David
Brown, the sixth child and fourth son, of John Brown and Ellen Burns Brown, was
born January 2, 1866 in Columbus and was baptized on January 10th at St.
Patrick’s. He was just seven
years old
when his father died in the train accident and twelve at the death of his
mother in 1878. The 1880 US Census shows
David living with Peter and Martha Burns on the quarry property on Dublin Rd.
in Columbus. (Remember, Martha was a
sister of David’s mother, Ellen.) Nothing more is known of David’s early life;
but, as is stated in the David Brown letter1,
probably all of the children, “worked when they could and when the weather was
such that the younger ones could not work in it [the quarry], they then went to
school.”
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| Wedding present to Mary Ellen Shipley Brown |
The
first confirmed record found for David outside of Ohio is his Homestead
application in Alliance, Nebraska begun March 26, 18892. However, David
was likely in the area prior to this time.
He appears to be a witness at the marriage of his cousin, James E.
Brown, fourth son of Patrick Brown, to Jennie Phillips in August 18883. It is possible that when David left Columbus,
he first stopped at the home of his Uncle Patrick in Custer County, Nebraska;
and, that James and David traveled to Box Butte County together. Railroads were opening the area during this
time; and, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy line actually reached Alliance
in early 1888. This was the same line
that went through Custer County making it an easy trip.
 |
| Is this David Brown? (see footnotes) |
 |
| Application for Extension (click to enlarge) |
The
actual homesteading for David may not have gone exactly as planned. David filed for an extension4 on the claim due to an “extreme
drought during the summer and fall of 1890.”
Even before the drought, David worked for wages “by the month or day” to
support himself. Because of the drought,
employment was not available in the area and he was “compelled to go east for
the purpose of procuring work.” The
extension was granted for November 1890 to
November 1891; however, the Testimony of Claimant5 document, as part of the final proof of his homestead
states that although he “. . . secured a leave of absence to expire Nov 1,
1891, but [he] never took advantage of it.” He did state that he would be gone
a few weeks at a time to earn a living. David’s
homestead was finalized on September 16, 1896. (Refer to the previous post on Homesteading for
information about homesteading and obtaining homestead records.)
 |
| Testimony of Claimant (click to enlarge) |
A
story has been handed down to David’s descendants that he was a locomotive
engineer for the Burlington railroad. At
some point, he was “disciplined” by the railroad and his friends staged a
strike to get back his job. He was a
proud man and when his job was reinstated, he told them, “ . . . he wouldn’t
take the job back if it was life or death.”
A railroad engineer was a coveted position and
only given to the best men who had, usually, taken many years to work their way
up from lower positions. During the
first half of 1888, the engineers and firemen for the Burlington line staged a
strike shutting down operations for a time from Chicago to all points west. Scrambling to keep the rail lines open, many
less experienced men were hired. The strike,
deemed to be over in most areas, lingered in the Nebraska area6.
If, as according to the David’s testimony in finalizing his claim, he
did not leave the area, the strike could have been an opportunity for David,
and many others to obtain well paying jobs.
By at least 1898, David was an engineer for the Burlington line. Several references are made to “engineer D.
Brown” in the local newspaper, The
Alliance Times. Other friends and
neighbors of David were also mentioned, many engineers, and, from time to time,
they “laid off” the railroad for a few weeks or months to attend to their farms
and ranches7.
David
and Mary Ellen Shipley8 were
married on June 12, 1895. Witnesses to
the marriage were Hannah Brown, youngest
daughter of his Uncle Patrick, and
Joseph Lynch, Hannah’s future husband. Mary Ellen, born August 13, 1876, was
the daughter of Robert and Rhoda Edwards Shipley. The Shipley family also homesteaded in Box
Butte County in a neighboring township9. The family had previously farmed in Illinois where
their seven children were born. Robert
and Rhoda were originally from Kentucky.
(See marriage license left.) David
and Mary Ellen had two children, David
Earl and Francis Merle, while living in Nebraska. This David Earl Brown is the writer of the
letter that has been referred to frequently in this blog. The Brown
family probably lived in the town of Alliance, a town of 2,500 in 1900. It was not unusual for a family to have a
house in town and still maintain their farm or ranch, especially after their
homestead was finalized10.
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| Marriage Record of David & Mary Ellen (Click to enlarge) |
The
June 23, 1899 edition of The Alliance
Times ran the following notice under the Shop, Wheel and Rail
column. “All train and engine men and
such other employees as are concerned in the handling of trains will be
examined in hearing and sight between this and the first of September.” Was David adversely affected by the
“physical,” and could this have been the cause of the threatened strike by
David’s friends? The September 22, 1899
edition of the same paper, in the same column, stated, “Engineer D. Brown has left
the service of the company;” and, still later, on September 29, 1899, the paper
said, “Ex-Engineer D. Brown will leave tomorrow night accompanied by Mrs. Brown
and the children, for Columbus, O., where he may decide to locate.”
David,
his wife, and two sons are shown in the 1900 US Census for Columbus, Franklin
County, Ohio. It must have been very
difficult for Mary Ellen to move to Columbus.
She left her family and friends behind in Nebraska and knew no one in
Columbus except
her husband. Even
David’s brothers and sisters would have been strangers. Mary Ellen had always lived in a rural area,
and Columbus with a population of over 125,000 in 1900, must have been very
different for her. David’s occupation is
given as a “saloon keeper.” The 1910 US
Census shows his occupation as “retail dealer of liquors.” The 1900 Columbus City Directory shows David
in business with John Murnane11 as
“Brown & Murnane.” From 1901 to 1915,
he is shown in the saloon business with his brother, James, as the “Brown Bros”
at various locations on West Broad Street in Columbus12.
 |
| David Earl Brown, Oldest son of David Brown |
James
is the fourth child and second son of John and Ellen Brown. He was born in Franklin County on February
22, 1862 and baptized at St. Patrick’s on March 12, 1862. He, too, was living with Peter and Martha
Burns in the 1880 census. On January 4,
1883, James married Hettie Fleming13,
the daughter of John and Martha Fleming, neighbors in Franklin Township in
Franklin County, Ohio. James, unlike
some of his brothers, never left the Columbus area. Before he joined David in the saloon
business, James and Hettie were living on North Central Avenue and James was a
fireman.
In
August 1902, James purchased a lot at 2510 West Broad Street, where the saloon
was located for one year, 1904. In 1911,
a one-
half interest in this property was transferred to David Brown. During 1907 the Brown Bros. saloon was moved
to 741 West Broad Street; and, in June 1911 David and James purchased the property14. It was a one story frame building with a basement and a backyard and was
located at the southwest corner of West Broad Street and Green Street,
sometimes called Doyle Alley, across from The Good Shepherd School and Convent15. There had been a saloon at this address since
before 1897. (See the map left from the
1899 Baist Real Estate Atlas. The saloon is shown in the red circle.)
 |
| Baist map of Columbus, 1899-see footnotes Saloon in red circle in upper right David's home in blue circle in lower left Mt. Carmel hospital is located on State St between David and Souder. just out of the image. (click to enlarge) |
David
died from pneumonia on July 14, 191416
leaving his wife and sons, ages 15 and 16.
No will was recorded. Initial
papers were filed with the Franklin County Probate Court to establish an estate
record. The estate was in probate for
nearly six years and was not finalized until the real estate was transferred to
the widow on April 9, 1920. Perhaps the
delay was caused by a disagreement concerning the liquor license. On September 10, 1914, the same day the
initial papers were submitted, James, as the surviving partner, filed his
election to take the interest of the deceased partner, David Brown. At the same time, an inventory was
submitted17. (see right) The next day, September 11th, David’s
widow, Mary, applied for and was granted David’s one-half interest in the
liquor license held for the Brown Bros paying $100 to the administrator of the
estate18. From
1915 to 1918, the Columbus City Directory shows another saloon proprietor, Benj
Biete, at 741 W Broad. Was the liquor
license sold to Mr. Biete or did he have a license in his own name? If the license was transferred, who did the
transfer, or was it done jointly? The
questions could be answered by reviewing the liquor licenses. However, the
records are not available19,
so it is uncertain what happened to the license. It could be that actually nothing happened
because the Prohibition era began in Ohio in May 1919, nearly six months before
the 18th Amendment was passed by Congress20.
 |
| Inventory of Brown Bros. |
Both
properties held by David and James Brown were sold during 1920; the property at
741 W. Broad on October 1, 1920, and the property at 2510 W. Broad on April 10,
1920 which had a $4,500 mortgage at the time. Both properties sold for $1.00
and “other valuable considerations.” Whether
it is of significance or not, James sold his personal residence at 47 S. Warren
on March 4, 1920.21
The
saloon was located in an area called “The Bottoms,” on lower ground and
surrounded on three sides by the Scioto River. On March 24, 1913, a major storm hit much of
the eastern Midwest, including Columbus, causing flooding, destruction, and
death over widespread areas. Columbus
received over five inches of rain in a
24 hour period. The local rain plus runoff from areas north of
town caused the Scioto to first overflow then breech the levees protecting the
low-lying areas of Franklinton, including the bottoms22. (See map of flooded section left.)The saloon was located
just a block west of Sandusky and a block east
of Davis. (See photo of flood damage at Davis and
Broad.) There
is not any visual or written record of the damage done to the saloon, but, it
would have had water in the building at the least and, perhaps, structural
damage which may have been a contributing factor in the mortgage on one of the
properties and
the low level of spirits in the inventory at the time of David’s
death. David’s house, at 90 Martin Ave.,
was also in the flood area and may have sustained damage as well. (See image of Martin Ave. after the flood.) James’
residence was located further west on higher ground and was out of the flood
area.
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| Map of flood area showing breaks in levees and flow of flood waters. Red "X" is location of Brown Bros. (click to enlarge) |
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| West Broad St. at Davis looking toward Mt. Carmel Hospital Mt. Carmel is the taller building in the upper right |
 |
| Martin Ave. after the flood |
Without
an income after David’s death, Mary Ellen rented rooms in her home to nurses
from Mt. Carmel Hospital located just a couple of blocks away. She also helped raise her three small
grandsons, David Earl’s children, after their mother, Helen Neubeck, passed
away at age 30 in 1928. And, as a
resourceful woman, she ran a numbers racket out of her kitchen based on the
last three digits of the volume of trading on the stock market23. She must have been quite a gal. Mary Ellen passed away July 27, 1946. Mary Ellen and David are buried in Mt.
Calvary Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio.
James’
occupation, after the Brown Bros. saloon was closed, was shown as a fireman or
a watchman in the Columbus City Directories.
James died of chronic nephritis on October 3, 183825. His wife,
Hettie Fleming, had predeceased him on December 12, 1927. They are buried in St. Joseph Cemetery in
Lockbourne, Ohio. James and Hettie had
five children, John, Arthur, Agnes, Lee, Walter, and Hettie.
Special
thanks to Marion for her help with this post.
In
the next blog, we will look at other children of John and Ellen Burns Brown.
IMAGE - The teapot and creamer shown in the first image was given to
Mary Ellen Shipley Brown at her marriage to David Brown on June 12, 1895 in
Alliance Nebraska. Items are in
possession of a descendent.
1. Brown, David,
Kewanee, IL, 11 May 1943, Letter to Esther _____, Columbus, Ohio, page 6.
2. The Original
Entry application in Section 30, Township 25N, Range 50W of the 6th
prime meridian was completed on September 16, 1896 and is available online at
Fold3. https://www.fold3.com/browse/253/hDe05rrWTdbrYn98kidrkHA1wjd1kEpp-92nu6pjJZQsE3xhImKuTQXL1 There are likely two other claims made by
David. These are not available online to
compare signatures. One is a cash sale
in Section 24, Township 25N, Range 51W in April 1891 adjoining the above
property. The other is a Timber Claim
completed September 7, 1899 in Section 20, Township 25N, Range 50W. It is not known how long these properties were held.
3. Box Butte
County Clerk of the District Court, Alliance, NE, Nebraska, Box Butte County Marriages, 1887-2005, volume A, page 51,
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSD7-L34P-N?mode=g&i=50&wc=Q6QM-3QQ%3A1590063401%2C1590063408&cc=2549789 The witnesses
at this marriage are David Brown and John Phillips. Remember, James had a brother named David,
but, by this time he was going by the name of D.O. and had settled in Custer
County. The likely witness then is David
Brown, the son of John and Ellen Burns Brown, the subject of this post. We looked at James earlier in the post for
. . . and he leaves a large family to mourn his death. At that time it was determined that James had
married Jenny Barney about 1894, and, was living in northeast Nebraska in 1900. Also, remember that James was living in
Adrian, Minnesota in 1891 at the time of his father’s, death. It is assumed that this was a first marriage
for James and that he left the area after the presumed death of his first
wife.
IMAGE - Is this a photo of David Brown? It was found in a box of photos from Margaret
Shrum, a granddaughter of John and Ellen Burns Brown. The back of the photo gives the name of the
Photographer, F.J. Buckmyer, and his address, 69 S. High St., Columbus, Ohio. City Directories for Columbus show the
photographer at this address from 1881 to 1887.
David would have been age 15 to 20 during this time frame. Based on the physical appearance of the
subject, I believe this to be “a Brown” of about 20 years of age. The backdrop is a “western scene.” Could this be a clue that he was heading
west?
4. Op. cit.,
Original Entry application, Application
for Extension. When the extension was filed, David had built a 16 x 18
house, a cave that was 12 x 12 and had broken twelve acres of ground. He had only a pony with which to do the
work.
5. Op. cit.,
Original Entry application, Homestead
Proof – Testimony of Claimant. Part
of the final process of a homestead claim was for the claimant, and two people
who could vouch for him, to complete a questionnaire about improvements made to
the property and his tenure on the land.
6. Salmons, C.
H., The Burlington Strike: its motives
and methods including The Causes of the Strike, Press of Bunnell and Ward,
Aurora, IL, 1889.
7. Nebraska
State Historical Society, The Alliance
Times, Alliance, NE. The Alliance Times is available through
interlibrary loan on a limited basis. I
reviewed two reels of microfilm (071-Al5t, 006 and 007) for the period of May
13, 1898 to April 5, 1891. The newspaper
gives a lot of detail about the lives of the people in the area. One regular column in the paper, “Shop,
Wheel, and Rail,” specifically lists men, and their families, associated with
the railroad. Perhaps additional information about David, when he started for
the railroad, his assignments, and more could be located in earlier
editions. Thanks to the Wilmington
Public Library in Wilmington, Ohio who managed to obtain the microfilm of the
newspaper.
8. Box Butte
County Clerk of the District Court, Alliance, NE, Nebraska, Box Butte County Marriages, 1887-2005, volume A, page
431, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSD7-L34G-9?mode=g&i=430&wc=Q6QM-3QQ%3A1590063401%2C1590063408&cc=2549789
9. Bureau of
Land Records, Land Patents, Nebraska.
Records are available online at: https://glorecords.blm.gov/search/default.aspx?searchTabIndex=0&searchByTypeIndex=0; Images from
the Alliance Land Office are available from Fold3 at: https://www.fold3.com/browse/253/hDe05rrWTdbrYn98kidrkHA1w Robert Shipley homesteaded in section 25 in
township 026N, range 051W. Robert
Shipley’s sons, William T. and Archie L., homesteaded in section 26 in township
026N, range 051W. Robert’s son-in-law,
John Keeffe originally homesteaded in section 1, township 025N, range 050W.
10. A review of
many homestead applications and local news articles for friends and neighbors
of the Brown’s find several notations that homesteads were maintained while
the wife and children lived in town citing the harsh environment for women
and children.
11. Remember from
the post on John and Peter that Julia, the daughter of Peter Burns, was
married to John Murnane. Is this the
same man?
12. Ancestry.com.
U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database
on-line], Columbus City Directory,
1884 to 1946.
13. “Ohio, County
Marriages, 1789-2012,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XZBG-R2P : 8 December
2014), James and Hattie Fleming. 04 Jan 1883; citing Franklin, Ohio, United
States, reference 17; county courthouses, Ohio; FHL microfilm 285,149.
14. Franklin
County Recorder’s Office, Public Records
Search, online database of property sales in Franklin County, Ohio. https://countyfusion5.propertyinfo.com/countyweb/main.jsp?countyname=Franklin . Records of purchases and sales: 2510 W Broad
St (lot 6 in the Terrace Addition) purchase by James Brown, v. 360 p. 183 Aug
15, 1902; transfer ½ interest in 2510 W Broad St to David Brown, v. 483 p.607
Jun 11, 1911; 741 W Broad St (lot 1 in Samuel Doyle’s Western Addition) purchased
by David and James Brown, v. 513 p. 438 Jun 6, 1911. The description of the property where the
saloon was located was derived from the Sanborn Fire Insurance map located
at the Columbus Metropolitan Library and the purchase deed. “This deed is made subject to a certain lease
made by grantor August 3, 1910 for a term of three years (3) from September 1,
1910, to August [Uihleen sp??] on that portion of the premises herein conveyed
known as no. 741 W. Broad St. being storeroom basement and backyard of same.”
15. The Good
Shepherd School, Columbus. https://www.colsdioc.org/Portals/0/Departments/CRS/GoodShepherdText.pdf Good Shepherd School was a house of refuge
for troubled females of all ages. It was
located on the Sullivant estate on West Broad Street and Sandusky and consisted
of several buildings including, a church, school, convent and several other
buildings. The grounds were extensive
and covered several acres.
IMAGE – Section of Plate 9 of the 1899 Real Estate Atlas for
Columbus, Ohio, G. Wm Baist - Map used with permission of The Columbus
Metropolitan Library Image Collections.
16. Ohio Deaths,
1908-1953,” database with images, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3357-9PK3-3D8H?cc=1307272&wc=MD9X-T2S%2C294553504 : 21 May
2014), 1914>image 1579 of 3301.
17. Franklin
County, Ohio probate case files, estate no. 29919, David Brown (1914),
Inventory dated September 10, 1914.
Inventory consists of furniture and fixtures and one-half barrel
spirits. Was there other inventory that
was moved prior to probate; or, was the inventory small because of the 1913
flood?
18. Ibid., David
Brown (1914), “Entry” dated September 11, 1914, “. . . administrator is ordered
to transfer and assign the interest of said David Brown in said Liquor License,
to said applicant [Mary E. Brown],; and it is therefore ordered and directed
that upon the payment by said Mary E. Brown to said administrator, for the use
and benefit of the estate of said David Brown, of the sum of $100.00, said
administrator is hereby directed to assign and transfer to said Mary E. Brown,
all the right, title and interest of the estate of said David Brown, deceased,
in and to said Liquor License.”
19. The licensing
division of the Franklin County Liquor Control holds records for licenses and
transfers. They do not have records
before Prohibition, nor, are early records held at local repositories in
Franklin County.
20. Ohio Memory, The Prohibition Era Begins . . ., http://www.ohiohistoryhost.org/ohiomemory/archives/641
21. Op. cit.,
Franklin County Recorder’s Office, Public
Records Search, sale of 741 W. Broad recorded in volume 691, page 246; sale
of 2510 W. Broad recorded in volume 672, page 580; sale of 47 S. Warren
recorded in volume 678, page 286.
22. Section of
map from the Ohio State Board of Health of March 1913 showing areas of
Columbus, Ohio affected by the flood.
For more information on the flood in Columbus, see http://nationalcalamityeaster1913flood.blogspot.com/2014/04/wireless-to-rescue-birth-of-emergency.html and http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/2013/03/26/as-it-were.html
IMAGES of 1913 flood used with the permission of The Columbus
Metropolitan Library Image Collections
23. This
information from descendents of David and Mary Ellen Brown.
24. Ohio Deaths,
1908-1953,” database with images, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3357-9PK3-3D8H?cc=1307272&wc=MD9X-T2S%2C294553504 : 21 May
2014), 1914>image 1579 of 3301.
