Marion County IN Archives Biographies.....Brown, John L. April 20, 1816 - 
************************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/in/infiles.htm
************************************************

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
mf Brown R. lert@aol.com July 14, 2010, 3:09 pm

Source: History of MARION COUNTY, INDIANA. B. R. SULGROVE. PHILADELPHIA: I.. H. EVERTS & CO. 1884.
Author: B. R. SULGROVE. 


 History of MARION COUNTY, 
INDIANA. B. R. SULGROVE. 
PHILADELPHIA: 
I.. H. EVERTS & CO. 1884.

 

John L. Brown, born in Brown County, Ohio, 
April 20, 1816, is the son of George Brown and 
Mary, his wife, both old Virginians. They had 
eight children, the oldest a daughter, who was the 
wife of James H. Wallace. Mr. Wallace was one of 
the leading men of Jefferson County, Ind. He was 
a member of the Indiana Legislature for several terms, 
commencing about the year 1830 ; was regarded as 
the father of the " Internal Improvement System" of 
this State. Their seven boys in succession grew to 
be men; their names were as follows: Thomas B., 
Lewis L., James W., George, Richard H., John L., 
and Daniel R. The subject of this sketch is a first- 
class farmer, having two good farms, which he works 
to good advantage financially. He was county treas- 
urer of this county, and the county lost not a cent 
under his faithful administration. His brother, 
Daniel R., the youngest of the family (a resident of 
Indianapolis), by his energy and industry, has accu- 
mulated quite a fortune. He is a physician by pro- 
fession, but has long since given up the practice. He 
has served as clerk of the court of Hamilton County, 
also senator for the counties of Hamilton and Tipton 
in the Legislature of this State. Richard H. was a 
hotel-keeper in the cities of Madison, Ind., and Cov- 
ington, Ky. George was a merchant; was a very 
ardent Odd-Fellow. George Brown Encampment, 
No. 44, I. 0. 0. ¥., at Noblesville, Ind., was named 
after him. James W., Lewis L., and Thomas B. 
were farmers, having cleared the forest and made 
their farms in this county. 

This was a very remarkable family, all large, 
healthy men, with about one hundred and ninety 
pounds average weight, and what is yet more re- 
markable, no death occurred in the family under 
forty-seven years. The father, George Brown, was 
almost pure English. His father, Thomas Reeth 
Brown, was a native of Yorkshire, England, and 
came to Virginia about the year 1774. When the 
Revolutionary war broke out he enlisted as a soldier 
of his adopted country. He married Margaret 
Tacket, whose mother was a French lady and her 
father an Englishman. She was born and raised 
near Old Point Comfort, Va. All of their children 
were born and raised in Loudoun and Fauquier Coun- 
ties, Va. About the year 1800 they emigrated to 
Mason County, Ky., bringing with them their chil- 
dren. After a short residence in Kentucky they 
moved across the Ohio River and settled in Brown 
County, Ohio, immediately opposite to Mason County, 
where they remained the balance of their days. The 
father lived to the age of eighty-five years, and the 
mother survived him, and lived to the great age 
of one hundred and four years. Mrs. Elizabeth 
Thomas, daughter of these old people, died only a 
few years since, at the extreme age of one hundred 
and eight years. Mary (Lee) Brown, mother of 
John L. and the others of this family, was a de- 
scendant of the celebrated Lee family, of Virginia, 
being a relative of Gen. Robert E. Lee, of the Con- 
federate army. Her father was Lewis Lee, a brother 
of Gen. Harry Lee and Peter Lee. Her father, with 
his brothers, settled in Mason County, Ky., and for 
some time lived in a block-house, which was then 
called Lee's Station. They took up large tracts of 
land, which were called surveys. Some of those old 
titles are yet in the hands of the Lee family. The 
father and mother of the subject of this sketch were 
married in the year 1802, in Washington, Ky.. and 
lived together for twenty-eight years, when the mother 
died in Maysville, Ky. In 1832 the father sold his 
farm in Ohio and emigrated to this county. 

The four unmarried sons, Thomas, Richard, John, and 
Daniel, came with the father, and settled in the 
woods, three-quarters of a mile north of where Law- 
rence now stands, paying one dollar and twenty-five 
cents per acre for his land. The next fall James 
came and settled near by. Lewis had preceded the 
family six years, and also owned land adjoining. 
This family furnished seventeen good soldiers (their 
own sons) for the Union army during the late Rebel- 
lion. Two of those lost their lives in battle. The 
father died in the spring of 1847. At that time all 
of his children were living, but now all but three are 
dead, leaving Lewis L., John L., and Daniel R. living 
at this date (Nov. 11, 1883). The wife of John L. 
was born in Brawn County, Ohio. Her maiden name 
was Caroline D. Mason, daughter of John Mason and 
Mary, his wife. The mother is still living at the home 
of her daughter, in the eighty-sixth year of her age. 
Mary Mason was a daughter of Charles O'Connor, 
an Irishman by birth, who came to this country in 
the latter part of the last century. He was educated 
for a Catholic priest, but never entered upon the duties 
of the priesthood. John Mason was born in Adams 
County, Ohio ; was of English descent. His father 
was a soldier in the Revolutionary war under Gen. 
Francis Marion. John L. Brown and Caroline D. 
Mason were married in 1851, and are still living on 
one of the farms in Lawrence township. They have 
five children, — Mrs. C. Martin, who is now living with 
her husband, Reuben Martin, on their farm in Brown 
County, Ohio, the same farm where John L. and 
Daniel R. were born. Mrs. L. HufiF, the wife of A. M. 
Huff, living on their farm in Lawrence township. 
The other three — -Clara, William, and Daniel — are 
living at home with their parents. John L. and 
Caroline Brown have also raised six orphan children. 
In politics the subject of this sketch is a Republican, 
as is also the whole family of Browns of this large re- 
lationship, most of them have been active and very 
decided in their political views. Mr. Brown says his 
experience in clearing up this country was a very 
laborious undertaking, but he has no regrets now. It 
is true, he says, they had many privations, but al- 
ways had plenty to eat, sometimes plenty of game, 
such as deer, turkeys, squirrel, and pheasant, and al- 
ways certain of plenty of pork, with turnips and cab- 
bage, and, if the season was favorable, potatoes. In 
the summer wild plums, roasting ears, and pumpkins 
generally in abundance, especially after the first year. 
Corn-bread always on the table, for the best reason in 
world, — they had no wheat to make flour, and if he 
had there was no mill to grind and bolt it, only on the 
regular corn-stone, and had (o bolt by hand, that 
made the flour dark and clammy ; but notwithstand- 
ing all the hardships and privations, if he knew of a 
county as good as this, he would be willing to try the 
same over again. 




File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/in/marion/bios/brown1024nbs.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/infiles/

File size: 7.3 Kb