Holbrook line: Othniel Brown 1706-1755

Othniel!  What a name!  Of course, what else can you expect when your father is Hosanna and your mother is Mary.  Surely a Biblical name was important to this family, and the Biblical Othniel was the first judge of Judah.  His parents surely hoped for great things from him. 

Othniel, the son of Hosanna and Mary Hawkins Brown, was born about 1706 in Providence, Rhode Island, probably the northern part of the area, as that is the area that later became Gloucester and then Glocester.  From his name, we might guess that this was a Puritan family, but guessing is not always a wise thing to do, especially when we're talking about religion.  We do know that in the 1740's, a special prayer was required for the English monarch, and all the people in Glocester complied. 

Othniel was one of three children of Hosanna and Mary.  She died sometime after the birth of her third child and Hosanna had then married again, so Othniel had several half brothers and sisters, too.  Hosanna had been called 'yeoman", meaning farmer who owned property, and Othniel carried the same designation in 1726.  He was fortunate to own property at such a young age.   

There is some debate about whom Othniel married.  One source I saw said that he married Deborah unknown.  Another has given the names as Deborah Burlingame.  I have thought, it appears without good documentation, that she was Deborah Brown, the daughter of Richard and Mary Pray Brown.  So take your pick, until someone can find the actual records. 

I'm not sure what military service Othniel may have been involved in, before Glocester was split off from Providence.  But when Glocester formed in 1731, he was elected an ensign in the militia, and by 1734 he was the lieutenant in Captain Obadiah Jenckes' company from Glocester.  His cousin Chad Brown was the ensign.  We don't know for sure what the militia did but I found a statement that "It was necessary to keep some vessel of force cruising the coast of New England for the safety of trade" during this time period.  I also learned that each person in the militia (all healthy men between the ages of 16 and 60) was required to furnish, at his own expense, a musket or fusee (possibly an explosive device), a sword or bayonet, and a cartouch box holding one pound of good powder and four pounds of bullets. I would love to hear Othniel's stories of where he went and why, and what adventures he had.  

Othniel and Deborah had at least eight children.  I am not sure when Deborah died, but it may have been before Othniel died on June 4, 1755.  I don't know where they are buried, but Hosanna is buried in a place called the "Brown lot".  Hosanna died after Othniel, so it's possible that Othniel was buried there first, but I don't know that to be a fact.  I know that Othniel left a will but I've not been able to find it on line-yet. 

This is the brief version of Othniel's life.  It seems so little, for there were surely challenges he faced.  At least eight times, he would have paced while Deborah gave birth.  He helped his neighbors, attended church, served his town and colony, raised his children, and had an estate of some sort, apparently.  He is a man to be honored.

The line of descent is

Othniel Brown-Deborah

Sarah Brown-Enos Eddy

Enos Eddy-Deborah Paine

Joseph Brown Eddy-Susan Lamphire

Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard

Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick

Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen