Browner families in Wexford

Hello Eileen,

The Tithe Applotment List might be of use to you, or at least interesting for you. These lists constitute the only nationwide survey for the period, and are valuable because the heaviest burden of the tithes to the Established Church, the Church of Ireland, fell on the poorest, for whom few other records survive. The information in the Tithes is quite basic, typically consisting of townland name, landholder's name, area of land and tithes payable. Many Books also record the landlord's name and an assessment of the economic productivity of the land. The tax payable was based on the average price of wheat and oats over the seven years up to 1823, and was levied at a different rate depending on the quality of land. For Parishes where the registers do not begin until after 1850, this information can be useful, as they are often the only surviving early records. They can provide valuable circumstantial evidence, especially where a holding passed from father to son in the period between the Tithe survey and Griffith's Valuation.

There are Browners here in the Tithe Applotment

http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/results.jsp?surname=browner&firstname=&county=Wexford&parish=&townland=&search=Search

You could also search the 1901 and 1911 census to find Browner still in that might be in those areas at that time. You can find this here: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/search/

Remember to post as much information as you can with regard to the people you are researching. The more information you post, the more likely it is that one of our volunteers will be able to advise or assist you. Also include information concerning which sources you may have already used so others may further your search.

Best regards Michael.

Eileen, Just came across your post. My great grandmother was a Browner from New Ross and her father Philip Browner (1819- c 1880) came from Palace East where there is/was a hill called Browners Hill. As far as I can tell that is where the family came from. Family lore has it that Philip was evicted from his farm probably in the 1850s and went to work as steward at Oaklands estate of the Tyndall family - just south of New Ross. He is buried in the graveyard at Ballykelly just north of New Ross. His father was John/Johnie Browner (1776-1826) who married Marie Doyle 27 Aug 1806. I suspect that is where the family connection lies. Has your husband done a DNA test eg 23andme.com? If so we could check if we are definitely related but from what you say it seems more than likely. Let me know if I can help in any way. Liam

Eileen, did you make any progress on your research? Liam

Liam, I'm not sure how I missed your previous message. I haven't really had much luck proving relationships to Browners in Ireland although when we visited in May/June we did meet up with a Frances Browner in Greystokes who believes pretty much all Browners are related.We also spoke with a family from the New Ross area (Stafford was tha last name) who had married into the Browner family. Your family seems to be a very good match geographically. A cousin of my husband visited Ireland a number of years ago and was told of Browners Hill and visited there but we had no success finding it . We will be back in 2016. Maybe by then I'll have convinced my husband to do the DNA test and we can figure out once and for all if there is a connection. I've read about the DNA project that tests people from a parish who have grandparents who were both born in the parish to give a good representation of the DNA of the parish. Pretty cool idea.It may be the only way for us to figure out where John Browner came from although having named his lot of land in Canada Templeludigan seem to be a pretty good indication that he was at least from the area.

http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V1,680898,631406,7,9 Eileen, I have a cousin, Phil Browner (80s), who visited the Palace East area some years ago and spoke with a local farmer who remembered the area called Browners Hill but there is little left today to identify it. The farmer recalled when ploughing the land uncovering several hearthstones indicating that there were cottages there in the past. I had a look on old maps today and came across a Browns Well in Palace East - maybe a connection. You may be able to get to it via the link above. If not go onto www.osi.ie and look for a link to historic maps and a link to interactive maps. I found it on the 25 inch map - patience is required  use the star to steer - but you should be able to find New Ross and from there follow the route towards Enniscorthy and Palace Railway Station.  Let me know if I can help in any way. Liam