The Brownhill Family of Worcestershire.

This is the youngest, but by no means the least, of the Brownhill Families. It starts with the marriage of James Brownhill to Elizabeth Foley at Dudley, Worcestershire, on the 6th. November 1739. It is clear that James was not from a Brownhill family resident in Dudley because the baptismal registers have been searched for the period 1715 to 1750, the marriage registers from 1715 to 1750 and the burial registers from 1713 to 1750, without any earlier references to the Brownhill name, in any of its spellings, being found. So where did James come from? The clue might be in the naming pattern of this family. James and Elizabeth had a son James baptised on the 20th. November 1748. This James married Mary Whitehouse at Dudley on the 25th. February 1772 and they named their first son Timothy.

 

'Timothy' is a rare name in the Brownhill families. It appears at that period only in the Dudley and Cheshire families, no others. It was clearly a special name because it was passed down through the generations. One Timothy even went to live in the United States and his descendants now live in Oregon. There was a James living in Cheshire at the time who might be the one who married Elizabeth Foley but he was only nineteen and, so far, no other evidence has been found to connect him. Very little is currently known to me about him and his family.  However, with modern research facilities we might find the information we need. If the Cheshire James comes from a Brownhill family that includes the name 'Timothy' it would be strong 'prima facie' evidence, especially if he cannot be found living somewhere else or to have died early.

 

Some members of this family became quite wealthy and one branch became prominent in Walsall with members serving on the council and as mayors at the end of the nineteenth centuary. One of them, Alderman William Brownhill, JP, is mentioned in the County Biographies of Staffordshire (1901).  It states that he and his family were descended from the ancient family of Brownhill of Northumberland. This presents a problem because, so far, no records of an ancient Brownhill family have been found in Northumberland. There are three possibilities, (a) no records were ever created, unlikely, (b) all the records have been lost or destroyed, possible but unlikely, or (c) there was no ancient Brownhill family of Northumberland, it never existed! There was, however, an ancient Brownhill family of Northenden, Cheshire. 'Northumberland' and 'Northenden' are very similar and there can be no doubt that due to a printers error, or something similar, the one was confused with the other. Consequently, I am satisfied that the James Brownhill who married Elizabeth Foley at Dudley in 1739 was part of the Brownhill family of Northenden. All that remains is to find positive evidence of his birth or baptism.

 

Most of the Brownhills living in the Midlands today are descended from James and Elizabeth. Their family tree is quite extensive and I have most of it in my records. Part of it is now on this website, but there is much more to come.

 

The Brownhill Family of Worcestershire compiled by Frank Brownhill.