The Republican journal., 1886-09-09
John Brown and His Descendants.


TO TIE EDITOR OF TIE JOURNAL: 1t was
with great interest that read to-day the letter
i'll your good paper from III. S. b. entitled 1.-The
Early Records of Belfast" | recognize the
initials as those of my only living uncle, with
one exception. ] think he might have made it
interesting to others beside myself, had he Civ
en- the names of those eight sisters after their
marriages. Their descendants are numerous
indeed, and are doubtless scattered all over
the country. Probably | have not the record
correct, but when l was a child my mother
used to tell me of her eight aunts, and my i'm
preston is that two married Dulhams, two
married Houstons two married Blacks, one
Buck, and one Sears. If my impressions of
the family history are correct, that disposes of
the eight daughters of Lieut.. John Brown, who
came from Londonderry, Ireland, with his
parents and settled in New Hampshire. giving
the same name to the new town. The father
of Lieut.. Brown was also named john and he
held a captains commission from his King.
Lieut.. Brown seems to have had promising
family when he migrated to the wds of the
Pine Tree State, as the records say his son John
was born in 1864, and who must have been
eight years of age when his father removed to
Belfast. | have always understood that my
grandfather's birthplace was Londonderry, n.
II. and that his father came from ireland.
John Brown. Jr. was the only son in nine
children, but he did better. six sons and seven
daughters having been born to him. One son
died in infancy, but the others all lived to raise
70, Of I,,;,.
ably upright and honorable men. | can well
remember my five tall uncles. OF the entire
family of thirteen, only two yet remain on
earth.
'Ah Brother, only | and thou
Are left of all that household now"
Among the children of the five brothers |
cannot recall single John Brown, the son of
the fourth John who bore that name having
died years ago in a foreign land. So the good
old name borne for five generations seems des-
tined to die out. Probably the son Of Lieut..
Brown lived and died in the same spot where
his father settled in 1112 ] have never seen
the old homestead, but have always supposed
it to be on the upper Searsport road, but not
over half a mile from the shore
About the year 1915 man by the name of
Patterson, living near the water, picked up an
apparently good pair of pants which had wash
ed ashore. Naturally he carried them home to
his wife who washed them. In a few days She
was stricken with Il strange disease which
bated the skill (:) of the local NJ. ID. The
neighborS went freely to watch with the atllict-
ed family. among the rest my grandmother and
aunt>. They i'll turn We're stricken down with
the same mysterious disease, and my grand
mother as well as Mrs. Patterson and others
died a frightful death. About this time the
nature of the disease became known. and the
younger members of the family, including my
mother, We're innoculated with the smallpox
virus, the common way in those days of allevi-
ating the dreadful scourge, vaccination be
inc then practically unknown in this country.
The road leading to the infected houses was
boarded across, and Il sign read thus: "Small
poN ahead. Turn and 90 half a mile on the
shore road 1t was limited that the learned
-E>rulapiu> of the town knew from the first
outbreak the true nature of the disease, hul
that he desired to spread it to make business
good I. for one, have a better opinion of man
kind in general than to believe such a horrible
story. The current opinion once came to the
old mans ears in this wise. Some years after
that dreadful time, he came into the presence
of a spirited aunt of mine. and said play fully,
"EIiZaheth Elizabeth, I've a bone to pick With
you" In her sharp pert manner, which was Il
characteristic Of her through her entire life,
She said quickly, "Well, what have been do
ing, have | been spreading the small-poN:''
The Old mans denial was both vigorous and
solemn. "Elizabcth, if ] have ever been guilty
of so foul a crime, may my tongue cleavc to
the roof of my mouth, and my right hand for
get its cunning" Ny aunt never forgot that
reply to her dying day. Many are the stories
of early Belfast to which have listened from
her lips. She was born in 1876, and was bless
ed with an excellent memory.
1t is hard for me to think of the former zen
GRAFTON as aged people, and those of my OWN.
fast plotting their barkS toward the pillows of
mature activity. soon We shall hear the waves
breaking on the further shore where all is
peace. DO We all carry in our hearts foun-
tain of eternal youth. whose spring, shall never
Wlther or dry up? Let Il, hope that we do.
Probably in few Years my descendants will
look for the record of my birth. and my pecul-
iarties will furnish a theme for the tresde.
Thus it ever is:
$50 the multitude goes like the flower or the
weed.
That wither away to let others succeed,
50 the multitude comes. even those we behold
10 repeat every tale that has often been told.
For we are the same that our fathers have been,
We see the same sights that our fathers have
seen,
We drink the same streams. and view the same
sun
And run the same course our fathers have run.
The thoughts we are thinking, our fathers
would think
From the death we are shrinking, our fathers
would shrink,
10 the life we are clingng, they also would
cling,
But it speeds for us all, like Il bird on the
wing"
HELEN y. PACKARD.