My Genealogy Hound

Below is a family biography included in The History of Obion County, Tennessee published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1887.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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John M. Brown, farmer, was born in the Palmetto State February 28, 1817, and came to Tennessee in December, 1839, locating in Obion County near the farm on which he now resides. His father, William Brown, was born in South Carolina in February, 1788, but in 1840 came to Tennessee and died in Obion County about 1850. His wife, Jane (Mills) Brown, was born in South Carolina in 1795 and died in Tennessee in October, 1867. John M. was the second of their ten children. He is of Scotch-Irish descent and until he was twenty-one years of age his days were spent on his father’s farm. Since that time he has farmed for himself and is now worth about $8,000. He is thoroughly a self-made man and man of influence in the community in which he resides. He is a Democrat and Prohibitionist and was married on the 3d of December, 1844, to Jane Reeves, daughter of Hiram and Margaret Reeves. They became the parents of ten children: Hiram R., Mary A., Margaret J., W. H., Martha (who died in August, 1882), Susan, Wylie, Ross, Nannie, and one who died in infancy. Mrs. Brown died April 7, 1886, being a consistent member of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church at the time of her death.

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This family biography is one of 179 biographies included in The History of Obion County, Tennessee published in 1887 by Goodspeed.  The History of Obion County was included within The History of Gibson, Obion, Dyer, Weakley & Lake Counties of Tennessee. For the complete description, click here: History of Gibson, Obion, Dyer, Weakley, and Lake Counties of Tennessee

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