Josephine Rebecca (Henderson) Brown (1903 - 1994)

Born 13 Dec 1903 in Fairfield, Freestone, Texas, United States

Ancestors

Wife of Henry Brown — married 25 Sep 1920 in Teague, Freestone, Texas, United States

Died 29 Jun 1994 at age 90 in Fairfield, Freestone, Texas, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Mike Stout [send private message]

Biography

Birth Josie was born on 13 December 1903 in Fairfield, Freestone County, Texas. She was the daughter of Melvin Henderson and Annice Shanks..^[1][2]

NOTE: The space for the child's name is blank on her original birth certificate but is corrected on a birth certificate issued 16 November 1964.

Death of Father Josie's father Melvin Whit Henderson passes away on 20 February 1907 in Fairfield, Freestone County, Texas, USA.^[3]

1910 Census Josie is living with her mother Annis Molene (Shanks) Henderson, now a widow, four step siblings, one half brother and one brother in Justice Precinct 1, Freestone County, Texas. Annis' occupation is a farmer and all the children over 10 years are listed as farm laborers. All the children over ten can read and write and have attended school in the past year.

Household	Role	Sex	Age	Birthplace
Annis M Henderson	Head	Female	32	Texas
Milliam Henderson	Stepson	Male	17	Texas
Oscar Henderson	Stepson	Male	16	Texas
Dora Henderson	Stepdaughter	Female	15	Texas
Hugh Henderson	Stepson	Male	12	Texas
Rabe Meador	Son	Male	10	Texas
Josie Henderson	Daughter	Female	5	Texas
Tommie Henderson	Son	Male	3	Texas

^[4]

1920 Census Josie is living with her mother, Annice Molene (Shanks) Henderson (1875-1956), a half brother (son of her first husband, J.R. Meador) and a brother in Fairfield, Freestone Couty, Texas.

Household	Role	Sex	Age	Birthplace
Annie Henderson	Head	Female	35	Texas
Rabe Meadows	Son	Male	20	Texas
Josephine Henderson	Daughter	Female	16	Texas
Tommie Henderson	Son	Male	13	Texas

^[5]

Marriage Josie marries Henry Brown, son of Jim Richard and Delia (Haynie) Brown, on 25 September 1920 in Teague, Freestone County, Texas. Henry was 20 and Josie was 16 years old when they married.^[3] Children:

• Henry William Brown b c1922^[6]
• Joseph Wayne "Wayne" Brown 1923-1974^[7]
• Harold Edwin Brown b1925^[8]
• Travis Rudolph Brown 1927-1927^[9][10]
• Marylin Joyce "Joyce" Brown b around June 1928^[8][10]
• Dolores Molene (Brown) Johnson born at home, on the farm, on December 21, 1929 in Electra, Wichita County, Texas.^[10][8]
• Howard Benson Brown b1931 in Electra, Wichita County, Texas.^[11][10]
• James Benard Brown b1933 in Iowa Park. Wichita County, Texas. ^[12][10]
• Shirley Brown bc1935 in Iowa Park, Wichita County Texas.^[10][13]
• Doris Evelyn Brown b1937 in Wheeler County, Texas. ^[14]
• Stanley Reed Brown b1939 in Freestone County, Texas.^[15]
• Robert Carlton Brown b1942 in Freestone County, Texas.^[16]
• Gloria Diana Brown b1944 in Freestone County, Texas.^[17]

Residence In the 1920s the family lived on farms near Fairfield, Streetman, and Teague, all in Freestone County, Texas where Henry, Wayne, Harold, Travis, Joyce were born. Freestone County, Texas is around 90 miles south southeast of Dallas, Texas. Around 1928 the moved to Electra in Wichita County, Texas around 1928 where Dolores and Howard were born. Electra is about 25 miles northwest of Wichita Falls and about 160 miles northwest of Dallas, Texas.^[10]

1930 Census Josie is living with husband, Henry Brown, five children and two hired hands in Electra, Wichita County, Texas. They are living in a rental house. Henry is a farmer.

Household	Role	Sex	Age	Birthplace
Henry Brown	Head	Male	29	Texas
Josephine R Brown	Wife	Female	26	Texas
Henry W Brown	Son	Male	8	Texas
Joseph W Brown	Son	Male	6	Texas
Harold E Brown	Son	Male	4	Texas
Marilyn J Brown	Daughter	Female	1	Texas
Dolores Brown	Daughter	Female	0	Texas
Fred Missildine	Hired hand	Male	26	Texas
Albert B Craddic	Hired hand	Male	20	Texas

^[8]

Residence The family moves to Iowa Park, Wichata County Couty, Texas aroud 1932 where James and Shirley were born. Iowa Park is about 15 miles west, northwest of Wichita Falls, Texas and about 150 miles northwest of Dallas, Texas. Around 1938 the family moved back to Freestone County, Texas where Stanley, Carlton and Gloria were born.^[10]

NOTE: Doris was born in 1937. Her birth certificate shows she was born in Wheeler County, Texas. Wheeler County is in the Texas panhandle, around 100 miles east of Amirillo, Texas. In her Life Story Dolores doesn't mention Wheeler County and states that Doris was born in Iowa Park.

Farmhouse in Freestone County Exerpt from My Life by Dolores Brown Johnson:

Our farmhouse was a fairly good-sized house, at the end of the road out in our community, in a sand bed. Sandy soil grows good produce, and we always had a huge garden. Our community was called Grange Hall, and the only church there was the Baptist Church. There was an old, narrow road that went on past our house, over to Grandma Henderson's place, and some side roads where negroes lived. Daddy had screened in our big back porch and made a room out of it, so we had four bedrooms, with two beds in each room, a large living room, large kitchen and dining room, a long hall and an L-shaped front porch. Later years he changed the porch made a bedroom in the hall. And this put the "east room" inside the house, instead of having to go on the porch to get into it. Also before they moved back into it after being in town, a laundry room and a bath were put in. Daddy always kept the house painted--green, of course. A light green, like he liked, and we had linoleum on all the floors. The house had many windows, so usually got a good breeze. One bad thing was that the kitchen was on the north side, and the wind blew mostly from the south, so the kitchen was VERY hot in the summer and cold in the winter. We used kerosene lamps for our lights, and an Aladdin lamp for homework. We had an out-house, of course, since no plumbing until much later.^[18]

Church Life Exerpt from My Life by Dolores Brown Johnson:.

In our years at Grange Hall we went to the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church. We had to walk 2 miles to and from, but we went almost every Sunday. Sometimes we would get a ride with Cannons on the way home. Sometimes when we were taken in our car, we picked up Yorks and whoever, and we were crammed in there. Earlier we had a car with running boards, and they were always loaded. We weren't a whole lot interested in learning any religion, but is was the only social life we farm kids had.^[19]

1940 Census Josie is living with husband, Henry Brown and ten children in Justice Precinct 1, Freestone County, Texas.

Household	Role	Sex	Age	Birthplace
Henry Brown	Head	Male	39	Texas
Josephine Brown	Wife	Female	36	Texas
Henry Wm Brown	Son	Male	18	Texas
Wayne Brown	Son	Male	16	Texas
Harold Brown	Son	Male	14	Texas
Joyce Brown	Daughter	Female	11	Texas
Delores Brown	Daughter	Female	10	Texas
Howard Brown	Son	Male	8	Texas
James Brown	Son	Male	6	Texas
Shirley Brown	Daughter	Female	4	Texas
Doris Evelyn Brown	Daughter	Female	2	Texas
Stanley Brown	Son	Male	0	Texas

^[13]

Death Josie passes away on 29 June 1994 in Fairfield, Freestone County, Texas and is buried in Shanks Cemetery, Kirvin, Freestone County, Texas.^{[20][21][22][23]}

Memories Exerpt from My Life by Josie's daughter, Dolores Brown Johnson:

• Mama made really good fried pies, from the fruit we dried when it was in season. We had a big orchard, so had lots of different fruits to enjoy. In the summer we canned LOTS of fruit, and had to peel them by the bushels. We didn't know then about putting tomatoes and peaches in boiling water to make the skins come off, so we peeled. And we ate the soft spot off each peach, and they were delicious.^[24]
• Mama always made lots of quilts, in the winter mostly. She had a frame that hung down from the ceiling, and when we came home from school she would wind it up out of the way. She made the three older boys a Texas Star quilt, and for Joyce and me it was a Little Dutch Girl quilt, made from scraps of our dresses when we were little.^[25]
• We took lots of walks down the sand bed road. Mama loved to walk, and as we walked she would tell us what made each kind of track, and about all the birds. Sometimes on Sunday afternoons we would go to the woods to pick violets. We had lots of persimmon trees and they were good. We always picked lots of grapes for Mama to make juice.^[26]

Sources

1. ↑ "Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-1935," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VX98-1SD : 1 March 2021), Josephine Rebecca Henderson, 13 Dec 1903; citing Fairfield, Freestone, Texas, United States, certificate 67727, Texas Department of Health, Austin; FHL microfilm 2,380,521.
2. ↑ "Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-1935," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VX98-1SC : 11 March 2018), Henderson, 13 Dec 1903; citing , Freestone, , United States, certificate 67727, Texas Department of Health, Austin; FHL microfilm 2,380,521.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Henderson genealogy by Paul Henderson in 2002 a copy in possession of Michael H. Stout in 2019. Researched the "old fashioned" way by visiting libraries, cemeteries and visiting family members by Paul Whit Henderson (1926-2003) and Melvin Henderson starting in the 1970s.
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M2M1-85W : accessed 17 November 2019), Hugh Henderson in household of Annis M Henderson, Justice Precinct 1, Freestone, Texas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 16, sheet 1B, family 16, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1553; FHL microfilm 1,375,566.
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MH1D-DMG : accessed 17 November 2019), Annie Henderson, Fairfield, Freestone, Texas, United States; citing ED 15, sheet 4A, line 15, family 67, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 1805; FHL microfilm 1,821,805.
6. ↑ "Texas, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1947", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QL3N-PLSZ : 3 March 2020), Josephine Rebecca Brown in entry for Henry Brown, 1942.
7. ↑ "Texas Deaths, 1890-1976," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K3SB-1R1 : 20 February 2021), Josephine Henderson in entry for Joseph Wayne Brown, 25 May 1974; citing certificate number 44942, State Registrar Office, Austin; FHL microfilm 2,243,200.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3} "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HLGP-93Z : accessed 18 November 2019), Josephine R Brown in household of Henry Brown, Electra, Wichita, Texas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 55, sheet 10A, line 16, family 202, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 2410; FHL microfilm 2,342,144.
9. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/93821285/travis-rudolph-brown : accessed 25 March 2021), memorial page for Travis Rudolph Brown (3 Mar 1927–3 Mar 1927), Find a Grave Memorial no. 93821285, citing Shanks Cemetery, Kirvin, Freestone County, Texas, USA ; Maintained by Shirley Hullum (contDoloresributor 47312081) .
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7} Johnson, Dolores Molene (Brown), Life Story, p1, accessed at https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/103047897?p=28626557&returnLabel=Dolores%20Molene%20Brown%20(LJ94-4YK)&returnUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.familysearch.org%2Ftree%2Fperson%2Fmemories%2FLJ94-4YK on 25 March 2021.
11. ↑ "Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-1935," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KHJH-7SZ : 1 March 2021), Josephine Rebecca Henderson in entry for Howard Benson Brown, 13 Nov 1931; citing , Wichita, Texas, United States, certificate 100413, Texas Department of Health, Austin; FHL microfilm 2,281,601.
12. ↑ "Texas Births and Christenings, 1840-1981", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:4L8Y-D96Z : 14 February 2020), Josephine Rebecca Henderson in entry for James Benard Brown, 1933.
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1} "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KWVJ-Q39 : 29 July 2019), Josephine Brown in household of Henry Brown, Justice Precinct 1, Freestone, Texas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 81-4, sheet 11B, line 47, family 196, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 4035.
14. ↑ "Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V69V-4K4 : 1 January 2015), Josephine R Henderson in entry for Doris Evelyn Brown, 15 Nov 1937; from "Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2005); citing Texas Department of State Health Services.
15. ↑ "Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VDGK-Z32 : 1 January 2015), Josephine Rebec Henderson in entry for Stanley Reed Brown, 01 Nov 1939; from "Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2005); citing Texas Department of State Health Services.
16. ↑ "Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V8WR-5CX : 5 December 2014), Josephine Rebec Henderson in entry for Robert Carlton Brown, 10 Jul 1942; from "Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2005); citing Texas Department of State Health Services.
17. ↑ "Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V84G-2XC : 5 December 2014), Josephine Rebec Henderson in entry for Gloria Diana Brown, 15 Feb 1944; from "Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2005); citing Texas Department of State Health Services.
18. ↑ Johnson, Dolores Molene (Brown), Life Story, p4, 24 March 2020 accessed at https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/103047897?p=28626557&returnLabel=Dolores%20Molene%20Brown%20(LJ94-4YK)&returnUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.familysearch.org%2Ftree%2Fperson%2Fmemories%2FLJ94-4YK on 25 March 2021.
19. ↑ Johnson, Dolores Molene (Brown), Life Story, p5, 24 March 2020 accessed at https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/103047897?p=28626557&returnLabel=Dolores%20Molene%20Brown%20(LJ94-4YK)&returnUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.familysearch.org%2Ftree%2Fperson%2Fmemories%2FLJ94-4YK on 25 March 2021.
20. ↑ Citation: Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/93820855/josephine-rebecca-brown : accessed 17 November 2019), memorial page for Josephine Rebecca Henderson Brown (13 Dec 1903–29 Jun 1994), Find A Grave Memorial no. 93820855, citing Shanks Cemetery, Kirvin, Freestone County, Texas, USA ; Maintained by Shirley Hullum (contributor 47312081) .
21. ↑ "Texas Death Index, 1964-1998," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JVLL-XTB : 5 December 2014), Josephine Rebecca Brown, Freestone, Texas, United States; citing Department of State Health Services, Austin.
22. ↑ "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V9NH-V3P : 10 January 2021), Josephine R Brown, 29 Jun 1994; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
23. ↑ "Texas Death Index, 1903-2000," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VZFV-65N : 24 May 2014), Josephine Brown, 29 Jun 1994; from "Texas, Death Index, 1903-2000," database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2006); citing certificate number , Freestone, Texas, Texas Department of Health, State Vital Statistics Unit, Austin.
24. ↑ Johnson, Dolores Molene (Brown), Life Story, p5, 24 March 2020 accessed at https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/103047897?p=28626557&returnLabel=Dolores%20Molene%20Brown%20(LJ94-4YK)&returnUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.familysearch.org%2Ftree%2Fperson%2Fmemories%2FLJ94-4YK on 25 March 2021.
25. ↑ Johnson, Dolores Molene (Brown), Life Story, p8, 24 March 2020 accessed at https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/103047897?p=28626557&returnLabel=Dolores%20Molene%20Brown%20(LJ94-4YK)&returnUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.familysearch.org%2Ftree%2Fperson%2Fmemories%2FLJ94-4YK on 25 March 2021.
26. ↑ Johnson, Dolores Molene (Brown), Life Story, p10, 24 March 2020 accessed at https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/103047897?p=28626557&returnLabel=Dolores%20Molene%20Brown%20(LJ94-4YK)&returnUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.familysearch.org%2Ftree%2Fperson%2Fmemories%2FLJ94-4YK on 25 March 2021.