Our family originated in upper Deeside and there has always been a family belief that there was a connection with John Brown of Queen Victoria fame. Whether this is a fact to be proud of or not is a different matter.
It was known that great great grandfather James Downie married Mary Brown in 1835 at Crathie and it was always accepted that in that union lay the connection. A cousin of my grandfather born in 1899 (still alive in 1997) always said that Queen Victoria visited the household when he was a baby and on rubbing his head is claimed to have said, 'So like John Brown's head.'
In the old churchyard at Crathie there are a number of stones commemorating Browns and Downies, most of them quite close to one another, and the relationships were never questioned. Recently I decided to try and follow up the connection and find out where it was exactly.
A study of the gravestones in the churchyard came up with the following:
SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF JAMES DOWNIE WHO DIED AT BROCHDHU ON THE 25TH JANUARY 1870 AGED 65 YEARS ALSO OF MARY BROWN HIS WIFE WHO DIED AT THE LEAVEL 28TH JUNE 1882 AGED 69 YEARS ALSO THEIR SON ALEXANDER DOWNIE FARMER LEAVEL WHO DIED ON THE 18TH DECEMBER 1931 AGED 79 YEARS AND HIS WIFE EUPHEMIA MITCHELL WHO DIED ON THE 1ST JANUARY 1974 IN HER 104TH YEAR.
James was my great great grandfather and Alexander was the father of the baby who had the regal stroking. This I thought was the start of the Brown connection. The close proximity of the Brown headstones to one another would encourage the casual onlooker to assume that there was some connection.
SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF MARGARET GORDON WIFE OF JOHN BROWN LEAVEL WHO DIED 12TH JANUARY 1836 AGED 50 YEARS ALSO THE SAID JOHN BROWN WHO DIED 5TH JULY 1860 AGED 88 AND THEIR SONS JAMES DIED 5TH APRIL 1861 AGED 46 JOHN DIED 23RD JULY 1879 AGED 59 DUNCAN DIED 13TH APRIL 1886 76 YEARS
According to the IGI this proved to be the parents of Mary Brown/Downie. A check of the death register gave the parents of John Brown as John Brown and Janet Morgan.
A nearby stone reads:
HERE LIE THE REMAINS OF JOHN BROWN SOMETIME FARMER IN THE BUSH OF CRATHIENAIRD WHO DIED AT WESTER MICRAS 18TH OCTOBER 1875 AGED 86 YEARS AND OF MARGARET LEYS HIS WIFE WHO DIED AT CRAIGLOURICAN COTTAGE 2ND AUGUST 1876 AGED 77 YEARS ALSO OF THEIR FIVE CHILDREN FRANCIS WHO DIED 1ST MARCH 1831 AGED 3 YEARS FRANCIS DIED 27TH NOVEMBER 1849 AGED 14 YEARS MARGARET DIED 12TH DECR 1849 AGED 17 YEARS ANNE DIED 1ST NOVEMBER 1867 AGED 37 YEARS. THIS STONE IS ERECTED IN AFFECTIONATE REMEMBRANCE OF HIS PARENTS BROTHERS AND SISTERS BY JOHN BROWN.
John Brown of Crathienaird was the father of Victoria's John Brown. The death register gives his parents as: Donald Brown and Janet Shaw.
The next stone reads:
THIS STONE IS ERECTED IN AFFECTIONATE AND GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF JOHN BROWN THE DEVOTED AND FAITHFUL PERSONAL ATTENDANT AND BELOVED FRIEND OF QUEEN VICTORIA IN WHOSE SERVICE HE HAD BEEN FOR 34 YEARS. BORN AT CRATHIENAIRD 8TH DECEMBER 1826 DIED AT WINDSOR CASTLE 27TH MARCH 1883. THAT FRIEND ON WHOSE FIDELITY YOU COUNT, THAT FRIEND GIVEN YOU BY CIRCUMSTANCES OVER WHICH YOU HAVE NO CONTROL, WAS GOD'S OWN GIFT. WELL DONE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT, THOU HAST BEEN FAITHFUL OVER A FEW THINGS, I WILL MAKE THEE RULER OVER MANY THINGS. ENTER THOU INTO THE JOY OF THE LORD.
It now became obvious that the connection was not as simple and straightforward as originally thought. Another stone nearby read as follows:
1857 ERECTED BY ELIZABETH DOWNIE IN MEMORY OF HER HUSBAND JAMES BROWN FARMER IN CRATHIENAIRD AND FOR 24 YEARS AN ELDER IN THIS PARISH WHO DIED 16TH JANUARY 1859 AGED 63 YEARS ALSO HIS WIFE ELIZABETH DOWNIE WHO DIED AT CRATHIENAIRD ON THE 3RD MARCH 1876 AGED 77 YEARS.
A further check of the death register and it was found that James Brown was a son of Donald Brown and Janet Shaw. He was thus an uncle of Victoria's John. Elizabeth Downie was the daughter of James Downie and Mary Leys
Both 1981 and 1988 IGIs were again checked but did not show a marriage of John Brown and Janet Morgan, nor a marriage of James Downie and Mary Leys. No trace was found of the birth of Elizabeth Downie although there were two other children of that union.
One reason for the non appearance of these two marriages could lie in the possibility that some of them may have been Catholics and are recorded in the Catholic registers. Braemar and area at that time had still strong leanings to the Catholic faith. The Catholic registers were also traced but no more light was shed on the problem. It may be stated in passing that gaps appear in these registers.
Although no positive proof has been found of a connection between our family and John Brown, such a relationship can not be ruled out. In an area such as upper Deeside there was much inter marriage and it is sometimes difficult to separate the different strains of families. One has to fall back on the old Scottish maxim and record a verdict of: 'Not Proven.' To put it another way; there is as much conclusive evidence that the Downie and Brown families are connected, as there was evidence that John Brown's relationship with Queen Victoria was anything more than platonic.
Sources.
Byrd, Elizabeth. The Long Enchantment. Pan Books 1973
Cullen, Tom. The Empress Brown. The Bodley Head 1969
Death Registers: Crathie
Gravestone inscriptions in Crathie Old Churchyard
International Genealogical Indexes 1981 and 1988
Old Parish Registers: Crathie and Glenmuick
Reid, Michaela. Ask Sir James. Hodder & Stoughton 1986.