Brown, William E.
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Reverend W.E. Brown family at tent site at Camp Meeting in 1893 for Bay Mills Indian Mission
From left to right:
1. Mrs. W.E. Brown (Maggie)
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Reverend W. E . Brown
Unknow wife of a preacher (?)
Unknown minister friend(?)
Reverend Edgar Brown --a baby two years old
Brown who died that winter. A small girl of five who preached sermons.
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Obituary, Rev. W. E. Brown
w. H. Collrcott
fLLIA!I[ EDGAR HRO\VN, SOil
of J ohn Hayward Brown and Elizabeth Sm ith Brown. was horn at Adelaide,
Ontario. ).[ay 1-1, 1866. He ,,·as of Englis h and Trish descent. H is educatio n was
obtain ed in the public schools of Ontario,
at Albion Co ll ege. Un i,·crsi ty of Michigan, Garret B iblica l I nstitutc. He recci,•ed the degree of Doctor of Lite rature
from l\l ilton Uni,·ersity.
H e was united in m arriage o n Aug ust
7th. 1888, to ).[argaret Henderson; to thi s
unio n five children \\'Crc born, Norma,
who died in in fa ncy, th e Re,·. Edgar l\ f errill Bro\\' n, of Korwalk, Conn., Ruth,
T helma, ~tc\\'art.
W
'"· E . BRO \\'N
Brother Brown se n ·ed for thirty-eight
years in the ministry of th e ll!ethodist
Episcopa l church, retiring three years ago
on a ccount of failing health. His appointments \\'ere as follows: Crystal Falls,
1888-ISSY: Donaldson, 1889-1892 : Bay
Mills and Bromley, 1892-1895; Garrett,
E,·anston, 1895-1 899; Rockland, 1899-1902;
Saint Ig nace, 1902-1 90-1; Tho burn church ,
Bay City, 1904-1906; Dansv ille, 1906- 1909;
Grass Lake, 1909-1910; Dundee, 19 1019 12; P o rt Huron, !~[ills Memo rial, Sout h
Park. 1\[arys,·ille, 1912-1915; Por t Hu~on.
\ iVashington Avenue, 1915- 1917; Dcxt~r,
19 17-1 920; Dryden, 1920-1923; L exingtcn.
1923-1 926.
He was reti red in 1926 and went to
Rochester, M ich igan, where he lived up
to the time of his dea th, Friday, F eb. 22,
after a li ngering illness of severa l month s.
He " ·as a pat ient s uffere r and neve r did
the writer '•isit him bu t his eye \\'as brig ht
and hi s tes tim ony c lea r concerning the
Jove an d goodness of the Lord.
He was buried on Tuesday, Feb. 26,
from St. Paul's Method ist Episcopal
church. the pastor, Rev. vVilliam Hill
Collycott, in charge of the sen ·ice. Prayer
was offered by th e pastor, Scripture reading by R ev. Isaac ~iVil~ox, .wh~ .had been
most faithful and k111d 111 h1s v1s1ts to o ur
brother ; a sp len did tribute to the li terary
side of his character was g i,·en by the
R ev. Sidney Eva; Re,·. Cah·in M. Thompson, a lifelong friend of Brother Brown,
ga ,·e the fun eral a ddr.ess and spoke of his
work in the D etro1t Co nference. Dr.
H a rvey P earce made the closing prayer.
Brot her Bro\\'n ,,·as a member of the
Garrett Biblical Ins titu te A lum ni A ssoCia tion, the l\[ ic higan rionecr Authors'
Associat io n, a member of the Board of
th e i\ fi chigan Authors' Association. an
A lumnu s of A lbio n.
Amo ng the books he has \\'ritten were:
"Valley of the Ontonagon," "Bi rt h of the
Arbutus ," " Indian Lq~cn dary Poems,''
"Songs ~f Cheer," "O niata. Lily of the
F o res t,'' and "Jf\merican Jndian Legends.'
The Indians among whom Brothel
Bro\\'n gathered much of his m aterial f01
his hooks. \\'ere YCry much attached tc
him and they made him a n ho noran
chief.
·
"For all the saint s, \\'ho from th eir Ia·
bors res t, who Thee by fa ith before th<
\\'o riel confessed, the name of J esus b<
fo rever blest, halleluja h."
IC '! .
:!ILLIA! j EDGA \ DRO\•JM
:;i l ~a ~ r r d r o·1n was born a t Ade l a i de , On tario, May 14 , 1 866 , be ing of
Eng li s h and lrish d e c ent. His ed u c a tion ~as obtaine d i n the pub l i c schools of
Ontar io , at Al b i on Col l ege , the Un i vers i ty o f Mi ch igan , a n d Garr e tt Biblic a l InHe r e c e ived the d gree of Doct o ~ o f Liter a t ure fro m Milton Un i . e rs i ty.
s ti u t e .
He a s united in marr iag e to Margaret Hende ro n Aug . 7, 1888 .
To this u n ion
f i ve chi l dre n were born: Norm a n wh o di d in i n f ancy, the Rev. ~dg a r Me rrill of Norwal k , Conn., Ruth , The lm a , a nd S t ew a rt.
Hi s mi n istry c ove red a peri od of 38 years, d ur ing which time he serve d the
follo w: n g charg e s : Cr ysta l Fal l s ; Don a l ds on ; Bay Mil l s and Broml e y; Rock l a nd;
S a int Ign a ce; Th oburn Chu r ch , BayC ity; Da ns v i l l e ; ~ r ass Lake ; Du ndee; Mi l l s
Memoria l, South P ark, a nd har y svil l e , Po r t Hu ron ; Washington Avenue, Pt . Huron,
Dexter ; Dr y den; a nd Lexington .
He was a ma n of f i n e o et ic t a ste , a nd h as l eft sever a l vo l u me s of p oetry
t o perpe tua t e his me~ ory .
rog~ t her wi t h nature
t udie s , hi s p o e ms embrace chidfly
l eg e nds of t he Indian s am ong wh o m h e l abored for s e veral ye a rs a n d from whom he
g Jthered much of h is mat e r i a l for h i s writings .
The I ndians we re muc h a ttached
to him and made him a n hon or a ry chi e f .
Hi s books o f p o e ms were publis h ed u n de r
the fo llowi n g t i t l es : " Va lle y of the U ~ ton a g o n "; " Bi rt h of t he ··rbutus "; "Indian
Legend sx~xRI8!!1fl'ClX and Songs of '-hee r;" Uniata , Li l y of the For e st ", and " Ame r i c an
I nd i ·n Lege nds ."
Th e Bi r th o f the Arbutu s and Va ll e y of t he Ont a nagon wer e s hort; the others
l onger .
He u s ed to l ectu r e a nd recite hi s p oem s , with mu s ical accompanimen t , all
over t h e s taee .
( The lma)
Norma died at S(born 1888 , die d 1 893 ) and was b urie d in the Rivers ide c emet e r y at t h e S oc .
Sh e was a preacher a t 5, and the Ind ians l o v ed h e r .
I t was
t he mid d l e of the wint er ; the Ind ians sa t in t h e middle of t h e p ars onage l awn ,
and lame nted h e r .
The g raves tone ha s a v e r se , wi t h a lamb a t th e top(The lma)
.
Willi a m tirown was a membe r of the Michi g an Historical Socie ty a nd Michi g a n
Nemoir sta t es fue ~eitonged to t h e t•lichi g an Pion eer Authors '
Assoc i ati o n , and t h e Bo ard of hichigan Author~ ' Assoc i a ti on .
~~~~i~r~ociety.
Margaret Brown(born in 1863) was a member o f the WCTU , andt h e Missionary
soci et i es .
A marve lous woman .
She pre a ched , wh e n he wore hims e l f out . Senator
~ re n tiss M. Brown o f S t . I g n a ce , was a boy in h e r Sund ay School Cl as s . He l oved
her , and in his l ate l ife pa id tribut to h er as t h e b e s t Sunday school t eac h e r
he ever had.(T. B.)
Wil li am Brown wa s a school te ache r in t h e Sandusky area , in ea r ly l i f e .
He wen t t o ~ van ston to s chool , twice .
Do nald s o n i s no more .
The Bay Mi ll s Church
burned down , acros s f rom cemete ry .
From 6 ay Mi ll s he w ~n t back to s chool, Thelm
thinks .
The l ma Br own has given the Archives a p ic t u re of t h e Brown family at t he
camp Mee ting ne ar the Soc in 1 893 . The picture s hows the i r te nt, a nd fr om l e ft
to rig ht, Mr s. Brown, Rev . Will iam Brown, wife o f a preache r fri e nd , J~he gt~ acher
fr i e nd(name unknown), E~~axfaxxmaltx»~~~xaN3xtMHXEX~~HX s i ster Norma s~~Pr1n§
the conte n t s o f the big iron p o t ove r the fire, and Edg ar as a baby standing.
The lma r e me mbers the two pa t orate at Po r t Hu r on a s the be s t t ime in the ir
f a mily li fe .
Her dad p reache d at Mil l s Nemorial , Sbet~ Park, and the Salt Bl ock
in Nary s vil l e .
The r e was a h a ll n ear the Morton ~a l t Co . where h e p rr !ached , a bare
h a ll wi t h cha irs. Then h e serve d two y ear s at Washington Ave. ,
He rai s ed money
and start e d bu i ld ing the mode r n Chu rch .
The mother •.. as a ct ive ma rc h ing n WCTU
p ~ rad s ; t h e t oo k thi s seri ou s ly.
She cr u s aded for Wome n ' s rti g ts .
At Ba y Mills(?) dr own had an ol d Indi a n who was v ry ha r d t o turn i nt o a
Chris cian. He wa s a lways p rone t o a rg u e .
He was on h i s de athbed one night, and
Br own was got ten o ut o f bed . ne went b y d og t e am. T ·e I nd i a n had t wo viciou s
d og s t here a n d t he y like d to sl eep u nder the ma n ' s bed . The f a mi ly wa n ted h i m
to kn ee l by t he beds i de a · d pr a y .
ne wa s c a r ed o f t he d ogs . The dau ght e r brou g ht
a ch a ir, he h ad the chair b e t we en .• i m a nd t he d o g s and he prayed . 0 ut h e had ha
astrugg l e i n hi s mind b e t we en hi s f a r o f t h e d o g s and h i s bel ief in the power
and e fficacy o f prayer.
In Dundee he had a hor e and bug gy . h e rrill wa s f ond o f hors e s . ne tried
the ho rse o u t onc e , g ot him tire d a n d h ot , a n d he we n t l a me . The f ather . tad to
get a new hor se . Brown l i ked racing hor e s , and th e e xci teme nt of a g ood race.
1
'e we nt to buy a hor se at Dr . Co ne ' s ; i t was a b ea u t i f ul h or s e , b u t worn out,
with scurve y ( ?) ~rs . Brown ne ve r cou ld rid e be hind t ha t h or e .
I nstead of g oing
o ve r a b r idge , t he bor e wou ld go i n a nd t h r ou g h a stre am .
Brown liked to trad
horses . T he lma wa s t he onl y one tha t would rid e a horse.
She r e c a lls Merri l l g oing wi t h t h .gi r ls. He u s e d t o gL c an oe ing on the Rive r
He we nt to Fl i n t a nd worked,
Ka i s ing , and ~E adu a te ~ f r m h i g h s c hoo l at Dundee .
t he n b e came inte r e s t ed in the mi n is t ry .
The mother g ot ~e rrill g o i n g to c a mpmee t . ng s a r ound Sand usky . Revival meetin gs . He s udde n l y be lie ved a nd be c ame v e r y r e l i gi ou s . No t long af ter he en t ere d
th mi nist ry . He g ave u p smok i ng .
He ke p t in t e r es t e d i n racing •
The c h l dre n were :
Re v. Edg ar Me . ril Br o wn(l 8 92 --d. Aug . 1 969 ). Wi fe Gl adys live s
in Pr i nc e ton , Ky .
Ru t h J tewart- 61 4 Rens haw ~ t.
The lm a Br own--owneN t he ol d home in Roch e s t e r a t 402 W. 4th S t.
lived t h e l as t 35 ye ar s ihhrl i ng ton, Va. May come back to
Roc he s te r s ome day .
William Stewar t- -
Has
ne v . William Brown r etired in 1 926 en acc o unt of f ail i n g health d u r i ng
1 e ret i red
h is pas t o rate a t Le x ington .
to Ro c hes t er and spent 2 ~ y ears t h e re .
He pas s ed away Fri day , Feb . 22 , 1929 , a fte r a l i n gerin g illne s s o f se veral mon t h s
ue h ad d i a b e t es . He s u f f e re d te r ri b l y nefor e t h e e nd ; he had b een treated for
Br i g h t ' s Di s ease .
-he f une ral s e rvice s were he ld Tues day , Feb. 26 , ih St . Pau l ' s Me tho dis t
Epi sc o pal Churc h , wi th the rtev . Wm H. Co l l yc o tt in charge , ass i sted b y t he R- v .
I s a ac Wi lcox and o t hers.
r<e v. Cal v i n t-1 . Thomps on ga ge t he funer al addre s s, and
Re v. Sid ney D. Eva pa id a s p l endid t r ibute to hi s literary c a r eer. In terme nt w_
wa s made i n the Roches t e r c e me t ery.
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I watched them spread he~ gall~nt sails,·
And glide o'er the waters blue,
But something caused me
To hea,ve a sigh,
. And the .echoing winds ·
Seetrted to j:nake reply;
·She'H. never come bask to you;
And the sad winds sighing .
,. . Moaned·as they passed, .
.
··· "She'll never. co~e back to you."
She sailed away, that gallant ship,
·. On her voyage to the eastern ~a:in ;
· And his heart was sad,
As he said "Good-pye,"
And the moistening tear-drop
Dimmed his eye,
.
As he said, "I'll come ·ba~k again:" ;
And he :pressed my hand.
a fond embrace,
Saying, "Love, I'll cDme.back-again.",
In
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-. Bu.t ev~ry qight ere the sun goes do~n,
My shtp comes hoine from the sea •. ·
I can see ·the gleam
'
. Of her silvery sails,
. And hear a voice ·
T~ugh the weird, wild gales
Saying, ('I will .he true tD thee " '
And my ·heart's with my love.
In that phantom ship;
.
Who will ever be true to me. .
·
-William Edgar Brown.
rHE PHANTOM SHIP.-
··,
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· 1 have waite~ long. fo~ that gallan~ shiP.
. To return o er the w1de, wide sea;
· . But the night winds whistle
... · · · A sad refrain, ·
And a voice in my heart
· $~ems to a11swer again,
I{e'll .p.ever come back to nJ,e;
But the night winds ·whistle
A sad refrain, ·
He'll never come back to thee.
That ~'.from all lands the great would come,
When wars of.men should cease~ .
.
· And usher in the brotherhood
·. Of tllliversal peace."
So when the traveler chances·
sail close by thy sllore, ·
The sparkling water dances, · ·
·As fairies ·danced. of yore;
And the song of the sea·entrances
The cliffs of thy rock-ribbed shore.
- .William Edgar Brown.
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.: .·. WILLIAM EDGAR BROWN
MICH~GAN _M.ETHODI~T POE_T S .
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