Key Facts

Snapshot:	moved from North Carolina to Georgia; owned slaves; investigated a suspected abolitionist and Lincoln sympathizer
Parents:	uncertain; see notes below
Born:	circa 1795 North Carolina
Died:	June 1869 Cobb County, Georgia
Buried:	unknown

224Silas Brown was born in North Carolina circa 17951-3 (Estimates vary slightly). I'm not confident about who his father was, although some pertinent evidence is presented below.

Problem: Unresolved Who is 224Silas' father? Consider the following record dated 14 February 1818 from Mecklenburg County, North Carolina: Pheby, George, Hiram, and 224Silas Brown, all of whom are of age, request that a Mecklenburg County court grant them letters of administration on the estate of William Brown. Full page.4 224Silas and William are no doubt related, but the nature of their relationship isn't stated. It seems most plausible that Pheby, George, Hiram, and 224Silas are William's children, but this isn't certain. Of note, we see that 224Silas bought numerous items at an auction of William's estate, including a "box and other articles," one of the cheapest items in the auction, and which (based on the description) probably contained small knickknacks, etc.—the sort of thing that only a close family member might want. 224Silas buys numerous items, including apparently cheap trifles, at William's estate sale. Full page.5 Since (1) William had died by 1818, probably in Mecklenburg County; (2) Pheby, George, Hiram, and 224Silas are certainly related to him in some way; and (3) Pheby, George, Hiram, and 224Silas were all of age by 1818 but probably still quite young (224Silas himself was born circa 1797,2 as noted previously.); one therefore might expect to find Pheby, George, Hiram, and/or 224Silas in Mecklenburg County in the 1820 census... but they aren't there. Perhaps, then, they aren't so closely related to George as I originally thought? Although George probably is 224Silas' father, I don't find the evidence convincing—it's just not adequate to allow for a firm conclusion. Therefore, I prefer to consider the question unresolved.

On 19 March 1816(?) Mecklenburg County, North Carolina issued 224Silas a bond to marry 225Jean Omond.6

1816(?): 224Silas Brown's and 225Jean Omond's marriage bond. Full page.6

As alluded above, I've been strangely unable to find 224Silas in the 1820 census, but he was there in 1830:7

1830: 224Silas' family in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Full page.7

1830: 224Silas' slave. Full page.7

By 1840 he'd moved to militia district 992 (map), Cobb County, Georgia.8 He had moved there sometime between 1833 and 1836,1 thus soon after the 1832 gold lottery. Tax digests from 1848, 1849, and 1851 further specify that he owned land in section 2, district 17.9-11

1840: 224Silas' family in Cobb County, Georgia. Full page.7

1840: 224Silas' slave. Full page.7

The 1850 census is the first record to name his children, including my descendant 112Hiram.1 The agriculture schedule shows that his farm was among the more highly valued farms in his area; that he owned two horses, one mule, various cattle, and 40 pigs; and that he grew/made Indian corn, oats, cotton, cheese, and hay.12

1850: 224Silas' family still in Cobb County. Full page.1

1850: 224Silas' slave. Full page.13

The 1860 census shows that he had acquired several more slaves.14

1860: 224Silas' family still in Cobb County. Full page.2

1860: 224Silas' slaves. Full page.14

The Civil War began the following year. In May 1861 224Silas was a member of a group to investigate whether a certain local schoolteacher was an "Abolitionist and favorable to Lincoln." 15

1861: 224Silas investigates a suspected Lincoln sympathizer. Full page.15

After the war 224Silas sold some of his land on two occasions:

(1)	June 1866: 290 acres in section 2, district 17.16 Sadly, no lot numbers are provided. This is no doubt the same land he'd paid taxes on in 1848.9
(2)	8 January 1867: 60 acres, being all of lot 889 and half of lot 911 in section 2, district 16. I've marked these two lots on the master map.

In 1867 the U.S. Congress passed several Reconstruction Acts. These Acts divided the former Confederacy into several military occupation zones, which were ruled by Union military commanders. The Acts also directed the commanding officers to register Southerners who wanted to vote in upcoming elections. One registration requirement was to swear an oath of loyalty to the United States; the obvious intent was to disfranchise any lingering Confederate resistance. 224Silas signed his oath and subsequently was registered to vote on 1 August 1867.18

224Silas died in June 1869 of a "Diseased Liver." 3 I've perused all of the June 1869 editions of The Marietta Journal as well as the 2 July edition, but I found no mention of his death.

224Silas in the 1870 mortality schedule. Full page.3

I don't know where 224Silas is buried. He's not in the indices of any of the three volumes of Ann Bishop Seymour's Cobb County, Georgia Cemeteries.

Sources Cited:

1: 1850 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Randall's district, Cobb County, Georgia. Page 194 (typed) or 387 (handwritten), dwelling 1359, family 1359, Silas Brown household. NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 66. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-65XC-B9?i=2>, accessed 25 February 2024.

2: 1860 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Merritt's district, Cobb County, Georgia. Page 426, dwelling 1467, family 1428, S. Brown household. NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 117. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YBP-Y1P?i=1&cc=1473181&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMZMK-JYH>, accessed 13 December 2020. Also available on the Internet Archive.

3: 1870 U.S. Federal Census (Mortality Schedule). Cobb County, Georgia. Page 72a, line 30, Silas Brown. NARA microfilm publication T655, roll 9. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-B3PJ-Z84F?i=185&cc=1420441&cat=783149>.

4: North Carolina estate files / Mecklenburg County / folder for William Brown (1816) / image 2 of 19. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G97J-X7ZM?i=1&cc=1911121>.

5: North Carolina estate files / Mecklenburg County / folder for William Brown (1816) / image 18 of 19. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-997J-X76C?i=17&cc=1911121>.

6: Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Marriage bonds, volume B (1783-1868), bond for Silas Brown and Jean Omond dated 19 March 1816. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-67XS-KNK?i=966&cc=1726957>.

7: 1830 U.S. Federal Census. Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Page 340, Silas Brown household. NARA microfilm publication M19, roll 122. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYBQ-9Z3R?i=54&cc=1803958&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AXHGR-QLZ> et seq., accessed 26 February 2024.

8: 1840 U.S. Federal Census. Militia district 992, Cobb County, Georgia. Page 27, Silas Brown household. NARA microfilm publication M704, roll 39. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YY2-SPK1?i=2&cc=1786457> et seq., accessed 26 February 2024.

9: Cobb County, Georgia. Tax digest for 1848, section for Randall's militia district 992, entry for Silas Brown. Ancestry.com ("Georgia, U.S., Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892" / Cobb / 1848 / images 179 and 180 of 216), accessed 24 February 2024.

10: Cobb County, Georgia. Tax digest for 1849, section for Randall's district 992, entry for Silas Brown. Ancestry.com ("Georgia, U.S., Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892" / Cobb / 1849 / images 164 and 165 of 184), accessed 24 February 2024.

11: Cobb County, Georgia. Tax digest for 1851, section for Randal's district 992, entry for Silas Brown. Ancestry.com ("Georgia, U.S., Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892" / Cobb / 1851 / images 178 and 179 of 204), accessed 24 February 2024.

12: 1850 U.S. Federal Census (Agriculture Schedule). Randal's district, Cobb County, Georgia. Pages 505-506, line 21, Silas Brown farm. NARA microfilm publication T1137, roll 1. Ancestry.com ("U.S., Selected Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880" / Georgia / Agriculture / 1850 / Cobb / Randals / image 2 of 2; and Roswell / image 1 of 2), accessed 24 February 2024. The NARA provides a helpful template.

13: 1850 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Powder Spring district, Cobb County, Georgia. Page 308, slaves of Silas Brown. NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 89. FamilySearch: <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-67L4-HT?i=1&cc=1420440&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AHR76-M8MM>.

14: 1860 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Gritten's and Merritt's districts, Cobb County, Georgia. Page 74, slaves of S. Brown. NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 144. FamilySearch: <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYBR-SLT?i=2&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AWKV4-4BW2>.

15: "Marietta Camp Ground Academy," Marietta Advocate (Marietta, Georgia), 24 May 1861, page 3, column 5. Georgia Historic Newspapers, <https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn82015431/1861-05-24/ed-1/seq-3>, accessed 27 February 2024.

16: Cobb County, Georgia. Deed book A, page 94; abstracted in: Betty White Lister, ed., Cobb County, Georgia, Deed Book A, Volume I (Cobb County Genealogical Society, Inc., 1989), page 15. Lister's abstract reads, "Page 94: June 1866: SILAS BROWN to JEREMIAH M. DAVIS for $2,900 sold 290 acres in Dist. 17, 2nd Sect. (Original deed lost under Sherman's command.), Wit: FRANK M. MYERS, A. N. SIMPSON, N. P.

17: Cobb County, Georgia. Deed book A, page 395; abstracted in: Betty White Lister, ed., Cobb County, Georgia, Deed Book A, Volume I (Cobb County Genealogical Society, Inc., 1989), page 45. Lister's abstract reads, "Page 395: 8 Jan. 1867: SILAS BROWN to WALTER MANNING for $250 sold lot 889 and ½ lot 911, Dist. 16, 2nd Sect. being 60 acres. Wit: J. W. MANNING, JNO. G. CAMPBELL, Ord."

18: Georgia's 1867-1868 returns of qualified voters, volume 115 (Cobb County), election district 35, precinct 897, page 69, entry for Silas Brown. Ancestry.com ("Georgia, U.S., Returns of Qualified Voters and Reconstruction Oath Books, 1867-1869" / Return of Qualified Voters / Cobb / 35 / image 65 of 94), accessed 24 February 2024.