Brownlee-Myers Family Stories

John H. Brownlee and Adaline C. Myers

John Brownlee - referred to only in this website as John Brownlee IV

In the scope of this website, John Brownlee will usually be referred to as John Brownlee IV only to differentiate him from John Brownlee's in previous generations. There seemed to be a John Brownlee in about every generation of the family which makes it difficult sometimes figuring out which John Brownlee is referred to in a particular record. He did not call himself John Brownlee IV, and to my knowledge, no one else referred to him as John Brownlee IV either. Likewise his father, to my knowledge, was not referred to as John Brownlee III.

I've added the middle initial "H." since the "Brownlee letters" include a letter written in 1849 by J. H. Brownlee. I've also just found (on the internet) a John H. Brownlee who was born in 1841 in Colleton County and who died in 1864 - possibly another son not listed in most records because he died young. No sources on the "1841 John H. Brownlee", so this is the only place he will be mentioned unless and until something more substantial is discovered about who he was.

John Brownlee (IV) and his parents

John Brownlee (IV), the son of John Brownlee (III) and Levinia West, was born on Tuesday, October 26, 1802 in Colleton County, SC - one of nine children. His father, according to family tradition, came from Scotland.

The first marriage of John Brownlee (IV) to Elizabeth Jane Muckenfuss

John Brownlee (IV) and Elizabeth Jane Muckenfuss (born Tuesday, April 21, 1813) were married on Tuesday, May 10, 1836. They had six (6) children:
John Absalom Brownlee - sometimes called "Abe" and other times "J.A." (1837-1922)

1. 2 children who died as infants
2. Mary Caroline Brownlee (1840-1918)
3. W. Willard Brownlee (abt 1841 - sometime before 1872)
4. Hilliard H. Brownlee (1842-1851)

Elizabeth Jane Muckenfuss Brownlee died on Tuesday, June 4, 1850.

The second marriage of John Brownlee (IV) and Adaline C. Myers

John Brownlee (IV) and Adaline C. Myers were married sometime around 1865 and had three (3) daughters:

1. Adaline Egeria Brownlee (1866-1886)
2. Ida Florence Brownlee (1870-1943)
3. Cora Brownlee (dates unknown ? )

Adaline C. Myers and her parents

Adaline C. Myers, the daughter of Gabriel and Rebecca Elizabeth (or Elizabeth Jane?) Myers, was born on Monday, October 29, 1832. Her mother's maiden name is unknown. Adaline was one of seven (7) children.

The second marriage of Adaline C. Myers Brownlee

When John Brownlee died in 1874 at the age of 72, Egeria was nine (9) years old and Ida was four (4) years old. Adaline was left to raise her three daughters as a single parent. In September of 1877 she married a man named Lewis W. Hilton. At the time of Adaline's second marriage Ida was seven (7) and Egeria was eleven (11).

According to the family story, at some point during that marriage Hilton (as he was called in the family story) tried to rape Egeria. Their mother Adaline Myers Brownlee caught him "in the act", beat him with a buggy whip, "peppered" him with saltpeter in a shotgun, gave him a buggy and horse, and told him that if she ever saw him in this "neck of the woods" she would kill him. He moved to a different community.

A third marriage of Adaline C. Myers Brownlee

According to some records on the internet, Adaline married a man named John M. Rush. Whether this was her 1st marriage (before John Brownlee) or her 3rd marriage (after Lewis Hilton) is unknown. No other details are available at this time.