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]

Last month’s 12 for ’25 subject was Thomas Brasher, looking for documentation for his parents, himself and his wife, Sarah Constant, and their children.

I definitely have a better understanding of Thomas Brasher, his life and his immediate family members. Thus, it is time to move on so this months’ family sketch will cover Thomas’s and Sarah’s son, Aquilla Brasher, who is my husband’s direct line.

I actually have two research questions regarding Aquilla and his family –

Can the children of Aquilla Brasher be proved?

Was Aquilla Brasher in Christian County, Kentucky in 1809 the one born in 1740 or one of his namesakes in the family?

Aquilla Brasher was a person on the move for his entire life, having lived in the British colonies of Maryland and North Carolina and then in North Carolina, South Carolina and Kentucky in the newly formed United States of America.

Aquilla Brasher was born on 28 July 1740 in St. George’s Parish, Baltimore County, Maryland, the sixth of seven children born to Thomas and Sarah and their youngest son.

Aquilla likely lost his mother before the age of ten, but whether she died in Maryland or after the family moved to North Carolina is uncertain. Since there is no death entry for Sarah in the St. George Parish records or a record of Thomas’s second marriage to Hannah (MNU), it seems more probable that she died on the way to or after the family settled in Orange County, North Carolina.

Aquilla’s father, Thomas, was not a wealthy man. Aquilla’s grandfather, William, died when his father Thomas was only seven years old. William’s estate was valued at just £1 and Thomas was bound out until he reached the age of 25 years.

The young Brasher family lived on 50 acres of land gifted to Thomas and Sarah soon after their wedding day. Thomas’s occupation is not known.

The family appears in no official records (that have been found as of 2025) between 1744 in Maryland and 1762, when Thomas recorded his land grant of 259 acres in Orange County, North Carolina.

So, the exact location where Aquilla grew up is not known either. He certainly spent part of his childhood in Maryland, but he was of legal age by 1762 in North Carolina.

It is suspected that Aquilla may have lived on his father’s land and, possibly even in his home, during his young adulthood. That is in spite of the fact that Thomas married again to Hannah (MNU) and had seven more children with her.

Aquilla’s father wrote his will on 17 May 1770 in Orange County, North Carolina. Although Thomas’s exact date of death is not known, his children may have been told that his surviving sons born to Sarah Constant – Thomas, John and Aquilla – received only one shilling each (worth perhaps £4 or $5.00 today). His second set of children inherited his modest estate.

Therefore, Aquilla, like his father, had to make his own way in the world.

How Aquilla made his living is also unknown, but it appears he didn’t own any land of his own until he recorded his land grant in Chatham County, North Carolina (formed from Orange County in 1771) of 200 acres on 23 October 1782.

Interestingly, his father’s will was proved in Orange County, but here is the land description and Aquilla’s land bordered that of his father:

Know ye that we have Granted unto Aquilla Brazier Two hundred Acres of Land in Chatham County On Terrell’s Creek waters of Haw River Beginning at a white oak in Thackson Line Adam Wright Corner then North sixty six degs East on his Line two hundred and four pole to a Black Oak then North one hundred and thirty two pole to a red oak in Thomas Braziers Line then west on his line twenty three pole to his Corner red oak then North fourteen pole to a hicory then South sixty six degrees West one hundred and eighty Pole to a Stake in Thackston’s line then South one hundred and sixty Pole to the beginning To Hold unto the said Aquilla Brazier his Heirs and Assigns forever dated the 23rd day of October Anno Dom 1782

By his Exelly’s Comd
J. Glasgow Sec.
Alex Martin

Aquilla didn’t remain long in North Carolina after the close of the American Revolution, as he removed to Greenville County, South Carolina.

The Brashers’ political beliefs in terms of support for King or independence may lie in the fact that they were friends with and married into the Hamby and Bobo families, which have been the push factor for their next move. The Hambys are also part of my husband’s line and they were offered a choice in North Carolina – get out or get hung! They wisely decided the better choice was to move and they relocated to the Greenville-Spartanburg area of South Carolina before heading en masse to Kentucky.

Aquilla Brazor and wife Mary sold his 200 acre grant in Chatham County, North Carolina on 5 August 1784 for £150 to Eli Newlin. Aquilla only appears once in the court minutes, on 9 August 1784, when the deed of sale of land from William Wilkie and his wife to Jesse Buckner was proved by the testimony of Aquilla Brasher.

However, on 27 October 1784, Aquilla’s brother, Thomas ‘Brazor’ and his wife Sarah sold their land to two buyers -165 acres to Thomas Lindley and 135 acres to Joshua Hadly, both on Terrells Creek.

It may be that in the fall of 1784 or early 1785, the extended Brasher family decided to leave North Carolina.

The Brashers followed the same path as the Hambys and Bobos, as the 1790 census shows Thomas, Aquilla, Samuel and William all enumerated in Greenville County, South Carolina.

On 19 November 1786, Tapley Henson of Fauquier County, Virginia, planter, sold to Aquilla Brasher of Greenville County, South Carolina, planter for £60 Virginia money 200 acres of land on the Reedy Fork of the Reedy River in Greenville County. Witnesses were “Cinner” Hudson and Sarah Hudson. However, while the acreage is detailed in this deed, there is NO metes and bounds description of the property, just that it was on the Reedy Fork of the Reedy River.

On 25 November 1787, Henry Machen [Mahen?], Michael Robins, John Brazer (thought to be Aquilla’s other brother) and Aquilla Brazer were appointed to inventory Samuel Pyle’s estate in Greenville County, South Carolina.

Then, per Charles Brashear’s research, a “colony” of Brasher families soon took up land near him. A grant of 240 a to William Brasure, 4 December 1786 was on Baker’s Creek, the middle branch of Reedy Creek, a fork of Reedy River. William’s parentage has not yet been determined, but he was probably one of the orphans of William Brasher whom Aquilla Brasher was guardian of when he was young. John Brasher’s 208 acre SC grant in 96 District is dated 5 Feb 1787 and located on Reedy Fork of Reedy Creek (Bk D, p. 195). John and Aquilla had sons named Thomas, who received grants a little later on the same watershed. John’s son Lawrence, got a 295 grant “on the waters of Reedy River, GrnvlCo” Bk D, 204). John, Aquilla and their brother in law John Pyle Jr., and their sons did not find the Greenville District all to their liking, and they began migrating to KY before 1800. By 1810 John is found living in Christian Co., KY.”

Notice that Charlie Brashear commented above that JOHN’s son, Lawrence, got a land grant. . .because there wereapparently TWO Lawrence Brashers, as we will see on this journey.

Because the children of these brothers all had the same given names, it has been quite difficult to determine which Thomas, William, Lawrence, John and Aquilla belonged to whom – which created my research question above about verifying the children of Aquilla. It might be that my husband’s Lawrence Brasher is a son of Aquilla’s brother, John.

Now, back on topic – The 1790 census seems to be that of Aquilla, born 1740), his wife Mary, and their children still at home. There is no Brasher household in 1800 in Greenville County, South Carolina that has a male over 44 years old living there. However, if Aquilla and his wife had daughters, which seems reasonable since families were large back then, it’s possible that he was living with a married daughter’s family. Since Greenville County has no marriage records that early, any daughters might be lost to time.

Furthermore, the Aquilla and Mary Brasher who sold land in Greenville County, South Carolina in 1808 to Thomas Jones described the land as only 138 acres and being part of a tract of land granted to Cadwalder Jones. Although it is on the Reedy Fork of the Reedy River, I odn’t think this is the same land that Aquilla Brasher purchased in 1786.

At this point, I also tend to believe that Aquilla died in South Carolina and that only his children moved on to Christian County, Kentucky, leading to my second research question as to where Aquilla Brasher died. Of course, it’s possible he moved with the family, but wasn’t a land owner and died soon because I don’t find a Brasher household with a male over 45 in 1810 Kentucky either. There is an Aquilla Brasher on the 1808 tax roll of Christian County, but the “Equila” Brasher in the 1810 census has 3 males under the age of 25 at home and no males older than that.

From what I have uncovered so far, I continue to believe that Aquilla Brasher died, probably in Greenville County, South Carolina, possibly before 1800 but most likely before 1810. I find no evidence of a man his age in census families in South Carolina or Kentucky.

So, the answer to this research question: Was Aquilla Brasher in Christian County, Kentucky in 1809 the one born in 1740 or one of his namesakes in the family? is that I believe he was one of the younger namesakes.

As Charlie Brasher mentioned in his book (above), the Brasher stay in South Carolina was quite short as, by the turn of the 1800s, the family began their final migration to Kentucky.

Possible children of Aquilla Brasher and Mary (MNU):

1. Lawrence, born c1768, probably Orange County, North Carolina; died 24 September 1847, Christian County, Kentucky; married Elizabeth Black, c1792, probably Greenville County, South Carolina.
2. Thomas, born c1773, probably Chatham County, North Carolina; died 7 September 1852, Christian County, Kentucky; married Catherine Croft, c1800.
3. Jane, born c1782, probably Chatham County, North Carolina; died between 1850-1860, probably Christian County, Kentucky; married Benjamin Armstrong, c1803. He died before 2 November 1846, Christian County, Kentucky.
4. Aquilla, born c1786, probably Greenville County, South Carolina; died before 5 December 1865, Cedar County, Missouri, when his estate administration was presented at court; married Lucy (MNU), c1809.

Now, down the rabbit hole to piece together an extended Brasher FAN club! Can all these same-name Brashers be reliably sorted into family units in order to answer my second research question: Can the children of Aquilla Brasher be proved?

Time will tell. . . .

Aquilla Brasher was a man on the move throughout his lifetime. He is my husband’s 5X great grandfather.

Brasher Family Migration

Aquilla was born 28 July 1740, Old Spesutia Church, Baltimore (today in Harford County), Maryland, the son of Thomas Brasher and his wife, Sarah (maiden name unproven, but possibly Constant or Constance.)

When he was young, Aquilla migrated to Chatham County, North Carolina with his parents. This particular branch of the extended Brasher family isn’t found in Revolutionary War patriot records. I suspect, since they married into and migrated westward with several known Tory families, that they were not in favor of American independence!

Aquilla Brasher first appears in the Chatham County records on 23 October 1782, when he, Thomas Brasher and the orphans of William Brasher, deceased, all recorded land grants from the state of North Carolina.

The American Revolution wasn’t quite over yet, so the reasons for the Brashers to move to North Carolina right at that particular time aren’t clear.

However, their stay in North Carolina was brief, as not quite two years later,  Aquilla Brasher sold the land granted to him to Eli Newlin. Why the family again pulled up stakes and moved is a mystery.

Aquilla and Mary Brasher to Eli Newlin, 1784
Chatham County, North Carolina DB C:308
Source: FamilySearch

I haven’t transcribed the deed because the only important items gleaned from it are the date the land was sold and that Aquilla’s wife, Mary, was named. Her maiden name has never been discovered.

Next stop in the migration path was Greenville County, South Carolina. Here things get a bit murky. The Brashers, like many other families, were in the habit of favoring some given names more than others. Besides this Aquilla Brasher, there was his son, Aquilla, born c1786 and Aquilla, son of Thomas, born c1784.

It is thought that Aquilla Brasher is last found in any recorded document on 29 November 1808 when he sold land to Thomas Jones. It was noted that Jones resided in Greenville County, South Carolina and Aquilla was “of Kentucky.”

Have you already spotted the problem? The two younger Aquillas would both have been just over 21 in 1808. There are no land deeds for heirs of Aquilla to be found in Greenville County.

The land sold in 1808 to Thomas Jones totaled 138 acres:

Aquilla Brasher to Thomas Jones
Greenville County, South Carolina DB H:446-447
Source: FamilySearch

Again, I am not transcribing the land deed because only the acreage and date are important here. The 138 acres of land is 62 acres of land short of what Aquilla Brasher purchased from Taply Henson in Greenville County in 1786. That deed does not plat the land in the conveyance so it is impossible to tell if the 138 acres is part of that 200 acres. There are no other deeds found in between those sales in Aquilla Brasher’s name.

Is the Aquilla Brasher of 1786 the same man who sold the 1808 land? I don’t know. What I am certain of is that there was only one Aquilla Brasher on the 1808 tax rolls of Christian County, Kentucky and only one man of that name on the 1810 Christian County, Kentucky census. That household had one young male, three aged 16-26 and one female aged 16-26.

It is possible that Aquilla Brasher Sr. died in Greenville County. It is also possible that he sold off his land, used part of it to finance the move to Kentucky and/or gave it to one of his children to support him in his senior years. No probate record has been found for him in Kentucky either.

The bottom line is that no one can prove whether Aquilla Brasher died in South Carolina or whether he made the move to Kentucky and died before 1810.

No Brasher enumerated in 1800 in Greenville County, South Carolina has a male in the home old enough to be Aquilla. No Brasher enumerated in Kentucky in 1810 has a male old enough to be Aquilla. It’s my personal opinion that Aquilla Brasher died in Greenville County, South Carolina sometime between the 1790 census where he was enumerated, and 1800 when he is no longer found.

Aquilla Brasure, 1790 Census of Greenville County, SC
Source: Ancestry

Four children have been attributed to Aquilla and Mary Brasher:

1. Lawrence, born before 1774, probably North Carolina; died before 2 October 1849, when his heirs sold his land; married Elizabeth Black, c1792, probably Greenville County, South Carolina. She was born c1774, probably South Carolina; died after the 1850 census when she lived with son Elijah’s family.

2. Thomas, born c1773, North Carolina; died after the 1850 census; married Catherine Croft, c1793, probably Greenville County, South Carolina. She was born c1773, North Carolina; died after the 1850 census.

3. Jane, born c1780, probably North Carolina; died after the 1850 census when she lived with son Matthew’s family; married Benjamin Armstrong, c1800, probably Greenville County, South Carolina. He was born 1770-1780; died by 2 November 1846, Christian County, Kentucky, when his will was recorded in court.

4. Aquilla, born c1785, Greenville County, South Carolina; died before 5 December 1865 when probate began on his estate, Cedar County, Missouri; married Lucy (MNU). She was born c1786, South Carolina; died after the 1860 census. They were alone in the home at that time.

It is very possible that Aquilla and Mary Brasher had other children, but with the combination of the time period and the lack of vital records in South Carolina, they may never be identified.

My husband’s line of descent:

1. Aquilla Brasher and Mary (MNU)
2. Lawrence Brasher and Elizabeth Black
3. Hampton Brasher and Altezara Jane Woodruff
4. Emsley Harrison Brasher and Mary Woosley Perkins
5. Joseph Henry Brasher and Minnie Mae Williams
6. Pearl Lillian Brasher and Earl Marcus Stufflebean
7. Edward Earl Stufflebean and Ruby Jewel Sturgell
8. David Lee Stufflebean