Gwinnett County GaArchives Biographies.....Brown, Lester Alexander September 15 1874 - living in 1911 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Ann Anderson alabammygrammy@aol.com July 27, 2004, 9:05 pm Author: J. C. Flanigan Rev. L. A. Brown. Lester Alexander Brown was born on a farm in Culpeper county, Virginia, September 15, 1874. He is a son of James R. and Bettie S. Brown. His family is one of the old families of Virginia, having been in that state for about two hundred years. His people on both sides of the house, were in the Confederate army. Lester Alex. Brown is the youngest of six children, all boys. One of the boys is a farmer, one a civil engineer, one a physician, and three of them Baptist preachers. All five of the professional boys are full college graduates. His people, both the Browns and Bickers (his mother was a Miss Bickers) have always been famous for possessing good homes, for being farmers, preachers, teachers and physicians. Never in the history of his people has one of them ever been arrested, placed in jail or on trial in court. Lester Alex. Brown was born and raised on a farm which his father bought before the civil war and still owns and lives on. This farm is in twelve miles of the first tract of land the first Brown of the family bought and paid five hundred thousand dollars (pounds instead of dollars in those days) and the home house of that place is owned by Rev. T. P. Brown, a first cousin of the subject of this article. Mr. Brown attended the Shenandoah Institute (Va.) two years, (ten month's each year), and graduated in the music department in 1896. He taught music normals and sang for evangelist for the next year and then became music director in Rappahannock Military Academy, Va. He did special work under the principal of the school. The next year he became music director in Shenandoah Normal College, Va., did as much work as any student in the college course and served a village church one Sunday in each month, riding horse back eighteen miles from the college to the church. In the fall of 1899 he entered Crozer Theological Seminary, Pa., and remained one year. While there he lectured three times a week in the school on music. On Sunday he would go down into Delaware and acted as assistant pastor of the Baptist church, Newcastle, Del. In the Spring of 1900 he became pastor of the Baptist church, Bangor, Wisconsin. While pastor there for two years, he entered Gale College (State Presbyterian College) which was located near where he was living and took the Bachelor and Master of letters. Also received the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from the same school. In addition to all of this work he had written several music books and published them. In the fall of 1901 he entered Colgate University (New York), Hamilton Theological Seminary which is a department of this University is the oldest Baptist Theological school in the world. Having taken one year in Theology in Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, he finished the last two years graduating from Colgate University in 1903. While a student in Colgate, Dr. Brown supplied the Second Baptist church at West Edmeston, N. Y., and also for one year was professor of sacred music in the University, taking the place of Dr. Green, who was in England on a leave of absence. In 1902 Dr. Brown was called as pastor of three large country churches in Virginia and accepted the work with the understanding that the field would allow him to place a supply for the winter while he was in the university which was done. While pastor there a church was built and paid for, church fuss healed and 243 members added to the churches. Besides this the fine eight room two story new parsonage was furnished complete by the churches even to soap in the rooms and dipper in the kitchen ready to welcome Miss Ethel Hardy, whom he married in December, 1903. Dr. Brown was president of Funston Institute, Funston, N. C., and also pastor of the Baptist church there. He remained there less than one year and moved to Chattanooga, Tenn., in the fall of 1905. While in Chattanooga he built the St. Elmo Baptist church and nearly paid for it besides adding 150 members to the church. He also attended the University of Chattanooga and completed the two year law (LL. B.) course. He also took one year correspondence work with the Illinois College of Law, Chicago, and received the graduate degree of Doctor of Civil Law (D. C. L.). While teaching he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws (LL. D.) from Gale. December, 1909, Dr. Brown became pastor of the Baptist church of Winder, Ga., and is still pastor there. Since he came quite a number have been added to the church, the church debt raised, furnace paid for, organ bought. and paid for, basement fitted up into twelve class rooms for Sunday school work, walk placed around the church and many other improvements have taken place. The congregations are said to be three times as large as ever before in the history of the church. All of this has been done by the church with the pastor to help encourage them. Additional Comments: From: GWINNETT CHURCHES A COMPLETE HISTORY OF EVERY CHURCH IN GWINNETT COUNTY, GEORGIA, WITH SHORT BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF ITS MINISTERS BY J. C. FLANIGAN 1911 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/gwinnett/bios/gbs105brown.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/ File size: 5.7 Kb