William Brown, known to the Indians as Mskillassee, which when translated means " The Englishman".

Mr.Brown wasborn in England and lived there during his childhood. In England it was custom or tradition for Englishmen to apprentice their sons in some form of trade or occupation. Mr Brown had apprenticed as a sailor.
About the age of 16 he journied to the Westeren part of the globe, he sailed across the Atlantic to Cuba where he left the ship and disappeared. A search of 5 years was made for him, but he kept his travels hidden until the age of 21 because before this time of age he could have been made to return to England, it was at this time he let his location be known. He was located in Bartow. He later moved to Orlando and finally to Fort Myers in about 1871, where at this time only about 5 other families lived in the vicinity.

In 1885 Mr. Brown left Fort Myers with his family and came to Immokalee where he has remained.

Mr. William Brown did more for the Seminole and the Whiteman in this country than any other person, In those days when the nearest post office was in LaBelle, 22 miles away and the Immokalee mail was brought in on horse back

Mrs. Brown remembers when there was only one road into Immokalee and this was little more than a trail, this road connected Immokalee with Fort Myers and enters on Anderson Ave., little more than 4 or 5 families lived in this area and about 2 or 3 miles apart from each other.

In the same year the Browns arrived, they commenced to trade with the Indians, Mr. Brown having the distinction of being the first whiteman to do so in this part of the country.

The only means of transportation in those days was br Ox-Cart  and supplies were brought in to Immokalee from Fort Myers by this form of transport for many years. Sometimes they used to drive hogs along with the os train, which often consisted of 7 to 8 teams of oxen and carts.

Mrs. Brown recalls one time when they camped in the midst of the jungle with a drove of hogs and 8 teams of oxen. The wolves howled around the camp all night and Mrs.Brown spent most of the night watching the animals to keep them from harm.

During these times of trade the Indians used to offer furs in trade and later they came to offer plume birds in exchange for commodities they desired, later they brgan to offer alligator hides and then they came to offer all kinds of birds, furs and hides and the trade with the Indians became very beneficial for all involved.

It was usually customery to trade only during the winter, but Mr. and Mrs. Brown remained at the claim they had staked out all summer. They had little trouble providing the kinds of fowl and game they wished year round.

The Brown's had established their trading post on the very edge of the Everglades and remained there for several years trading with the Indians.  It used to take from 8 to 12 days to make the journey from this post to Fort Myers by ox-cart, but Mr. Brown traveled this route many times.

It was Mrs. Brown who first taught the Indians the use of canned goods and the sewing machine, and how to cook a lot of good types of foods, she also provided cures for the sickly and medicial advice.

Mr. Brown sold the firstWinchester rifle to the Indians and taught them the use of firearms. An Indian by the name of Squirrl Jumper is today, about the oldest Indian in this vicinity. ( 1927)

In the course of his wandering about the country, Mr.Brown came upn a lake with crystal clear cold water with abundant fish, he named it Rocky Lake and it was not unusual to see deer herds of 20 to 30 deer and flocks of wild turkey's who numbered in the 60's to 70's..

Mr. and Mrs. Brown originated the custom of serving Christmas dinners to the Indians, of which this custom was followed for many many years. These Christmas Day celebrations became so famous that the Indians from as far away as Miami used to journey across the Everglades to take part, and their numbers grew over the years to the point that it would be 3 or 4 days after the celebration before they took down their teepees and departed for their native grounds.

The death of Mr.William Brown came 2 weeks before this story in July 14 of 1927, and was lamented by the people of the territory for miles around. During the course of his life, Mr.Brown had made a great many friends and there is not an Indian living who does not speak of Mekillassee in terms of endearment.

Mr. Brown is survived by his wife and his children: ( Note:one story suggest he had at least 10 children)
R.H.Brown, Dewey Brown, Frank Brown, Edwin Brown, Catherine Brown, Emily Brown, Rose Brown,Belle and Alice Brown. ( I may have either misread a name or mised a child all together )
----------------------------------------------------------------
Notes: I have found another story that suggests that before Mr. Brown took the name of Brown, when he left the ship that day of the beginning of his life's adventure, his real name may have been: Joseph Goodwind, also different are the dates of when Mr.Brown's adventure began- my story comes from a story given to a newsman in 1927 by than Mrs. Brown- who is stated to have been Jane Jernigan of Ft.Myers being the place of their marriage- Another story on Mr. Brown- Click Here