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Meshack Browning

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Meshack Browning

Birth	:	1781 Damascus, Montgomery County, Maryland, USA
Death	:	19 Nov 1859 Garrett County, Maryland, USA
Burial	:	Buford Grove Cemetery, Hilliard, Nassau County, USA
Coordinate	:	30.7300129, -81.9438324
Description	:	Hunter, Trapper and Frontiersman. Born in Damascus, Maryland, Browning was the son of an English soldier deserter who settled in Western Maryland and died when Browning was an infant. Browning was considered by many to be Maryland's most famous hunter. As a child, he and his uncle would be off in the woods hunting for food and honey to sustain the family. In 1792, fear of the Indians led young Browning and family to relocate to the Blooming Rose settlement where 30 to 40 other white families lived. Not long thereafter, Browning killed his first bear... Read More	Hunter, Trapper and Frontiersman. Born in Damascus, Maryland, Browning was the son of an English soldier deserter who settled in Western Maryland and died when Browning was an infant. Browning was considered by many to be Maryland's most famous hunter. As a child, he and his uncle would be off in the woods hunting for food and honey to sustain the family. In 1792, fear of the Indians led young Browning and family to relocate to the Blooming Rose settlement where 30 to 40 other white families lived. Not long thereafter, Browning killed his first bear by shooting it from a tree, then clubbing it to death. His legendary exploits had begun, and tales of this first encounter would be told over and over. It raised his reputation as a fearless boy, and made him admired and respected by the stout backwoodsmen of the Blue Ridge. Before 1800 and still a teenager, Browning was out on his own, living in the Sandy Creek township of Allegheny County with a young wife and daughter. He had already begun a life-long career of hunting and exploring the watersheds of the northern branch of the Potomac and Youghiogheny rivers. This part of Maryland was wholly self-subsistent. Men wore deer skins procured by their own rifles, dressed and tailored by themselves or their wives. Most built primitive log cabins hacked out of the mountainsides. Women spun and wove flax and wool. Gunpowder and lead shot were the only things upon which they were dependent on from outsiders. Their skills at cutting out a living in the raw backwoods determined their success or failure … whether they would literally live or die. Browning succeeded. He was an expert in woodcraft and wild animal behavior and habitats. His pursuit of the abundant white-tailed deer, black bear, panthers and wolves through the western wilderness became legendary. His wilderness was the Allegheny Mountains, especially in what is now Garrett County, Maryland, and the surrounding regions of West Virginia. Browning was successful in his pursuits over the next four decades, living his life in the wild fastnesses of the uncleared mountains of the Blue Ridge. At the close of a long and eventful career as a hunter and trapper, Browning could say with pride that he had killed from eighteen hundred to two thousand deer, from three to four hundred beaver, about fifty panthers and five hundred bear, and scores of wolves and wildcats. He was considered by many to be the hero of men's conversation in this mountain republic, looked up to as the hardy pioneer, and after his long and eventful life was brought to a close, this sturdy old man of the mountains was most cordially missed. Browning's memoir, "Forty-Four Years of the Life of a Hunter," chronicling his hunting exploits was originally penned with a turkey quill. Half backwoods history, half heroic adventure story, it recounts his hunting expeditions and life-threatening encounters while stalking game and records details of life in early frontier America, western Maryland folkways and early settlement life. A Maryland historical marker which states Browning was Garrett County's most famous hunter lies within eyesight of his grave at St. Dominic's Catholic Cemetery in Hoye, Maryland. At the time of his death, his family had increased fifty years later to one hundred and twenty-two, of whom sixty-seven, as their progenitor said proudly, were capable of bearing arms for the defense of their country. Browning's account of his fight with an unexpectedly formidable buck in the Youghiogheny River inspired Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait -- the great Adirondack artist and deer hunter -- to paint the scene in 1861. The same year Currier and Ives published a hand-colored lithograph of Tait's black and white painting, thus immortalizing the incident.∼Meshach Browning (1781-1859) MSA SC 3520-13726 Biography: Born 1781 in Frederick County, Maryland. Son of Joshua and Nancy Browning. Married first wife Mary McMullen (d. 1839) on April 30, 1799; eleven children were Dorcas (b. 1800, m. Joseph Kelly), Rachael (b. 1802, m. Joseph Friend), William (b. 1804, m. Elizabeth Drane, Anne DeWitt), John (b. 1809, m. Maria Thayer), James (b. 1811, m. Ismene Barnard), Nancy (b. 1812, m. Dominic Mattingly, John Kitzmiller), Allen (b. 1814, m. Hanah Kirkpatrick), Thomas (b. 1816, m. Susan DeWitt), Jane (b. 1817, m. Joab Browning), Jeremiah (b. 1819, m. Mary M. Dick), and Sally (b. 1821, m. Adam Nethkin). Married second wife Mary M. Smith (d. 1857) at Cumberland, April 23, 1841; no children. Resided at Sang Run, Garrett County, Maryland. Died of pneumonia in Johnstown, Allegany (now Garrett) County, November 19, 1859. Buried at Hoyes Catholic cemetery, Garrett County. The youngest of four children born to Joshua and Nancy Browning, Meshach Browning is considered by many to be the greatest hunter in Maryland's history. Following the death of Joshua just two weeks after the birth of Meshach, Nancy Browning moved her young family from Frederick County to the unsettled land of Allegany County. Here, Browning lived with his aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. John Spurgin. Browning recalled his accounts in his autobiography, Forty-Four Years of The Life of A Hunter, published just before his death in 1859. Although Browning only attended school for one term, he penned the book himself with turkey quills, gathered for him by his grandchildren. Browning estimates that during his career he killed "from 1800 to 2000 deer, from 300 to 400 bears, and about 50 panthers and catamounts, with scores of wolves and wildcats."1 In 1799, at the age of 18, Meshach married Mary McMullen in Pennsylvania. The couple settled in Blooming Rose, Allegany County, Maryland, and a year later Mary gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Dorcas. Over the next twenty years, the couple had five more daughters, and five sons. By the time of his death in 1859, Browning had 122 descendants.2 Around 1836, Mary was thrown from a horse and severely injured. She remained an invalid until her death on January 29, 1839. Browning married his second wife, a widow, Mary M. Smith, on April 23, 1841 in Cumberland. The couple lived together at Sang Run until Mary's death in 1857. Browing purchased a 75-acre military lot at Sang Run from Dr. Brooker in 1806, and began construction of a homestead. He added a mill to the property in 1826, which operated until 1892. In 1856, Browning sold his homestead at Sang Run to his eldest son, William. The property consisted of 200 acres, a mill, and a homestead.3 During his lifetime, Browning helped settle Allegany County, by patenting numerous tracts of land. Browning had a brief military career during the War of 1812, serving in the Maryland Militia, at first as a sergeant at Shelby's Port, and then as a captain. He never saw combat, refusing to march to the front line, before heading home to Sang Run. His father, Joshua, and grandfather, William, had served in the British Army under General Braddock during the French and Indian War. A Democrat, Browning served as Justice of the Peace at Sang Run, and in 1847 ran for the Maryland House of Delegates. He lost the election to John Galloway Lynn by two hundred votes.4 Raised a Protestant, Browning converted to Catholicism with his first wife. He died of pneumonia in Johnstown, Allegany (now Garrett) County on November 19, 1859. He is buried with both of his wives at Hoyes Catholic Cemetery, Hoyes, Maryland.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Meshack Browning's memorial?
Meshack Browning's memorial is located at: Buford Grove Cemetery, Hilliard, Nassau County, USA.
When did Meshack Browning death?
Meshack Browning death on 19 Nov 1859 in Garrett County, Maryland, USA
Where are the coordinates of the Meshack Browning's memorial?
Latitude: 30.7300129
Longitude: -81.9438324

Family Members:

Spouse

Mary McMullen Browning

(1781 - 1839)

Mary M. Smith Browning

(unknow - 1857)

Children

William Browning

(1804 - 1879)

Jane H. Browning Browning

(1807 - 1885)

John Lynn Browning

(1809 - 1895)

Nancy Ann “Annie” Browning Mattingly-Kitzmiller

(1812 - 1899)

Thomas Browning

(1817 - 1905)

Jeremiah Browning

(1825 - 1896)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Mott Family Cemetery
Hilliard, Nassau County, USA
Coordinate: 30.7367780, -81.9312780

2. Lee Family Cemetery
Hilliard, Nassau County, USA
Coordinate: 30.7420050, -81.9347110

3. Old Still Cemetery
Hilliard, Nassau County, USA
Coordinate: 30.7216000, -81.9114000

4. Hilliard Community Cemetery
Hilliard, Nassau County, USA
Coordinate: 30.6998610, -81.9225810

5. Saint Theresa Cemetery
Hilliard, Nassau County, USA
Coordinate: 30.6996994, -81.9180984

6. Oakwood Cemetery
Hilliard, Nassau County, USA
Coordinate: 30.6989002, -81.9180984

7. Pigeon Creek Cemetery
Hilliard, Nassau County, USA
Coordinate: 30.7745970, -81.9518340

8. Nathalene Cemetery
Hilliard, Nassau County, USA
Coordinate: 30.7015530, -81.9999730

9. Braddock Cemetery
Hilliard, Nassau County, USA
Coordinate: 30.6716995, -81.8735962

10. Traders Hill Cemetery
Folkston, Charlton County, USA
Coordinate: 30.7754050, -82.0291200

11. Pinkey Chapel Memorial Cemetery
Traders Hill, Charlton County, USA
Coordinate: 30.7864320, -82.0277440

12. Geiger Family Cemetery
Hilliard, Nassau County, USA
Coordinate: 30.6728840, -82.0365690

13. Little Phoebe Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
Folkston, Charlton County, USA
Coordinate: 30.8118992, -82.0139008

14. Haddock Cemetery
Nassau County, USA
Coordinate: 30.7605991, -81.8293991

15. Kings Ferry Cemetery
Kings Ferry, Nassau County, USA
Coordinate: 30.7812939, -81.8396454

16. Chesser Family Cemetery
Folkston, Charlton County, USA
Coordinate: 30.7734740, -82.0542730

17. Mallets Cemetery
Camden County, USA
Coordinate: 30.7975006, -81.8506012

18. Cornhouse Creek Cemetery
Charlton County, USA
Coordinate: 30.7369003, -82.0658035

19. Oak Hill Cemetery
Camden County, USA
Coordinate: 30.8083000, -81.8574982

20. Camp Pinckney Baptist Church Cemetery
Folkston, Charlton County, USA
Coordinate: 30.8377000, -81.9775400

21. Prospect Methodist Church Cemetery
Charlton County, USA
Coordinate: 30.7642002, -82.0674973

22. Bethel Primitive Baptist Cemetery
Hilliard, Nassau County, USA
Coordinate: 30.6282900, -81.8894600

23. Pineview Cemetery
Folkston, Charlton County, USA
Coordinate: 30.8335991, -81.9997025

24. Marr Cemetery
Colerain, Camden County, USA
Coordinate: 30.8221230, -81.8636510