[5]
As far as is known, "Abigail" was the mother of all of Richard's children although Codding asserts without source that the first two were of "Abigail" and the remainder were from an un-named, un-recorded second wife. His logic discussed below was that the language of Margaret Wilbourne Pantry's 1651 bequest to "Abigail"'s children indicated that Abigail was already dead but this is certainly not definitive.[3]
Richard's only proved other wife, Elizabeth Unknown, bore him no children.
On 19 July 1653, the "wife of Richard Bronson" joined the Farmington church but her name was not given so this does not help resolve the death date of his first wife or whether there was an unrecorded second wife before Elizabeth Unknown.[6]
Richard's children were:
Abigail born about 1644, baptized 30 May 1659 "being about 15 years of age"[7] (Coddington says she was born 8 Sep 1643 probably at Hartford)
John born about 1646, baptized 20 Feb 1658/59 "being about the 12th year of his life"[7] (Coddington says he was born August 1645).
Cornelius born about 1647/48 probably at Farmington, baptized at Farmington 19 July 1653 "aged about 5 years"[6]
Hannah born about 1650 baptized at Farmington 19 July 1653 "age about 3 years"[6]
Elizabeth born about 1652 baptized at Farmington 19 July 1653 "about the age of a year"[6]
Edith baptized 22 Apr 1655 (transcribed as "Eede") presumably born slightly before.[7] likely named for her father's sister.
Mary baptized 12 Feb 1658/59 "or about that time"[7] and Coddington places her as the 7th child so assuming she was probably baptized shortly after birth.
Death
Richard's first wife was dead by about 1664 when he remarried to Elizabeth Unknown, widow of David Carpenter and George Orvis.[5] A death date of 14 Apr 1665 was asserted in the data section of this profile without a source.