James Francis Brown (1892 - 1960)

Born 20 Jul 1892 in Marthaville, Enniskillen, Lambton, Ontario, Canada

Ancestors

Husband of Ada Vivian (Beck) Brown — married 1917 in Dartford, Kent, England, United Kingdom

Died 11 Aug 1960 at age 68 in Sarnia, Lambton, Ontario, Canada

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Biography

Private James Brown served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in World War I
Service started: 6 Nov 1918
Unit(s): 1st Depot Battalion Western Ontario Regiment.
Service ended: 3 Dec 1918

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]

Sources

1. ↑ History of the Brown Family by Murray Brown
2. ↑ England and Wales Marriage Registration GRO Reference 1917 Oct-Dec Quarter in Dartford, Kent, England Volume 2A Page 1394 Ada V Beck and James D Brown
3. ↑ Canadian Expedition Force file (https://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item/?op=pdf&app=CEF&id=B1156-S058)
4. ↑ History of the Brown Family by Murray Brown.
5. ↑ Sarnia Observer August 11, 1960 page 27

• Ontario Births and Baptisms, 1779-1899", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FMQX-5PJ : 13 February 2020), James Francis Brown, 20 Jul 1892 Marthaville, Enniskillen, Lambton, Ontario,

• 1901 census Concession 12, lot 7, Enniskillen Township, Division E14, Ontario page 6, with parents Joseph and Eliza Brown; James male w son single 20 July 1892 age 8 Ont. r English Canadian Methodist

• 1911 census Enniskillen Township, Lambton County Ontario, with father Joseph Brown widower laborer oil wells; Brown James son single July 1891 age 19 laborer oil wells