Abia Brown (1743 – 1785) served as a Deputy to the Provincial Congress of New Jersey[1] in 1775 (at Trenton)[2] and 1776 (at New Brunswick).
[2][4] Abia was appointed Justice of the Peace by the Governor of New Jersey province.
On March 12, 1765, Abia married Margaret Sharp (born in Piles Grove, Salem County, in pre-revolution New Jersey).
Abia's father was Preserve Brown Jr., (whose father was Preserve Brown) and his grandmother was Mary French, daughter of Richard French and Mary Sykes.
These facts lead to an intriguing question about the lapse of direct formal Quaker practice in favor of Episcopal, Anglican, or non-denominational practice among immediate descendants of Maria Brown Austin.