Posted By:Charles Brashear
Email:
Subject:Re: Allemand Brasseur, b. 1605, Avignon, France
Post Date:May 08, 2002 at 06:29:06
Message URL:http://genforum.genealogy.com/brasseur/messages/32.html
Forum:Brasseur Family Genealogy Forum
Forum URL:http://genforum.genealogy.com/brasseur/

Hi,
Martha Brasseur/Brashear, m. Moseley, was NOT a daughter of Allemand, but of Robert Brasseur. There's a deed in early VA that proves this.

I'm convinced, have been convinced for years, that the Brasseur/Brashear family has NOTHING at all to do with the deBrassier family. Allemand was a deBrassier, NOT a Brasseur. There must be three or four old French genealogies that prove this beyond doubt. I looked at one just recently in Paris at the Biblioteque Genealogique et D'Histoire Sociale. Even Xeroxed about 26 pages. Henry Sinclair Brashear printed one version (verbatim from one of the old ones) of that family's history as the first chapter in his "Brashear-Brashears Family, 1449-1929."

In 1926, Peter C. Brashear (from Sinking Falls, KY) visited the deBrassier family in Carpentras and they decided on the basis of circumstances and similarity of names that "they must be from the same family." NOT SO. [Peter then proceeded to falsify land and court records in VA in order to claim relationship to this French Noble family. But he was just plain wishful-thinking, if not outright lying.]

The land records of VA pretty well prove that the Huguenot Immigrants to VA c1635 were Robert Brasseur and seven of his children, which included his oldest, Benois Brasseur. When Benois was naturalized in 1662, his surname was misspelled as Brassieur and Brasseiur, and then Anglicized to Brashear. In about another fifty years, people began adding an "s" to the surname, I supposed because they thought it more euphonic.

Anyway... See "A BRASHEAR(S) FAMILY HISTORY," Vol 1: "The First 200 Years of Brashear(s) in America," for the documentation.
       I am and have been for 30-something years actively engaged in research on the Brashear Family, in all its branches, in all its spellings of the surname. Some years ago, Troy Back and Leon Brashear gave me their blessing and permission to "update" their book, THE BRASHEAR STORY, A FAMILY HISTORY, so I started trying to assemble a comprehensive Brashear Family history. But the more data I collected, the more I realized that this family history will never again fit into one volume, especially if you include the amount and kind of detail that I like to include. I now have working drafts of eight books on the family history. So this is the plan that has evolved:

Vol 1. The First 200 Years of Brashear(s) in America and Some Descendants in Maryland (this one was published in Nov 1998 and is still available at $35 for hardcover, $25 for paperback, plus $3 postage and packaging; CA residents add 7.0% sales tax.)

Vol 2. Robert C. Brashear of North Carolina and Some Descendants in TN, KY, MO, TX, etc. (Published 1 Sep 1999. Available only in hardback. $35, plus $3 p&p and CA tax.) If you order two books at once, sent to the same address, $4 is enough for p&p.

Vol 3. Robert Samuel Brashear(s) and Some Descendants in TN and KY (Published early in 2001; $40, plus $3 p&p and CA tax if applicable. Vol 1, 2, & 3 at same time: $100, plus $5 p&p.)

Vol 4. Brashear(s) Families of the Ohio Valley (10 copies of first draft Xeroxed in 1996 and distributed to a number of libraries and relatives for corrections.)

Vol 5. Two Brashear(s) Families of the Lower Mississippi Valley and their Choctaw Descendants (Xerox in 1996 distributed to libraries and relatives.)

Vol 6. Basil Brashear(s) and his Brashears, Breshears, Beshears, Boshears and Other Descendants (I have a very messy, sprawling first draft on this one; many chapters are finished, but the book needs a great deal of work.)

Vol 7. Brashear(s) Families West of the Mississippi River (Have been collecting chapters for this one, but it's not very well formed yet.)

Vol 8. Brashear(s) Family Strays, Additions, Corrections, and Non-Brashear(s) Families (Plenty of stray data, and Plenty of Non-Brashears families; the problem is how to organize it all.)

       If you haven't yet sent me your Brashear family information, please do so now. I'll file it in an appropriate drawer and use it when I'm working on the relevant book.

To order, the printed books (please do NOT order the books not yet printed!) send a note, saying which volume(s) you want and where you want it/them sent, along with a check or money order, to

Charles Brashear, P.O.Box 38, Clearlake Oaks, CA 95423

I'll mail the books as soon as I can put them into the mailing boxes and get to the Post Office.
       Please add $3 for postage and packaging for the first book, $1 for each additional book. California residents, please at 7.25% CA sales tax.
If any of you want to order a gift copy for your favorite library, I'll knock $10 off the price (that is, you pay $25 for the hardback, plus $3 p&p), and I'll send it to the library in your name. Just tell me which library, or let me pick one. (Some 30 libraries already have gift copies.)


Vol 1: THE FIRST 200 YEARS OF BRASHEAR(S) IN AMERICA
and Some Descendants in Maryland
WARNING! Don't mistake this for something it isn't. (Some people bought the Brazier/Brasher book and then complained that their Brashear family was not in it.) This is a book about descendants of Robert and Benois Brasseur, French Huguenot immigrants to Virginia, c1635, whose surname was Anglicized as Brashear. Over the years, many branches of the family added an "s" to make it Brashears. Benois Brasseur was naturalized in Calvert Co, MD, in 1662, and became known as Benjamin Brashear; he is the progenitor of virtually all Americans with surnames Brashear, Brashears, Brashares, Breshear(s), Breashear(s), Broshear(s), Beshear(s), Boshear(s), Beshires, often Brasher, Brashers, Brashier, Brashiers, sometimes Brazier, and about 35 other spellings. Also, this book only treats the first 200 years of the family, mainly in Virginia and Maryland, from about 1635 to about 1835, except that the Western Maryland chapter comes up to the last few years. I'm working on other books that will bring many of the Brashear(s) lines down to more recent times.
       The book is 7" by 10", 336 pages long (16 pages of front matter, including contents and a review of the deBrassier Family of Carpentras, France; 300 pages of text (see contents below); and 20 pages of 4-column index--about 3500 entries).

       Abbreviated CONTENTS of Vol 1:
1. ROBERT BRASSEUR, THE HUGUENOT IMMIGRANT ........................ 1
2. BENJAMIN (BENOIS) BRASSIEUR, The American ..................... 23
3. JOHN BRASSEUR, of Nansemond Co, Virginia ..................... .50
4. THOMAS BRASHER, of Cecil Co, MD ................................65
5. ROBERT BRASHEUR, II, "Elder" ...................................70
6. ROBERT BRASHIER, III, The Improvident...........................77
7. THREE BROTHERS OF MARYLAND: Benjamin, Samuel, and Robert IV ... 92
8. BENJAMIN BRASHEAR Jr and REBECCA WALKER .......................121
9. JOHN BRASHEAR "Junior" and MARY DOWELL ........................131
10. WILLIAM BRASHEAR "Senior" and SARAH WALLINGSFORD .............156
11. Speculations About DOWELL BRASHEARS, His Family ..............169
12. SAMUEL BRASHEAR Jr and ELIZABETH BRASHEAR ................... 177
13. JOHN BRASHEAR "Senior" and RUTH WALKER .......................193
14. HARD TIMES IN MARYLAND: TWO BROTHERS GO BROKE .......... .....207
15. WILLIAM BRASHEAR "Junior" and PRISCILLA PRATHER ..............215
16. WILLIAM BRASHEARS, The Millwright, and MARGARET CARR .........229
17. JOHN BRASHEARS, III, and MARY POTTINGER ................... . 241
18. SOME BRASHEAR FAMILIES OF WESTERN MARYLAND .................. 260
INDEX ............................................................301

Vol 2: ROBERT C. BRASHEAR OF NORTH CAROLINA
and Some Descendants in TN, KY, MO, TX, etc,

       The 1740s were an economically rough time in Maryland (some of our family lost their land and/or spent time in debtors' prison). Newly opened land in the Granville District of North Carolina was an invitation to a new start. Three Brashear brothers--Robert C., Basil, and Otho--migrated to NC in the late 1740s, early 1750s, where Robert and Basil got land grants. Basil went broke again and left about 1766, and Otho simply disappeared, but Robert C. Brashear and his wife, Charity Dowell, stayed on and (we think) prospered. They were patriots during the Revolutionary War, after which newly opening land in western places beckoned again, and the family succumbed to wanderlust or land-hunger; they became part of the American westward movement. This book traces Robert C. Brashear in North Carolina and the families of sons Philip, Asa, and Zaza, and daughter, Ann (Brashear) Ball; Robert Samuel Brashear and Jesse Brashears have to wait for vol. 3 and vol. 5, respectively.
       The book is 7" by 10", 316 pages (290 pages of text, about 50 illustrations, and 24 pages of 4-column index--over 4000 entries).

       ABBREVIATED CONTENTS of VOL 2
PREFACE .......................................................... vii
1. THE FIRST FOUR GENERATIONS OF BRASHEAR(S) IN AMERICA ............11
2. THE GUILFORD COUNTY BRASHEAR COLONY .............................17
3. ROBERT C. BRASHEAR AND CHARITY DOWELL,
       of Guilford County, NC .........................................32
4. PHILIP BRASHEARS Sr and ANN WILSON of Henry Co, VA ..............47
5. ANN "NANCY" BRASHEARS and MOSES BALL of Fairfax Co, VA ..........69
6. ROBERT SAMUEL BRASHEARS, "The Rolling Stone,"
       and PHOEBE NICKS ...............................................77
7. JESSE BRASHEARS, of Pensacola, and ELIZABETH PRATHER ............82
8. CAPTAIN ASA BRASHER and JEMIMA NELSON
       of Rockingham Co, NC ...........................................87
9. ZAZA BRASHER Sr and ELIZABETH ADKINSON,
       of Rockingham County, NC ......................................117
10. ZAZA BRASHER Sr and ELIZABETH LOMAX ..........................139
              With Special Thanks to Joy (Hines) Horton
11. JAMES BRASHEARS and NANCY BOWLING, of Lee Co, VA .............162
12. JOHN WESLEY B. BRASHEARS and DRUCILLA ?WILSON ................183
              With Special Thanks to Doyle Fenn
13. ABSALOM BRASHEARS/BESHEARS
       and MARTHA ANN "POLLY" PHILLIPS ..............................218
              Co-author: Jerri Beshears Kennedy
14. ROBERT BRASHEARS/BESHEARS
       and ELIZABETH WHITTEN, OF PIKE CO, MO ........................242
              With Special Thanks to Larry Howser
15. BENJAMIN BRASHEARS
       and SOME GREENE COUNTY, MISSOURI, FAMILIES ...................264
16. JESSE BRASHEARS and BETSY SHELL ..............................270
                     With Special Thanks to Darrell Spencer
INDEX ............................................................293

Vol 3: Robert Samuel Brashears, "The Rolling Stone," and Some Descendants in TN and KY.

       Very early in the Revolution (or maybe even before), several of the Guilford Co Brashear(s) again got wanderlust, or they had worn out the land. At any rate, Robert Samuel Brashears and all of his children migrated to the frontier, first to Sullivan Co, NC (it would become Sullivan Co, TN), then to Roane Co, TN. RSB's son, Isaac Brashears, went on to Perry/Decatur Co, TN, and his son, Capt. Samuel Brashear (he dropped the "s" on his surname), moved on to Perry Co, KY. RSB's son, Basil, stayed on in Roane Co. This book is about these families.
       The book is 7" x 10", 496 pages, including 41 pages of index and about 40 maps, pictures, or other documents. Since it costed me considerably more to print this one, I have to charge $40 per copy. Sorry.

ABBREVIATED CONTENTS OF VOL 3:

1. ROBERT SAMUEL BRASHEARS, "THE ROLLING STONE,"
       and PHOEBE NICKS ..............................................14
2. PHILIP BRASHEARS, son of RSB....................................35
3. ISAAC BRASHEARS, THE PATRIARCH..................................38
4. CAPT. SAMUEL BRASHEAR and MARGARET EAKIN........................47
5. THE DAUGHTERS OF ROBERT SAMUEL BRASHEARS........................59
6. BASIL BRASHEARS and MARGARET "PEGGY" HORTON.....................92
       The next six are children of Isaac Brashears, the Patriarch
7. JOHN BRASHEARS and CHARITY BRADLEY.............................116
8. ROBERT B. BRASHEARS and SARAH RHEA HANKINS,
       of Lawrence Co, TN............................................139
9. WALTER BRASHEARS AND ELIZABETH ROBERTS.........................174
10. THE DAUGHTERS OF ISAAC BRASHEARS: ............................205
11. JUDGE SAMUEL BRASHERS AND HIS DESCENDANTS.....................221
12. ABSALOM ALFRED BRASHEARS and ELLENDER ROSS....................260
       The rest are descendants of Capt. Samuel Brashear
13. MARGARET BRASHEAR and JOHN LARKEY.............................268
14. SAMPSON BRASHEAR AND MARGARET BRIGHT..........................278
15. ROBERT S. "Old Bob" BRASHEAR and MARY EVERIDGE................326
16. TWO BROTHERS of WEBSTER Co, MO................................336
17. JAMES N. BRASHEAR Sr AND ELIZABETH YOUNG......................342
18. ELI BRASHEAR and SARAH "SALLY" CAMPBELL.......................346
19. ROBERT S. BRASHEAR and SARAH "SALLY" HALL.....................357
20. ADELINE BRASHEAR and ROBERT S. CORNETT........................399
21. JAMES N. BRASHEAR Jr and ELIZABETH PRATT......................409
22. SAMPSON BRASHEAR and MARY ANN HALL............................431
24. (Rev.) WILLIAM E. BRASHEAR
       and MARY HAMPTON/ FANNY ELKINS................................440
25. ELIZABETH BRASHEAR and BENJAMIN ENGLE.........................452
INDEX.............................................................455

       If any of you want to order a gift copy for your favorite library, I'll knock $10 off the price (that is, you pay $25.00 for the hardback ($30 for vol 3)--plus $3 p&p), and I'll send it to the library in your name. Just tell me which library, or let me pick one.
Well, inundate me with orders, please. Pass the word on to all your friends and relatives! Copy this and mail it to people like grandmothers, cousins, in-laws, especially those who do not carry the Brashear(s) surname(s).
       And if you have not sent me your Brashear family data, please do so now. I have several files where I keep data that is to be included in future volumes, including the volume of corrections, additions, strays, and non-Brashear families.

Cheers,
Charles Brashear
P.O.Box 38
Clearlake Oaks, CA 95423