| BENJAMIN F. BROWN (deceased); born in Virginia, Feb. 14, 1817; his parents, John and Sarah (Wright) Brown, settled in his boyhood in Southern Indiana, going thence to La Porte Co., Ind., where he married, Oct. 1, 1857, Miss Elizabeth R. Kress; she was born in Troy, Bradford Co., PA., and a daughter of George and Charlotte (Baldwin) Kress.In 1858, Mr. and Mrs. Brown located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and later, in Independence, Iowa. In 1860, they came to Dane Co., and bought the homestead on which he died.Mr. B. did good work here as a farmer, building, in 1861, the handsome square mansion, of Milwaukee brick, which stands a monument to his taste.
His varied and extensive reading made him a most pleasant and instructive companion, yet he lived for his family, not for the public. His death on March 28, 1874, was the result of an accident and was a crushing blow to his wife and adopted daughter. Mr. B. was liberal in religion, and a Democrat politically. During his younger life, he made an extended tour to California, Australia and South America, returning in 1854. The ancestors of Mrs. Brown were both historic families in Chemung Co., N.Y. The old Kress and Baldwin homesteads still remain in the families. Her father’s mother was a De Puy, and she married a man whose first vote was cast for Washington and his last for Lincoln. He died in his 99th year, never having used spectacles or suffered from disease. 1880 History of Dane County, Wisconsin, p. 1254. |
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