I am descended from John Barton Brown ( d. 1842, Shelby County, KY), whom I believe to be a son of Nicholas Brown, Jr. of St. Mary's County, MD. In O'Rourke's "Catholic Families of Southern Maryland", Nicholas and Elinor Brown were shown to be the parents of a son John Barton Brown, b. 6 March, 1775. My Barton Brown married Malinda Neale, d/o Theodorus (Doras) Neale and Sarah Kirby of Prince George's County, MD>Shelby County, KY. Barton and Malinda (Linny) were married in Washington County, MD on 23 October, 1801, and had moved to Kentucky by 1806 when Barton's name is on a Shelby County deed.

Although I do not as yet have conclusive proof that my John Barton Brown is the same as the one born to Nicholas and Elinor in SMC in 1775, I do have several reasons for believing that this is so. As this is not my main priority in this posting, I will not mention these reasons at this time but will be glad to discuss them with anyone who is interested.

My query at present pertains to a reference in the will of John Abell Senior of SMC signed 3 July, 1794, proved 5 August, 1794. (Transcribed by Judith Burger). A portion of this is as follows:

"John Abell, Senr.
his last Will
In the name of God amen. I John Abell Senr of Saint Mary's County, in the State of Maryland being of Sound mind memory, & understanding do make & ordain this to be my last will & Testament in manner & form following hereby revoking all other will or wills by me heretofore made First I give my Soul to almighty God who gave it me, & my body to the Earth to be buryed at the discretion of my Executors hereafter named 2nd Item I give & bequeath to my grand daughter Jane Abell daughter of John B Abell & Elizabeth Abell his wife all the Land I purchased of George Abell, Samuel Abell Senr John B. Brown & Raphael Brown it being the plantation whereon I now live, to her & her heirs forever....."

I have done no research on the Abell family--this is simply a question to gain further information. I am trying to determine what connection, if any, this reference to land purchased from John Barton Brown and Raphael Brown might suggest between the Brown and Abell families. In David Boles' "Barth-Hickey Ancestry", p. 102, he suggests that Raphael Brown might be a son of Nicholas Brown, Jr. Thus, the two Brown men mentioned in this will *might* be brothers, and moreover might have a link to the Abell family, Assuming that they are brothers, and sons of Nicholas Brown (d. ca. 1784) and his wife Elinor, might Elinor have been a member of the Abell family before her marriage?

One problem with this is that in 1794, "my" Barton Brown, if he is indeed one and the same as the son of Nicholas and Elinor, would have only been 19--a little young to be owning and selling land, perhaps.

I would appreciate hearing from anyone who might be able to shed some light on this issue. I realize that the Browns may have just owned the contiguous land and had no relationship to the Abells whatsoever. Any information about this will be helpful to me.