Preston County, West Virginia Biography of Samuel Boardman BROWN ************************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: Material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor. Submitted by Valerie Crook, , March 1999 ************************************************************************** The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 61 SAMUEL BOARDMAN BROWN. Distinguished as author, educator and scientist, Samuel Boardman Brown, A. M., who is a member of the faculty of the University of West Virginia and known to scientists the country over, for twenty-nine years has filled the chair of geology in this great institution of learning. To the scientific knowledge and researches of Professor Brown the university owes its priceless collection of fossils and minerals, that under his masterly arrangement and classification reveal without words the whole geological history of West Virginia. Samuel Boardman Brown was born March 5, 1860, in Preston County, West Virginia, with which section of coun- try his people have been identified for generations. His parents were Granville and Elizabeth (Watson) Brown. This branch of the Brown family was founded in America by one William Brown. In 1726 William Brown received from Lord Fairfax a grant of 312 acres of land near Dumfries, Prince William County, Virginia, which land, situated six miles from Manassas, remained in the possession of his descendants until 1825, almost 100 years. His eldest son, William Brown (2), in 1756 married Eliza- beth Buckner, and to that union were born four children, one of whom bore the name of Thomas. Thomas Brown, son of William and Elizabeth (Buckner) Brown, was born in Prince William County, Virginia, Sep- tember 7, 1760. He served as a soldier in the Revolution- ary war, and in recognition of his services drew a pen- sion after 1832 during the rest of his life. In 1785 he married Anna Ash, and in 1805 he purchased a large tract of land, comprising 578 acres, situated near Kingwood in Preston County, Virginia. He was survived by children. Samuel Byrne Brown, son of Thomas and Anna (Ash) Brown, was born in Prince William County, Virginia, in 1793. He served as a soldier in the War of 1812. In 1820 he married Permelia Zinn, and they reared a family of chil- dren, one son bearing the name of Granville. Samuel B. Brown spent the rest of his life in Preston and Monongalia counties, mainly following agricultural pursuits. Granville Brown, son of Samuel Byrne and Permelia (Zinn) Brown, was born near what is now Gladesville, Preston County, January 6, 1832, had educational privileges and later taught school. When the war between the states came on he volunteered for service in the Union Army, and was commissioned first lieutenant of a company in the Four- teenth West Virginia Infantry, later transferred to the Fourth West Virginia Cavalry, and was mustered out in 1865 from the Seventeenth West Virginia Infantry. He had two brothers, William and Lycurgus, who also served with the West Virginia troops, and a cousin, Bailey Brown, was the first Virginia soldier to give up his life in defense of the Union, being killed in action at Fetterman, near Grafton, May 22, 1861, on the day preceding the settle- ment of the question of the secession of West Virginia. Granville Brown married Elizabeth Watson. Samuel Boardman Brown spent his early years on his father's farm in Preston County, and attended the neighbor- hood schools, later had other educational advantages in preparation for college and then entered the West Virginia University, from which he was graduated with the degree of A. B. in 1883. In the same year he took courses in natural history at Washington, D. C., and in Harvard Col- lege, coming under the instruction of such competent men as Professors Shaler and Davis. For two years afterward Professor Brown conducted a private school at Martinsburg, West Virginia, in which he taught mathematics and lan- guages, and he recalls with some pride the fact that one of his pupils was Hon. Newton Baker, who afterward became a man of national importance as Secretary of War. In 1885 Mr. Brown was elected principal of the Glen- ville (West Virginia) Normal School, where he continued until 1890 when he resigned in order to accept a still more congenial position as assistant professor of geology in the University of West Virginia, in 1892 taking his present chair as a member of the faculty. Before that time and ever since he had given much time to geological research, making geology his specialty among the sciences, with all of which he is more or less familiar, and he has a large amount of literary output on this subject to his credit. He has written numerous papers and scientific pamphlets in relation to the geology of West Virginia, and wrote that portion pertaining to the minerals and productions of the book entitled "West Virginia's Agricultural Resources and Possibilities," published under the authority of the West Virginia State Board of Agriculture for distribution at the Jamestown Centennial. Professor Brown is the author also of a text book on geography that is in use throughout the state. He is a valued member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and probably would find himself with little leisure remaining if he responded to every urgent request for scientific papers or addresses. On June 17, 1890, Professor Brown married Miss Luella Butcher, who is a member of an old Virginia family of note and military prominence. She is a daughter of James Evan Butcher, and a granddaughter of John Anderson Butcher, who served in defense of Norfolk, Virginia, in the War of 1812. He was a member of Captain Davidson's company, to which Samuel Byrne Brown also belonged. The family belongs to the Episcopal Church. Professor Brown owns valuable city property at Morgantown and is a director in the Second National Bank.