Elzie Ellen (Lawless) Brown (1908-1997) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree

Elzie Ellen Brown formerly Lawless

Born 7 Dec 1908 in Texas

Ancestors

Daughter of Levi Cleveland Lawless and Maude L. (Page) Fair

Sister of Oliver Day Lawless, Lillie Pearl (Lawless) Sharp, Alfred Levi Lawless, Selis Lawless, Gertrude (Lawless) Woods, Orus Lawless and R. B. Lawless

Wife of Roosevelt Brown — married 10 Jan 1924 in Williamsburg, Whitley, Kentucky, United States

Descendants

Mother of Ernest Brown, Marvin Brown, Opal (Brown) Atwood, Otha Brown, Lewis Brown and Lester Brown

Died 18 Jan 1997 at age 88 in Casey County, Kentucky

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Profile last modified 23 Mar 2023 | Created 4 Oct 2016

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Biography

Elzie was born in Texas in 1908. Her name is sometimes written as Elsie or L.Z. She is the daughter of Levi Cleveland Lawless and Maude Launthy "Maudie" Page.

Elzie was the second of eight known children:

Oliver Day “O.D.” was born October 28, 1904 in Texas, died on February 2, 1990, in Russell Springs, Kentucky;

Lillie Pearl was born about 1908 in Texas;

Alfred Levi was born on March 18, 1910 in Texas, died 22 Oct 2004 in Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois;

Selis R. was born about 1914 in Texas, died 3 Jan 2004 in Illinois;

Gertrude was born on June 29, 1918 in Texas, died on February 15, 1968, in Breckinridge County, Kentucky;

Orus was born on May 20, 1920, in Clyde, Texas, died on June 15, 1996, in Mooresville, Indiana;

There may have been another sister born between Orus and R.B.

R. B. (a brother) was born on May 6, 1922, in Little Rock, Arkansas (en route to Kentucky by covered wagon), died 13 Jan 2004 in Liberty, Casey, Kentucky.

Elzie grew up on her parents' ranch in Texas. Her parents must have been quite wealthy when she was a child. Several Mexican families also lived on the ranch, and worked for her father. As a girl, mischievous Elzie liked to play tricks on her father's employees, which she still laughed about in her late eighties.

Elzie's father was a mean man who drove the children like they were slaves. He worked them very hard. He used to send Elzie and one of her brothers to Dallas with a wagon filled with produce, and they were not allowed to come home until they had sold all of it.

She and her family came to Kentucky from Texas in a covered wagon (a Conestoga wagon) in the early 1920s. (Much of their extended family had originally moved from Kentucky to Texas less than a generation prior.) Elzie's father, Levi Lawless, may have lost their ranch in a poker game, or this may have been a joke Elzie told one of her grandsons (Gary). According to her son Lester, it may not have been true.

On the way to Kentucky, he wheel fell off of their car, and they had to leave the car behind. It's not clear whether they were pulling a Conestoga wagon with the car, or driving the car, or towing the car behind the wagon.

They decided to spend the winter in Little Rock, Arkansas. It's unclear whether this happened before or after they lost their car. They stayed in Little Rock longer than the winter, however, because their youngest son, R.B., was born in Little Rock on 6 May 1922. Some family members seem to recall that one of Elzie's sisters was sick, and that she died in Little Rock, but this was not Lillie Pearl or Gertrude, who both survived the journey, and none of the other known children were girls. Perhaps there was another daughter, born between February, 1921 and June, 1921.

While they lived in Little Rock, Elzie had a boyfriend, which her husband used to joke and tease her about.

Elzie's family finally arrived back in Kentucky and settled in southern Casey County. A young man by the name of Roosevelt Brown started courting her. They used to leave each other notes at a particular tree, perhaps in a knot hole. When Roosevelt asked Elzie's father for permission to marry her, her father said no. Perhaps this was because Elzie was only 14, and Roosevelt was 21, or perhaps it was because he didn't want her to get married because then she wouldn't be at home to work for him anymore.

After her father denied permission for her to marry Roosevelt, he left her a note at their tree, to run away with him and get married in Russell County (which was the next county over). But they didn't get married in Russell County; they got married in Williamsburg, Whitley County, Kentucky, two counties away from Casey County. There seem to be three good possible explanations for this:

1) Two witnesses were needed for the wedding, and perhaps Roosevelt had two friends there who agreed to be witnesses.

2) Elzie was worried that, if her father discovered them, they might be pursued to any nearby county, but her father would never guess that they would go two counties away to get married.

3) Perhaps Whitley County was a Gretna Green. Perhaps the marriage laws were either more relaxed there, or perhaps they were not well enforced there. Specifically, perhaps the county clerk was more likely to take someone's word for how old they were, and, without a parent's permission, Elzie may have been too young to get married without a parent's consent.

She eloped with Roosevelt Brown when she was 15. They were happily married until his death in 1987. They were married on 10 Jan 1924, two days after Roosevelt's 22nd birthday. Both bride and groom are listed as being 22 years old.

They had six children:

Ernest (May 22, 1924-Dec. 20, 2000)

Marvin (May 29, 1927-Dec. 10, 2011)

Opal (Aug. 13, 1930-Mar. 7, 2001)

Otha (Living)

Lewis (Living)

Lester (January 16, 1938 - July 15, 2018)

All of her children, most of her grandchildren, and her great-grandchildren always called her Mommy. Mommy Brown.

Roosevelt worked as a preacher, a farmer, and a milkman, while Elzie raised their family and grew a big garden. She was a very happy person, who was always laughing and joking. She was a great storyteller, telling stories about trying to get chickens to swim as a child and always wondering why they kept drowning, about her childhood in Texas and the tricks she used to play on, "The Mexicans," who worked for her father, and about her brothers and sisters. She was very kind and hard-working. She was a short woman with a very tall husband, very big hands, and a very big heart. She was talented at sewing, knitting, and quilting.

She and Roosevelt eventually moved to a ranch house with an apple orchard, where they lived the rest of their lives. She survived Roosevelt by a decade, and passed away in 1997 in Liberty, Kentucky.

She is buried in the Casey County Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Liberty, Kentucky.

Her obituary appeared in Casey County News on January 20, 1997:

Elzie E. Brown

LIBERTY - Services for Elzie Ellen Brown, 88, East Hwy. 70, were scheduled for 1 p.m. today at Walnut Hill Baptist Church by the Revs. Clifton Cowan and Danny Bailey. Burial will be in Casey County Memorial Gardens.

She died Saturday in Liberty.

Born Dec. 7, 1908, in Casey County, she was a daughter of the late Levi and Maude Gage Lawless. She was a homemaker and a member of Walnut Hill Baptist Church. She was the widow of Rev. Roosevelt Brown.

Survivors include a daughter, Opal Atwood, Somerset; five sons, Ernest Brown, Dillsboro, Ind., Marvin Brown, Louis Brown and Lester Brown, all of Liberty, and Otha Brown, Russell Springs; three brothers, Alfred Lawless, Danville, Ill., Sellis Lawless, Potomac, Ill., and R.B. Lawless, Liberty; 13 grandchildren; and 23 great-grandchildren.

Find a Grave Memorial: https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=17078143

Elzie and her family show up on the 1910 census in Calahan County, Texas, Justice Precinct 3, Fisher, Texas, and on the 1920 census in Justice Precinct 5, Callahan, Texas, which is probably where Elzie was born.

1910 census, Justice Precinct 3, Fisher, Texas, United States:
Levi C Lewless Head M 30 Kentucky
Maudie Lewless Wife F 25 Kentucky
O D Lewless Son M 5 Texas
Lillie Lewless Daughter F 3 Texas
Elzie Lewless Daughter F 1 Texas
( https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M2MJ-Y3B )

1920 US census in Justice Precinct 5, Callahan, Texas, United States: Levi C Lawless Head M 43 Kentucky
Maudie L Lawless Wife F 34 Kentucky
Oliver D Lawless Son M 14 Texas
Lillie P Lawless Daughter F 12 Texas
Elzy E Lawless Daughter F 11 Texas
Levi A Lawless Son M 8 Texas
Selis R Lawless Son M 6 Texas
Girtrue Lawless Daughter F 2 Texas
( https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCM9-C7J )

1930 US census in District 3, Casey, Kentucky:
Roosevelt Brown Head M 28 Kentucky
L Z Brown Wife F 21 Texas
Earnest Brown Son M 4 Kentucky
Marvin Brown Son M 2 Kentucky
( https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XM6Q-PT8 )

1940 US census in Casey County, Kentucky:
Rosevelt Brown Head Male 40 Kentucky
L Z Brown Wife Female 32 Kentucky
Earnest Brown Son Male 14 Kentucky
Marvin Brown Son Male 12 Kentucky
Opal Brown Daughter Female 9 Kentucky
Otha Brown Son Male 7 Kentucky
Lewis Brown Son Male 5 Kentucky
Lester Brown Son Male 2 Kentucky
( https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K7R8-LYX )

Marriage:

Elzie's marriage certificate is unusual because of the elopement. Although they lived in Casey County, they married in Whitley County. Although Elzie had just turned 15, she said she was 22, the same age as Roosevelt, and her name was written as the initials, "L.Z.," rather than as Elzie, one of several spelling mistakes. Both of her in-laws' names are also spelled incorrectly; they were David Van Brown and Mary Levonia Chilton. They went by Van and Leona.

Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954

Name: Roosevelt Brown

Event Type: Marriage

Event Date: 10 Jan 1924

Event Place: Williamsburg, Whitley, Kentucky, United States

Event Place (Original): Williamsburg

Gender: Male

Age: 22

Birth Year (Estimated): 1902

Father's Name: D V Brown

Mother's Name: Leona Shetton

Spouse's Name: L Z Lawless