THOMAS BROWN, a
prosperous farmer and influential citizen of Raleigh
township, is a son of Jonathan and Isabella
(Stephenson) Brown, both natives of Scotland, and
was but a babe when the family crossed the ocean,
from Penicuick, Scotland, where he had been born
April 25, 1848. He was but two and a half years old
when his father brought him to Raleigh township, and
left him with an uncle, Charles Clark, of the County
of Leeds, Scotland, who died in Chatham, Ontario, in
April 1898. The vessel on which Mr. and Mrs. Brown
crossed the ocean was shipwrecked on the banks of
Newfoundland, and Mrs. Brown was drowned. The
father for his second wife, married Mary Ferguson,
by whom he had four children, namely: Alexander,
who is an attorney of Detroit, Michigan; Charles, a
farmer in Howard township, County of Kent; James, a
hardware merchant of Thamesville, Ontario; and John,
a farmer of Howard township. The father now lives
retired on a farm in Howard township, and though
past eighty, having been born December 25th, 1821,
enjoys good health and is quite active.
Thomas Brown has
practically spent his life in Raleigh, with his
uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Clark, and his
education was received in the excellent schools of
the township. After he had attained manhood's
estate he purchased the Clark homestead of
seventy-eight acres. The first house in which he
lived was made of logs, and only one-half was
floored, with split logs. His present home, which
he built in 1898, is one of the finest modern
residences in that vicinity, furnished complete with
every modern convenience. Mr. Brown engages in
general farming, and makes his land yield good
profits upon his investment. His aunt, Mrs. Clark,
makes her home with him, and although advanced in
year she retains her faculties to a remarkable
degree, and enjoys relating incidents of the early
days of privation. In politics Mr. Brown in a Grit,
but has never aspired to office, his private affairs
consuming all his time and attention. He and his
wife are consistent members of the Methodist Church.
On December 27th, 1876,
Mr. Brown was united in marriage with Lavera Morden,
a native of Hyde Park, County of Middlesex, Onario,
and to this union have been born: Isabella married
Sidney Aldis, of Raleigh township; Ethel married
George E. Jordan of Raleigh township, and has one
daughter, Lavera; Gertrude and Thomas are at home.
Mrs. Brown was born September 20th, 1858, at Hyde
Park, daughter of David C. and Margaret (Brown)
Morden, the former of whom was born in August 1831
in Hyde Park, the latter a native of Kent, in which
county they were married. Mr.. Morden came to Kent
in 1868, locating first in Raleigh township, and
thence moving to Chatham townshhip, where he engaged
in farming. Mrs. Morden passed away in 1882, at the
age of forty-four years. She was a member of the
Methodist Church, to which Mr. Morden also belongs.
They were the parents of four children: Lavera,
Mrs. Brown; Laura, wife of Herman Schneider, of
Detroit; Agnes, who married William Farr, of Sarnia,
Ontario; and May, who married William Nichols, of
Chatham township.
Possessed of
intelligence, enterprise and thrift, Mr. Brown has
been able to grasp every opportunity offered, and to
raise himself up on the ladder of fortune. While
doing so he has not neglected social virtues, but
has made many friends, among whom he is deservedly
popular.
p.311, 312
