Jeremiah E. Brown - Ireland to Iowa

Jeremiah E. Brown, a Mystery!  Jeremiah E. Brown (1818-1839) supposedly was born in Ireland (family lore; possibly Armagh), became an orphan around age 5, He was taken in by a family named Brown (family lore says they were not related to him) who immigrated to Chazy, Clinton County, New York.  It is unknown what happened with the Brown family but Jeremiah was "bound out to" Lemuel North and raised by the Lemuel North family in Chazy, Clinton, New York.  Jeremiah referred to Lemuel North as "Dad North."

There is a question as to the birth name of Jeremiah E. Brown.  He did not know whether it was his birth name or whether he took on the Brown family's name, which seems more likely.  It is difficult to find Jeremiah's birth records without that birth name. 

In 1842, Jeremiah married Mary Courtney in Chazy.  They had six children in New York and then migrated to Iowa, where they had seven or eight more children.  

One of their children, Walter Perry Brown, married my great grand aunt, Sarah Jane "Sadie" Burrill, in 1887, in Le Mars, Plymouth County, Iowa.  Here is their portrait:

I have tried to follow the Lemuel North family in Chazy, Clinton, New York and find nothing on Jeremiah being a member of that family, adopted or otherwise.  From my research, I learned Lemuel married Polly Jones around 1800 and had five children.  Lemuel died suddenly as referenced in the following news clipping:

1847 (Possibly September), Evening Journal, Albany, New York
Sudden Death:  Lemuel North, Esq., of Chazy, Clinton county, died very suddenly at the Borough on the 16th inst.  Mr. North had been attending the fair at Saratoga and was on his way home.  On getting out of the cars at the Borough, he was seized with apoplexy and died in a few minutes.  He was about 60 years of age, a man of irreproachable character, and highly esteemed by all who knew him.  {Argus}

It was around the time of Lemuel's death that Jeremiah migrated to Iowa and took up farming in Jackson County, Iowa.  Jeremiah's FindaGrave memorial number is 31273318. 

If anyone has any information on Jeremiah's background, I would love to make the connection.