[E.A. Schwartz] [Ancestors Main Page]

John Browning was born in about 1588 at Willisham Hall, Suffolk, England. He was married to Elizabeth (Sybil?) Demaron in about 1614 in England.

There was a Willisham Hall in Suffolk, described in the online article St. Mary, Willisham as "a medieval timber-framed and thatched building" that was completely destroyed by fire in 1934. It is very roughly sixty miles northeast of London.

His death was placed by W.A. Schwartz in 1635 "in Elizabeth City, York, England." There is, however, no such place. Another source (?) places his death at "Browning Manor, York Cty., Virginia." Yet another (see below) says he "settled in Elizabeth City, Virginia," and "died in Jamestown in 1662."

(There was, according to Wikipedia, an "Elizabeth City County ... in southeastern Virginia from 1634 to 1952. Originally created in 1634 as Elizabeth River Shire, it was one of eight shires created in the Virginia Colony by order of the King of England.")

An online article titled The Elusive Captain Browning says:

"Captain John Browning came from a family of clothiers.... [He] was born approximately 1588 in England. When he arrived in Virginia he would have been 33 years old, in 1621. He married Elizabeth Demaron, born about 1590, in 1614 and immediately a son was born (George). John sailed to America from Gravesend, England, aboard the Abigail in 1621 with son George, but apparently left two other children in London. He landed at the "College Lands" later known as Jamestown, York County, Virginia. He finally settled in Elizabeth City, Virginia, where as a prominent citizen he served in the House of Burgesses of Elizabeth City and Mounts Bay. Captain John Browning is acknowledged as the founder of the 'Southern Branch' of the Brownings. He died in Jamestown in 1662.

"His known children were:
1. George b. 1614 London, Middlesex, England
2. William b. 1615 London, Middlesex, England
3. Joseph b. 1617 London, Middlesex, England"

Note that there is no listing here for a son Thomas, according to W.A. Schwartz, born in Gloucestershire, England, in about 1620. Middlesex, the region around London, is roughly one hundred fifty miles east of Gloucestershire, on the border of Wales. A chart included with the article already cited shows, however, that Captain John Browning's mother and paternal grandparents were from Gloucestershire.