Siblings of David W. Brown: Joseph I. Brown (1868-1925), Daniel D. Brown (1871-1902) and John Wesley Brown (1877-1958)

This post completes my account of the siblings of my great-grandfather, David W. Brown.

Joseph I. Brown was born on May 2, 1868 in Oakwood, Mariposa Township, Victoria County, Ontario. He moved with the family to Listowel and to Baltimore, Dakota Territory. On October 18, 1890, at the age of 22 (the marriage record says 23) Joseph was married to Lulu M. Brebner in the Methodist Episcopal parsonage. Both Joseph and Lulu were residents of Port Austin, Michigan, at that time. Joe’s occupation was “railroad station agent.” (It seems that at one time or another all of the brothers Brown worked for the railroad.)

According to the census of 1900, Joe and Lulu were then living in Sault Ste. Marie, in Chippewa County, in the northern peninsula of Michigan. They had three children, Harriet J., 6, Sarah A., 2 and Donald, six months. Joe’s brother John was also living with them. Joe’s occupation was "railroad train master" (an employee in charge of a railroad yard); John’s was "railroad fireman."

Joe and Lulu's son Donald died in 1902. They had another son named Peter B, who was born in 1903 in Saginaw. The 1920 census has the family living in Saginaw. Peter was then 16. Their daughter Harriet and her husband Earl H. Kelsey were also living with Joe and Lulu. A second daughter, Sarah A., had married a chemist named Carl W. Blenkhorn in 1917.

I have two letters that Joe wrote to his brother David, one written in 1919, the other in 1923. The letterhead shows that Joe was the sales manager for The Wallace Stone Co., Bay Port Stone, Saginaw. This is the same company David W. had worked for. In the letter of 1919, Joe thanks David “for your kind and nicely placed congratulations.” No doubt David had congratulated Joe on the birth of his grandson, Carl W. Blenkhorn, Jr., who was born in 1919.

Joe’s wife Lulu died on March 21, 1922, at the age of 52. Joe himself died on August 13, 1925, at the age of 57. They are both buried in the Midland City Cemetery.

Daniel D. Brown was born on August 15, 1871 in Mariposa Township, Victoria County, Ontario. With the rest of the family he moved to Listowel and then to Baltimore, Dakota Territory. The 1900 census says he was born in September 1871 rather than August, but that appears to be a mistake.

 When the family moved to Michigan, Daniel began to study law. I have a “Certificate of Admission as an Attorney” for Daniel dated August 31, 1894. For a time he and Harmon Fairchild practiced law together, with Daniel serving as a justice of the peace. Daniel was also involved in the fraternal organization known as the Knights of the Maccabees. According Wikipedia, "The group's fraternal aspects took a backseat to providing low-cost insurance to members." The census of 1900 shows that at that time Daniel was working as a lawyer in the town of Onoway, in Presque Isle County, Michigan. 

Daniel died on July 2, 1902 at the early age of 30. Apparently he was visiting his brother Peter in Sumas, Washington, when he died. The funeral was held at the Presbyterian Church in Midland. A newspaper article gives the following account: "The ceremonies were in charge of the Maccabees, who with the Midland Band, more than a hundred in all, marched from the home [of Donald Brown, Daniel's father,] to the church and from the church to the cemetery." The article speaks of "the solemn strains of appropriate music floating upon the air." Daniel was buried in the Midland City Cemetery.

John Wesley Brown

John Wesley Brown was born on August 27, 1877 in the city of Listowel, Perth County, Ontario. He moved with the rest of the family to Baltimore, Dakota Territory in 1880. Two certificates of promotion show that he attended the Port Austin Graded School. As mentioned above, John was a railroad fireman in 1900. In 1902, at the time of Daniel's death, he was living in Akron, Michigan, which was on the Pere Marquette Railroad. By 1918, when his father Donald died, he was living in Midland, Michigan. At some point he started a furniture business in Midland, John Brown Furniture. He never married. According to the census of 1930, John's mother Sarah Brignall Brown was living with him in Midland at that time. In 1940 he was living in the same house, 606 E. Grove Street. His occupation: furniture dealer. 

John died on July 13, 1958 in Midland at the age of 80. He is buried in the Midland City Cemetery.

An ad from a 1942 telephone directory