| 268 cont'd | HISTORY OF ALLEN AND |
JOHN M. BROWN.
JOHN M. BROWN.—The prairies of Kansas are dotted here and there with pioneers who have passed through the discouragements and adversities incident to life on the frontier and a few of this class, the more resolute and industrious, have exemplified the adage, "time is money," in making the years roll up each a new and larger balance on the credit side of the ledger. One of the early settlers on the prairies of eastern Allen county whose circumstances place him with the exceptional but thrifty class above referred to is John M. Brown. The pioneer days of eastern Allen were about ten years later than those days along the Neosho, and while the settlements along the river were thickening up the expanse to the east of it was still barren and unbroken with the cabins of home-seekers. Mr. Brown's first trip to the county was made in 1871 when he came to learn whether he could eke out an existence upon a tract of land he had bought here in 1864, "sight unseen." He decided that he could make the land provide a living for one and in 1872 he brought his effects out from the east, permanently to remain. He turned the sod with his oxen and got things to appearing, to him, somewhat homelike so that in twelve months he felt warranted in having his family venture out. His land was one of the prime quarters of the section. It is situated in the "Golden Valley" belt of Allen county and now approaches, in fertility and improvement, a well-conducted Illinois or Indiana farm. The proceeds of his early years' efforts Mr. Brown turned into land and his farm comprises five hundred and twenty acres of this rich and productive region. His first
| WOODSON COUNTIES, KANSAS. | 269 |
abiding place was a shanty 13x15 feet and in this he resided from 1873 till 1882 when he built extensively and permanently.
Mr Brown was born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, June 9, 1843. His father was Alexander Brown, a farmer, who died at the home of our subject in June 1900. The latter was born in County Derry, Ireland, town of Kilwray, in 1819. He emigrated to the United States in 1827, with his father, William Brown, and settled in Pennsylvania. In 1852 Alexander Brown went to Grundy county, Illinois, and there his father died.
Alexander Brown married Sophronia Murphy who was born in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, in 1819 and died in Allen county, Kansas, in 1897. Their children were: John M.; William, of Little Rock, Arkansas; Charles, of Polk county, Nebraska; James and Daniel, of Portland, Oregon; Herbert, who died in Texas in July 1899.
John M. Brown was married in Woodford county, Illinois. He married Amy A. Phillips, a daughter of James Phillips, who went into Illinois from Tennessee. The Phillips children were: William F.; Margaret, deceased, who married James Brown; Paulina, deceased, married Mr. Daniels, of Neodesha, Kansas; Elizabeth, wife of John Grim, of Ford county, Illinois; Almyra, wife of Mr. Snyder, of Pasadena, California; Manala, who married A. C. Brown, of Champaign county, Illinois; Eli Phillips, who died in McLean county, Illinois, in 1900; Mrs. E. Brown, of Pasadena, California, and Albert Phillips, of the same point.
The heirs of John M. Brown and wife are: Edgar A. Brown, with the Swift Packing Company, Kansas City, Missouri, who is married to Alice Woodward; Hannah; J. Oscar; Albert, and Herbert Brown. Four of the children are common school graduates and, in addition, Albert and Oscar are graduates of the Moran High School. These young men are especially gifted with bright and active intellects and, with their industrious habits and energetic composition, are admirably equipped for a successful and useful career.
The Republican proclivities of John M. Brown are well known. He has taken some active interest in Elm township politics for many years and has served as its Treasurer. His educational equipment is not of the highest order but it is ample for the efficient conduct of all business pertaining to his community or his farm. He enjoys the unalloyed confidence of those of his acquaintanceship and permits no man to outdo him in matters pertaining to the moral or educational wellbeing of his county.
Pages 268-269, transcribed by Carolyn Ward from History of Allen and Woodson Counties, Kansas: embellished with portraits of well known people of these counties, with biographies of our representative citizens, cuts of public buildings and a map of each county / Edited and Compiled by L. Wallace Duncan and Chas. F. Scott. Iola Registers, Printers and Binders, Iola, Kan.: 1901; 894 p., [36] leaves of plates: ill., ports.; includes index.
