Assortment of alleged parents in Ancestry.com Public Member Trees:

I can rule these out, right now (note that men in different base haplogroups cannot have had a common ancestor for thousands of years):

Father:  John BROWN / BROWNE of Derbyshire Mother:  Wynefred HARPER We know John lived in Derbyshire, and Charles is alleged to be from Suffolk.  These counties are not in proximity to one another, so this geographic separation, alone, argues strongly against any biological connection between them.  Parents have to be living where and when their child is born; no exception is biologically possible.  On the other hand, I have found no primary evidence that Charles was born in Suffolk.  So far, only secondary sources have made this assertion with no mention of where this assertion came from.

Father:  Peter BROWNE, Mayflower Passenger Haplogroup:  unknown and, without male patrilineal line descendants, unknowable Mother:  Martha (WIGHTE) FORD, Fortune Passenger Peter had only three surviving children, all daughters.

Father:  John BROWNE, brother of the above Peter Haplogroup:  unknown and, without male patrilineal line descendants, unknowable Mother:  Phebe / Phoebe HARDING They had only one child, a daughter.

Father:  Rev. Chaddeus / Chaddus / Chad BROWNE Haplogroup G-Z31846; Brown Group No. 32 Mother:  May BROWN The famous Rev. Chad had six known sons, none of them named, Charles — and his wife was named Elizabeth SHARPAROWE.

Father:  Sir Francis BROWNE, 3rd Viscount Montague Haplogroup R1b-SRY2627; Brown Group No. 10 Mother:  Elizabeth SOMERSET Francis had two acknowledged sons, Francis and Henry, and a disputed one, Anthony.  No son, Charles.

Father:  John [Abram?] BROWNE of Rehoboth, MA Mother:  Dorothy BEAUCHAMP Sons were William and John; no son, Charles.

Father:  John BROWNE Mother:  Alice LAKE Had one surviving child, a daughter.

Father:  Edward BROWNE Mother:  Jane LEIDS Had sons, Nicholas and Preserve; no son, Charles. Edward did not immigrate to US.

Yes, I will be making documented family group sheets for these couples.  For now, please trust that I'm consulting solid sources.  Bottom line:  so far, the identities of our subject's parents are unknown.

Said to have a first wife, Frances LAMBERT, but I've yet to find a record of such marriage.

1.  From the Wikipedia entry on the Battle of Quebec:   A Massachusetts military contingent under Sir William Phipps attacked Quebec City, then capital of New France.  The attacking Massacusetts force consisted of 32 ships and over 2300 militiamen.  The French were victorious, with less than two dozen casualties out of some 3000 defenders; the Massachusetts force lost over 1000 men, about 150 in combat, and the rest due to privation and disease on the grueling winter voyage back to Boston.

2.  Walter Kendall Watkins.  1898.  Soldiers in the Expedition to Canada in 1690, and Grantees of the Canada Townships.  Self-publ., Boston (online at archive.org):  both Samuel BROWN and William BROWN are listed under Rowley.

1a.  Massachusetts:  Vital Records, 1620-1850:  Rowley Marriages (online at AmericanAncestors.org — NEHGS):

BROWN (Browne)... Charles (Browne), and Mary _____, 14: 8m: 1647* ________ *Intention not recorded.

Before 1752, "Old Style" dates were in effect, which means here that the 8th month was October, not August.  (See also next Source.)

1b.  Clarence Almon Torry.  1985.  New England Marriages Prior to 1700.  New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, MA (reprinted 1997, Genealogical Publ. Co., Baltimore, MD; online at AmericanAncestors.org [NEHGS]):

The locations are known residences of the husband, ending with the husband's place of death.  An entry in Torrey does not imply a marriage in New England; it only demonstrates the presence of a married couple there before 1700.  Torrey is a compilation of published sources, not primary records, so he should be considered a secondary source.
p. 216	BROWN, Charles (—1687) & Mary [ACY/ACIE]; 14 Oct 1647; Rowley {Rowley MA Fam. 49; Seeley-Vail 5; Sv. 1:265; Woolson-Fenno 94; Essex Ant. 1:190, 13:26; Brown (#5) 405; Cross Anc. 47; Pope's Pioneers 10; Frame-Dana 287}
Note that Torry got the marriage date correct with regard to the 8th month being October, not August.  I'm working on getting the sources cited by Torry; if you have any of them, please share.

.  Anon.  1928.  Vital Records of Rowley, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849.  Essex Inst., Salem, MA (online at the Massachusetts Vital Records Project, ma-vitalrecords.org, courtesy of Bruce Brown; also online at AmericanAncestors.org [NEHGS]):  On pp. 36-37:

BROWN (Browne)... Beriah (Browne), s. Charles and Mary, 8: 5m: 1648... Ebenezer (Browne), s. Charles and Mary, Sept. 14, 1658... John (Browne), s. Charles and Mary, 1: 12m: 1653... Joseph, s. Charls [Charles, CT. R.] and Mary, June 29, 1668... Nathaniel (Browne), s. Charles and Mary, May 20, 1660... Samuell, s. Charels [Charles, CT. R.] and Mary, 5: 12m: 1655... Samuell (Browne), s. Charlse, May 20, 1660. CT. R... William (Browne), s. Charles and Mary, 11: 10m: 1651...

Before 1752, the beginning of the year was March 1st, not January 1st.  These are called "Old Sytle" [O.S.] dates.  Using O.S. dates means the 5th month is July, not May; the 10th month is December, not October; and the 12th month is February, not December.  With regard to the other dates, as in the above listing, only the first three months of the year were affected.  In other words, 14 Sep 1658 is 14 Sep 1658 in both O.S. and N.S. ("New Style") systems.  Gershom and Mary are missing; there is no mention of a twin for Nathaniel.

.  Probate File Papers, 1638-1881, Essex Co., MA (online at AmericanAncestors.org — NEHGS):

No. 3485 Browne Charles 1687, Sept 14

Just what appears to be the original folder, with no included pages.

.  Anon.  1928.  Vital Records of Rowley, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849: Rowley Deaths.  Essex Inst., Salem, MA (online at the Massachusetts Vital Records Project, ma-vitalrecords.org, courtesy of Bruce Brown; also online at AmericanAncestors.org [NEHGS]):  On p. 448:

BROWN (Browne) Charles (Browne), bur. Dec. 16, 1687. Gershom (Browne), s. Charles, bur. Dec. 5, 1683... Mary (Browne), d. Charles, bur. Dec. 9, 1683. Mary (Browne), w. Charles, bur. Dec. 12 1683...

Charles lost his wife, a son, and a daughter within a week of each other.

.  Anon.  1909.  "Descendants of Charles Browne of Rowley." The Essex Antiquarian 13(1): 26-28 (online at books.google.com):

.  William Richard Cutter.  1913.  New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial.  Lewis Hist. Publ. Co. (republ. 1994, 1995. Clearfield Co.; Gen. Publ. Co., MD; Broderbund CD-516).

.  Cyrus Henry Brown.  1915.  "Many of the Descendants of Charles Browne of Rowley, Mass., 1647-1915."  Pages 397-559, Part II, in Brown Genealogy. Vol. II.  Everett Press, Boston (online at archive.org and other sources; boldface/color added):

p. 405	THE CHARLES BROWNE FAMILY. Charles Browne (1), b., probably, in Suffolk, England, was one of the early settlers of Rowley, Mass.  He was an educated man, and taught the Rowley school; he also played the drum for the town.  He m., Aug. 14, 1647, Mary Acey, dau. of William and Margaret Acey, of Rowley.  She was buried Dec. 12, 1863.  He was buried Dec. 16, 1687. Children: 2.   Beriah Brown, b. May 8, 1648; m., Jan. 6, 1673-74, Sarah Harris. Dau.: Sarah.   3.   Gershom, b. _____; buried Dec. 5, 1683.  His will, dated Dec. 1, 1683, probated Mar. 25, 1684, mentions brothers Joseph and Nathaniel to have half his farm and his mother to have the other half; Cousin Sarah to be brought up by his mother; brothers John, Samuel, Ebenezer, and William; sister Mary Browne; Uncle John Acey; and father Browne, whom he made executor.   4.   William, b. Dec. 11, 1652; d. in the "Canada voyage."  The inventory of his estate was presented to court, Apr. 22, 1691, by his brother John Browne, the administrator.   5.   John, b. Dec. 5, 1653; m. Abigail Browne (I-XI).   6.   Samuel, b. May 8, 1655.  He was in the Canada voyage, 1690.  His brothers John, Nathaniel, and Ebenezer Browne petitioned to have John Staniford appointed administrator of his estate, Oct. 11, 1693.   7.   Ebenezer, b. Sept. 14, 1658; m. (1), July 29, 1698, Mary Jewett; m. (2) [pub. Apr. 7, 1722] Mehitable Hovey, of Ipswich, Mass., widow.  His will was probated Apr. 17, 1733.   8.   Nathaniel, b. May 20, 1660; m. Mary Wheeler (11-22).   9.   Mary, b. _____; buried Dec. 9, 1862.   10.   Joseph, b. June 29, 1668; probably d. prior to 1690. John Browne (5), son of Charles (1) and Mary (Acey) Browne, b. Dec. 5, 1653; m., Aug. 31, 1685, Abigail Browne.  His death is not of record in Rowley.  He was executor of the will of his grandfather, William Acey, in 1690.  William Acey made his willl Apr. 22, 1689, "being very aged;" it was approved Sept. 30, 1690.  [See Hist. Coll., Vol. V, p. 43.]
p. 406	[The author then treats son, John (q.v.).] WILL OF CHARLES BROWNE [Spicer Gen., p. 499.] Charles Browne of Rowley in ye County of Essex...
	Abstract by this transcriber: Sons:  Briah (eldest), William, John, Samuel, Ebenezer, Gershom, Nathaniel, Joseph Granddaughter:  Sarah Browne Brother (in law):  John Acies Father (in law): Mr. Acie As expected, no mention of his wife, who pre-deceased him.
p. 407	[completion of will]... The name of Charles Browne (1) is mentioned in the Rowley Town records thirty-one times.  His son Nathaniel Browne (8) is also men-
p. 408	tioned in the Rowley town records, and his name comes down through many generations.... [From here on, the genealogy is only of son, Nathaniel, and his descendants (q.v.).]
The author didn't transcribe Old Style dates properly.  Where did he get the idea that Charles was from Suffolk?  I'm not saying he's wrong, just that I'd like a source for that location.

.  Barbara Brown Cooper.  1967.  The Browns, Some Descendants of Charles Browne of Rowley, Massachusetts.  Self-publ., Cincinnati, OH.  [Not seen; cited by the next Source.]

.  May Murphy Thibaudeau & Camille Thibaudeau Meyers, eds.  1977.  The Browns, (Browne-Brown):  Some Descendents (sic) of Charles Browne of Suffolk, England, and Rowley, Massachusetts, Including Wisconsin Descendents (sic) of Adon Morton Brown and Mary Calvey Brown.  Typescript, 94 pp  (PDF online at Geneanet.com):

p. i	Information on the first four generations of this family was based on material found in the Spicer Genealogy (See ref. E-6) unless otherwise noted...
p. iv	[A hand-drawn map showing Charles Brown as having immigrated to Massachusetts from Suffolk, England, in 1645.]
p. 1	CHARLES BROWNE1 Born about 1626 probably in Suffolk, England.  Died December 1687 in Rowley, Massachusetts.  His will is on file in Essex County (Mass.) Probate Records and states that his signature to the will was witnessed on 10 Decemter, 1687. Married (1) Frances Lambert, daughter of Francis and Jane Lambert (according to the Charlotte Abbott manuscript on file in Memorial Hall Library, Andover, Mass., page 1003 (ref. K-2).  Married (2) Mary Acey, 14 August, 1647 in Rowley, Mass.  She was the daughter of William Acey and Margaret Harten, who were married at Kirk Ella, England, 25 March, 1620.  Mary died 12 December, 1683. Charles was one of the early settlers of Rowley, Mass.  He was an educated man and taught the Rowley School; also played the drum for the town. In 1659 Charles testified against a suspected "witch", one John Godfrey of Andover.  Charles and his wife testified that on a Sunday six or seven years previously, while in the meeting house at Rowley, when Godfrey opened his mouth and yawned he saw a small imp beneath his tongue.  Three years later, while at Brown's house, Godfrey told of a pair of witches who were approached by the devil and asked if they were aggrieved or vexed with anyone and asked what he should to to serve them.  Information of this trial is found in Witchcraft Trials, Salem, Mass.; Val. (sic) 5, page 6. (ref. K-3) Children:  (Surname Browne) (not necessarily in order of birth)   i.   Beriah Browne born 8 May, 1648; married Sarah Harris 6 January, 1673/4.   ii.   William Browne born 11 December, 1651; died in the Canada Voyage.   iii.   John Browne born 5 December 1653; married Abigail Browne and had 11 children.   iv.   Samuel Browne born 8 May, 1655.  He was in the Canada Voyage of 1690; died prior to 1693.   v.   Gershom Browne buried 5 December, 1683.   vi.   Ebenezer Browne born 14 September, 1658; will probated 17 April, 1733.  Married (1) Mary Jewett 29 July, 1698; (2) Mehitable Hovey of Ipswich (widow), banns published 7 April 1722. ...
	Transcriber's Note:  They are mistakenly reading the 8th month as August; under Old Style dating (before 1752), the 8th month was October.
p. 2	vii.   Nathaniel Browne born 20 May, 1660.   viii.   Mary Browne died 9 December, 1682.    ix.   Joseph Browne born 29 June, 1668; probably died prior to 1690 2.  NATHANIEL BROWN2 (Charles1) ...
The book goes on to follow only descendants of Charles through son, Nathaniel2, on this line: Charles1, Nathaniel2, Nathaniel3, Comfort4, David5, David6, Asa Avery7, Adon Morton8... With Adon, this line moved to Wisconsin.  Most of the last half of the book is the genealogy of non-BROWN surnames descended from Adon BROWN (i.e., descendants through daughters).

.  Ralph Delos Brown & Catherine E. Brown.  1994. Twelve Generations of Browns.  Self-publ., Univ. Wisconsin, Madison.  216 pp. (excerpts online at books.google.com):  Google's online excerpts tell us this book is about the family of our subject.  I can't find any place selling this title, and the few locations with a PDF file to download don't seem legit — other sites warn of malware from the .win domain.  In the Public Member Trees at Ancestry.com, there is a Ralph Delos BROWN of Madison, WI, who died in 2009.  These files show Ralph descended from our subject through son, Nathaniel of Groton; parents of Charles unknown.  If all he's showing is the descendants of Nathaniel, we seem to have some of this elsewhere, so I'm not going to knock myself out trying to get a copy.

.  James W. Brown.  2006.  Browne-Brown: Descendants of England, West Indies, Maryland, New England, and the American Frontier.  Heritage Books, Berwyn Heights, MD [on order, includes the BROWNs of Derbyshire, Nathaniel BROWN of CT, and others]

.  See Witchcraft Trials, Salem, Mass. vol. 5 p. 6  Chas testified against John Godfrey of Andover

.  Public Member Trees (online at Ancestry.com):  there are over 200 files containing our subject in this database; parents vary wildly.

.  Geni: A MyHeritage Company (online at www.geni.com).

.  Family Tree (online at Wikitree.com):  lots of multiple entries here that do no agree.  Caveat emptor.

.  LDS.  Family Search:  Family Trees (online at familysearch.org).