James Brown was born in Marthaville, Enniskillen Township in 1892. He was the son of Austin Brown and Eliza Foster.
He was raised in Marthaville where he learned his trade as a driller. Before the First World War, he was drilling in Persia (now Iran). He sent home many hand made rugs and Arabian style swords, knives and battle axes which are still owned by Brown family members. The rugs were sent to his sister Emma Dupee on Kathleen Avenue, Sarnia, where she kept them until he returned. While in Persia he had a drilling rig collapse and broke his leg. The drilling camp was surrounded by hostile enemies of the Persians at the same time and there was no doctor, so the leg was set by using a splint made from sandbags. Consequently the leg did not set properly. He walked with a limp for the rest of his life. When the First World War broke out he returned to Canada. In 1915 he returned to the foreign fields.[1]
He met and married Ava Beck in England.[2] They returned to Canada.
James Francis Brown, Oil Driller, Regimental Number: 3140214 Born 1892-07-20 Petrolia was drafted under the Military Service Act, 1917. He enlisted at London in November 1918. He was discharged on demobilization on Dec 3, 1918. Next of Kin Wife Mrs. Ada Brown 262 Queen Street, Sarnia. His medical confirmed the fracture over 3 years prior and the marked deformity of the right tibia and outward bowing. [3]
After the war they moved to Sumatra. James and Edward were born there. Daniel and Robert were born in Borneo. In 1930 they returned to Sarnia. The boys had never seen snow before.[4]
James F Brown - Passed away at family residence, 2256 LaSalle Road on Thursday August 11, James F Brown husband of Ida Vivian Brown aged 68 years. Interment Hillsdale Cemetery, Petrolia.[5]
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Categories: Enniskillen, Ontario | Canadian Expeditionary Force, World War I