…what’s in a name, Mr. Brown? Hmmm is this a rhetorical question? We are identified by our name, some of us choose our name perhaps later in life, but most of us are “given” the name or names chosen by our parents or family members. Does changing our name change our identity? In the society we live in, often women take on the name of the man she’s marrying or clan to which he belongs.  I’m smiling as I remember how I used to try to practice writing my new last name before I was married…so here we go with a story of a name…

As a genealogist and family historian, I’ve been actively investigating the stories of my history and others for over 25 years. I’ve taken on my husband’s families and those of friends. The last few years I’ve added adoption investigations. The very first “search” for an unknown parent I worked to resolve, using old school techniques, paper, books, newspapers, libraries, emails, and the telephone. was in 2001. This is the link to that 1st story of unknown parentage.

BLOG LINK:

https://www.trudeaustudios.com/blog-post/finding-her-father

Now we’ve the wonderful tool of DNA at our disposal. DNA can validate what you know or surprise and floor you with the “new” to add to your unknown history. This is one such story.

I was born with the surname Brown, a rather ordinary, common moniker. All kinds of teasing and rhymes come with this one. The first research I did on my family started with my paternal grandparents. They were for a time Mr. & Mrs. Norman Brown Sr. Three children came along, Norman Jack Jr., Eugenea Clare, and Janis Marie. The marriage dissolved after only 5 years in 1934. The family lived in Red Bluff, Tehama County, California.

But this story is back 2 generations beyond them. I’d taken the DNA tests starting in 2012 and I’d purchased the kits for those older relatives in both my family and my husband’s. I also manage kits for other family and friends, some asking for research assistance and others who just wanted to do the test without the hassle of having an account with the large testing companies.

The first big story I had with DNA was in 2013, my husband’s uncle Jim Trudeau, told a story just a few months before he died. He shared that there was a baby born in 1954 to my husband’s father and his high-school girlfriend. No one had heard this story; he knew I was working on the history for the families and wanted to be sure we knew this one.

BLOG LINK:

https://www.trudeaustudios.com/blog-post/hidden-treasure-we-dont-know-what-we-dont-know

I’ve also worked out several adoption and unknown parentage details for other friends and this is what led me to this story I’m sharing.

Researching the surname Brown can be daunting. The commonality of the name, then the commonality of the first names of the era as well as the “areas” being researched can lead to all kinds of mistaken identity during the genealogical research

I’d not had the chance to have my Dad’s DNA tested as he’d died in 2010 before I started this part of the research. My Dad had 2 sisters, listed above as well as a half-brother shared through his father and his father’s second wife. I’d never thought of him as a half-uncle but genetically that’s the term, His name is Gary Brown. Gary shared the same father as Norman Jr., Eugenea and Janis Brown.

I’d given the kit, for the DNA test, to Uncle Gary in 2015 and his results showed he was matching all the “appropriate” cousins, nieces, and nephews of the line we shared through his father, my grandfather, Norman Jack Brown Sr. In 2018 I was sitting in a presentation about DNA and the speaker was talking of Y-DNA. This DNA is specific to males, handed down only between a father to his son.  A lightbulb went off, this might be an easier way to track and work on the research of the “Browns”.  I called Uncle Gary and asked, “If I send you another kit will you, do it?” He laughed and said, “Do I have to spit in the tube AGAIN?” Well actually “No Uncle Gary this one is from a different company and is a cheek swab, easy peasy” … we had a good laugh, he said “Of course” and I ordered him the kit.

The kit was registered, and I anxiously awaited the results. Now I’ll remind you I already have his “autosomal” DNA as it’s called, this is the “most common” test people do, nothing unexpected, I knew his mother’s family names and recognized both sides of his genetic history.

My wait was over, the email I’d been waiting for “New DNA Test Results Posted”, “Your results are ready for viewing!” had arrived! Woohoo! Now I can see where we go with this Brown history research and where these Browns came from …

I logged in and opened the account and up pop the results, hmmmm what is this? Where are my BROWNs, I’m not seeing Browns listed in his matches…it took about a minute to sink in, does this mean what I think it does? Well hmmm, ok let’s see just what it means … Most of the matches were “Lindsay” -- well this is something, what is this thing, where’d this come from? The questions were flying fast and furious in my head as I wrapped my brain around what I was reading. I started reading the “support” section and googling information, I already knew, but just needed verification, genetically speaking, we’re not BROWNs… I also was able to remind myself the name issue would belong to a man since the test results were for male Y-DNA.

Within a few more days, I received an email from Joe Lindsey, different spelling, but Lindsay none-the-less, he was telling me my Uncle’s DNA was matching a lot of different men with the surname Lindsay/Lindsey. They’ve formed a Lindsay/Lindsey surname research group, “Would I like to join?”  “Well of course,” I said, as I explained the DNA is my uncle’s and I’m surprised at the results. We messaged back and forth about any number of reasons the surname is new to us. Adoption, fostering, someone leaving a life behind, criminal actions, or … I thought ok let’s sort this out. I did laugh about it a bit as I explained the results to my mom and to my husband, well I’d never been thrilled being Linda Brown, but Linda Lindsay is not a lot better.

Back to the genetics, my uncle Gary Brown, and my Aunt Janis Brown Baker, who’d both tested were matching cousins from both sides of their father’s family lines, which meant to me the name change probably wasn’t there. I recognized the names of their cousin matches on the Brown family side, I knew some of them while I was growing up, and others from the paper trails of research … I’d researched their grandfather, Jesse Brown, 1872-1935, extensively when I first started my research back in 1994. There had been another Jesse Brown very similar age living in the county at the same time. This taught me to be very careful assuming which record belonged to which man, I’m not talking switched at birth here, just attributing the correct records to the correct man.

Jesse was born in Antioch, California in 1872, married in 1896 to Lillie Katherine Mason, of Tehama County. They had 4 children before their marriage also ended in divorce, in 1904. Jesse had been raised in rural California, in the Sacramento Delta area before he moved north to Tehama County, California.

Still with me here? Jesse and Lillie’s 4 children were Jessie Agnes, Norman Jack, Lillie Mae, and Frances Beryl Brown. I knew my grandfather Norman and his sister Lillie; she later changed her name and went by Lillian.

Since I’m telling the story of the “Browns” I’ll go one more generation, Jesse’s parents. Jesse was born to Henry Norman Brown 1820 – no I don’t have a death date for him, back to the common name and records available. I know he was still alive in the mid-1890s as I’d found a newspaper clipping with his name, he was involved in a patent issue with another man in Contra Costa County California. But I’ve not found his correct death record. Jesse’s mother was Mary Ann Adams Brown, 1849-1940. I’d also researched her extensively early in my research years.

Mr. and Mrs. Henry Brown had two children that I’m aware of, Elizabeth Jane, aka “Jennie” and my gr-grandfather Jesse. Jennie died in 1883 at the young age of 15. This left Jesse as the only child of this couple. Mr. and Mrs. Brown had divorced in 1881. Yes, you read that correctly, 3 generations all divorced.

Mrs. Mary A. Brown went on and married a 2^nd time, to Frank Parks, he was a widower with two daughters. They then had 4 children together. I’ve met cousin descendants of these families. A story about meeting with some of these cousins back in 2007 is here: 

https://www.trudeaustudios.com/blog-post/the-photograph

I wrote above that I’d not found a death date for Mr. Henry Brown…the documents I have for him are all in California and he is reportedly born in 1820 in Ohio. This information doesn’t change on any of his various California records. The first California record is in 1860 a few years before he marries Mrs. Brown. I haven’t located anything “specific” to him before that … where was he for 40 years. This is where I began to wonder at the naming issue, did he change his name? Was he running from the law? Was he raised by someone else and took their name?

Back to the DNA, now that I’ve filled you in on the main players in this story. After I received Uncle Gary’s Y-DNA test results, I was asked to allow his DNA to be shared with the Lindsay family DNA study at Family Tree DNA, where he’d tested. Well of course, this is all part of doing the test and trying to understand the results.

The Y-DNA test results aren’t exactly the same as the “regular or autosomal” results common today. With those tests you’re matches are generally your siblings, cousins, and close relatives, extended all the way out to 5^th to 8^th cousins. The Y tests the males only showing the common lineage but the distance between the matches is a different measurement than the autosomal DNA, (Ancestry or 23andMe.)

I still don’t understand it all, but the gist of it is how many times on the DNA strands you share with other males, how many times changes occur on the DNA your share?  I’ve listened to YouTube, visited with those who test this but still struggled with this concept. The matches might be many generations apart … I just wanted to know who are these people named Lindsay and why are we matching them?

Just a few months ago I worked on 3 different adoption cases, resolving each using DNA matches, public records and honed the sleuthing skills. My nearly 40 years work as a 9-1-1 dispatcher taught me how to search. This skill is what we used every day at work. Different databases of course, but the skills are the same. Search, dig, keep digging and when you can’t find something, step out of the box, circle the wagons, and watch what comes up. Be humble enough to know not every search process is done correctly, not every assumption will be proven correct, know when to change directions and follow a new lead.

 Armed with the updated skillset of DNA research with these adoptee cases, it dawned on me, it’s no different than looking for the name changes/life changes/or whatever happened to cause the surname Lindsay to now belong to my Uncle Gary Brown and by DNA relation to me as well…

I decided to look again at the cousin matches, on Ancestry.com for Uncle Gary. This all popped in my head when I was trying to sleep, dear husband sleeping peacefully as my mind was spinning. As I scanned the matches, I saw all the same people I’d been seeing for 6 years. Oh, wait a minute, what’s this? A new match I’d not seen before, a new cousin, Mr. Lindsay. The match was showing they shared enough DNA to be 2^nd to 3^rd cousins, which means they shared a common set of gr-grandparents or gr-gr-grandparents. I explain it this way, count the Gs …. 2 Gs, 2^nd cousins, 3 Gs, 3^rd cousins. I did a bit more digging on Mr. Lindsay’s family tree and found his family living in Vermont. Interesting, hmm Vermont…

Well, if I wasn’t spinning a few minutes earlier my brain was now in overdrive, clock said it was almost 2am. I looked again and again and again. I double checked the “shared” cousins feature which allows you to see and know what cousins you share in common. Here it is, I’m one of those shared, so is my Aunt Janis, and all of my cousins from that side of the family. BINGO this was the closest match I’d found, with the name Lindsay. Oh well to be fair, once I understood the Y test results may have been many generations back, I just left it alone, worked on other research, learning the Adoption research skills. Here it was right in front of me, DUH, I’d not thought of finding “close” cousins named Lindsay. I knew I wasn’t going to sleep much anyway; I did all of this lazily, hastily, still spinning, on my phone from bed, yes the husband was still asleep.

Epiphany!! In one of my adoption research cases, I’d made an incorrect assumption and tried to fit an incorrect relative to the adoptee, I wasn’t following the shared amounts of DNA. They are percentages but they are what they are, follow the DNA not the names, not the assumptions, not the wonder ifs?

I’d been thinking my ancestor Henry Norman Brown may’ve been the one who changed names or had different paternity, well wait a minute, what about Mrs. Brown. Follow me here, what if Mr. Brown was not my gr-grandfather Jesse’s father? What if Mrs. Brown had stepped out with someone else, what if she stepped out with someone named Mr. Lindsay. I wanted to smack my own self upside the head, I’d had an assumption and kept it for over 3 years since the Y-test results came in, never bothering to test it or find another one.

Jesse Brown was born in 1872 in Antioch, California. His father was a farmer. This area is part of the Sacramento delta region of California. Next came logistics, thinking hmmm, maybe someone in their area? I have the “Browns” well documented from the time of their marriage in 1866 and through their divorce in 1881. I have them on the census in 1870, the area named Georgiana Slough, just a little further east from where Jesse was born. 1870, hmmm let’s look and see who lives in the area near the Browns. I only had to turn the page on the census record, there he was right on the very next page. The farm next to the Brown family, Mr. Orville Lindsay, 31 years old, born in VERMONT.

I was floored, flabbergasted, GOBSMACKED, this was so simple. I’d tried to twist this up and down inside out what did it mean, and it was so simple. I was now betting Mrs. Brown stepped out with Mr. Lindsay and my gr-grandfather Jesse, was the result. In DNA and Adoption research the term NPE, not parent expected or non-parental event, is used when a new DNA parent is discovered. At this point it’s still a hypothesis but it’s a pretty good one, simple in fact, and Vermont, he was from Vermont!

Now I had to get up and use the laptop, 3am, I should be asleep, but I couldn’t put this down. I immediately started researching Mr. Orville Lindsay, his family, parents, siblings, cousins, wife, children everything! When did he come to California, how well can I document his life? I was up for another hour or so, click, click, click…click.

I found my distant cousin matches on Ancestry, Family Tree DNA, My Heritage and Gedmatch, these distant cousins with ties to the Lindsay’s of Vermont. They were descendants of the brothers, sisters, and cousins of my Mr. Lindsay, yes at this point that’s what I’m calling him, our Mr. Lindsay.

So, reality check, DNA doesn’t lie, it’s the ultimate truth-teller, equalizer on all fronts. It either is or it isn’t … DNA is finite … do the math, find the matches. I have this lovely package now it’s 4am I have to go back to bed, and I needed to wrap this story up with a bow. Two more things. My grandfather Norman Brown and one of his 3 sisters, Lillian, were both redheads, bright curly redheads when they were young. Grandpa was gray when I knew him, and my gr-aunt Lillian was whatever shade of red she picked up each time she needed a touch up, a la “Lucille Ball”. Well, I have photographs of their parents, both of whom were brunettes, neither was a redhead. As I researched Mr. Lindsay, one of the family trees on Ancestry.com had a photograph, the photograph is not of my Mr. Lindsay, but of his 1^st cousin, John W. Lindsay. Well wouldn’t you know it, his cousin John is a redhead! So perhaps that’s where the fabulous red hair came from…the Lindsays. Now for the bow. I believe Jesse’s mother, Mrs. Brown, knew exactly who Jesse’s father was, because she gave him part of his name, Jesse’s middle name is Andrew and so is Orville’s … Orville Andrew Brown, I even found an early record where he was called Andrew Orville Brown, back in Vermont.

The 1870 Census, Sacramento County, Georgiana Township. Orville Lindsay is on the bottom of the page on the left, and the Browns are on the page on the right. This is 18 months before Jesse Andrew Brown was born.

This image is of the voting records I've located for Orville Andrew Lindsay, his brother Fenton Hutchings Lindsay and Henry Norman Brown. These locations are also shown on the maps I've included, the areas they were living in the Sacramento Delta area of Northern California. The Browns had moved further down the delta to Antioch in Contra Costa County sometime during the 1870s. I can speculate but will leave this part alone. 

 Common sense, DNA, preponderance of evidence … Mr. Lindsay, is most likely the DNA father of Jesse Brown. I did double check were there any other Lindsays from Vermont in the area, brothers, cousins who might also fit the bill, well Orville did bring a brother to CA with him, Fenton Lindsay, but after their early time in the delta area, Fenton is up in Lassen County California for the rest of his life married with his own family. He’s not living on the farm next to Mrs. Brown.

I’ll end with this thought: I do not think Jesse Brown knew of this possible paternity and here is why …. Jesse Andrew Brown names his only son, Norman Brown. The man who raised Jesse was Henry Norman Brown. I firmly believe Mrs. Brown knew, she took the secret with her and here it is, the science of DNA spilled her secret 150 years after the NPE conception of her son. 

Within the genealogy community and with the telling of the stories, these stories are popping up all over. I make no judgements, I am just telling the stories of what I've found. We didn't live in their time, we can't judge anyone else's story, as they say today, "it is what it is." Tell the stories, connect the dots, enjoy the ride.

This is the marriage license I found for Henry Norman Brown & Mary Ann Adams, 1866. They married on Solano County just across the water from her parents who were then living in Brentwood, Contra Costa County. 

The top left two images are Mary Ann Adams Brown, the one in the plaid dress, she appears younger than the white dress portrait. The little girl on the bottom left is her daughter Elizabeth Jane "Jennie" Brown, 1868-1883. The photographer within me noticed the props used in the image of Jennie and that of Mary Ann in the white dress, and I smiled. The infant pictures are of Jesse Andrew Brown, 1872 born in Antioch, Contra Costa County, as is the large portrait on the right. I look at these images and look for the DNA passed down in their features. Jesse is my great-grandfather. Mary Ann is my great-great-grandmother. 

This portrait is of Jesse Brown and his 1st wife Lillie Mason Brown, spring 1898. I'm able to date the image using the birthdate of their daughter, also named Jessie, she was born November 1897. In all of the photographs I have of Jesse, I'm not able to see any evidence of red hair, but ...

This group of images shows my grandfather, Norman Jack Brown 1901-1972. He was the 2nd child of Jesse and his wife Lilly, he also had 2 more sisters, Lillian and Frances. Both Norman and Lillian had RED-HAIR, curly red hair. If you've ever watch the Seinfeld show, you've seen his sidekick Kramer. This is what I see as I look at Norman's younger photographs with his curly red hair standing up tall!

In these images on the left, Norman with one of his sisters or a friend, she's not identified on the picture. The top two are of Norman with his curly hair. In the picture on the bottom left, Norman, his stepmother, Vena, Jesse, & his daughter Lillian. You can see the curly hair! Bottom right, Norman Brown & Dene Hillhouse, it's dated November 1929, it's their wedding picture. These are my grandparents. 

One last thing here regarding photographs, I don't have one of Mr. Lindsay. He did go on to marry and have 2 more children, so more research to do, and descendants to contact. Wrap that up put it in the box and tie it all with a bow.

This it a picture of my notepad, once I'd had the "epiphany" if you will and discovered Mr. Lindsay I made these notes. I referred to this page many times during the weeks as I sorted out this new line in my ancestor story. 

I’ve lots more research to do on this family. Serendipity, I found Mr. Orville Andrew Lindsay was buried in a cemetery 25 miles from where I grew up and where my children and my mother still live. I was home for a visit, only 5 days after I made this discovery. I went to the cemetery and met my gr-gr-grandfather. *An update* Since my visit to the cemetery July 2021, I contacted management there at the cemetery and asked about having Orville's birth year and death date put on the headstone. I was advised since he's in the Masonic section I'd need to get in contact with the Masons and get approval. A few phone calls and emails later, I was advised the Masons will be happy to give him a "new" headstone with the information I provided. I was fully expecting to pay for this and was told, "the Masons will take care of this for you." Once again humanity in the little places. 

After my visit in July 2021, I contacted the cemetery office, asking if I could pay to have the dates added to the headstone for Orville Lindsay. They let me know that part of the cemetery is still owned by the Masons and I would need to contact them. I did and they let me know they'd take care of it, without any charges! I was floored, and grateful. A few months last I was surprised to find a whole new headstone, not new dates just added to the old one, what a wonderful surprise.