Person:David Tefft (2)

The births of nine children of Joseph Tefft and Esther Brownell are recorded in Rhode Island. The specific son who was the father of Brownell Green is not known. Two of the sons of Joseph Tefft and Esther Brownell were unmarried at the time of the birth of Brownell Green. These were the two youngest sons, Thomas and Samuel Tefft. Brownell's probable mother, Elizabeth Greene, daughter of Amos Greene and Amy Knowles, was born in 1748. Samuel Tefft was born in 1749. Thomas Tefft was born in 1745. Samuel married in 1770, while Thomas married in 1772. Of the two, Thomas Tefft is most likely to have been the father of Brownell Greene. While Brownell Green could have been illegitimate, I suggest that Thomas Tefft married Elizabeth Greene. Elizabeth gave birth to Brownell, but she died either in childbirth or shortly thereafter. Brownell was then adopted by his maternal grandparents, Amos Greene and Amy Knowles. Brownell retained his given name, but assumed his adoptive parents' surname of Greene. With the exception of the bequest left to Brownell Green in Amos Green's will, Brownell Green is always called Browning Green in the Charlestown, Rhode Island, records.