The O'Hagans/Nicholsons are Brownings!
In several posts since November 2016 (here, here, here, and here), I have detailed how my great-grandfather, Richard Thomas Nicholson (1882-1956), changed his surname to O'Hagan around 1906. Recent DNA evidence from the son of Richard's half-brother Clarence Baker Nicholson (1920-1986) now demonstrates that Richard's father, Thomas Clarence (1861-1925) -- who went by Clarence --, was the biological son of Mahlon F. Browning (b. c1829), and used his mother Cordelia Nicholson's surname. Mahlon's granddaughter, an AncestryDNA user, and Clarence Baker's son, also one, match in the 2nd to 3rd cousin range, or, in other words, at 4 to 7 degrees of separation. Given the known genealogies, this is only possible if Mahlon is their common ancestor, that is, that they are half-first cousins once removed.
There is further reason to believe that Mahlon was Clarence Sr.'s father. His death certificate (see the second link above for the image) indicates that his father was one "Mahlon Nicholson," of Montgomery Co., Maryland, where Clarence was born. (The mother's name is left blank.) However, there is simply no Mahlon Nicholson in Montgomery Co., or in the general region, during any relevant period of the 19 century. This led me to research a possible connection with Mahlon Browning, who is attested in the same county, and this conclusion is the result of that research.
Mahlon Browning married Sarah Frances Smith (1836-1906) on May 25, 1858 in Montgomery Co. The family was Catholic, and they went on to have at least 9 children between 1859 and 1880. Mahlon thus fathered Clarence out of wedlock, as well as -- possibly -- a daughter, Sarah A., around 1864. Clarence and Sarah resided with their mother, Cordelia, in July 1870, when the Census was enumerated. Cordelia likely died shortly after this, as one of Clarence's granddaughters has said that she understood him to have been "raised by relatives." These relatives may very well have been Baker W. Nicholson (c1827-1895), Cordelia's brother, after whom Clarence would have given his own youngest son his middle name (see above).
At present not much more can be said about this line of the Browning family. The first known attestation of Mahlon that I have located is as a 21-year-old laborer enumerated in the household of Thomas and Angeline Mills -- i.e., not his parents -- in Montgomery Co. in September 1850. Nor have I been able to determine when he died, although it was sometime between June 1880 and June 1900, when the relevant censuses were enumerated. Mahlon named one of his sons Silas Young, and this may indicate that he was the brother of John Nelson Browning (c1820-1889), who named a son William Silas, and of Silas Browning (c1824-1884), both of whom were born in Montgomery Co. and died in Washington, DC.
There is further reason to believe that Mahlon was Clarence Sr.'s father. His death certificate (see the second link above for the image) indicates that his father was one "Mahlon Nicholson," of Montgomery Co., Maryland, where Clarence was born. (The mother's name is left blank.) However, there is simply no Mahlon Nicholson in Montgomery Co., or in the general region, during any relevant period of the 19 century. This led me to research a possible connection with Mahlon Browning, who is attested in the same county, and this conclusion is the result of that research.
Mahlon Browning married Sarah Frances Smith (1836-1906) on May 25, 1858 in Montgomery Co. The family was Catholic, and they went on to have at least 9 children between 1859 and 1880. Mahlon thus fathered Clarence out of wedlock, as well as -- possibly -- a daughter, Sarah A., around 1864. Clarence and Sarah resided with their mother, Cordelia, in July 1870, when the Census was enumerated. Cordelia likely died shortly after this, as one of Clarence's granddaughters has said that she understood him to have been "raised by relatives." These relatives may very well have been Baker W. Nicholson (c1827-1895), Cordelia's brother, after whom Clarence would have given his own youngest son his middle name (see above).
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| Mahlon Browning Household 1880 United States Federal Census (source: Ancestry.com) |
At present not much more can be said about this line of the Browning family. The first known attestation of Mahlon that I have located is as a 21-year-old laborer enumerated in the household of Thomas and Angeline Mills -- i.e., not his parents -- in Montgomery Co. in September 1850. Nor have I been able to determine when he died, although it was sometime between June 1880 and June 1900, when the relevant censuses were enumerated. Mahlon named one of his sons Silas Young, and this may indicate that he was the brother of John Nelson Browning (c1820-1889), who named a son William Silas, and of Silas Browning (c1824-1884), both of whom were born in Montgomery Co. and died in Washington, DC.
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