In 1638, Portsmouth was settled by a group of supporters of Anne Hutchinson who had been banished from Boston after excommunication from the Boston Church. With the help of Roger Williams the Island of Aquidneck was purchased from the Indians and a settlement was established at an area called Pocasset. The name was changed to Portsmouth the following year.

The settlements of Newport and Portsmouth were situated on what is commonly called Aquidneck Island today, but it was called Rhode Island in Colonial times. Providence Plantation was the name of the colony founded by Roger Williams in the area now known as the city of Providence. This was adjoined by the settlement of Warwick; hence the plural Providence Plantations.

In 1644, Providence, Portsmouth, and Newport united for their common independence as the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, governed by an elected council and "president".

Biography

Thomas and Anne Brownell were the first members of the Brownell family to emigrate to America. Most Brownells in the United States and Canada are descended from them. They arrived in New England in 1638, on board the ship Whale. According to the ship's passenger list, they had lived in the London parish of St. Mary Cole before making the journey to America.

Thomas and Anne Brownell settled first in Mt. Wollaston Massachusetts, where Thomas was a "planter" or farmer. The first record of him there is in the notebook or legal memoranda of Thomas Lechford. He sold "a house, a garden and six acres of arable land in Braintree" to Deodatus Curtis. The deed is undated, but occurs between entries of 26 May and 11 June 1640.

Sometime between 1639 and 1641,Thomas and Anne moved to the settlement of Portsmouth on Rhode Island . Since their first child, Mary, was born in Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1639, and their second child, Sarah, was born in Rhode Island in 1641, the timeframe seems plausible.

It was among these "heretics" that Thomas and Anne chose to make their permanent home in America. While there are no records which state that the Brownells moved to Portsmouth in 1640, the record of the sale of their house in Braintree in 1640 would make that a logical conclusion. Their remaining eight children are said to have been born in Portsmouth; although, as in Braintree, there are no records to substantiate this.

Thomas Brownell died on 24 September 1664 at Portsmouth, Newport County, Rhode Island, at age 56.

On the afternoon of 24 September 1664, Thomas Brownell was killed in an accident while on his way from his farm at the northwest end of Rhode Island to Portsmouth. Aged 56, Thomas left behind a wife, Anne, and nine children, ranging in age from nine to twenty-five years.

According to the testimony of Daniel Lawton, Brownell had stopped at the home of Lawton's father, Thomas Lawton, and upon leaving, invited Daniel, aged 21, to ride with him the rest of the way to Portsmouth. The ride soon became a race when Thomas put his horse to a gallop as they came down the hill near William Wodel's property, located about halfway between the Brownell farm and the town of Portsmouth. The younger man soon caught up with and passed Thomas.

As he continued the race to Portsmouth, Lawton looked back to see where Brownell was. Seeing his riderless horse running towards a swamp he immediately turned his horse around and caught Brownell's horse.

He then retraced his way until he came upon Brownell lying on the ground near a tree. He called out to him, but received no response and so dismounted to check on him. Taking him by the arms and seeing the great amount of blood on the ground, Lawton realized that Thomas Brownell was dead.

The following day a coroner's jury, with Samuel Wilbur as foreman, made an inquest into the accident. Testimony was taken from Daniel Lawton and details about the scene of the accident were given.

The jury's conclusion was that Brownell, riding furiously down the hill, was either thrown against or hit the tree. The broken reins of his bridle had been found next to the body and there was blood and hair sticking to the tree. His skull was broken and his "brains came out," thus causing his death.

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Inquest Into The Death of Thomas Brownell
The testimony of Daniel Lawton aged about twenty-one years or thereabouts being according to law upon oath engaged testifieth that yesterday in the afternoon Mr. Brownell being at the deponents fathers house, Mr. Brownell asked the deponent wither he would ride towards Portsmouth town along with him, the deponent answered he would so they both ride together, and when they were come down the hill at the head of William Wodels ground, Mr. Brownell put his horse on a gallop afore the deponent, whereupon this deponent also put on his horse and presently out run Mr. Brownell and got afore him, and so continued on his gallop some distance of way afore he lookt back but at length looking back to see where Mr. Brownell was he spied his horse running alone out of the way into a swamp whereupon this deponent forth with, not mistrusting eminent danger to the man ran and turned horse and brought him into the way where presently he saw Mr. Brownell lying on the ground, and the deponent called but none answering he let horse go and went up to him and took him by the arms, whereby and also by the efusion of very much blood from him on the ground he perceived the sayd Mr. Brownell was dead. This deponent doth testify the above written.

Before us the 25th of September 1664

William Baulston, Asst.
John Sanford, Asst.
These to the Coroner Mr. William Baulston Assistant - We of the Inquest being apointed and Engaged to Sit on the Body or Corpse of Thomas Brownell of Portsmouth; who was found dead on the high way against the upper end of the land of William Wodell yesterday being the 24th of this instant month.

This is our Return judgement and since thereon, We find by Evident Signs and apearances, as a very great Efusion of Blood, and the Raines of his bridle being broken and lying near by him, as also an apparent signs of a Stroke on a tree near to where he lay and some blood and hair sticking on the Sayd tree That the Sayd Brownell came by his death thus he Riding furiously with his horse down hill was throwne or dashed against the sayd tree, and his Skull Broke and to our understanding his Brains came out This we find was the Cause of his death.

Signed with the full agreement and Consent of the rest of the Jury, the 25th Sept 1664

Samuel Wilbure, forman.
When Thomas Brownell died on 24 September 1664, he did not leave a will or any directions as to how his estate should be handled. Today when someone dies without a will, the courts determine, according to state laws, how the estate is to be divided. The same procedure was used in the case of Thomas Brownell except that the power to do so was vested in the Town Council of Portsmouth rather than the courts.

Therefore on 16 September 1665, the Town Council determined how the estate should be divided. Anne Brownell was appointed executrix of the estate and was directed to carry out the terms of the settlement. Prior to his death, Thomas had agreed to an exchange of lands with William Brenton. The Council directed that Anne honor that agreement and the transaction was completed in November of 1665.

As customary at that time, the bulk of the estate was to go to the eldest son, George. Because George was then only about nineteen years old, Anne was to retain the "use, benefit and profit" of all the housings and lands that belonged to Thomas. At the time of his marriage or when he reached the age of twenty-one, George was to receive one-half of the land. Which half was left to Anne to determine. After Anne's death, George was to inherit the remaining half of his father's property. A provision was made that should George die before Anne, the property would go to George's heirs, if any. If not, the property would go the the second eldest son, Robert.

Legacies were also given to the other eight children, with the stipulation that if Anne should die before those legacies were carried out, George, or whoever inherited the land and housings of Thomas, was to carry out those legacies. The three younger sons--Robert, William and Thomas--were each to receive £20 when they reached the age of twenty-one. The two eldest daughters--Mary and Sarah--both of whom were married at the time of their father's death, were each to receive ten shillings. The other three daughters--Martha, Anne and Susanna--were to be paid £20 each at the time of their marriage.

Finally, if any of the eight younger children of Thomas were to die before they had received their bequests, the amount due them was to be divided among those still living.

This settlement reflects the custom of primogeniture--the right of the eldest son to inherit the entire estate of his parents--which was still followed in New England as it had been for many centuries in England. Many parents made gifts of money or land before their death to their younger children as a means of providing for their future and for a more equal distribution of the family's assets. Because Thomas died unexpectedly with no will and with six of his nine children under the age of twenty-one, no such provisions had been made.

The legacies which the three younger sons and the three unmarried daughters received were not small amounts. Twenty pounds was a good dowry, and probably similar to that received by Mary and Sarah when they were married. Without such a dowry, the girls would have had a difficult time finding a husband. For Robert, William and Thomas, £20 would allow them to buy property of their own when they came of age. That Mary and Sarah received only ten shillings indicates that they had already received their dowry at the time of their marriages.

As executrix of her husband's estate, Anne was required to post a bond of £200 to assure that she would carry out the provisions of the settlement. Should she fail to do so, the bond would be forfeited.

This settlement of the estate of Thomas Brownell raises several interesting questions. First, why did it take almost one year after his death for the Town Council to settle the estate? And second, why was an inventory of the estate not done? Usually an inventory was conducted immediately following a death, detailing all the possessions from property and livestock to household furnishings and clothing that belonged to the deceased. If such an inventory was done, it has been lost.

Could it be that the Council was forced to make this will because of disputes over the estate? And why was Anne required to post a bond to ensure that the bequests were carried out? It seems that the Town Council did not trust Anne and thus forced her to divide the estate according to law and customary practices of that time.

This decree is also an important genealogical document, as it clarifies several mistakes that have been made regarding the children of Thomas and Anne Brownell. Many sources have noted only eight children, while the will clearly states that there were nine. The youngest, Susanna, is not mentioned in Austin's Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island, in George Grant Brownell's Genealogical Record of the Descendents of Thomas Brownell or in Little Compton Families. In the few sources that do mention her, she is said to have died in 1655, the same year she is said to have been born. Susanna was, however, still living when the estate was settled in 1665, but no further record of her has been found.

Another discrepancy appears in the order of birth of Thomas and Anne's children. In all other sources, the order is given as follows: Mary, Sarah, Martha, George, William, Thomas, Robert, Anne and Susanna . The decree made by the Town Council of Portsmouth lists the sons' order of birth as George, Robert, William and Thomas. In the absence of actual birth records this decree is the definitive primary source for information about the nine children of Thomas and Anne Brownell, especially since the original document, as opposed to transcripts, still exists.

Because a will established inheritance and ownership of property, it was the one most important legal document a person at that time could have. The order of birth of the sons was of great importance because the eldest living son would inherit the parents' estates. Thus those who made the will and those who approved it would not have made mistakes in that regard.

Several transcripts of this document are incomplete because of the condition of the original. The document had been folded in half twice and the words at each fold are rather difficult to make out. By enlarging a photocopy of the document, the wording becomes more clear and thus we are able to get a complete and accurate transcript of the document. The original is on file at the Portsmouth town hall.

Children of Thomas Brownell and Anne Bourne

Mary Brownell b. 8 Dec 1639, d. 12 Jan 1738/39
Sarah Brownell b. 1642, d. 16 Sep 1676
Martha Brownell b. 1 May 1643, d. 15 Feb 1743/44
George Brownell b. May 1646, d. 20 Apr 1718
Ann Brownell b. 2 Apr 1647, d. 21 Apr 1747
William Brownell b. 1648, d. b 1 Aug 1715
Thomas Brownell b. 1650, d. 18 May 1732
Robert Brownell b. 1652, d. 12 Jul 1728
Susanna Brownell b. 2 Jun 1655
Thomas Brownell, planter, had house and land at Mt. Wollaston in 1640 which he sold to Deodatus Curtis - . He was in Portsmouth, R.I. in 1644.:

Thomas Brownell m. Anne Bourne at St. Benets & St. Peters, Paul's Wharf, London Mar.20,1637 and came to New England about 1640. .
He is called cousin, of Portsmouth, R.I. in the will of Thomas Wilson the elder, citizen & cloth worker of London but now resident of Rycroft in the parish of Rawmarsh, Co. of York, dated 25 Feb.1657, proved 14 Feb.1658, by which he and his children were given L 20 - .
He was son of Robert & Mary Brownell who were married 1605 at Sheffield in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Thomas d. by running into a tree while riding a horse in Portsmouth, RI.
Thomas Brownell, baptized 5 June 1608 at Rawmarsh Co. York, England.
Sponsors: Thomas Wright, Thomas Dyson Johanes Waynewright.
George Brownell, 23 March 1605 ? at Rawmarsh.
Sponsors: George Waynewright, Thomas Waynewright &
Johanna Western.
Ann Brownell, 28 July 1611 at Rawmarsh.
Sponsors: Ant. Goodwyn, An Goodwyn, An Wright.