Col. Thomas Henderson Brown Biography


	This biography appears on pages 1054-1056 in "History of Dakota 
	Territory" by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. V (1915) and was 
	scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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			COLONEL THOMAS HENDERSON BROWN. 

	Among all the citizens of Sioux Falls there are not more than 
half a dozen perhaps who were in the city at the time of the arrival of 
Thomas H. Brown, who since 1872 has continuously made his home in the 
city which is still his place of residence, and throughout the entire 
period he has remained at the same location. Throughout all the 
intervening years to the present he has taken a most active part in the 
development and upbuilding of his section, actuated at all times by a 
public-spirited devotion to the community that has found tangible 
evidence in many practical and resultant efforts for the public good. 
In fact. he has left the deep impress of his individuality upon the 
material, intellectual, political and moral progress of the community, 
his influence ever being on the side of right, justice, truth and 
improvement. A native of England, he was born in Portabello, Durham 
county, on the 17th of August, 1837, and was a youth of eleven years, 
when, in 1848, he crossed the Atlantic to the United States, settling 
in Wisconsin As his years and strength increased he became more and 
more active in business affairs, being identified with both farming and 
mining in the Badger state until 1861, when he responded to President 
Lincoln's call for troops and enlisted for service in the Union army as 
a member of Company I, Third Wisconsin Infantry. With his regiment he 
proceeded to the front and participated in a number of hotly contested 
engagements which led to the final victory that crowned the Union arms. 
He remained with his command for three years and was honorably 
discharged in August, 1865, returning to his home with a most 
creditable military record. 

	Following the close of the war Mr. Brown went to Montana where he 
spent a year and a half in mining. He then returned to Wisconsin and 
for some time was engaged in the hardware business at Brodhead. It was 
about that time, or in 1867, that he married and in 1872 he removed 
with his wife to Sioux Falls, which was then a tiny hamlet upon the 
western frontier, the old fort being then in use, although a year later 
it was demolished. They occupied the first frame dwelling in Sioux 
Falls. It stood at the corner of Phillips avenue and Twelfth street, 
where the fine Brown apartments, in one of which Colonel Brown now 
resides, are to be seen. In the spring following his arrival Colonel 
Brown entered into partnership with B. F. Rodrick in the lumber 
business but after a year withdrew from that association and purchased 
a half interest in the business of Nye Phillips, a dealer in hardware, 
leather and drugs. This connection continued for five years and in the 
meantime Mr. Brown became recognized as one of the progressive, 
enterprising and reliable business men of the city. When the 
Northwestern Railroad Company was seeking to secure the right of way it 
employed Mr. Brown to purchase property and locate town sites, in which 
work he displayed marked skill and diplomacy. That he was farsighted 
and sagacious is indicated in the later development of the country 
following the building of the railroad and the development of the 
towns. In 1888 he purchased a job printing and bookbinding plant from 
Sam T. Clover and afterward purchased a printing outfit from the 
receiver of the Insurance Company of the Dakotas. On the 1st of May, 
1889, he admitted Eugene Saenger to a partnership and thus the firm of 
Brown & Saenger came into existence. The development of the business 
since that time has been continuous and the firm today has the largest 
and most complete book-binding establishment in the state. Their plant 
is splendidly equipped and their trade has grown year by year, bringing 
a gratifying return to the owners, who have ever been recognized as 
most progressive and substantial business men. Colonel Brown has ever 
displayed marked ability in judging the value of a business situation 
or circumstance and, moreover, he has the power to coordinate seemingly 
diverse elements into a unified and harmonious whole. 

	In the year 1867 Colonel Brown was united in marriage to Miss 
Mary Morse, who has indeed been to him a faithful companion and 
helpmate on life's journey. They have become parents of three sons. 
Marshall Brown, now residing in Sioux Falls, is a representative of the 
Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company. He married Miss Eloise Ashley, 
of Lincoln county. He is a very prominent Mason, was the first master 
of Unity Lodge, and has been deputy grand master. Oscar A. Brown, the 
second son, living in Sioux Falls, married Miss Hattie Kincade and is 
the auditor of the McKenna Hospital, of which his father is the 
president. Harry T. Brown, the youngest son, married Katie Ganser, of 
Owatonna, Minnesota, where they now reside. 

	While he has made for himself a most creditable and enviable 
position in business circles, Colonel Brown ranks equally high in other 
connections. He has been and still is one of the most prominent Masons 
of the state. He organized the first lodge in his county and served as 
its master for six years. Moreover, he was the first grand master of 
the Grand Lodge of Dakota territory and a few years later was again 
chosen to that position of high honor while away from home. His entire 
life has been an exposition of the beneficent spirit and purpose of the 
craft. He has likewise taken an active interest in educational matters. 
He was the first chairman of the school board and the first president 
of the board of education and in office ever exercised his official 
prerogatives in support of progressive measures. 

	Colonel Brown took an active part in securing for Sioux Falls the 
Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railroad and has since served as 
one of its directors. His efforts for the material benefit and 
improvement of Sioux Falls have been far-reaching and beneficial. It 
was he who was instrumental in instituting the paving of the city and 
also establishing the new lighting system. Previous to that time Sioux 
Falls had poor roads and was badly lighted, but it is now illuminated 
with an arc-light system that is thoroughly adequate. He was not only 
the strong active force in bringing about those improvements but also 
organized the Property Owners Association for the purpose of improving 
Phillips avenue. A meeting was called and a committee on paving was 
appointed, of which Colonel Brown was made chairman. He made 
examinations all over the country before beginning the work and 
selected the kind of paving which he regarded as most desirable. This 
was the initial step in continued work of that character. Each avenue 
of the city followed the lead of Phillips avenue and organized for 
paving and other improvements, the work being carried on according to 
the theory that "those who pay should be the ones to say," the kind of 
paving to be used. Many other interests have profited by the efforts, 
business enterprise and public spirit of Colonel Brown, whose worth to 
the city is widely acknowledged. His prominence as a citizen of the 
state is indicated in the fact that he was one of the commissioners of 
South Dakota at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 and 
served as executive officer of the commission, while Mrs. Brown acted 
as hostess at the South Dakota building during the progress of the 
fair. 

	Mrs. Brown, like her husband, has been a leader in many public 
activities. She is prominently known throughout South Dakota for her 
active work in the Eastern Star and in the Woman's Relief Corps, in 
both of which she has held high official positions For fourteen years 
she was president of the Relief Corps and has taken great interest in 
the work of that organization; in fact, has been the most active woman 
in that line of work in the state. The corps of which she is a member 
is the largest in South Dakota and is the auxiliary to the largest 
poet. She has been department president and grand matron and is now 
past grand matron and past department president. She has ever been a 
most gracious hostess, combining tact with kindliness and good cheer, 
and thus she has the faculty of placing all at ease in her presence. 
Both Colonel and Mrs. Brown have been most active citizens of South 
Dakota and there are no residents of Sioux Falls who are more widely or 
favorably known. They arrived in the city when it contained but a few 
white families. All around them stretched a broad and largely unsettled 
prairie and the most farsighted could not have dreamed of the changes 
which were soon to be wrought. With every movement that has had a 
beneficial effect upon the community and the upbuilding of their 
section of the state Colonel and Mrs. Brown have been identified and 
their reward has come to them in the high regard and esteem in which 
they are universally held, for there is no citizen of Sioux Falls or of 
that section of the state who is not proud to call them friends.