Yolo-Sacramento County CA Archives Biographies.....Browning, Robert W. 1833 - 
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com December 5, 2005, 12:21 am

Author: Tom Gregory

ROBERT W. BROWNING
    To the pioneers of western civilization who suffered all manner of hardships
and baffling failures, yet who were sustained throughout this trying period by
their splendid faith in their ultimate victory over the problem presented by
this new and untried land, too much credit can not be given. The pleasant and
convenient conditions of life in our modern day so strongly contrast with
existence in the last century that the bravest of us would not feel sufficient
courage to attempt, for any compensation, to live and work and suffer under the
circumstances that surrounded our forefathers.

    One of the most manly and indomitable characters who played his part as a
pioneer we find in Robert W. Browning, a southerner, with the high ambitions and
earnest, impulsive nature of a true son of the south. Born near Tompkinsville,
Monroe county, Ky., December 1, 1833, he came to the coast at the age of twenty
with his parents. The journey was made in 1854 across the plains, and in the
same year the family settled on the farm which Mr. Browning now occupies, four
miles southwest of Woodland. The father, Charles Browning, passed away here in
1861, when sixty-two years of age. The mother lived to reach the age of
seventy-nine, passing away in 1882. South Carolina was the birth state of the
elder Browning, and his wife, Elizabeth, was born in Kentucky, the native state
of her parents, James and Ann (Hibbit) Crawford. Both Mr. and Mrs. Browning were
earnest Christians and were members of the church of that denomination. Mr.
Browning was a loyal Whig until that party passed out of existence, when he
allied his political sympathies to the Democratic party. Eight children were
born to Mr. and Mrs. Browning: Mrs. Ann Brandon and James C., deceased; Mrs.
Martha Welch, who resides near Woodland; Mrs. Jane Lawson, of Woodland; Mrs.
Elizabeth Barnes, of Eureka; Mrs. Mary Dameron, deceased; William Y., deceased;
and Robert W.

    Answering one of the greatest needs of the country, R. W. Browning
established himself in the freighting trade in 1861 and during the next four
summers carried on the business of transporting goods between Sacramento and the
mines in Nevada. Meanwhile he devoted much of his time to his farm of one
hundred and sixty acres that he had pre-empted, and later he bought adjoining
land until he now has a ranch of five hundred acres, devoted largely to the
raising of grain, besides which he carries on a dairy.

    In 1889 the cottage which had sheltered the family during their first years
in the west was removed and replaced by a comfortable, substantial dwelling.
Mrs. Browning, formerly Miss Martha Kincheloe, was born in Missouri, the
daughter of Z. B. Kincheloe, who resides five miles southwest of Woodland. Ten
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Browning. The eldest child, Lela, married
Lanson Merritt, by whom she had two daughters. Gladys A. and Florence C.; after
the death of Mr. Merritt she became the wife of John Reith, Jr. The other
children are William M. Browning, who served as auditor of Yolo county and is
now accountant in the Bank of Yolo; Elizabeth, the wife of A. C. Huston, an
attorney of Woodland; Zora, the wife of Henry J. Bush, who is in the mercantile
business in Woodland; Charles B., deceased; Harry H., who married Miss Gladys
Knight, of Woodland; Irma, Mrs. W. G. Stephens, of Woodland; Philip Ludwell,
deceased; Victorine and Donald M., who are still at home. The mother of these
children died March 17, 1910, at the age of sixty years. She had been an active
member of the Christian Church of Woodland.

    The Bank of Yolo, a solid and reliable institution, controlled by some of
Woodland's most responsible citizens, has enjoyed Mr. Browning's services as
vice-president for many years. Mr. Browning is an avowed Democrat. For the past
twenty years he has served as school trustee and is a member of Woodland Lodge
No. 156, F. & A. M. His firm, dependable character and his faithfulness to duty
have earned for him a high regard in the community which he has helped to build.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from

HISTORY OF YOLO COUNTY CALIFORNIA
WITH
Biographical Sketches
OF
The Leading Men and Women of the County Who Have Been Identified With Its Growth
and Development From the Early Days to the Present

HISTORY BY
TOM GREGORY
AND OTHER WELL KNOWN WRITERS
ILLUSTRATED COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME

HISTORIC RECORD COMPANY
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA [1913]

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