The Browne Family Record

This e-mail came from Ann O'Rourke; after it are the text file and picture she included: 


 
Hi Fred!
I finally had time to look at your website.  You have
been busy!  I see the connection to Elisha Brown(e)
and especially enjoyed the photos.  I am attaching the
information that I received from my mother-in-law
regarding her line in the Browne family.  Abraham
Browne was her great grandfather.  Her grandfather was
Clark Gilbert and her father was Roy Cleveland.  I'll
also attach a photo of Clark Gilbert, his wife Ella
Charlotte Guinnee, and two of their sons, Roy
Cleveland (older boy on left) and John Paul (younger
boy on right).  They had two older sons who died
before they were one.  At this point, I don't have a
website or a link - I'm too inundated with my job!!

More later!

Ann
Clark Gilbert Browne

Clark Gilbert Browne, from
the family picture below

The Browne Family Record

The Browne�s were English and came from England to Baltimore, Maryland (no date). William Browne was born in Baltimore, married Harriett Lane. He served in the Revolutionary War with the rank of Colonel. He had one daughter Helen, who married a Mr. Curtis, no children. He had one son Elisha Browne, he also served in the army and the war as well as War of 1812 and with rank of Colonel. He married Elizabeth Stothe, they had four sons, Elisha, Elijah, Abraham and Jacob, and two daughters, Rebecca and Socia.

The family later moved to Circle, Ohio. (William, Elisha�s father, died there.) The two daughters married two brothers by the name of Van Lue. Rebecca had one daughter Molly who married a Mr. Markel. They had one son. Socia had no children. Of the sons, could find no record, except they lived in Ohio. Jacob had two children a son and a daughter. The third son Abraham Browne became a doctor of medicine. He was born Feb. 24, 1823. He married Helen Burckingham at Zanesville, Ohio, in 1853. They moved to Van Lue, Ohio where Dr. Browne practiced. To this marriage were born eight children: Cass Jefferson, 1854; John Franklin, 1855; Clark Gilbert, 1857; Lucy L., 1859; all born in Van Lue, Ohio. Then Dr. Browne and family moved to Tower Hill, Illinois where Louise Mae was born in 1863. Then Dr. Browne again moved back to Van Lue, Ohio in 1865, and here were born two more daughters, Olive Airy, 1866; and Nora Belle, 1868. Dr. Browne again moved back to Tower Hill, Illinois where he practiced medicine until his death in 1875. The two eldest sons graduated from Shelby College in Shelbyville, Illinois. They became teachers. After their father�s death, they supported their mother and family. Cass was principal of a high school at Owanaco, Illinois, where he died August 1885. John died November 24, 1886 and the youngest daughter Nora Belle died in May 9, 1885.

Of the remaining family, Lucy married Joseph Montague. To this union was born eight children. Four daughters, Olive May, who died at age 6, Bessie, Nelle and Pauline. Four sons, Laurance, Harry, Russell and Glen.

Louisa May married Charles Miller, they had two children, Jessie and James Roscoe. Louisa May divorced Charles Miller and later married John Hanlon, who died. In later years she married Bert Seymour. Olive Airy married James Rhodes, had no children. Mr. Rhodes died after they had been married 25 years. Two years after that she married a widower John Siddell who had one daughter Bernice Ann. Lucy died in 1949 age 90 years. Louisa May died in March 1926, and Olive Airy died in May 1939. Lucy and Olive were both school teachers before they were married and Louisa May was a piano teacher.

The fourth son of Dr. and Mrs. Abraham Browne died at birth. The third son Clark Gilbert Browne became a telegraph operator and went to work at the age of 16 years for the Big Four Railroad at Tower Hill, Illinois.

Clark married Ella Charlotte Guinnee, daughter of Michael and Mary Ann Guinnee of Tower Hill, Illinois, June 1881 in St. Louis. Ella was only 16 at the time of the marriage. They had four sons: Clarence was born in 1882 and died before the age of one; Francis was born in 1883 and also died before the age of one. Roy Cleveland was born 4 Feb 1885 and John Paul was born 27 May 1887. After 18 years of marriage, and at the young age of 33, Clark�s wife Ella died November 9, 1899. Of her two sons, Roy Clark married Irene Slack December 7, 1919 in East St. Louis, Illinois. To them were born six children: Claude, Jack, Constance, Frank, Helen, and Ralph. Roy Clark died February 1954, age 69 years. John Paul Browne married Florence McCloud, no children. He died October 1957.

Clark Gilbert Browne married a second time. He married Florence McCloud�s sister, Georgia May McCloud, October 20, 1902 at Kinmundy, Illinois. They lived in Champagne, Illinois for awhile and then went to Russell, Kansas where he worked for the Union Pacific Railroad. They came back to Illinois and he went to work for the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis, Mo. They lived in Venice, Illinois, where Carl Gilbert was born August 3, 1904 and Helen Ida was born Dec. 7, 1905. They then moved to New Albany, Indiana, in August 1906. He worked for the L. & N. Railroad. They were forced to leave New Albany, Indiana, because of the flood on the Ohio River in January, 1907. They moved to East St. Louis, Illinois, and he went back to work for the Terminal Rail Road Association. Here Olive Bernice was born March 12, 1907, and Harold McCloud was born March 30, 1913. In 1928, Helen Ida died on March 31st. Clark retired in 1937 at the age of 80 years. He died April 17, 1948 age 90 years, 3 months and 17 days. Of their three living children, Carl Gilbert married Mary Margaret Przada Novemer 27, 1930. They had one daughter, Helen Carol born April 9, 1943 in East St. Louis, Illinois. Harold McCloud Browne married Ester June Hutchison May 2, 1942 in Pomona, California. In April 1944 of the Second World War, Harold was sent to the Pacific Area. He was in service from March 1941 until July 1945. His wife Esther came out in East St. Louis and stayed with his parents where John Harold was born on Nov. 22, 1944. They had three children, Marcia Esther born April 3, 1943 in Burbank, California. She came with her mother to East St. Louis while Harold was in the war. After Harold�s discharge from the Army, they went back to California to live, where James Eugene was born, January 10, 1950 at Burbank, California.

Olive Bernice married Elmer Clifton Campbell, January 29, 1931. They had two children, Colin Clifton born December 27, 1931 and Marney Helen born October 8, 1936. Colin Clifton was born in East St. Louis, Illinois at his grandmother Browne�s home. She and Elmer lived in Waterloo, Illinois at the time. They moved to Pontiac, Illinois in 1938 and daughter Marney Helen born while they resided there, but born at Menonite Hospital in Bloomington, Illinois. Later moved to DesMoines, Iowa where they lived 8 years and then to Cameron, Missouri and lived there four years, then to Parkville, Missouri and are residing there at the present time, except the area where they lived was annexed by Kansas City, Missouri some years past. Both their children married and live in Kansas City, Missouri. Colin married Marilee Mallot Dec. 28, 1951 and have 5 children, twin girls Marsha and Marcia, Curtis, Lorie and Coleen. Marney married Jack Miller in May, 1956 and they have four children, Melissa, Christopher, Andrew and Amy.

Buckingham Family Record

John Larwood came from Dover, England to Baltimore, Maryland when it was just a fishing village (date not known), married, but wife�s name now known, but had one daughter, her name not known, she married Mr. Larson and they had one daughter who married a Mr. Kitten. To them was born a daughter named Mary Ann Kitten who married Obadiah Buckingham in Baltimore. He was in the Revolutionary war, also his brother. To this union was born five children, but have no record of their names, only the oldest son whose name was Nicodemus. The father died and this son was left to take care of his mother and the other children. They decided to go to Ohio. The family started out but when they got as far as Steubenville, Ohio, Nicodemus said he would not go any farther until he went back to Baltimore and got his sweetheart. He left his mother and the children there and rode horseback to Baltimore and married Airy Goodson and they came back and found the family and moved on to Zanesville, Ohio where they settled.

To this union was born seven sons: John, Jesse, Nicodemus, Thomas, David, Benjamin and Nathan and they had five daughters: Rebecca, Rhoda, Anna, Mary and Helen Buckingham. Have a record of Benjamin only, who married and had one daughter. Of the girls, Rebecca married Ira Harmon. They had two daughters and one son. Rhoda married Mr. Meeks and had one son. Mary married Evan Bowers and had no children. Helen the youngest daughter married Doctor Abraham Browne in Zanesville, Ohio. They had eight children, four sons: Cass Jefferson, John Franklin, Clark Gilbert and an infant son that died one day after birth. Four daughters: Lucy L., Louisa May and Olive Airy and Nora Belle. Airy Buckingham came to live with her daughter Helen Browne in Tower Hill, Illinois and died there at the age of 77.


Here are Clark Gilbert, his wife Ella Charlotte Guinnee, and two of their sons, Roy Cleveland (older boy on left) and John Paul (younger boy on right):

Clark Gilbert Browne

The gravesite photos below of Tower Hill Cemetery in Tower Hill, Shelby Co., Illinois were e-mailed me by Ann O'Rourke 6/12/10, who supplies the commentary. My comments are in italics. The first two pix came as a part of one big pic. She includes quotes from "History of Tower Hill and Vicinity", 1973, by Homer Eiler.

The first is a photo of the tombstones of the two oldest sons of Abraham Browne and Helen Buckingham, Cass Jefferson and John Franklin Browne. The tombstones indicate that Cass Jefferson was born Sept. 2, 1853 and died Aug. 28, 1885 and that John Franklin was born July 8, 1855 and died Nov. 24, 1886. (These dates are slightly different from those in the narrative that I sent to you.) Based on the dates on the tombstones, both died at the young age of 31. That July 8 on John's headstone looks like July 18 to me.

Cass J. Browne Headstone
John F. Browne Headstone

From the Eiler book: "Most everyone has a memory of some event that happened along with some special day. Just so with me, as there is hardly a Thanksgiving day that comes around but what I think of the sad accidental death of John Brown, one of Tower Hills brightest young men. This awful tragedy happened in the late 80's when he was boarding a train at Shelbyville for home. The sympathy of the entire community went out to the widowed mother, brother and sisters."

I haven't found anything about the circumstances of the death of Cass Browne yet, but I will keep looking.

The next photo is of their sister Nora Belle's tombstone. The dates on the photo are hard to read; it's a good thing that my mother-in-law took notes and sent me a typed copy! Her tombstone shows her dates as Oct. 18, 1867 to May 9, 1885. She was only 17 when she died. To me her birthdate looks like Oct. 81. Maybe it's a typo.

The same website, page 61 provides information on Nora Belle:

"Very soon after the class had finished the term of school, we were shocked at the early passing of a popular member of the class. Fifty years hove rolled by but her memory still lingers. She was the daughter of Dr. Brown, one of the Hill's earliest physicians, and whom we have spoken of in glowing terms in our chapter of physicians."

These three siblings died within 18 months of each other. This must have been a terrible shock for he family!

Norah Belle Browne - Tower Hill Cem
Tombstone - Helen Browne

The next photo is of Helen Buckingham Browne's tombstone. The dates on the tombstone are June 25, 1828 - Sept. 7, 1905. Abraham Browne is not buried with her. According to the note about John's death, Helen was already a widow at the time John died (1886).

The fourth photo is of the tombstone of another of the children of Abraham and Helen Browne, Louisa Mae Browne Seymour (her third married name - Miller, Hanlon, Seymour).

Mae Browne Seymour - Tower Hill Cem