Colonial Meriwether Families Tree - Person Sheet
Colonial Meriwether Families Tree - Person Sheet
NameElizabeth Browne 
228, Granddaughter, F
228, Granddaughter, FBirthca 1703, Virginia
Deathbef 1747, Virginia
FatherWilliam Browne Jr. , M (~1671->1746)
MotherJane Meriwether , F (~1675-<1746)
Notes for Elizabeth Browne
Who, if Anyone, Did Elizabeth Browne Marry?
We know that Elizabeth is the daughter of William Browne Jr. and his wife Jane Meriwether, as she is named in the will of her grandfather, Lt. Col. William Browne, dated 4 Dec 1704. (This also establishes she was born before 1705.)
As stated in "The Meriwether Family in America, Volume I: The Colonists", there are conflicting claims that Elizabeth married Sion Hill, William Chamberlayne and/or William Gray. It appears that Elizabeth was much too young to have married Sion Hill; the possibility that Hill married Elizabeth's aunt, Elizabeth Browne, daughter of Lt. Col. William Browne and Elizabeth (?) Meriwether Browne, widow of Nicholas Meriwether and mother of Jane (Meriwether) Browne, is an intriguing possibility warranting research. To be sure, there is zero evidence of such a relationship at this time. Also note that no Hill grandchildren were named in William Jr.'s Will.
The genealogies that show Elizabeth married to a William Gray with a daughter Lucy Gray may have confused Elizabeth with her younger sister, Mary, who did marry William Gray and had a daughter Lucy. It is possible, as James White states, that Mary died and Elizabeth married her sister's widower.
Based on the following analysis of information on the marriage of Elizabeth Littlepage, daughter of Richard Littlepage, to William Chanberlayne and, after his death in 1736, her subsequent marriage to William Gray in 1738, TMSI concludes that Elizabeth Browne was NOT the wife of either William Chamberlayne or the William Gary of the 1738 marriage.
William Chamberlayne b. 25 Sep 1699 d. 29 Aug 1736 m. ? Elizabeth Littlepage b. 11 Dec 1703, daughter of Richard Littlepage and Frances Austin. Children: Edward Pye, Richard, Thomas, Mary and Elizabeth Chamberlayne. This relationship is shown by the following:
From a tablet in St. Peter's Church, New Kent county, Va.)
M S
Near the place lyes interred ye
Body of Mr. William Chamberlayne
Late of this Parish Mercht.
Descended of an ancient & Worthy Family
in the County of Herford.
He married Elizabeth ye eldest Daughter
of Richard Littlepage of this County,
by whom he has left issue three Sons,
Edward Pye, Thomas, & Richard,
& two Daughters, Mary & Elizabeth
Ob: 2 AUgt 1736 AEtat 36.
Hoc Marmor exiguum summi amoris
Monumentum posuit Conjux moestissima
1737
Also Ann Kidly Borne Sence
Her Father's Decease,
M. Sidnell Bristol. fecit.
The following newspaper article documents the marriage of William Gray to Elizabeth Chamberlayne, widow of William Chamberlayne, of New Kent County.
Gray-Chamberlayne
The Virginia Gazette (Williamsburg, Va), 14 April 1738 (Friday ), page 4, column 1
Married—Last Sunday, Mr. William Gray, of Surry County, to Mrs. Elizabeth Chamberlayne, widow of Mr. William Chamberlayne, of New Kent County.
Analysis: It seems probable that the Elizabeth (?) Chamberlayne who married William Gray in 1738 is Elizabeth Littlepage, NOT Elizabeth Browne.
TMSI has removed the marriages of William Chamberlayne and the 1738 marriage of William Gray to Elizabeth Browne as previously shown.
We know that Elizabeth is the daughter of William Browne Jr. and his wife Jane Meriwether, as she is named in the will of her grandfather, Lt. Col. William Browne, dated 4 Dec 1704. (This also establishes she was born before 1705.)
As stated in "The Meriwether Family in America, Volume I: The Colonists", there are conflicting claims that Elizabeth married Sion Hill, William Chamberlayne and/or William Gray. It appears that Elizabeth was much too young to have married Sion Hill; the possibility that Hill married Elizabeth's aunt, Elizabeth Browne, daughter of Lt. Col. William Browne and Elizabeth (?) Meriwether Browne, widow of Nicholas Meriwether and mother of Jane (Meriwether) Browne, is an intriguing possibility warranting research. To be sure, there is zero evidence of such a relationship at this time. Also note that no Hill grandchildren were named in William Jr.'s Will.
The genealogies that show Elizabeth married to a William Gray with a daughter Lucy Gray may have confused Elizabeth with her younger sister, Mary, who did marry William Gray and had a daughter Lucy. It is possible, as James White states, that Mary died and Elizabeth married her sister's widower.
Based on the following analysis of information on the marriage of Elizabeth Littlepage, daughter of Richard Littlepage, to William Chanberlayne and, after his death in 1736, her subsequent marriage to William Gray in 1738, TMSI concludes that Elizabeth Browne was NOT the wife of either William Chamberlayne or the William Gary of the 1738 marriage.
William Chamberlayne b. 25 Sep 1699 d. 29 Aug 1736 m. ? Elizabeth Littlepage b. 11 Dec 1703, daughter of Richard Littlepage and Frances Austin. Children: Edward Pye, Richard, Thomas, Mary and Elizabeth Chamberlayne. This relationship is shown by the following:
From a tablet in St. Peter's Church, New Kent county, Va.)
M S
Near the place lyes interred ye
Body of Mr. William Chamberlayne
Late of this Parish Mercht.
Descended of an ancient & Worthy Family
in the County of Herford.
He married Elizabeth ye eldest Daughter
of Richard Littlepage of this County,
by whom he has left issue three Sons,
Edward Pye, Thomas, & Richard,
& two Daughters, Mary & Elizabeth
Ob: 2 AUgt 1736 AEtat 36.
Hoc Marmor exiguum summi amoris
Monumentum posuit Conjux moestissima
1737
Also Ann Kidly Borne Sence
Her Father's Decease,
M. Sidnell Bristol. fecit.
The following newspaper article documents the marriage of William Gray to Elizabeth Chamberlayne, widow of William Chamberlayne, of New Kent County.
Gray-Chamberlayne
The Virginia Gazette (Williamsburg, Va), 14 April 1738 (Friday ), page 4, column 1
Married—Last Sunday, Mr. William Gray, of Surry County, to Mrs. Elizabeth Chamberlayne, widow of Mr. William Chamberlayne, of New Kent County.
Analysis: It seems probable that the Elizabeth (?) Chamberlayne who married William Gray in 1738 is Elizabeth Littlepage, NOT Elizabeth Browne.
TMSI has removed the marriages of William Chamberlayne and the 1738 marriage of William Gray to Elizabeth Browne as previously shown.