William Monroe Brown (1869 - 1951)

Born 2 Apr 1869 in Gaston County, North Carolina, USA

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Jane (Hartgrove) Brown — married 15 Dec 1892 in Lincoln County, North Carolina

Descendants

Died 27 Oct 1951 at age 82 in Cherryville, Gaston, North Carolina

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Mel Green [send private message]

Biography

Willie was born 2 April 1869^[1] in Gaston County, North Carolina. His father Robert was a farmer, and while he did do some carpentry and wagon repair he was also a farmer.

Willie lost his hearing as a small child, probably due to meningitis. As a teen he attended the North Carolina School for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind in Raleigh, North Carolina.^[2] Supposedly he met his wife Minnie, who was also deaf, through a traveling preacher, who "fixed them up".

After his wife died due to complications from giving birth to their fourth child, he moved back home with his parents.^[3] His unmarried sisters Emma and Clemmie along with the oldest child Aubra raised his four children, especially Bill who was only three weeks old when Minnie died.

He remarried in 1923 after his children were mostly grown, and had three more children with his second wife Cora. Cora was considerably younger than Willie. He lived in Bertie County for a time and farmed there. Possibly because of his deafness, in his later years he became somewhat fanatical and religious.

He and Cora separated/divorced probably sometime in the late '30s. He and their youngest child Cone moved back to Cherryville and in 1940 lived next door to the family homestead.

He died 27 October 1951 from complications of a broken hip after a fall at his home in Cherryville.^[4] He is buried in St John's Lutheran Church Cemetery in Cherryville, next to his first wife Minnie.^[5]

Census Records

He can be found in the 1870^[6] and 1880^[7] censuses with his parents Robert and Susan.

In 1900 he and wife Minnie and their two oldest children are living on their own in Cherryville^[8], but by 1910^[9] he and his children are back with his parents after Minnie's death. He can be found there again in 1920.^[10]

By 1930 he had remarried and was living in Bertie County with his new wife Cora and their 3 children.^[11]

In 1940, he and his youngest child Cone had moved back to Cherryville. They lived next door to his son Bill from his first marriage and Willie's sisters Emma and Clemmie, who had stayed in the Brown family home after the death of Robert Brown in 1939.^[12]

Sources

1. ↑ "Robert G.Brown Family Bible," New Testament, New York: American Bible Society, 1849, in possession of Barbara Sellers Green, Hillsborough, NC 27278.
2. ↑ Gov Morehead School, Enrollment Book, Blind and Deaf, 1877-1889, General Records, Volume 3, page 70, North Carolina Division of Archives and History, Raleigh, North Carolina.
3. ↑ 1910 United States Federal Census Author: Ancestry.com Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.Original data - Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Was Repository: Ancestry.com, http://www.Ancestry.com Census Place: Cherryville, Gaston, North Carolina; Roll: T624_1112; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0053; FHL microfilm: 1375125
4. ↑ North Carolina, Death Certificates, 1909-1975 Author: Ancestry.com Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.Original data - North Carolina State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics. North Carolina Death Certificates. Microfilm S.123. Rolls 19-242, 280, 313-682, 1040-1297. North Carolina Repository: Ancestry.com, http://www.Ancestry.com
5. ↑ "William M. Brown, tombstone," St. John's Lutheran Church, Cherryville, Gaston County, North Carolina, read and photographed by Mel Green, 12 January 1999.
6. ↑ “1870 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.Original data - 1870 U.S. census, population schedules. NARA microfilm publication M593, 1,761 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Record, Ancestry.com, http://www.Ancestry.com.Year: 1870; Census Place: Cherryville, Gaston, North Carolina; Roll: M593_1138; Page: 662B; Image: 18; Family History Library Film: 552637
7. ↑ 1880 United States Federal Census Author: Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. 1880 U.S. Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints © Copyright 1999 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. All use is subject to the limited Repository: Ancestry.com, http://www.Ancestry.com Year: 1880; Census Place: Cherryville, Gaston, North Carolina; Roll: 964; Family History Film: 1254964; Page: 4D; Enumeration District: 085; Image: 0011
8. ↑ 1900 United States Federal Census Author: Ancestry.com Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.Original data - United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 18 Repository: Ancestry.com, http://www.Ancestry.com Year: 1900; Census Place: Cherryville, Gaston, North Carolina; Roll: 1196; Page: 20A; Enumeration District: 0074; FHL microfilm: 1241196
9. ↑ 1910 United States Federal Census Author: Ancestry.com Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.Original data - Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Was Repository: Ancestry.com, http://www.Ancestry.com Page: Source Citation: Year: 1910; Census Place: Cherryville, Gaston, North Carolina; Roll: T624_1112; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0053; FHL microfilm: 1375125
10. ↑ 1920 United States Federal Census Author: Ancestry.com Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.Original data - Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Reco Repository: Ancestry.com, http://www.Ancestry.com Year: 1920; Census Place: Cherryville, Gaston, North Carolina; Roll: T625_1299; Page: 13B; Enumeration District: 73; Image: 627
11. ↑ 1930 United States Federal Census Author: Ancestry.com Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.Original data - United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, Repository: Ancestry.com, http://www.Ancestry.com Year: 1930; Census Place: Whites, Bertie, North Carolina; Roll: 1674; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0014; Image: 318.0; FHL microfilm: 2341408
12. ↑ Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940. T627, 4,643 rolls.Year: 1940; Census Place: Cherryville, Gaston, North Carolina; Roll: T627_2913; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 36-5

See also:

• Source: Title: North Carolina, Death Indexes, 1908-2004 Author: Ancestry.com Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007.Original data - North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics. North Caroline Deaths, 1997-2004. North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics, Raleigh, North Carolina.North Carolina Archives Repository: Ancestry.com, http://www.Ancestry.com

• Ancestry.com. Web: North Carolina, Find A Grave Index, 1716-2012 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Entry for William Brown