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| 1872 Birds-eye view Columbus, Ohio (click to enlarge) |
As
we saw in the last post, John Brown and Ellen Burns were married at St.
Patrick’s church in Columbus, Ohio on August 28, 1856. John and his growing family are shown in the
1860 US
Census living in Perry Township, in Franklin County, Ohio.1 (See 1860 Census left.) By this time, John and Ellen have three
children, John E., Mary Ann, and Martha, all of whom were baptized at St.
Patrick’s in Columbus. (See copy of David Brown Letter below right.2) Ellen’s mother,
Julia Burns, was also living with them.
Perry
Township is located northwest of downtown Columbus, between the
Olentangy and Scioto Rivers, and extends north to the Franklin – Delaware
County line. (See map of townships in
Franklin County below.3) In 1860, it was outside of the
city limits so
records of residents would not have been included in the Columbus City
Directory. There is a listing for a
“John Brown” residing on Cleveland Ave between North Public Lane (Naughten
Street) and Spring Street in the 1858-59 city directory. This would have been just a couple of blocks
from St. Patrick’s in the Irish section of town. However, it is far from certain that this is
the same family since Peter Burns is not listed separately in the directory,
and these two families always lived in very close proximity. Could it be that
Peter and John were living in the same household and only one name was
recorded?
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| 1860 US Census (click to enlarge) |
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| Section of David Brown Letter (click to enlarge) |
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| Townships of Franklin Co. (click to enlarge) |
The
1860 US Census also shows Peter Burns and his family (his wife, Martha, sister
of Ellen Brown, and two children, Julia, age 9, and Willie, age 7), living in a
separate residence virtually next door
to John Brown. Both men are identified as laborers. Because neither of them owned land, it is
difficult to exactly pinpoint them on a map.
However, other individuals enumerated within a couple of pages of them
in the census do own land and can be identified on an 1872 map of Perry
Township.4 (See Perry Township
map left) From this information we can
identify an area in the southern most portion of Perry Township, bordering
Franklin Township, where both John Brown and Peter Burns were living in 1860.
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| Southwest portion of Perry Twp. (click to enlarge) |
The
1870 US Census finds both John Brown and Peter Burns living in Franklin
Township, Franklin County, Ohio - a different location from the 1860 census. (See 1870 Census below right.5) The family must have been doing better
financially since, at this time, both men are property owners. Note that John and Ellen now have eight
children. John Gray is a border. Julia, the mother of Ellen and Martha, is
living with Peter and Martha. (The
census suggests Julia’s last name is “Tracy” when the name is actually Julia
Burns. This can be verified later in the
1880 census.) No children are listed
with Peter and Martha. Their oldest
child, Julia, shown in the 1860 census, married John Murnane on October 1, 1869. (Remember this surname. We will see it again later.) Julia died just four months later on February
26, 1870 of “intermitting fever” and is buried in Mr. Calvary Cemetery in
Columbus, Ohio.6 Nothing more is known of their other child,
Willie.
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| 1870 US Census (click to enlarge) |
The
property for Peter Burns was relatively easy to find. Family lore has always identified these two
men, Peter and John, with the stone quarries on the near northwest side of
Columbus, and is verified by the occupation column of the 1870 census. Peter
Burns purchased approximately five
acres along the Scioto River from Garrett Miller on July 8, 1869.7
The property, located on Dublin Road (following the Scioto River and on
some old maps identified as “Stone Quarry Pike”) was the site of a former paper
mill erected about 1839.8
It was used by Peter, and presumably
John Brown, as a quarry and remained in the family until 1960. Statistics of
the quarry industry created as documentation for the 1880 US Census, lists the
property as an active quarry.9
An 1872 map of Franklin Township shows
the location of the property. (See Franklin Township map above left) (See section of
Table IV below.)
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| Northeast section of Franklin Twp. (click to enlarge) |
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| Section of Table IV - 1880 US Census - Report on the Building Stones of the United States (click to enlarge) |
The property for John Brown was more difficult to locate and, when found, led to further information about these families. Because of the common name (John Brown), and because I was looking for property in Franklin Township near that of Peter Burns, I did not find the property until I had access to the estate file of John Brown from 187810 where the sale of real estate was ordered
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| 1872 Map of Columbus showing location of John Brown's city lots (click to enlarge) |
On
August 26, 1865, Peter Burns also purchased property from Edward Sorin. He purchased lots eight, nine, ten and eleven
in original lots twenty-eight, twenty-nine, and thirty also in William Phelan’s Mount Pleasant Addition for $400.12
These properties would have been in very close proximity to the
lots purchased by John Brown just a year earlier. I do not know whether the lots were purchased
with the intent to build their homes there, or, whether they were intended as a
business venture; perhaps both since each man purchased multiple lots. Whatever the reason, Peter sold his city lots
to Catharine Ryan on August 30, 1871 for a nice profit, receiving $1,400 for
the property.13 By this time, Peter had purchased the quarry
property (1869) and, according to the 1870 census (see above) was living at the
quarry, probably with John Brown and his family.
On
February 23, 1872, John and Ellen Burns took out a mortgage
on their city lots.14
They received $235 from Thomas Bergin due in one year from the date of
the mortgage. (See Mortgage Deed left and right.) We will probably never know why the loan was
taken out. It could have been for use in
the quarry business, for general household expenses, or something
else. We do know the mortgage was not paid, likely
because of other events. On January 22,
1873, just shortly before the mortgage was due, John and Ellen lost their
youngest daughter, Julia, to “inflamation.”
Julia was just fourteen months old at the time of her death.15
John Brown purchased twelve graves in Mr. Calvary Cemetery on
January 22, 1873 at a cost of $35.00.
Julia is buried in grave #1. No
stone marks her grave.16
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| 1872 Mortgage - page 1 (click to enlarge) |
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| 1872 Mortgage - page 2 (click to enlarge) |
Trains
provided an important function in the late 1800s and were the main source of
transportation at the time even for short distances. The Redfield & Logan’s Columbus &
Indianapolis Central Railway Business Guide17
gives information for a train line (the Columbus Chicago and Indiana Central
division of the Pan-Handle Railroad) running from the station on North High
Street at Naughten Street going north and west to a flag station at “Scioto” four
miles from the city near where the Brown and Burns families were living. The track runs east of Dublin Road and
crosses the Scioto River just north of Fifth Avenue and, actually could have
been used in the quarry business. The
tracks still exist today. (Refer to the
earlier images of Franklin and Perry Townships for location of the tracks.) Ease of transportation is probably the reason
all of the children were baptized at St. Patrick’s. It would have been a ten minute ride to
downtown Columbus. Remember St.
Patrick’s is located just a few blocks east of the site of the train station on
Naughten Street.
For
whatever reason, perhaps it was to address the overdue
mortgage, John Brown was
in Columbus on June 3, 1873. Often,
locals were given a complimentary ride on the locomotive by the engineer. This day, being denied a ride, John hopped
the 6:18 train leaving Columbus bound for Piqua, Ohio riding on the bumper of a
freight car. Because the family lived so
close to the track, they must have heard the train
coming and expected John
home soon. When the train slowed to
cross the bridge over the Scioto River, John jumped from the train. His foot slipped and he was thrown under the
wheels of the train killing him instantly.18 Both the Daily Dispatch and the Ohio State
Journal carried news of the gruesome accident.19 (See both
articles along
with a current map of the area marking where the accident
happened.) A report of the accident was
included in the Annual Report of the Commissioner of Railroads, and stated
that, “June 3, 1873. John Brown, Scioto;
killed; stealing a ride, fell under train.
P.Egan, Coroner.”20
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| News article-Daily Dispatch June 4, 1873 (click to enlarge) |
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| News article-Ohio State Journal June 5, 1873 (click to enlarge) |
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| Current map of the area from Google Earth. Railway identified by red line. Property of Peter Burns and where John Brown was likely living is approximately the red roofed building below the "Dublin Rd" label. Note the proximity of the property to the accident site. (Click to enlarge) |
In
the next post, we will look at the aftermath of the accident and what happened
to Ellen and the children.
This
post was written with the able assistance of Marion.
1872
Birds-eye View of Columbus, Ohio. Map
used with permission of the The Columbus Metropolitan Library Image
Collections. Detailed map in high
resolution allows view of specific Columbus locations in 1872. The blue circle shows the train station. The purple circle shows St. Patrick’s
Church. The red circle shows the city
lots purchased by John Brown in 1864. Zoom
in to see details. Street names have
changed since the map was created. They
are listed in the 1874 edition of the Columbus City Directory. Clinton is now Fourth St.; East is now Sixth
St.; Eastern is now Fifth St.; Phelan is now Fourth St.
1. 1860 U.S.
Census, Perry Township, Franklin County, Ohio; Roll M653_962; Page 161; Image
327. Available online at Family
Search: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9BSD-TTH?mode=g&i=31&cc=1473181
2. Brown, David,
Kewanee, IL 11 May 1943, Letter to Esther _________, Columbus, OH. Verification of the baptisms at St. Patrick’s
church, Columbus, Ohio, were obtained for all of the children through the
Catholic Record Society, Diocese of Columbus, Columbus, OH - Mary Ann baptized
7 Nov 1858; Martha baptized 10 Mar 1860; James baptized 12 Mar 1862; Thomas
baptized 7 May 1864; David baptized 10 Jan 1866; Ellen baptized 16 Oct 1869; Julia
baptized 31 Nov 1871; Peter baptized 6 Dec 1873. Note that records do not exist anywhere in
the Columbus Diocese for John E, the oldest son, and William Henry, the seventh
child. Since this family made a special
trip to St. Patrick’s for the other baptisms, like David Brown, I assume John
and William were also baptized at St. Patrick’s and the event was just not
recorded.
3. Caldwell,
J.A., 1872 Caldwell’s Atlas of Franklin
Co. and the City of Columbus : from actual surveys, J.A. Caldwell &
H.T. Gould, Columbus, Ohio, 1872. All
map images in this section are reproduced with permission from “The Columbus
Metropolitan Library Image Collections” and are available online at: http://digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/maps/id/2211/rec/5
4. Ibid.
5. 1870 U.S.
Census, Franklin Township, Franklin County, Ohio; Roll: B593_1200; Page 486B;
Image 401757. Available online at Family
Search: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-69B3-8VP?mode=g&i=46&cc=1438024
6. "Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013," database with
images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XZP5-RL9
: 8 December 2014), John Murnane and
Julia A.C. Burns, 01 Oct 1869; citing Franklin, Ohio, United States,
reference p66; county courthouses, Ohio; FHL microfilm 285,146. Available online at: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-91Q9-GZ?mode=g&i=63&cc=1614804
"Ohio, County Death Records,
1840-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F6JK-NX8
: 13 December 2014), Julia Mumine,
27 Feb 1870; citing Death, Franklin Township, Franklin, Ohio, United States,
source ID v 1 p 36, County courthouses, Ohio; FHL microfilm 285,206. Available online at: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9ZB-29WS-V?mode=g&i=71&cc=2128172
Letter to the author from Catholic
Cemeteries, Columbus, Ohio dated July 21, 2004. “John Murnane purchased 6 grave
spaces in B, Cathedral Section, Lot 21.
These spaces were purchased February 27, 1870 at a cost of $17.50. The grave spaces were transferred to Peter
Burns (Peter Burns Stone Quarry) on February 20, 1892. . . do show burials in all 6 grave spaces but no
names are listed.” (Image of Julia’s tombstone below.)
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| Tombstone of Julia Burns Murnane - Mt. Calvary Cemetery, Columbus, Ohio |
7.
Franklin Co., OH, Deed Book, Volume
98, page 635. Garrett and Catharine
Miller to Peter Burns for $3,000 dated 8 Jul 1869. The property consisted of two parcels. The “paper mill” parcel was deeded to Garrett
Miller by John Dorsey, et al on 25 Nov 1865 (1 acre 164 poles) (Deed Book Volume
85, page 542). The larger parcel (3
27/100 acres) was deeded to Garrett Miller by Archibald Woods on 5 Jan 1864.
(Deed Book Volume 78 page 354) These are
available online at: https://countyfusion5.propertyinfo.com/countyweb/main.jsp?countyname=Franklin
8.
Taylor, William Alexander,
Centennial History of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio, The S.J. Clarke
Publishing Co., 1909, Volume 1, page 54.
Available online at: https://archive.org/stream/centennialhistor01tayl#page/54/mode/2up
9.
Report on The Building Stones of
the United States, and Statistics of the Quarry Industry for 1880, Table IV–Tables Indicating the Amount and
Kinds of Rock Quarries in the Different States , page 82. The report was created by the Department of
the Interior as part of the documentation for the Tenth Census of the United
States. Available online at: https://archive.org/stream/reportonbuilding00unit#page/290/mode/1up
10.
Franklin County, Ohio, probate case
files, estate no. 010060, John Brown (1878), Notice of Sale, 2 Oct 1879,
Probate Court, Ohio Historical Society, Columbus, Ohio.
11.
Franklin County, OH, Deed Book 140,
Page 491. Sale of real estate from the
estate of John Brown to Thomas Bergin, 3 Oct 1879. William Phelan was a large land owner in
Franklin County including the Mount Pleasant Addition in the north side of
Columbus. The property was divided into
large lots and sold to individuals who further subdivided them into city
lots. Edward Sorin purchased many lots
from Phelan. A map is available online at
the Columbus Metropolitan Library (1899 Baists Property Atlans of the City of
Columbus - http://digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/maps/id/59/rec/2 [section 14]) that
shows the lots purchased by “E. Sorin” which were further subdivided. To identify the exact location of the city lots
owned by John Brown, I followed sales of the property until it could be
identified on a current tax map. In Columbus, numbered avenues run east and
west; numbered streets run north and south.
12.
Franklin County, OH, Deed Book 85,
Page 212. Sale of real estate from
Edward Sorin to Peter Burns for $400.00
13.
Franklin County, Ohio, Deed Book
106, page 107. Sale of lots 8, 9, 10,
and 11 in original lots twenty-eight, twenty-nine, and thirty from Peter Burns
to Catharine Ryan for $1,400.
14.
Franklin County, Ohio, probate case
files, op.cit. Mortgage Deed dated 23
Feb 1872.
15.
"Ohio, County Death Records,
1840-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F6JV-BWL
: 13 December 2014), Jule Brown, 24 Jan 1873; citing Death, Franklin Township,
Franklin, Ohio, United States, source ID v 1 p 63, County courthouses, Ohio;
FHL microfilm 285,206.
16.
Information from Catholic
Cemeteries, Columbus, Ohio. Few early
records for the cemetery were kept.
Information is from a ledger available at the office of St. Joseph
Cemetery, Lockbourne, Ohio.
17.
Redfield & Logan’s Columbus
& Indianapolis Central Railway Business Guide, Gazetteer, Indianapolis, IN, 1866-67, page XIX. Available online at: https://books.google.com/books?id=Do4_AQAAMAAJ&pg=PR9&lpg=PR9&dq=redfield+%26+logan%27s+Columbus+and+Indianapolis+central+railway+business+guide,+and+western+gazetteer+of+indiana+and+Ohio&source=bl&ots=ksfOgNf_tV&sig=iVuCVLnozeIwM74DBSES-FtaVkM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjaz7Sl5LDRAhVI4IMKHeKnB2wQ6AEIHTAA#v=onepage&q=redfield%20%26%20logan's%20Columbus%20and%20Indianapolis%20central%20railway%20business%20guide%2C%20and%20western%20gazetteer%20of%20indiana%20and%20Ohio&f=false
18. "Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001," database
with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F6JV-1PY
: 13 December 2014), John Brown, 03 Jan 1873;
citing Death, Franklin Township, Franklin, Ohio, United States, source ID v 1 p
71, County courthouses, Ohio; FHL microfilm 285,206. Death Register shows death as January 3, 1873. The date, from news clippings, is actually June 3, 1873.
19. “KILLED BY
THE CARS,” The Daily Dispatch,
Columbus, Ohio, June 4, 1873, page 1
“Terrible Accident,” Daily
Ohio State Journal, Columbus, Ohio, June 5, 1873, last page
