Will County IL Archives Biographies.....BROWN, J. STANLEY ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/il/ilfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Paula Winke-Martisek wranglerjack@comcast.net September 18, 2007, 6:33 pm Author: GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD J. STANLEY BROWN, for seven years past the principal of the Joliet high school, was born near Cumberland, Ohio, September 13, 1863, a son of George W. and Lorinda A. (Robinson) Brown. He was one of a family of four sons and two daughters, four of whom are living, namely: Alma, wife of James Paisley, a business man of High Hill, Ohio; J. Stanley; Floyd, who lives in Peru, Ind., and is engaged in railroading; and Alice, the widow of Frederick Simms, and a resident of Cumberland, Ohio. In tracing the history of the Brown family back to its early settlement in America we find that this branch of the family was represented in Virginia in colonial days. William Brown, who was the son of a Revolutionary soldier (a member of a gallant Virginia brigade) was born in Loudoun County, Va., in 1798, and grew to manhood on a plantation. While he was still a boy the war of 1812 occurred and he went to the front as a soldier in the American cause. It will thus be seen that patriotism and personal courage are family characteristics. On his return home he took up the ordinary routine of plantation life, the even tenor of which was later interrupted by his marriage to Miss Maria Graham. Shortly afterward he and his wife migrated to Ohio and settled near Cumberland, Muskingum County, in a region remote from civilization and bearing little trace of its subsequent development. Entering a section of land he began the pioneer task of grubbing, clearing and cultivating his property. With the subsequent increase of the value of the land his own fortunes were enhanced, and at the time of his death he was well- to-do. A man of influence he held many local offices and took an active part in the Republican party and its work in his county. After a busy and useful existence, the latter part of which was spent in the enjoyment of every comfort, he died in 1869. After the family had settled in Muskingum County, George W. Brown was born in 1830. There he grew up, studying in neighboring schools, where the course of study was limited to drills in the "three R's." Subsequently, however, by self-culture and the development of his vigorous mind, he acquired a knowledge that was profound and varied. No startling events have marked his career. He still lives on the spot where his childhood days were passed and where his father settled on moving from Virginia. Like all the members of the family concerning whom anything is known, he is a pronounced Republican and has never swerved from that faith. For many years he has been a member of the Republican central committee of his county. Among the offices he has held are those of school commissioner and overseer of the poor, both of which he filled efficiently and for some years. In his daily life he has exemplified the sincerity of his religious belief. He is a member of the Baptist Church and a contributor to its works. During the many years of his life as an agriculturist he has been prospered financially, and has also gained that which is more to be desired than riches—the respect of his associates and the warm esteem of his friends. The first marriage of George W. Brown, occurring in 1857, united him with Lorinda A. Robinson, who was born near High Hill, Ohio, in 1841 and died near Cumberland in 1869. Her father, Samuel Robinson, who was of Pennsylvania-Dutch ancestry, removed to Ohio with his parents about 1845, and in later years became a prominent stock dealer of his locality, buying stock and driving them to Pittsburg for sale. He died in 1897, when in his seventy-seventh year. After the death of our subject's mother his father married a second time, chosing as his wife Martha Alexander. Three children were born of their marriage, two of whom survive, viz.: Dwight, at home; and Jennie, wife of John Hall, a merchant at Renrock, Ohio. Since he was seventeen years of age J. Stanley Brown has been a teacher, and it was through his early efforts as an instructor in country and village schools that he earned the means necessary for the completion of his education. It was his determination to acquire a thorough education. Therefore he read only the best books and studied only the standard authors. For six years he was a student in Dennison University at Granville, Ohio, from which he graduated in 1889 with the degree of A. B. During his course he gained every honor that was offered and stood at the head of his class. Prior to his graduation he was elected to the chair of Latin and Greek in Blandville (Ky.) College, which he accepted, remaining for one year, and then resigning in order to accept the management of a similar college at Arlington, Ky. The latter position he filled for three years. From it he went to Oregon as president of the State Normal School in The Dalles, Oregon, and from there came to Joliet in 1893. Wherever he has been located there has been a noticeable increase in the enrollment of students. He started at Arlington with seventy-five, and when he left there, three years later, the enrollment was three hundred, this remarkable increase being almost wholly due to his skill as a teacher. When he came to Joliet there were less than two hundred in the high school and six teachers were employed. Since then the school has grown wonderfully in reputation and importance, while its enrollment for 1899-1900 was five hundred and fifty pupils, with fourteen teachers. A tribute to the ability of the principal is the success of the work. Incidentally it may be mentioned that every year but two since he came to Joliet he has received an increase of salary. The high school is the largest township high school in the United States and one of the most prosperous as well. Recently a contract has been let for the erection of a new building to cost $140,000 and accommodate twelve hundred students. Since 1893 the graduating classes have more than doubled in size. Graduates are admitted without examination to any college that will admit students on certificates, and graduates are accepted into Yale after successful examination. The majority of recent graduates are now in attendance upon some higher institution of learning. In Indianapolis, Ind., December 26, 1891, Mr. Brown married Miss Lettie May Seitz, daughter of Henry and Mary (Shear) Seitz, of Chicago. She was for two years a student in DePauw University and later taught in Arlington College. Her maternal ancestors came from Holland and settled at Coryman's Hollow, N. Y., later generations taking a prominent part in public affairs in that locality. Her grandfather, Israel Shear, was known as Colonel Shear, and it is thought that he was an officer in the Revolution. One of his sons, John Blodgett Shear, was chief of scouts connected with the regular army, located in Colorado for a number of years. After his retirement from the army he became interested in mining and owned a number of valuable silver mines. Three children were born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Brown, Castle, Virgil and Jean (deceased.) Additional comments: Genealogical and Biographical Record of Will County Illinois Containing Biographies of Well Known Citizens of the Past and Present, Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, 1900 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/will/bios/brown1723nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/ilfiles/ File size: 7.7 Kb