Martha Brown, commonly called, "Patsy", was born 24 September 1794, at Lick Creek, Yadkin River, Rowan County, North Carolina to James Brown Sr. and Mary Polly Williams Emmerson Brown .

"After his baptism, James (Martha Patsy's brother) lost no time in carrying the 'glad tidings of great joy', as he expressed it, to his younger brother Daniel, and his sisters, Mary Polly Brown, Nancy Brown, Martha Patsy Brown Boss, and Obedience Brown Boss, all of whom were living in Illinois."

Martha married David Boss (November 25, 1821 in Rowan County), on the 25 November 1821 in Rowan County, North Carolina. David Boss was the son of Peter Boss and Mary Garner and the younger brother of Philip Boss II (husband of Martha's younger sister, Obedience Brown Boss) David was the second child of eleven children born to Peter and Mary Garner Boss. Patsy's older sister's husband, Michael Hughes, acted as the new couple's bondsman at the marriage ceremony.

Martha Patsy and David Brown had four children:
1- Alexander Boss. 8 October 1822. He received a patriarchal blessing at Nauvoo, 2- Hancock, Illionois on January 19, 1846. He was baptized  February 12, 1848 at Salt Lake City, Utah. He married Elitha Jane Clark.
2- Alfred Boss born 3 October 1826, a twin to Calvin. He received his patriarchal blessing at Winter Quarters on April 30, 1847. He married Emma Ameline Davis
3- Calvin Boss born 3 October 1826, a twin to Alfred. He received his patriarchal blessing at Winter Quarters on the same day as his twin brother. He married Hulda M. Lee on 11 Nov 1862. He died three years and three months later on 14 Feb 1866
4- David  Boss Jr. When he received his patriarchal blessing, 31 Apr 1847, he listed his birth date as 26 March 1827, some records list 1830. David died 14 Sep 1864, age 34

All four children were all born in Davidson County, North Carolina.

Martha Patsy Brown and her husband David Boss moved with her youngest brother, Daniel Brown, to Brown County, Illinois, in 1831, taking with him his two unmarried sisters, Mary "Polly", and Nancy Brown, also his two brothers in law, Alexander and John Stephens, and a nephew, Homer Jackson, his sister Susan's son.

Martha Patsy's younger brother, James Brown, followed in 1833. It was probably at this time that Martha and her family also moved to Illinois. David's father, Peter Boss, and his grandfather, Philip Boss, had moved to Schuyler County, Illinois sometime between 1826-1930. James Stephens Brown, son of Daniel Brown, stated that his father Daniel was the first of the Brown and Stephens families to move to Illinois. However, the Boss family was probably there first.

It is not exactly known when David Boss and Martha Boss moved to Illinois, but by 19 January 1846, they were living in Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, with the Mormons when their eldest son, Alexander Boss, received his patriarchal blessing.

When the Saints were driven from Nauvoo, Illinois, by the mobs in 1846, the Boss Family went with them. The wagon trains were divided up into hundreds, fifties, and tens. They were in the first hundred, with Daniel Spencer as Captain, the second fifty, with Ira Eldredge, as Captain, and the second ten, with Hector Caleb Haight, as Captain. Captain Haight would be the man they were to answer to. They crossed the plains and arrived in the Great Salt Lake Valley, 19 September 1847.

Their three younger sons, Alfred Boss, Calvin Boss and David Boss, Jr. all received their patriarchal blessings at Winter Quarters, Nebraska 30 and 31 April 1847.

The David Boss Family did not remain in Utah Territory very long. Their eldest son, Alexander Boss, was rebaptized 12 February 1848, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

It is not known if the family caught the "gold fever", or just when they moved, but it was likely 1849, when they headed for California. There most likely would have been plenty of travelers to hook up with on this part of the journey, due to the gold rush. Some family records indicate this was also the year that Martha died. No exact proof of this has been found.

The family settled in Contra Costa County, in the San Francisco Bay area and purchased land for farming between Martinez and Pacheco. They were not listed in the 1850 Census of California, but the land records of Contra Costa County indicated that David Boss bought 80 acres of the Las Juntas Ranch, from the Welch family, for $640.

William Welch, an Irishman, born about 1802, came to California in 1821. He married Maria Antonia Galindo, and together they had large land holdings in the Pleasant Hill area. They were the first ranchers in this area, the Boss Family being the second.

Contra Costa County records indicate that Calvin Boss was a witness for the County Recorder, Thomas Brown, to documents in 1850. He knew the Spanish people and spoke their language. (History of Pleasant Hill, California, p.63, by Valley Jo Whitfield). This helps prove that the family was indeed in California by 1850.

On the 28th of February 1853, their eldest son, Alexander Boss, purchased 160 acres of land in the vicinity of Monte del Diablo, in Contra Costa County. On 28 October 1853, Alfred purchased 160 acres of government land in Mount Diablo Township of the same County. Later, 12 Dec 1853, his twin brother, Calvin Boss, purchased 160 acres of government land in the same Mount Diablo Township. Then on 1 August 1853, the youngest brother, David Jr. purchased 160 acres of government land near Martinez.

The barn built by David Boss was said to be the first one built in the Pleasant Hill area.

The 1860 Census of Contra Costa County, California, lists in house number 499, David Boss, 62, a farmer, born in N.C., with $12,000 worth of real estate and $8,300, in personal estate. His wife, Martha, was 62.

In the next house, #500, lived the eldest son, Alexander Boss, 32, a farmer with $6,000 worth of real estate, and $1800 in personal estate. The census taker listed his wife as Eliza J., 18, born in Illinois, but her name was actually Elitha Jane Clark, born 5 August 1843, a daughter of James Clark of Ohio. Their son, George W. Boss, age one month, born May 1960, was living with them.

The house next to Alexander, #501, belonged to Alfred Boss, 28, who owned $2500 in real estate, and $1620 in personal estate. He also had a wife, Eliza, 23, born in Missouri. Her name was actually, Emma Ameline Davis. They also had a three year old son, Andrew, living with them, and Alfred's twin brother, Calvin Boss, 28, who owned $3000 worth of real estate and $1130 in personal estate. In the same house lived also the youngest brother, David Boss Jr., 27, also worth $3000 in real estate and $1566 in personal estate.

In the short time the family lived in California, they had done quite well for themselves, financially. However, Brigham Young had warned the Saints in the Salt Lake Valley that if they went to the gold fields, they would lose far more then they gained. None of Martha's descendants remained in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Contra Costa did not start keeping birth records until 1906.

The second son, Alfred's twin brother, Calvin, married 11 Nov 1862, Hulda M. Lee. This was recorded in Vol. 1 p.44, they were married by Justice of Peace, W.K. Leavitt . The youngest son, David Jr. married 1862, Lucy S. Kinger, who was born in Virginia.

Martha Brown Boss died in 1869, according to family records kept by her brothers. Contra Costa County burials were not recorded this early. Her husband, David Boss, was living with Alfred's family in 1870, or rather, Alfred and Emma A., with six year old Willie, were living with Alfred's father, David Boss, 70, a retired farmer.

David Senior, now owned $16,000 of real estate and $2600 in personal estate. According to the census, he was 70 years old, but when he died, 6 April 1873, the record stated he was 71. He died at his home near Pacheco, Contra Costa, California. Alfred had preceded his father in death, when he died 29 March 1971.

A complete record of the grandchildren of Martha and David has been difficult to find. The Census record help some, but others were found in cemetery records.

The Alhambra Cemetery at Martinez, Contra Costa County, California contains the following entries.

Frank Boss, died 24 Dec 1887, age 25, farmer. He died near Pacheco of consumption.

Miss Nettie Boss died 21 June 1918, age 55, at Martinez.

Mrs. Zelitha (Elitha) Boss died 26 May 1917, age 74.

David Boss, died 6 Apr 1873, born in NC, age 71.

Alfred Boss died 29 Mar 1871, age 40, of pneumonia.

Calvin Boss died 17 Feb 1866, age 39 years, 4 months and 10 days, near Pacheco.

David Boss Jr. died 14 Sep 1864, age 34. There are other discrepancies in David's birth records. When he received his patriarchal blessing, 31 Apr 1847, he listed his birth date as 26 March 1827. This would only be five months after the birth of his older twin brothers. His death record indicated he was born in 1830. Early records indicate he was born in North Carolina, one of the census records listed Illinois for his birth.

In the 1900 and 1910 Census the question is asked: "Where were you born? Where was your father born? Where was your mother born?" We get all kinds of strange answers. It leaves one to wonder if children ever talked to their parents about such matters.

The land records of Contra Costa County furnish some of the best information on the family. In 1850, David received 80 acres of land from the Welch’s for $640. On 2 Sept. 1852, he took lots 17, 18, and 21, for $480, a total of 160 acres. On 10 July 1856, he took lot 20 of 143 1/3 acres for $430. This would give him over 200 acres. Each of his four sons also owned 160 acres near by, plus additional land they owned later.

David Boss died 6 April 1873, at the age of 71, near Pacheco, Contra Costa, California. His estate was in Decree of Distribution, 9 July 1880, to the family with eldest son, Alexander Boss, as administrator.

Research done by Muriel and Coulter Claeys, a great great grandson of Alexander states:

"They came from Illinois in 1849 by covered wagon. On 18 May 1853, Alexander leased from Juan Welch, land grant 'Rancho San Gabriel'. On 18 Jan 1854, he purchased this land for 75 cents an acre. Ref: Vol. 1 p.393; Vol. III pp.518-520; Vol. IV pp.144 and 147. On 8 June 1880, Alexander purchased for his family and heirs, Rancho Las Juntas. Ref: Vol. 58, p.259. His heirs now owned 6,000 plus 1500 acres in the Pleasant Hill Area.

"Alexander married at age 30, Elitha Jane Clark, by eloping with her on horseback. She was 17 years old. He died 1904, at the age of 82, and was buried in the Boss Cemetery plot in Martinez. His wife died in 1917, at the age of 74. She is buried by her husband.

"Between the Boss and Clark Families, they owned 9,820 acres in 1860."

Alexander's brothers did not live long in California. The youngest brother, David Jr. died 14 Sep 1864, at the age of 34. He had only been married less than two years. He left one child, Mary Ann. In 1865, his wife Lucy S. Kinger Boss remarried, William Hill Dukes, and had six more children.

Calvin Boss, the third son of the Boss Family, married 11 Nov 1862, Hulda M. Lee. He died three years and three months later, 14 Feb 1866. It is not known if he left any children. His wife could have remarried or moved away before the 1870 Census was made. No children were found for this couple.

Alfred Boss, married, 1 Oct. 1854, in Contra Costa County, Emma Ameline Davis, born in Missouri.died 29 Mar 1871, at the age of 40. They had two children, Andrew and William. Andrew must have died before the 1870 Census, as Willie was the only child listed with this family in that census.

When the distribution of the Boss properties was made in 1881, lots l and 2 went to Mary Ann Boss and William F. Boss, the two surviving children of David Jr. and Alfred Boss. This would probably indicate that Calvin didn't leave any posterity.