In trying to determine if Aquilla Brasher, born 1740, St. George’s Parish, Baltimore County, Maryland lived long enough to settle in Christian county, Kentucky c1808, we need to examine men of the same name and determine to whom each of them belonged. Easier said than done, but here’s trying!
Thankfully, Aquilla Brasher born in 1740 was the only man in the family of his generation who was given that name, so he will be designated as Aquilla #1.
Next, we know that Aquilla #1 witnessed the will of his brother, Thomas Brasher, on 27 September 1789 and proved on 6 April 1790 in Greenville County, South Carolina.
Therefore, we know that Aquilla #1 was alive for the 1790 census, at which time his family was enumerated in Greenville County as three males +16, one male -16 and four females, so this is an older man (who had four females – wife and 3 daughters?) still at home in 1790.
Next, who was named in his brother Thomas’s 1789 will? Thomas named five sons and no daughters. Thomas was older than Aquilla, born 1731, so estimates for his date of marriage and births of his children would be reasonable for a 1756 date of marriage. We will assume, for now, that his sons were named in birth order – Thomas, Aquilla, Henry, John, and Samuel, so the first child was likely born by 1758 and that would estimate a birth year for Aquilla as 1760. Thomas’s son Aquilla will be identified as Aquilla #2.
1790 Census
Now, Thomas Brasher died before census day, 2 August 1790, and Sarah Brasher is correctly enumerated as head of household. She is found on
Image 24: Sarah – 3 males over 16, one male under 16 and 2 females
Also on that page are a number of names that are part of the Brasher FAN clue, some of whom we will be taking a closer look – Jesse Ford, Stephen Ford, Jonathan Cruse, Ezekiel Henderson (who married Elizabeth Brasher, 10 October 1782, Chatham County, North Carolina and were the parents of Brasher Henderson) and John Ford.
Aquilla Brasher #1 – the only Aquilla Brasher in the 1790 census, so Thomas’s son must be one of the 3 males over 16 in Sarah’s home – is not far away, just a few doors down on the next page:
Image 25: Aquilla – 3 males over 16, one male under 16, 4 females
Brasure, John – 2 males over 16, 2 males under 16, 2 females
Brasure, John – 4 males over 16, 4 females
Brasure, Thomas – 2 males over 16, 8 females
McElroy, John – 3 males over 16, 5 males under 16, 4 females
John McElroy also has ties to the Brasher family.
Finally, on page 17, there is an extended Brasher FAN club:
Image 17: Brasure, Samuel – 1 male over 16, 4 females
Brasure, William – 1 male over 16, 1 female
Brassure, Thomas – 1 male over 16, 1 male under 16, 2 females
Black, Hans – 2 males over 16, one under 16, 4 females
Black, David – 2 males over 16, one male under 16, 1 female
Hiatt, James, 2 males over 16, 3 males under 16, 5 females
Johnson, James, 1 male over 16, 2 males under 16, 4 females
Collins, John – 2 males over 16, one male under 16, 6 females
Armstrong, Alexander – 4 males over 16, 4 females
Cox, Adam – 1 male over 16, one male under 16, one female
Jones, John – 1 male over 16, 2 males under 16, 3 females
Jones, Thomas – 1 male over 16, 5 females
Tisdale, William – 1 male over 16, 1 male under 16, 3 females
Robins, Michal – He is living next door to Thomas Brasher and near Hans and David Black.
Not only were these families friends and neighbors in South Carolina, but many of them also migrated in the early 1800s to western Kentucky, so these ties were strong!
While the 1790 census introduced us to the Brasher FAN clue, we might only assume that Thomas’s son, Aquilla, was one of the three males over 16 living with his mother, Sarah.
So far, so good. Two Aquillas, one born in 1740 and the other born c1765.
Now, we need to look at the 1800 census. There is no evidence that any Aquilla Brasher was in Kentucky as early as 1800, so the focus will again be on the Greenville County, South Carolina census.
1800 Census – Greenville County, SC
First, we have Aquilla Brasher:
Image 48 – House 917 – Brasher, Aquilla – 0001-0001 or 1 male, 26-45 and 1 female, 26-45. He looks to either be a newlywed or the census taker made a mistake and checked off one column too early and this is actual emptynesters Aquilla, born 1740, and his wife.
Surprisingly, there are ZERO FAN club members enumerated on the same page! The surnames are totally different than the 1790 neighbors and none are familiar. This man, however, must be the son of Thomas Brasher, deceased, as Aquilla’s son Aquilla was likely still at home in his father’s household, who can’t be found, or living with a sibling.
On the page before, we have William Brasher:
Image 47 – House 894 – Brasher, William, 3001, 2001 so five children under 10 and one adult male and one adult female
John Jones and Alexander Armstrong are in Houses 903 and 904. Other surnames aren’t familiar, nor are any names on Image 48.
However, there are quite a few other Brashers enumerated in Greenville County, plus part of the FAN club.
Image 44 – House 850 – Braysher, James – 20001-32101 – Both adults over 45.
House 847 – Cruse, Isaac – 2111-32001
Image 45 – House 865 – Brasher, Elijah – 211-2001
House 869 – Armstrong Sr., William – 00101-32201
House 863 – Seaborn, James – 1001-51011
Image 66 – House 1246 – Brasher Sr., Thomas – 1001-2101
House 1247 – Brasher, Samuel, 201-001
House 1248 – Brasher, Equila – 1001-101 This is likely a young married man.
House 1249 – Brasher, John – 001-001
House 1250 – Brasher, Jr. Thomas – 1001-3001
House 1251 – Long, John
John Long in House 1251 is the only familiar surname. There is an Aquilla Long who witnessed a land sale by John Brasher to Thomas Long Sr. in 1810. I suspect a Brasher daughter married into the Long family.
Image 76 – House 1428 – Brasher, Elijah – 101-001
Three Ashmore families are one door away from Elijah and Hans Black is living 2 doors away on the opposite side.
Image 77 – House 1439 – Brasher, Henry – 1001-101
House 1444 – Brasher, Thomas – 1101-2101
House 1445 – Brasher, John – 1101-2101
John Newlin and William Cox are neighbors of the Brashers.
Image 78 – House 1452 – Brasher Sr., John 10001-01001
House 1462 – Braysher, Samuel – 2001-3021
House 1463 – Brasher, Lawrence – 1001-201
House 1467- Robins, Michael 00301-01101
Image 4 – House 39 – Brasher, William – 11101-01001
House 42 – McElroy, James 4201-0211
No other FAN club surnames here, but there are multiple younger grandsons who came of age. I have one question about the 1800 census record – could the enumerator have mistakenly ticked the wrong age columns for Aquilla and the female who are the sole residents in their home in 1790?
That would account for Aquilla #1 and Aquilla #2 [born c1765, son of Thomas.] If the census taker was correct, then nowhere do I find a Brasher male old enough to be Aquilla born 1740, unless he was living with a married daughter’s family.
However, in trying to prove the children of Aquilla, or the other Brashers, for that matter, we need to know who the characters are in this mystery.
So, for the moment, we’ll keep the focus on AQUILLA, whoever he might be!
1810 Census
Christian County, Kentucky:
Image 62 – Brazier, Equilla – 103-001 [This man is 16-25, so born c1785, at the earliest]
Image 63 – Brazier, Thomas 3002-20011
Brazier, Elijah – 3111-2001
Brazier, John – 10101-31101
Who are “Equilla’s” neighbors? Jesse Ford, Thomas Lindley, the Collins family, the Black family, the Hambys. The neighbors of Thomas, Elijah and John are James Armstrong, several more Fords and Nicholas Pyle – the old FAN club from Greenville County, South Carolina!
However, not far away, there is also:
Livingston County, Kentucky:
Image 12 – Brasher, Aquila – 1012-1002
So, we have one Aquilla Brasher, born c1785 in Christian County and a second Aquilla Brasher, born 1765-1784 in Livingston County.
I believe these two men are the sons of Thomas Brasher, who died in 1789 and left a will naming his children, including “Quella” and the other the son of Aquilla Brasher #1. Both have made the migration to western Kentucky.
Which man belongs to which father? I can’t prove it, but most online trees assign the older Aquilla, born 1765-1784, to Thomas Brasher, which makes sens because Thomas left him land, with no wording about “when he comes of age,” suggesting that he was already at least 21 years old, thus born by 1768.
Who are the other Aquillas? Well, they are younger, but all related.
Aquilla, born c1765, probably Orange County, NC; died 1839, Livingston County, KY [son of Thomas Brasher, who died 1789 and left will]
Aquilla, born c1784, probably Chatham County, NC; died 1841, Shelby County, AL [son of Thomas Brasher & Sarah (MNU)]
Aquilla, born c1784, probably Chatham County, NC; died 1866, Cedar County, MO [son of Aquilla Brasher #1]
Aquilla, born c1802, South Carolina; died 1872, Christian County, KY [son of Thomas Brasher and Catherine Armstrong]
Aquilla Quincy Brasher, born c1829, Alabama; died 1894, Arkansas
[son of Hiram Brasher and Elizabeth Long]
Aquilla Brasher, born c1851, Cedar County, MO; died 1939, Grayson County, TX
[son of Greenville Brasher & Margaret L. Hamby]
Aquilla A.C. Brasher, born 1851, Christian County, KY
[son of Elijah Brasher and Sarah Long]
