Reader, be forewarned! This is going to get complicated!

Although neither John Constant or Thomas Brashier left much of a paper trail in Maryland, William Grafton’s name appears in many county records.

While I don’t currently believe that William Grafton was a blood relative of Sarah (Constant) Brashier, he doesn’t appear to be well documented in online trees so perhaps this exercise will help Grafton descendants.

Brashier Records:

Thomas and Sarah (Constant) Brashier appear in land deeds receiving 50 acres of Grafton’s Gift in 1723 and selling 40 acres of the land to William Grafton on 4 August 1742.

Births of Thomas’s and Sarah’s children are recorded in St. George Parish, Baltimore County, Maryland between 18 November 1727 and 12 June 1744. They have not been found between 1744 and 1762, when Thomas Brazier receives a land grant for 259 acres on Terrell Creek, issued 2 November 1762, in Orange County, North Carolina.

Constant Records:

11 July 1720 – The inventory of the estate of William Smith, deceased, Prince George’s County, indicates that John Constant paid £3.15.2, his debt owed to the estate.

30 March 1722 – 22 May 1727 – Family of John and Susannah (Grafton?) Constant recorded in St. George Parish, Baltimore County, Maryland. Their marriage date is NOT recorded.

2 November 1726 – John and Susannah Constant received Graftons Gift from William Grafton (100 acres), in the deed presented at the courthouse.

6 January 1741 – Inventory of the estate of William Bond, deceased, Baltimore County, indicated £1.0.0 “in the hands of John Constant.”

5 June 1745 – William and Susannah Donohoe sold 50.5 acres of Graftons Gift to William Grafton, Baltimore County.

3 March 1730 – The inventory of Jacob Jones, deceased, was filed with the court by Elizabeth Jones, administrator. Appraisers: William Grafton and Robert Clark [who married Selina Smith, 1718, St. George Parish]. Kindred: Benjamin Jones [who married Elizabeth Pickett] and John Constant. NOTE: Maryland probate records in this time period often include names of two close family members and the signatures of the two largest creditors, as all four must formally accept the inventory presented to be recorded.

The only new kinship to be gleaned from these few entries is that John Constant and Benjamin Jones were near relatives of Jacob Jones, deceased by 1730.

Benjamin was the brother of the deceased. Interestingly, the young family of Jacob and Elizabeth Jones is entered in the St. George Parish records immediately following that of John Constant’s family.

Since William Grafton was an appraiser and John Constant a close relative, my theory is that widow Elizabeth Jones is perhaps the sister of Susannah (Grafton) Constant. That would account for the appearance of both William Grafton and John Constant in the estate administration.

It is thought that Jacob Jones was born c1698 and Elizabeth would probably be a year or two younger than her husband, so born c1700. William being the Jones’ first born child might be another tie to William Grafton.

This ends the Constant family’s appearance in Maryland records.

Next, we will build out the family of and assemble further clues about William Grafton.

Sometimes, when there are few original documents pertaining to one family to be found, it is necessary to cast a wider net, searching collateral lines.

Thomas Brasher married Sarah Constant on 13 October 1726 in St. George Parish, Baltimore, Maryland. While searching for parents/siblings for Sarah, only one other Constant/Constance family was found in Maryland, that of John and Susannah Constant, also of St. George Parish and found in records spanning the same decade as that of Thomas and Sarah Brasher.

Because of the time period and place where this research is happening, FamilySearch is proving to be “THE” source for details, both in its family tree and through the use of full-text search.

My original goal of creating a Constant FAN club was immediately expanded by an original document, a land deed, that had been annotated and saved on the FamilySearch family tree.

To all people to whom these presents shall Come William Grafton of Baltimore County in the province of Maryland Sendeth Greetings Know ye That I the Said William as well for and in Consideration of the good will and friendship wch I bear to John Constant Senr. and Susannah his wife of Baltimore Afsd planter as fro Divers Other good Causes and Sufficient Considerations me hereuntoth Moveing Have given granted Devised alien’d Enfeoffed and Confirmed and by these presents Do give Grant Devise aliene Enfeoffe and Confirm unto the Said John Constant and Susannah his wife and Their Children as hereafter mentioned all That Tract or parcell of Land Called Graftons Gift Survey’d for me The Said William on the Twenty Third Day of octobr Anno Dom Seventeen hundred and Twenty three for one hundred Acres of the Said Tract on the South End Thereof where the Said John Constant Sen:r now Lives and is Settled. I Do hereby give grant and Confirme unto him the Said John and Susannah his wife for an Dureing Their Naturall Lives and after Their Decease to Susannah The Daughter of the Said John and Susannah and to the heirs of her Body Lawfully Issueing and Default of Such heirs to John Constant Junr. and his heirs and Assignes forever. The other fifty Acres on the North End of the Said Tract I Do give grant and Confirm unto Sarah the Daughter of the Said John and Now the wife of Thomas Brashier of the County Afo:d and to the heirs of her Body Lawfullye Issueing and in Default of Such heirs To John Constant Jun:r and his heirs and Assignes forever To have and to hold the Said one hundred acres of Land premisses and appurtenances Together with all Rights Benefits Profits Conveniencys and Improvements whatsoever Thereunto John Constant and Susannah his wife and their Children In manner above Specified and mentioned to be held of the Chief Lord or Lords of the fee or fees Thereof by the Rents and Services in Thereof becoming due and Rights accustomed so as that Neither I the said William or any person Claiming from by or Under me Shall have any Right Title or Interest Therein and I the Said Wm Grafton have freely and Voluntarily put the Said John and Susannah Constant and Sarah their daughter into Quiet and Peaceable possession of the Afs:d Land and Premisses for the uses and purposes afs:d by this my Voluntary Irrevocable Deed of Gift given under my hand and Seal The —- Day of —– Anno dom: Seventeen hundred and Twenty Six

Signed Sealed and Delivered
In the presents of Tho:s Sheredine

William (+) Grafton

On the Back of which foregoing Deed is there written Viz: Memandum (sic): on the Second Day of Nov:r Anno Dom Seventeen hundred and Twenty Six Came Wm Grafton Before me The Subscribers Two of his Lordshipps Justices of the Peace for Balt:re and acknowledged The within Deed according to the Directions of the act of Assembly in That Case made and provided and at the Same Time Margett the wife of the Said Wm Being Separetly Examined out of the hearing of her Said Husband Declared That She Did freely and Voluntarily giver her Consent to the within Deed without any Threats fear Coercion or Compulsion of her Said Husband and Relinquished and gave up all her right Title and Claime of Dower in and to the within Mentioned Land and premisses.

Coram Nobis
Roger Mathewson
Edward Hall
Received Aprill the 25th and
Recorded May the ist 1727
John Stokes, Balt Co:ty

This document raises several questions. First, this is proof that Sarah Constant who married Thomas Brashier in 1726 was the daughter of John Constant Sr. and that her maiden name was, indeed, Constant, and not Constance, which seems to be a recording error made by the clerk.

However, is Susannah the mother of Sarah? Some think not because of this wording: I Do give grant and Confirm unto Sarah the Daughter of the Said John and Now the wife of Thomas Brashier.

Yet, later in the deed is this statement: I the Said Wm Grafton have freely and Voluntarily put the Said John and Susannah Constant and Sarah their daughter into Quiet and Peaceable possession of the Afs:d Land.

It is confusing and, made more so by the family group found in the church records.

Four children, born between 1722 and 1727, are recorded in the St. George Parish records. If Sarah is a child of both John and Susannah, and no other Constant children are found, there is a huge gap to be filled in terms of children’s births between Sarah and Margaret.

If Sarah was 21 when she married in 1726, she would have been born c1705. If she was, perhaps, as young as 16, she would have been born c1710. That is a range of 12 and 17 years in between children’s births. Even with the high rate of infant mortality, it doesn’t seem likely that John and Susannah lost between 5 and 8 children.

It is more likely that Susannah is John Constant’s second wife and that Sarah was born to a first wife who probably died soon. She might have been an only child.

So, what is William Grafton’s connection to the Constant family?

My theory is that Susannah was a second wife and that she was the daughter of William Grafton and Margaret, his wife. That idea is supported by the fact that William gave land to the Constant family for a reason – likely a blood tie of some kind – and that John and Susannah named their first child Margaret, which makes sense if William and Margaret Grafton are Susannah’s parents.

If Sarah wasn’t Susannah’s daughter, why did William give her 50 acres of land? That might be explained by the date the deed was presented to the county clerk – 2 November 1726, just a couple of weeks after Sarah married Thomas Brasher.

John and Susannah were gifted 100 acres of the tract, while Sarah received only 50 acres. It seems to have been a wedding gift from William Grafton to his daughter’s stepchild.

William was a wealthy man. In 1764, he gave a deposition in which his age was given as 79, providing a birth year c1685.

How old was John Constant? Well, if Sarah was born between 1705-1710, and realistically, more like 1705, we can extrapolate back in time. Let’s say John Constant married (1) Unknown (MNU), c1704 and was about 24 years old when he married, he would have been born c1680.

That would make him a contemporary of his father-in-law, who obviously had no issue with his daughter marrying an older man.

Now, there is yet another possible scenario. What if Susannah was a Grafton, but not William’s daughter? What is Susannah was his sister? That would make even more sense in this situation because William Grafton left a will which makes no mention of the Constant family. Susannah easily could have been born in the 1690s and had children born in the 1720s.

William Grafton’s origins are unknown. Some say he came to Maryland as a young boy, but his first appearance in the Maryland records is the land survey for Grafton’s Gift, completed in October 1723.

It seems more likely that William Grafton was a fairly recent arrival in Maryland in 1723.

Here is yet another question about this gift. John and Susannah Constant had three children already born to them when William gave them the 100 acres. John and Susannah and their children, were specifically mentioned as heirs to that land at their parents’ deaths.

Little Margaret would have been about four at the time and, since her two younger siblings were named in the deed, can we assume that Margaret died in childhood?

That would not be an odd occurrence, but then who is Margaret Constance, of St. George’s Parish, who married William Brown in 1740? The Constant family doesn’t appear in later parish book entries and, even if they had another daughter also named Margaret, she wouldn’t have been born until at least 1728. Not likely she was an 11 or 12 year old bride.

Did John Constant have a female relative, perhaps a younger sister, who was the Margaret marrying in 1740?

As mentioned, while this land deed is a great find, it presents more questions than it answers.

What happened to Grafton’s Gift?

On 4 June 1742, Thomas Brazier and wife Sarah conveyed 40 acres (out of the 50 acres) back to William Grafton.

On 5 June 1745, William Donahoe and wife Susanna conveyed 50.5 acres of Grafton’s Gift to William Grafton. From this conveyance, it seems that Susannah Constant married William Donahoe. However, since John and Susannah Constant disappear from Maryland records, it is impossible at the moment to say if Susannah (Grafton?) Constant married William Donohoe or if John and Susannah’s daughter, born in 1724, married Donohoe.

Neither William Grafton Sr., who died in 1764, or his son, William, Jr., who died in 1767, was in possession of Grafton’s Gift, when they died as both men left wills.

Further, William Brashier and wife Ann, conveyed 100 acres of land to William Grafton on 10 May 1751, but that amount exceeds the original 50 acre gift. 40 sold to William by Thomas and Sarah leaves only 10 acres in their possession. So, William and Ann had other land which was included in the sale.

In the next post, we’ll begin assembling all the record entries that allow the Brasher-Constant-Grafton FAN club to be identified.