BIOGRAPHY: Elmer C. BROWN, Cambria County, PA 

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From Wiley, Samuel T., ed. Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Cambria 
County, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: Union Publishing Co., 1896, p. 379-81
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ELMER C. BROWN, president of the, Delta Coal Mining company, vice-president of 
the Patton Clay Manufacturing company, and general superintendent of the Chest 
Creek Land and Improvement company, is a son of Hon. Samuel T. and Sarah J. 
(Leater) Brown, and was born in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, June 10, 1860. 
The Browns are of that wonderful Scotch-Irish race that has become an important 
and distinguished element of population in every land where it has settled to 
any extent. The Browns left their ancestral home in Scotland, and settled in 
Ireland. They came into possession of a considerable body of land in that 
country. One of these Browns, who was born about the commencement of the 
eighteenth century, had a son who served with distinction as an English officer 
during the Revolutionary war, and Benjamin Franklin Brown, a son of the latter, 
had a family of three sons and one daughter. One of these three sons was John 
Brown, the paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch. John Brown was a 
presbyterian, and came from Ireland to Huntingdon county, where he followed 
farming and teaching. He married a young lady who was a native of Ireland, and 
to their union were born six sons and two daughters. The third child was Hon. 
Samuel T. Brown, who was born March 21, 1827. He received a common school 
education, taught several terms, and then read law with Hon. John Scott, of 
Huntingdon. After admission to the bar, he was a partner with Mr. Scott for 
eighteen years. Then Mr. Scott withdrew to remove to Philadelphia, as general 
solicitor of the Pennsylvania Railroad company, and the firm has been Brown & 
Bailey ever since. Mr. Brown is an active republican. He served two terms as 
district attorney, and represented Huntingdon county in the legislature in 1859. 
He has been for many years the solicitor of the Huntingdon and Broad Top 
Railroad company, and has been entrusted at different times with matters of 
great responsibility.
     Mr. Brown is an elder in the Presbyterian church, and stands high in his 
county for ability, integrity, and patriotism, he being one of the number who 
responded to the governor's call for troops when Chambersbug was burned by the 
Confederates. He married Sarah J. Leater. Of the five sons and two daughters 
born to their union are: Lawrence, a coal operator of Hastings, this State; 
Charles, who served two terms as district attorney of Huntingdon county; Elmer 
C.; Ella, wife of Frederick Snare, secretary of the Pencoyd Iron company of 
Philadelphia; and Robert E., now in the coal business at Philadelphia.
     Elmer C. Brown received his education in the public schools and Lafayette 
college, of Easton, this State, from which he was graduated in the civil 
engineering course, in 184 Leaving college, he served for three years as mining 
engineer of the Westmoreland Coal Co., of Irwin, Westmoreland county, and then 
went to St. Louis, Missouri, as civil engineer for the Consolidated Coal 
company, but at the end of a year sickness compelled him to return home. When 
able to give his attention to business again, he became superintendent of the 
Bloomington Coal and Coke companies of Clearfield county, and opened their 
mines, which he ran for two years. In 1889 he took charge of the Caledonia and 
Denton Run Coal companies' mines, which lie managed until 1892, when he accepted 
his present position as general superintendent of the Chest Creek Land and 
Improvement company, which had been just organized. The company owned eleven 
thousand acres of coal, timber, and fire-clay land, and Mr. Brown proceeded to 
lay out on the lands a town called Patton, which has grown rapidly. The duties 
of this position are necessarily important.
     He is interested in other business enterprises, being vice-president of the 
Patton FireClay Manufacturing company, which controls fine veins of fire-clay, 
limestone, and brick clay; a stockholder and director in the First National bank 
of Patton; president of two building and loan associations; and vice-president 
of the board of trade of Patton. In addition to his business interests at 
Patton, Mr. Brown is president of the Delta Coal Mining company, which was 
organized in 1892. They have mines opened in Cambria and Bedford counties, where 
they own a valuable mineral tract of nine hundred acres of land, a part of which 
is leased to the Kemble Iron company. They mine and ship largely from the 
celebrated “Moshannon” and “Cumberland” vein, having their general offices in 
the Betz building, Philadelphia, and their shipping piers at Greenwich, 
Philadelphia, Baltimore, and South Amboy, New Jersey.
     In politics Mr. Brown is a staunch republican, who is always in full 
sympathy with his party, to which he never fails to render an active support. He 
is a member of Patton Lodge, No. 1089, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Elmer 
C. Brown is a representative business man, and stands in the foremost rank of 
mining engineers and coal operators.
     On June 6, 1895, Mr. Brown was united in marriage with Frances B. Gregg, a 
daughter of Col. Theodore Gregg, of Centre county. Mr. and Mrs. Brown have one 
child, a son, named Samuel T., born April 8, 1896.