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Thomas J. Browder (1799-1863) is the earliest known ancestor of our Browder family. He settled in Kanawha County, Virginia (later West Virginia) sometime around 1822, the year he married Mary Ann Duncan, daughter of William and Priscilla Duncan.
In 1825, Thomas bought 20 acres of land from his father-in-law. The deed refers to the land as being ''below where the said Browder lives.'' He later bought land on Davis Creek, where he continued to live until his death in 1863.
At this time there is no indication as to who Thomas's father may have been. There is speculation that he may have been a grandson of Thomas Browder (1746-1829) of Greene County, Ohio. According to some sources, this Thomas Browder left Dinwiddie County, Virginia in 1804 with his brothers, William and James, and settled in Greene County in 1805. However, none of the Browders in the 1810 or 1820 Ohio census are enumerated with a male of the appropriate age.
The 1830 Kanawha County census lists Thomas with a female age 50-60, and the 1840 census lists him with a female age 70-80. This is most likely his mother, since Mary Ann's mother, Priscilla Duncan, was apparently listed with her husband, Wiliam Duncan. This may eventually provide a clue as to Thomas's parentage. If his mother was living with him, that is a good indication that his father was dead, so any individual living after 1830 can be ruled out as being a candidate for his father.
Mary Ann Duncan Browder's birthplace is unknown. Some sources indicate she was born in Point Pleasant, Mason County, (West) Virginia, but no one seems to have any evidence for that. According to George Hall of Huntington, West Virginia, William and Priscilla Duncan were in Buckingham County, Virginia in 1797, and then possibly in Washingtom County, Virginia sometime before 1810. They were probably in Kentucky by 1810, as some of William's children give their birthplace as Kentucky in the censuses. In the 1880 census listings for Thomas and Mary Ann's daughters Winnie (Browder) Hudson, Mary (Browder) Robinson and Matilda (Browder) Fout, their mother's birthplace is given as Kentucky. In the 1900 census, Celia (Browder) Spinks also has her mother's birthplace given as Kentucky. The 1880 census listing for Mary Duncan Browder, however, gives her birthplace as Virginia, as does the 1880 listing for her son William Browder. Mary Ann may have been born in Washington County, Virginia, or Kentucky. The family's movements may have led to the confusion in the census listings. The first record for William Duncan in Kanawha County, Virginia (now West Virginia) was a land entry in 1815.
Much of my information on the family of Thomas Browder and his son, the Rev. William Harrison Browder, comes from the research notes of Earl Thomas Browder. Some of the information on the families of Thomas and Mary Ann's daughters comes from census listings, and some comes from other researchers. I have not personally verified the latter. Almost all of the information on William and Priscilla Duncan's children (with the exception of Mary Ann, of course) comes from census listings and second-hand sources. Mary Ann Duncan Dobson has an excellent web site on the Duncan families from all over America.
Thomas Browder & Mary Ann Duncan
William H. Browder & Margaret George
William H. Browder & Laura Frances Bodkin
William & Priscilla Duncan
Land Records (Browder)
Land Records (Duncan)
Wills of Thomas Browder and Mary Ann Duncan Browder
Thomas J. Browder and Myrtle Tree Baptist Church
If you have any additional information, corrections or questions about the families on this page, please e-mail me.
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