Ann Knox's Story
a told by Katrina Brown
August 13, 2010
The following information is what was given by Aunt Evelyn Walker to her daughter Adel Scipio, many years ago, leaving bread crumbs to ensure we find her ancestors/relatives. It is the story of Anne Kelly/Knox/Brown, our Ancestor, and the woman from which our roots began.
It starts with an Irish man named John Kelly, from Connecticut. John Kelly met a woman in Connecticut, Princess Thaimar, who was from East India . They were never married, as they could not legally be married. From this union, came one child. Her name was Annie Kelly. Apparently, when the word reached “the powers that be” in Connecticut, that there was an Irish man who had a child with a woman from East India, now Pakistan, they found it necessary to, subsequently, chase John Kelly and Princess Thaimar from Connecticut.
John Kelly went to Fayetteville, North Carolina and with him went baby Annie Kelly. At this same time, Princess Thaimar was shackled and sent by boat to Liverpool. We are unaware of what happened to her after being sent to Liverpool.
When John Kelly was put out of Connecticut, he decided to move to Fayetteville, North Carolina. He met and married a middle-classed woman, not of color. She had other children as well, which made her acceptance of Annie Kelly easier. Annie Kelly stayed with them, until John Kelly died. When John Kelly died, Annie Kelly was put out of the house, she once called home. ****Speculation is she took on the last name of the children in the household, and became Annie Knox/Nox******. She later met and married George Brown, they had 11 children. This is the beginning of all of us.
Evidence of this story is when Annie Brown was 80 years old, she completed an 1900 Census. She decided to leave some bread crumbs for anyone looking to find her, later in life. Well, we are those some bodies. The crumbs she left were that she was going to tell the truth, and tell it like it was, as she is now 80 and did not fear what she wrote. She had completed many census prior, but never gave as much information. She said, speculatively, that I am 80 years old, and I do not have to worry about being sent away, as was my mom, so I am going to tell the truth. She stated that her father was from Ireland, and mother was from Connecticut. This appeared in the 1900 Census,. Connection John Kelly and Princess Thaimar. If that was not enough evidence, here is the rest.
The other evidence of this story is we asked one of our cousins, who resides in Fayetteville, North Carolina, “Maxine Robinson, to do some research into George and Anne Brown’s religion. Maxine researched St. Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral, as that is where some of our ancestors practiced their religious views. Maxine wrote “the marriage record at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church shows George Brown (slave of Ben Robinson) marries Anne Nox (slave of John Kelly) on April 12, 1834.” Did you tie in the evidence yet, if not listen up!!!!!
All of this information, that was just given, is evidence the story, as it was given to Adele by her Mother Aunt Evelyn Walker, has some validity, because when John Kelly, father of Annie/Kelly/Knox/Nox, moved to Fayetteville North Carolina, he took Annie Kelly with him, please note that this child was of a lighter hue, but possessed some color, he could not keep her in the house unless he tagged her as his slave. These times were during the slave trade. He then became her slave owner. This is also tied into what my mother Rosa Mae Mcalister, Granddaughter of Hattie Brown/Waters, told us for as long as she was alive, and cousin Mary Mitchell reiterated to me in the last 5 years. They all stated, speculatively, that Annie did not want to be tagged as a slave, after John died, so she ended up jumping into the ocean, and being pulled out by George Brown (speculation to be Cherokee Indian) and marrying him, and we are the result of 11 babies later. …..……….