Marty and Karla Grant

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Mary “Polly” Davis alias Miller (c1783-1864) and David Browning of Surry, Burke and Yancey Co., NC, Giles Co., TN, Barry and Lawrence Co., MO

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Polly Davis Browning is my 4 times Great Aunt

Mary “Polly” Davis was born ca 1783 per census analysis:

∙           1810 census, age 16-25, born ca 1784/1794.

∙           1820 census, age 45+, born before 1775. Way off.

∙           1830 census, age 40-49, born ca 1780/1790.

∙           1840 census, age 50-59, born ca 1780/1790.

∙           1850 census, age 66, born ca 1783/1784.

∙           1860 census, age 77, born ca 1782/1783.

All of the above are fairly compatible with each other if we ignore the 1820 entry. If she were born ca 1783, that could work with both the 1850 and 1860 census entries.

Polly was almost certainly born in Surry Co., NC, a child of William Davis and Mary Miller. She was named in her father’s 1836 Will when he left something to the “heirs of my daughter “Polly Browning.” The way it was worded suggests she was dead by 1836.

“Polly” is a common nickname for “Mary.”

I had to do some analysis to figure out which Mr. Browning Polly was married to, and even now, I’m not 100% sure it was David Browning. However, I am 99% sure which leaves a little room for doubt.

It seems that William Davis and his first wife Mary Miller had a contentious relationship. In his Will he alludes to her being unfaithful and that the three children he named were the only children of hers that he claimed as his own. He left her ca 1790, and I suspect that wasn’t the first time they separated. I think Mary had children during those separations by other men, or at least that’s what William Davis believed at the time. For an example, see Polly’s sister Betsy Cantrell’s page for why William Davis wound up with two daughters named Elizabeth Davis. It ties into my theories regarding Polly.

As noted, Polly was born ca 1783, presumably in Surry Co., NC. I think that she, like her older sister Betsy, were among the children William Davis didn’t claim at first which explains why she married under the name Polly Miller instead of Polly Davis. It also explains why she married in Surry Co., NC instead of Burke Co., NC where her father lived. She married at her mother’s home, which is probably where she’d been living.

Polly and her siblings and mother may have had land of their own in Surry Co., NC, or if not, they may have resided with their uncle Jacob Miller. His 1790 census entry included 6 females, which could be his own wife and five daughters, or instead, it might be his wife, one daughter, and his sister Mary and her three daughters. Then again, it’s difficult to say for sure. There is a William Davis on the 1790 census in Surry that might be our William and wife Mary, but it’s also possible it’s someone else. That William Davis did live in the same area as the Millers at the time.

Regardless, it’s almost certain Polly grew up in Surry Co., NC with her mother’s family and probably didn’t go to Burke Co., NC with her father and his 2^nd wife. Having said that, there is room for her in her father’s 1800 household, so she might have gone to Burke after all especially if he accepted her as his own daughter early on. However, the fact that she married in Surry under the Miller surname suggests maybe he hadn’t yet accepted her, or if he had, she still wasn’t using the Davis surname.

On 23 Oct 1805, David Browning obtained a marriage bond in Surry Co., NC to marry Polly Miller. Daniel Miller was bondsman. Daniel was a son of Jacob Miller (Mary Miller Davis’s brother), so one might conclude this Daniel was likely Polly’s brother, making her also daughter of Jacob. While that’s potentially the answer, it makes more sense to me that this Polly, now Polly Browning, is the very same one named in William Davis’s 1836 Will as his daughter.

Why would I draw that conclusion? It’s simple. David Browning wasn’t from Surry Co., NC, nor did he have any relatives there as far as I’m aware. He was from Burke Co., NC and was a neighbor of William Davis there whose family was associated with his! David traveled approximately 86 miles, much of it mountainous, from what is now Avery Co., NC to what is now Yadkin Co., NC to marry Polly. How would he even know her? That was something like a four to six day trip, one way, on foot, and nearly as long on horseback. He must have met her near his home somehow, then perhaps went back with her to where she lived in order to marry her there.

They most likely met when Polly came to Burke Co., NC to visit her sister Betsy and father and that’s how David met her. Perhaps it was during this visit that William Davis realized she was indeed his daughter perhaps due a strong resemblance, thus from then on he claimed her as his own.

I’d be remiss not to point out that it’s within the realm of possibility that Polly Miller, if Jacob Miller’s daughter instead of William Davis’s, could have still gone to Burke to visit, as William’s wife Frances Carpenter Davis was her 1^st cousin. However, that doesn’t explain the daughter “Polly Browning” named in William Davis’s Will.

Considering that there were other Brownings in Burke at the time, all seemingly part of an extended family, it behooves us to look into the others just in case I’m wrong and Polly Miller and Polly Davis aren’t the same person after all.

It appears all the early Brownings in old Burke are part of the family of John Browning (d aft 1817) and wife Dorothy Davenport.

In 1790, there was a John Browning in Burke in the 3^rd Company, which is the area where the Davis family would soon be. There were no other Brownings in western North Carolina in 1790, and none in Surry Co., NC.

1790 Census - Burke Co., NC

p. 91 3^rd Company              Jno Browning       3-4-5-0-0

There were four Browning households in Burke in 1800. This census was alphabetical so I can’t tell if they were neighbors to each other or to William Davis. There were still none in any other western North Carolina counties.

1800 Census - Burke Co, NC

p. 728 John Browning Senr                01302-21000-0-0

p. 728 John Browning Junr                00101-01000-0-0

p. 730 Martin Browning                     00010-10100-0-0

p. 731 Elisha Browning                       30110-10010-0-0

There were five Browning households in Burke in 1810 and still none elsewhere in western NC, all but one in the same grouping, and one who wasn’t in that grouping was in the same neighborhood judging by neighbors.

1810 Census - Burke Co, NC

p. 320 John Browning         00101-00021-0-1 next to:

p. 320 Martin Browning     10010-20010-0-0 next to:

p. 320 Thos Browning         00010-20020-0-0 four houses from Joseph Cantrell and five from William Davis

p. 321 David Browning       10100-10100-0-0 four houses from William Davis

p. 324 Charles Browning    00010-20100-0-0 five from Robert Burchfield whose dau m. Thomas Davis s/o William.

Four of the above were near William Davis, The fifth was near someone he was associated with, so all in the same general area. Thus, any of them could be Mary Davis’s potential husband.

Elijah Browning (listed in 1800 as Elisha) died in 1808 leaving a widow Rachel and several children, thus he wasn’t Polly Davis’s husband. Their sons were too young to be her husband.

The Browning population in Burke dropped to only three (or perhaps just two) households by the 1820 census. None of them were near William Davis or any known connections of his, so it appears the ones we’re most interested in were gone by this time, meaning our Polly probably went with them.

1820 Census - Burke Co, NC

p. 45 John Browning           000100-00100-0-0

p. 87 John Browning           000100-00100-0-0 * Duplicate of above? Identical enumerations.

p. 103 William Browning    000010-20010-0-0

What happened to the others? I found them in Giles Co., TN on the 1820 census, most listed in the same group. John Sr’s apparent widow “Dorotha” Browning was amongst them. He died sometime after 1817 when he married a series of deeds to some of his sons.

1820 Census - Giles Co., TN

p. 6 Thomas Browning       200120-32020-0-0

p. 6 John Browning             310101-11110-0-0

p. 7 Charles Browning        300001-12010-0-0

p. 7 Martin Browning         010001-12020-0-0

p. 7 Dorotha Browning       000000-01002-0-0

p. 7 Nicholas Browning      000010-20010-0-0

p. 7 David Browning           210101-11001-0-0

By 1830 there were no Brownings left in Burke. There were a few in Giles still. Charles and Thomas from the earlier censuses were not there. Charles had died, leaving widow Rachel who is listed as head of household. “L. Browning” *could* be Thomas’s widow Elizabeth if he was dead by then. She wasn’t listed near the other Brownings.

1830 Census - Giles Co., TN

p. 160 L. Browning              3011101000000-0010101000100

p. 170 Rachel Browning     1301000000000-1021201000000

p. 170 Martin Browning     0101000010000-0011110000000 b 1760s

p. 170 Nicholas Browning  0000001000000-0311000000000 b 1780s

p. 171 David Browning       0121100100000-0010101000000 b 1770s

The wording of William Davis’s 1836 Will, leaving something to the “heirs of Polly Browning” strongly suggests she was deceased by then. However, it may simply mean he didn’t know if she was still alive or not due to lack of contact, which was a common problem in those days when families moved far away, especially to frontier regions, which Giles County was at the time they moved there.

None of the Brownings from the 1830 census in Giles were still there for the 1840 census. There was an Elizabeth (1770s) and a Robert Browning (1800/1810) listed there.

There was a Martin Browning (1770/80) in Robertson Co., TN in 1840. Might be same one from 1820 and 1830 Giles and 1810 Burke before that though age is a little younger here. This could be a different Martin Browning.

I’ve researched the Brownings in Burke and Giles and found they were in many records, though unfortunately, their wives weren’t. This is the family in brief, not completely proven, but likely.

John Browning, bef 1755, died 1817/1820 Giles Co., TN.

Wife: Dorothy Davenport, might be a 2^nd wife as he has no apparent wife in 1800.

Children, none proven, but very likely John’s:

1.         John Browning (Jr), bef 1755, died after 1820 Giles Co., TN. Wife Jane Jackson.

2.         Martin Browning, 1765/1770, died after 1830 Giles Co., TN. Wife ?

3.         Charles Browning, 1765/1775, died after 1820 Giles Co., TN. Wife Rachel (d aft 1830).

4.         Elijah Browning, 1765/1784, died 1808 Burke Co., NC. Wife Rachel (d bef 1826).

5.         Thomas Browning, 1775/84, died after 1820 Giles Co., TN. Wife Elizabeth Davenport.

6.         David Browning, 1782, died 1861 Lawrence Co., MO. Wife Mary Magdaline Miller.

7.         Nicholas Browning, c1787-aft 1850 Limestone Co., AL. 1^st wife Mary McKinney, 2^nd wife Margaret Calton.

Some of the spouse names listed above come from online trees, so I’m not entirely sure of them. However, I’ve obviously paid close attention to those named Mary or Polly. According to online trees, sans documentation, Nicholas Browning’s 1^st wife was named Mary “Polly” McKinney and she died ca 1830. I haven’t seen any proof of her maiden name as of yet. The same trees show her born 1789 in Orange Co., NC, daughter of William McKinney who died 1814 Burke Co., NC. I am familiar with him, and he was in the same general area as the Davis and Browning families in old Burke Co., NC, so this could be accurate, but it would be nice to know what the proof is that this Mary was his daughter, and not our Mary Polly Davis, for instance.

Of course the most interesting one is David Browning’s wife Mary. Her tombstone shows her as “Mary Magdaline Browning” born 1787, died 5 Apr 1864 and buried with her husband in Lawrence Co., MO. I didn’t think much about her at first since her surname was given as Miller, not Davis. However, after looking into it I got quite a shock when I discovered their marriage was in Surry Co., NC, which I’ve already mentioned earlier.

My first thought was the 1805 marriage record couldn’t be the same David Browning because why in the world would he marry in Surry Co., NC when he was born and raised in Burke Co., NC? The two counties aren’t particularly close to one another. But once I saw the marriage bond I realized the potential answer.

There is one objection to David Browning’s wife Mary Miller being the same person as William Davis’s daughter. David’s wife Mary was still alive through 1864. But Polly Browning, daughter of William Davis, was presumably dead by 1836 based on the wording in William’s Will, though he didn’t explicitly say she was dead, but he did leave one dollar to the “heirs of Polly Browning” which suggests she was dead.

There are two explanations, either of which work. One, she was still alive, only William Davis didn’t know that. It’s entirely possible she’d gone a very long time with no communication back home, thus he had no idea if she were alive or dead, thus he worded it that way assuming she must be dead.

Or, alternately, perhaps the Mary Magdaline Browning who is buried beside David Browning isn’t Mary “Polly” Miller/Davis at all, but a second wife, just coincidentally also named “Mary.”

If Mary Magdaline is a 2^nd wife, when and where did he marry her, and what is her maiden name? Is she the mother of some of the children? Which ones? You can sometimes figure this out by a gap in the children’s birth dates. David and Polly married in late 1805. The children, as known, were born 1804/10, 1808, 1812, 1815, 1818, and 1821. There is a 4 year gap between 1808 and 1812, though we don’t know precisely where the one born 1804/10 falls in there. Then there is a 3 year gap between the 1818 and the 1821 children. The 1821 birth was twins, and perhaps Polly Miller died at that time and David remarried soon after, to Mary Magdaline. This is all speculative of course. Mary Magdaline might be his only wife after all.

The only way to prove this is to find some document that shows the maiden name of David Browning’s wife Mary Magdaline. Unfortunately, none of their children lived to the times when death certificates were required, nor did I locate any other marriage records for David Browning.

But consider this. I have DNA matches with three descendants of David Browning, two by his son Reuben (1812) and one by son Elijah (1821). This could mean his wife was indeed William Davis’s daughter. Of course it could also be explained if his wife Polly Miller wasn’t William’s daughter, but was part of the same Miller family William’s first wife was part of, for I’m related to them too, as Mary Miller Davis was my aunt.

So, pending evidence to the contrary, I’m going to assume that “Polly Miller” wife of David Browning, is the same person as William Davis’s daughter with Mary Miller. I’m fairly confidant that this is correct.

I’m also going to assume that Mary Magdaline (1787-1864) and Polly Miller/Davis are the same person and that she isn’t a 2^nd wife, though I’m far less confidant on that point.

David and family are on the 1810 census four houses from William Davis and pretty close to his siblings Martin and Thomas Browning and their parents.

1810 Census, Burke Co., NC

Page

Name

M0-9

M10-15

M16-25

M26-44

M45+

F0-9

F10-15

F16-25

F26-44

F45+

FPC

Slaves

321

David Browning

1

~

1

~

~

1

~

1

~

~

~

~

My analysis (who each person *might* be):

1m 16-25 (1784/1794)       David Browning (1782)

1m 0-9 (1800/1810)            Nicholas W. Browning (1808) son

1f 16-25 (1784/1794)         Mary Miller/Davis Browning (c1783) wife, m 1805

1f 0-9 (1800/1810)              Daughter? (1804/1810)

They moved to Giles Co., TN by 1817. They are listed there on the 1820 census near many other Brownings. The enumerations have both David and wife much too old, but that’s a common census problem.

1820 Census, Giles Co., TN

Page

Name

M 0 - 9

M 10 - 15

M 16 - 17

M 16 - 25

M 26 - 44

M 45 +

F 0 - 9

F 10 - 15

F 16 - 25

F 26 - 44

F 45 +

F P C

S l a v e s

7

David Browning

2

1

~

1

~

1

1

1

~

~

1

~

~

 

My analysis (who each person *might* be) 

1m 45+ (before 1775)        David Browning (1782)

1m 16-25 (1794/1804)       Son? Nephew? Brother? Brother-in-law?

1m 10-15 (1804/1810)       Nicholas W. Browning (1808) son

2m 0-9 (1810/1820)            1. Reuben M. Browning (1812) son

                                               2. John H. Browning (1815) son

1f 45+ (before 1775)           Mary Miller/Davis Browning (c1783) wife

1f 10-15 (1804/1810)         Daughter? (1804/1810)

1f 0-9 (1810/1820)              Malinda Browning (1818) daughter

 

They are still in Giles for the 1830 census. David is too old once again, or his 1782 birth date is off and he was older than that. They have twin sons Elijah and Elisha, born in 1821, yet only one son that age is listed. This is either a census error and two should have been listed (I double checked to make sure I didn’t misread it), or perhaps one of the twins was elsewhere at this time for some reason. They were only about 8 at census time, so why wouldn’t both be home? This might be explained if Mary Magdaline was their step-mother instead of mother, and couldn’t handle both of them, thus one was being cared for by a relative in another household. Just speculation on my part.

 

1830 Census, Giles Co., TN

 

My analysis (who each person *might* be) 

1m 50-59 (1770/1780)       David Browning (1782)

1m 20-29 (1800/1810)       Nicholas W. Browning (1808) son

2m 10-14 (1810/1815)       1. Reuben M. Browning (1812) son

                                               2. John H. Browning (1815) son

1m 5-9 (1820/1825)            Elijah Browning (1821) OR Elisha Browning (1821) twin sons.

1f 40-49 (1780/1790)         Mary Miller/Davis Browning (c1783) wife

1f 20-29 (1800/1810)         Daughter? (1804/1810)

1f 10-14 (1815/1820)         Malinda Browning (1818) daughter

 

By 1840 the family had moved to near the southwestern corner of Missouri into Barry County where they were listed on that census next to son Nicholas Browning and also next to Jacob Miller (1784-1844), relationship to Mary/Polly unknown. This might just be a coincidence, or perhaps he is a relative, a cousin or half brother perhaps? Just speculation.

 

1840 Census, Barry Co., MO

 

My analysis (who each person *might* be) 

1m 50-59 (1780/1790)       David Browning (1782)

1m 20-29 (1810/1820)       John H. Browning (1815) son

2m 15-19 (1820/1825)       1. Elijah Browning (1821) son

                                               2. Elisha Browning (1821) son

1f 50-59 (1780/1790)         Mary Miller/Davis Browning (c1783) wife

1f 20-29 (1810/1820)         Malinda Browning (1818) daughter

 

Lawrence County was formed from northern Barry in 1843, effective 1845. The Brownings either fell into the new county or moved there before 1850 where they are listed on that census. There is a widow Mary Miller 60 SC next door, children all born in TN. She is the widow of Jacob from 1840 census. Son Nicholas W. Browning is also next door. Since they were all still near each other, as in 1840, that strongly suggests they fell into the new county rather than moving there.

 

1850 Census, Lawrence Co., MO, District No 47, House 693, Family 697

 

They are still in Lawrence for the 1860 census, now residing with son Elijah. David and Mary and two others are listed as “(Inmate)” which I think in this context has nothing to do with jail or prisons, but rather those who are unable to leave the house perhaps due to physical or mental health reasons.

 

1860 Census, Lawrence Co., MO, Spring River Township, Verona PO, House 579, Family 545

 

David Browning made his Will on 23 Sep 1861 in Lawrence Co., MO, naming son Elijah Browning, and wife Mary Magdaline Browning and son Elisha Browning. He didn’t name his other children. The Will was proven 22 Oct 1861.

 

David Browning died on 4 Oct 1861. Mary Magdaline, his wife, died on 5 Apr 1864, both in Lawrence Co., MO. They are buried at the Spring River Cemetery. I believe they share a single marker with his information on one side, hers on the other.

 

Keep in mind that there is a reasonable chance that Mary “Polly” Miller (alias Davis) and Mary Magdaline are two different wives of David Browning and not the same person. If that’s the case, I suspect all the children are from the first marriage, because I have DNA matches to one of the older sons and also the youngest, suggesting they are all from the Davis/Miller marriage.

 

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Children

 

David and Mary have six identified children, all but one buried at the same cemetery.

 

There is an unidentified daughter, born ca 1804/1810 who was with them in 1810, 1820 and 1830, but gone by 1840, so married or dead by then. I don’t know who she was yet. I didn’t find her on the 1850 census, nor any marriage records for her. I did find an online three that includes a Rebecca Browning Williams in this family. Her age is right, but I’ve seen nothing to connect her to them. She married Burger Williams in 1829 in White Co., IL (where other Brownings were) and apparently remained in IL, though a daughter of hers did end up in Barry Co., MO where David’s family had been.

 

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For Family Group Sheet and other notes see my database pages for Mary “Polly” Miller/Davis and David Browning.

 

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Revised: June 29, 2026

 

Copyright © 1996-2026 Marvin A. Grant, Jr. All Rights Reserved.

 

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