Glenda Thornton who has done extensive work on the Fillebrown/Phillibrones in England prepared the following paragraph. She is a descendant of a branch that is separate from the branch that came to the United States but further research will undoubtedly establish the connection between the branches. She reports, "It was in the north eastern quadrant of Essex that Phillibrowns first appear in the early sixteenth century. John Fillybourne, of Faulkbourne, and Robert Phillipborne, of Wevenhoo Manor, both appear in Lay Subsidy records of 1545-5. In early times land was the only indication of a person's wealth, however, by the end of the thirteenth century a tax was levied on land and moveable property. The Lay Subsidy of 1524-5 records all people over 16 years of age with income from land or with taxable goods worth $2 per annum, or with wages of $1 or more."
My work on the American Fillebrowns would not have been undertaken if not for the existence of "The Genealogy of the Fillebrown Family" by Charles Bowdoin Fillebrown, in 1910. The work done at that time is proving to be very accurate as I document it using modern genealogical techniques. My most significant addition was the discovery of the first Thomas's sister, Sarah. The existence of Sarah plus information provided by Glenda Thornton lead to the connection of Thomas and Sarah back to Humpfrey Phillibrowne of Kelvedon and Coggeshall in Essex, England. Glenda Thornton, in her English work, also establishes a Robert and Margery ffilebrowne as the parents of Humpfrey Phillibrowne.
Judy Ann Cluff nee Harris was the initial source for much of the information about the author's Ferrill ancestors.
Linda Lee Eikum nee McKinnon provided a great deal of information on the McKinnon family and it's connection to the McCorkle family an ancestral line of the author.
It is also noted that Ouida Fillebrown, W. C. "Bill" Fillebrown, W. W. "Bill" Fillebrown, and Zelda Moore have each shared extensive material with me that they have compiled for their respective branches of the Fillebrown family.
John Steele Gordon, a Fillebrown descendant, added progeny of Thomas Whittemore and Anna Cutter for his direct line.
Thomas Lindsey Hooppaw, a Fillebrown descendant, provided a great number of pictures and information about the Hooppaw branch of the Fillebrown family.
Jo Francis Horner nee Gettel as well as Marcia and Buddy Johns have provided valuable information for the Courtney, Wallace, Gettel, and Ferrill families.
Nick Hornyak, a descendant of William Hunnewell and Elizabeth Fillebrown, contributed data on descendants of that branch and his connection to the Tapley family.
Herb Huston, a Fillebrown descendant, has followed his line from Gershom Cutter & Anna Fillebrown which allowed me to add many "lost" Fillebrown descendants with a surname other than Fillebrown. He also provided the key for me to connect several members of the Cutter family.
Carol Kunz nee Sutton, a McHone Descendant, has provided major connections for the McHone family and its descendants.
Margery Doris Lewis nee Brown identified descendants of Bethuel Fillebrown and his sister Hepzibah Fillebrown including surnames: Berry, Brown, Crislip, Drew, Fisher, Fitz-Randolph, Flint, Richardson, Stearns, Stuart, Turbyfill, et al.
John Frederick Marshall added many families Gershom Cutter and Anna Fillebrown with surnames including Cutter, Baker, Hawkins, Hooppaw, Marshall, Van Nada, et al.
Dr. Lee Raymond Wolfe added descendants of Charlotte Jane Marshall nee Mansur. These include surnames: Marshall, Wolfe, and Pulino. He also provided information about some of Charlotte's ancestors.
Beverly Ann Newton nee Norton provided a great deal of material that introduced the connection to the Sawin and Norton descendants to the Fillebrown line. In addition her work identified additional Wyeth connections.
Dorles Repass Perdue has provided material for the James, McCorkle, and Barger families
Joel Lane Tapley, a descendant of William Hunnewell and Elizabeth Fillebrown, contributed data on descendants of that branch and the Tapley family.
Normal genealogical rules are broken in this work with regard to the way I treat adopted children. I believe that as a child of God any person is eligible to be a child of the surname that person carries. I show adopted children as birth children of their adoptive parents so that they will be continued in the family line. In addition I show an adoptive event so that "genetic researchers" will discover the adoptive circumstance in the family line.
By the way, I haven't found a "genealogical" place to place this information so here it is. The Fillebrown Seamount is located at Latitude 15 degrees 5 minutes 0 seconds North, Longitude 162 degrees 55 minutes 0 seconds West. A seamount is an underwater feature rising generally more than 1000 meters in elevation and of limited aerial extent. I have no idea how it came to be known as Fillebrown.
This "book" is compiled by my genealogical software "Ultimate Family Tree" and often is repetitive and stilted. Please bear with this and take heart in the fact that one-day I hope to have the entire work edited and rendered in a more readable form.
I am grateful for the many individuals that have responded o my questionnaires with information about their families. I appreciate any comments, corrections, and additions that the reader will send to me. I will be happy to include all of the stories that come my way.
Please add: Birth Dates, Cities, and places Marriage Dates, Cities, and places Death Dates, Cities, and places Burial Dates, Cities, and places Anecdotes about events in their lives Current mail addresses Current e-mail where available
Thank you,
Jerry Fillebrown
Send email to preparer: Fillebrown@DFWair.net