Husband Rasselas Wilcox Brown 1 2 3
Born: 30 Sep 1809 - German Flats, Herkimer Co, NY 3 4
Christened:
Died: 27 Jun 1887 - Rasselas, Elk Co, PA 3 5
Buried: - Cicero, Onondaga Co, NY
Father: Isaac Brown ( - ) 6
Mother: Polly Wilcox ( - ) 6
Marriage: 25 Sep 1832 - Fort Brewerton, Onondaga Co, NY 4
• Biographical Sketch: from History of the Counties of McKean, Elk, and Forest, Pennsylvania (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., Publishers, 1890).
To read a brief biographical sketch of his life and career, click here.
Wife Mary Porter Brownell 2 4
Born: 23 Sep 1815 - Trenton, Oneida Co, NY 2 4
Christened:
Died: Aft 1890
Buried:
Father: Jedediah Brownell (1774-1847) 2
Mother: Eunice Watkins (1782-1872) 3 4
Children
1 M Jefferson L. Brown 7 8
Born: 25 Jun 1834 - Fort Brewerton, Onondaga Co, NY 7 8
Christened:
Died: Abt 1897
Buried:
Spouse: Amanda H. Merriam ( - ) 8 9
Marr: 1855 8
2 M William Wallace Brown, LL.D. 8 10
Born: 22 Apr 1836 - Summer Hill, Cayuga Co, NY 8 10
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Spouse: Ellen Crandall ( - ) 8 11
Marr: 16 Mar 1862 8 11
3 F Olive J. Brown 8 12
Born:
Christened:
Died: Aft 1890
Buried:
Spouse: Silas Moyer ( - ) 8 12
4 F Eunice A. Brown 12
Born: 3 May 1843 - Rasselas, Elk Co, PA 3
Christened:
Died: Aft 1890
Buried:
Spouse: William E. Hewitt (1841-1899) 12 13
Marr: 24 Dec 1865 3
5 F Mary A. Brown 8 12
Born:
Christened:
Died: Aft 1890
Buried:
Spouse: George Allen ( - ) 8 12
6 M Isaac B. Brown 8 12
Born: 20 Feb 1848 - Jones Twp, Elk Co, PA 8 9
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Spouse: Hannah Partington ( - ) 8 14
Marr: 25 Jun 1870 8 14
General Notes: Husband - Rasselas Wilcox Brown
He was born in Herkimer County, New York, and in 1837, with his brother-in-law, W. S. Brownell, of Smethport, Pennsylvania, went to Michigan, stopping at Wilcox en route. He returned to Williamsville in October, purchased land near by, and on March 16, 1838, brought into the wilderness his wife and two sons. In 1841 he moved to Rasselas, where he later died. [HMEF, 585]
When he was sixteen years old, his father moved to Onondaga County, New York, and located on a tract in the town of Cicero, which Rasselas helped to transform into a productive farm. Upon this farm is located the cemetery, where at his own request Mr. Brown was buried. It is a beautiful spot over-looking the village of Cicero and the surrounding level, prairie-like country, and contains the remains of several generations of the Brown family. Mr. Brown united with the Baptist Church, of Cicero, when eighteen years of age, and adhered to that faith throughout his life. [HMEF, 746]
He and his wife were natives of New York, of Scotch and English blood, and, in religion, of the Baptist faith. They emigrated to Pennsylvania in the year 1838, and soon established their home in the then unbroken wilderness of that part of Elk County formerly belonging to McKean, and where is now located Rasselas. The land on which they settled was covered with an immense growth of pine and hemlock. It was remote from a mill, and as the trees could not be manufactured into lumber, they had to be burned to ashes. To this huge task the father and sons addressed themselves with hard and constant labor. A large share of the settlers who undertook a like task in that neighborhood gave up in despair. The Browns came to stay and to conquer, and in a large sense they were successful.
In 1837 he and his brother-in-law, Judge William S. Brownell, set out on foot from New York to inspect Michigan lands. They passed through the wilderness of what is now Jones township, Elk County, Pennsylvania, where Col. W. P. Wilcox, Mr. Brown's uncle, had located a few years previously. They returned from Michigan in the late fall, and hired a man to cut the timbers and build a house early in the spring. Mr. Brown and his family arrived at their new home March 16, 1838, to find that the man intrusted with putting up the house had done nothing, but he soon had a house ready to move into. The unusual effort coupled with nervous strain and impaired eyesight led them to assume charge of the "Williamsville Hotel," where they remained until 1841, Mrs. Brown conducting the hotel and supporting the family. In the spring of 1841 they returned to their land, in the midst of a dense pine and hemlock forest, with a heavy task ahead to clear it. The family eked out an income by various industries, making pine shingles, or digging coal from deposits on the farm, and selling their products wherever a purchaser could be found, sometimes fifty or a hundred miles distant. The pay was often in goods, money being scarce. But Mr. Brown labored without ceasing in spite of the drawback of impaired eyesight, and with the help of a devoted wife and family, prospered. Moreover, his energetic nature and intelligent foresight made him a leader of public opinion, and although he was about the only stanch Whig in his neighborhood he was elected magistrate. In spite of his infirmity he kept abreast of the times, others reading to him, and having a retentive memory gained a fund of information surprisingly comprehensive. He led a useful, busy life, and when death came had "his house in order," preparations made for the care of his widow and property, and directions that he be buried in the cemetery on his father's old farm in Cicero, N. Y., where the remains of several generations of Browns rest. On the fiftieth anniversary of his first arrival here Mr. Brown's remains were taken back to be interred. At the age of eighteen he had joined the Baptist Church at Cicero, and retained membership throughout life, his wife also adhering to the same faith.