John Robert Brown (1862 - 1947)

Born 19 Feb 1862 in Sarnia, Lambton, Ontario, Canada

Died 5 Dec 1947 at age 85 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Laurie Jaeger [send private message]

Biography

John Robert Brown was born in 1862 in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. He was the eldest child born to Thomas Brown, born in Ireland and Mary McGregor born in Ontario. ^[1]

In 1871, according to the Canada Census, John was 9 years old and living with his parents and younger siblings in Sarnia, Lambton, Ontario, Canada. ^[2]

In 1881 he was 19 years old and working as a farmer. He lived with his parents and siblings in Sarnia, Lambton, Ontario. ^[3]

John became a lawyer and started his practice in Sarnia before moving to Greenwood, British Columbia in 1899, a small mining city just north of the USA border. ^[4]

He married Florence Whitmarsh on 18 Nov 1903 in Spokane, Washington, United States. He was 41 and she was 29 years old.^[5] They had 3 children

1. Thomas Wilfred Brown 1904–1973
2. Clifford McGregor Brown 1907–1928
3. Arthur Bruce Brown 1911–1975

He became a County Court Judge in 1907 after serving in the Legislature for 3 years. ^[4]

He retired in about 1937 and lived at 2112 Cornwall Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada with his wife Florence. ^[1]

He passed away after a short illness at the Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on 5 Dec 1947. He was laid to rest in Grand Forks, British Columbia, Canada.^[1]

His obituary read Mining Judge For 30 Years Dies Here Judge John Robert Brown, 85, who was senior county court judge in Yale district for 30 years, died in Vancouver General Hospital after a short illness.

Retired 10 years ago, he had handled many mining and land cases in the large interior district since his elevation to the bench in 1907.

Born in Sarnia, Ontario, Judge Brown began his law practice there and moved to Greenwood, B.C., in 1899. He was Liberal member of the Legislature for Greenwood from 1903 to 1906 and was appointed county court judge in 1907.

He is survived by his wife, Florence, at 2112 Cornwall, and two sons in Prince Rupert, Thomas Wilfred and Arthur Bruce Brown.

Funeral services and burial will be at Grand Forks, Center and Hanna are in charge of arrangements here. ~ The Vancouver Sun, 6 Dec 1947, p.31 ^[4]

Research Notes

• This may be a photograph of John Robert Brown with another Judge from the USA. It indicates he became a Judge in 1909, however the image notes suggest it was taken in the 1950's.

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Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Death: "British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986; 1992-1993", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FLPY-BTP : 8 November 2017), John Robert Brown, 1947. view death record
2. ↑ Residence: "Canada Census, 1871," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M47H-KSF : 24 October 2018), John R Brown in household of Thomas Brown, Sarnia, Lambton, Ontario, Canada; citing 1871; citing National Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.
3. ↑ Residence: "Canada Census, 1881," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MVDG-RZ6 : 15 December 2020), John R. Brown in household of Thos. W. Brown, Sarnia, Lambton, Ontario, Canada; from "1881 Canadian Census." Database with images. Ancestry. (www.ancestry.com : 2008); citing Thos. W. Brown, citing Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Obituary: Newspapers.com, The Vancouver Sun, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Saturday, December 6, 1947, page 31, (view obituary, accessed on 13 Feb 2021)
5. ↑ Marriage: "Washington, County Marriages, 1855-2008," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPMF-FWG1 : 28 November 2018), John Robert Brown and Florence M Whitmarsh, 18 Nov 1903, Spokane, Washington, United States, Washington State Archives, Olympia; FamilySearch digital folder 007388737.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Laurie Jaeger for creating Brown-23867 on 13 Nov 13. Click the Changes tab for the details on contributions by Laurie and others.