56Henry in a photograph probably taken circa 1903 (judging by the apparent ages of the children).1 Cropped from a larger portrait. I've colorized and enhanced the image; use the slider to see the image in its more original appearance, or see my unedited scan of the full portrait or the scan juxtaposed with a colorized enhancement.
56Henry O. Brown
Key Facts
Snapshot:preacher, farmer
Parents:112Hiram Brown
113S. Ellen Groover
Born:perhaps 2 January 1858; see notes below
Georgia
Died:6 September 1909
Cleburne County, Alabama
Buried:Antioch Cemetery, Cleburne County, Alabama
Coordinates: N33.6402 W85.3966

56Henry in a photograph probably taken circa 1903 (judging by the apparent ages of the children).1 Cropped from a larger portrait. I've colorized and enhanced the image; use the slider to see the image in its more original appearance, or see my unedited scan of the full portrait or the scan juxtaposed with a colorized enhancement.


56Henry in a photograph probably taken circa 1903 (judging by the apparent ages of the children).1 Cropped from a larger portrait; see my unedited scan of the full portrait.

56Henry O. Brown was born in Georgia.2 He may have been born on 2 January 1858, although this is somewhat of an educated guess. His parents are 112Hiram Brown and 113S. Ellen Groover. I discuss these two topics further in the problem sections below.

Problem: Resolved
Who are 56Henry's parents?

The 1870 census shows 56Henry living in 113Ellen's house,2 so one can reasonably conclude that 113Ellen is 56Henry's mother.


1870: 56Henry's family in militia district 693 (map), Coweta County, Georgia. Full page.2

113Ellen later applied for a pension. Her application mentions that her husband 112Hiram Brown died in the Civil War, and that she never remarried.


56Henry's father mentioned in a pension application. Full page.3

As previously explained, 113Ellen's sons William and 56Henry are strangely missing from the 1860 census,4 even though one would expect to find them listed with 112Hiram and 113Ellen. I suspect that the census enumerator simply made a mistake.

Problem: Unresolved
When was 56Henry born?

56Henry's tombstone indicates that he was born 2 January 1861.5

However, the tombstone of 56Henry's brother Silas indicates that Silas was born just five months earlier (on 27 July 1860).6 If this date is accurate, 56Henry's supposed birth in January 1861 would be biologically impossible. Furthermore, the 1870 census implies that 56Henry is older than Silas.2 (56Henry is listed before Silas. Census enumerators typically listed children in order from oldest to youngest.)

As you can see, there is reason to doubt whether 2 January 1861 is truly 56Henry's date of birth. Additional evidence comes from the 1900 census, which indicates that 56Henry was born in January 1858.7

Therefore, 2 January 1858 seems to be the most plausible date, although there isn't enough evidence to prove that it's correct.

In 1870 56Henry was living with his mother (and next door to his grandfather 226Phillip Groover) in Coweta County, Georgia.2


1870: 56Henry's family in militia district 693 (map), Coweta County, Georgia. Full page.2

56Henry moved to Cleburne County, Alabama sometime thereafter. I've been unable to find 56Henry in the 1880 census, but his mother was in Cleburne County in 1880,8 and on 18 December 1881 he married 57Margaret Ada Hanes in Cleburne County.9

56Henry's and 57Margaret Ada Hanes' marriage record. Full page.9

On 8 June 1891 he purchased 160.14 acres in Cleburne County, Alabama from the U.S. government.10 I marked his land on the master map. (A supposed land affidavit suggests he may have lived on the western half of this property some years before he actually purchased it, although I've been unable to find a detailed source citation for this affidavit, so I can't confirm.)


1891: 56Henry bought 160 acres in Alabama from the U.S. government. Full page.10

The 1900 census shows his family in Cleburne County.7


1900: 90Henry's family in Cleburne County, Alabama. Full page.7

Several of the people named in the 1900 census are in the photo below. You can see a "who's who" description, my unedited scan, or the scan juxtaposed with a colorized enhancement.1

56Henry died on 6 September 1909. He's buried in Antioch Cemetery, Cleburne County, Alabama at coordinates N33.6402 W85.3966.

Sources Cited:

1: Photograph of 56Henry O. Brown, 57Margaret Ada Hanes, 28Hiram W. Brown, 29Mary Lee Parlier, and others. Copy provided to me by 7Carolyn Jean Brown, granddaughter of 28Hiram W. Brown. You can see my unedited scan and a description of who's who.

2: 1870 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Militia district 693, Coweta County, Georgia. Page 105, dwelling 724, family 712, Ellen Brown household. NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 145. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DCWF-S5?i=34&cc=1438024&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMCSR-PRM>, accessed 17 January 2021.

3: Folder of pension documents for veteran H. Brown [further identified as Hiram Brown in internal documents] and pensioner S. E. Brown, on the microfilm reel for veterans A. C. Brown through John Louis Brown, Alabama Confederate pension applications, Alabama Dept. of Archives & History. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3S7-B986-F?i=694&cc=3029256>, accessed 14 December 2020.

4: 1860 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Merritt's district, Cobb County, Georgia. Page 426, dwelling 1468, family 1429, H. Brown household. NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 117. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YBP-Y1P?i=1&cc=1473181&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMZMK-JYH>, accessed 13 December 2020. Also available on the Internet Archive.

5: Tombstone of Rev. H. O. Brown (2 January 1861 - 6 September 1909), Antioch Cemetery, Cleburne County, Alabama, coordinates N33.6402 W85.3966. Photograph taken by 1Bryant Knight on 6 February 2021.

6: Tombstone of Rev. S. P. Brown (27 July 1860 - 15 April 1911), Eastaboga Baptist Church Cemetery, Talladega County, Alabama. FindAGrave.com, <https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5344625/silas-phillip-brown>, accessed 16 February 2021.

7: 1900 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Precinct 8 Abernathy, Cleburne County, Alabama. Enumeration district 140, sheet 10A, dwelling 169, family 170, Henry Brown household. NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 9. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6XS9-M6N?i=18&wc=9BWH-HZZ%3A1031034401%2C1032322501%2C1032347601&cc=1325221>, accessed 15 February 2021.

8: 1880 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Cleburne County, Alabama. Enumeration district 44, sheet 194C, dwelling 123, family 124, Ellen Brown household. NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 8. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYYJ-QG9?i=5&cc=1417683&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AM4JC-M7J>, accessed 17 January 2021.

9: Cleburne County, Alabama. Marriage book C, page 41. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939Z-YY99-PY?i=483&cc=1743384&cat=37923>, accessed 12 February 2021.

10: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records. Accession number AL4720__.219, homestead certificate 7182, application 12949, for the transfer of 160.14 acres in township 16S range 12E from the United States to Henry O. Brown on 8 June 1891. <https://glorecords.blm.gov/details/patent/default.aspx?accession=AL4720__.219&docClass=STA&sid=waqxomls.2oc> on 15 February 2021.