Early Pioneer Families of Daviess County: The Browns #2

The Brown Family #2 — Go west!

There are at least three Brown families I have come across (so far) who were early pioneers of the county (prior to 1850). One was the John Bridges Brown and Hannah Hill family, who we learned about in a previous article. Another was the Samuel C. Brown and Elizabeth Cox family. The third family is the following.

William Osborne Brown

William Osborne Brown was born in 1776 in Pennsylvania. He was the first of this Brown family born in the United States. If you remember your history class, you will remember that prior to this year, our country was just a British colony under the thumb and ruling of British Parliament. Never before in this family could one say that they were born in a new country we know as the United States of America. And the Revolutionary War was still being fought when William was born.

In 1803, under the leadership of President Thomas Jefferson, the Louisiana Territory, which included what later would be known as the state of Missouri, was purchased from France for $15 million. This doubled the size, increasing its territory by 827,000 square miles, from the Mississippi River to the Rockies and from the Gulf of Mexico to British North America. 

Jefferson wanted to send a team of explorers to find out what the land contained. He wanted to know if the land was fertile for farming, what resources and people were in it, and especially if there was a water route across it to the Pacific Ocean. Under the expedition of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, the journey began and ended in St. Louis. Taking two years to complete, the journey took 10 weeks to just go through what is now the state of Missouri. The explorers documented with meticulous journal entries which noted the insects, plant life, rivers, and the type of land found. (Evidence of the Lewis and Clark Expedition can even be found in Gallatin. There are two original handwritten survey books, written and signed by the nephew of the famous explorer and who was surveyor general of the United States, who was sent behind his uncle to survey the land. Daviess County was part of that survey. These books which belong to Daviess County, are still found in the courthouse and copies of this survey are still in use. Experts today still find them uncannily correct.)

It is during this timeframe that this William married Sarah Kinkade/Kincaid on June 28, 1804, in Greenbriar County, West Virginia.

In 1845, the nation’s boundaries extended even more. Families would begin to dream about moving eastward in hopes of a better life. Should they go? Should they stay? Would life be better out west? How would they make a living? Would they ever be able to see their family members again? The final straw came to many when the Eastern states began to get crowded. It was in 1846 and Ireland was experiencing famine across the country. It was so much so that families began to come to the United States in hopes of a better life. The Eastern states began to overflow with the population of the Irish immigrants. To some, it was the final reason that many families decided to go and take their chances in hopes of finding fertile land, with more living space. These Browns are one of those families. By 1850, William and Sarah are found in Daviess County, living with their son, Samuel K. William died on Aug. 10, 1861, in Daviess County, and is buried at Mt. Zion Cemetery outside of Jamesport. Their children who we know about were:

1. James Kincaid, born 1805, married Eliza Whitaker Mansfield. Their children were: William H. H., Margaret S., Elizabeth A., and Sarah A. 

2. Sarah S., born 1807. Married John McBay Brown, and they had at least these children: Andrew; Anna; Martha; and Lizzie. Sarah died in 1890 in Illinois.

3. Samuel K., born 1809. Married Sarah, and they had several children including: Harrison; William; Sarah; Elizabeth; Anne; Charles; Mary; Osborne; and Josephene. Samuel had settled in Daviess County and he and his family are found in the 1840 and 1850 census.

4. William P., born 1811 in West Fork, [West] Virginia. He married Catherine Fair in 1834 and died in 1868 in that state. 

5. Margaret C., born 1813 in West Virginia. She married Addison Price in 1835 in Virginia and by 1850 she and her family were found in Daviess County. They moved to Johnson County, Missouri, in 1870 from Daviess, two years later she  died in 1872 in Odessa in Lafayette County, Missouri. Their children included: Charles; William aka Samuel; Elizabeth; Hannah; Sarah; Martha; George; Allen; John; Mary; Laura; and Ella.

6. George, born 1814. 

7. John McElhaney, born Sept. 19, 1819, in West Virginia. Married Lucy Hutchison, daughter of Thomas Hutchison and Mary “Polly” Tate in 1843 in Livingston County, Missouri. Their children were: William T.; John W.; Anna, who married Hiram Faulkner; Sarah, who married Dabney Sandidge; Mary, who married Rueben Adkinson; John McCoy, who married Adelia “Delia” Andre; Martha, who married John Sandidge; and Mandy, who died as an infant. Their son, John McCoy and wife, Adelia, had children William Walter; Opal Clara; Grover Cleveland; and John Forest. Their son, William Walter, married Lula Pearl Baker, daughter of Joseph Baker and Carrie Carty. William Walter and Pearl were the parents of William W.; Charles H; Lola M; Virgil Walter; Ferris E; and Carrie L. They were also my father-in-law’s [Nevin Smith] uncle and aunt, being that Pearl was a sister to Mae Baker Smith. They were also uncle and aunt to Jamesport’s Robert “Bobby” Smith, since Bobby’s mother was another Baker “girl,” Eva Baker Smith. (The last Baker “girl” was Ona Baker Cole who married Jesse Q. Cole, Sr.). John McElhaney Brown, his wife, Lucy, daughter Martha Sandidge, and daughter Mandy J., are buried at Mt. Zion Cemetery outside of Jamesport. Daughter Martha Sandidge and son John McCoy are buried at Jamesport’s Masonic Cemetery.

8. Charles A., born 1821.

9. Eliza A., born 1823, married Major Elijah Hubbard on July 9, 1844, in Pattonsburg. Elijah had recently arrived in Missouri and was a seller of Seth Thomas clocks. After Eliza and Elijah were married, he continued in the clock business and in farming in Daviess County until 1852 when they moved to Harrison County, Missouri. Five months later, Elijah was elected as representative in the state legislature, serving in the general assembly in 1853 and 1854. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Elijah recruited 500 men and marched them to St. Louis, where they became a part of the famous Second Calvary known as “Merrill’s Horse.” After the war, Elijah returned to Harrison County where he farmed until 1870, when he built the Jameson House Hotel in Jameson. In 1878, he again served in the state legislature as a representative of his district in Daviess County. Their children were: Jane; Ellen; Henry; and Sarah. Eliza died in 1918 in Bethany and is buried at the Old North Cemetery in Coffey.