The record-union., 1896-02-01
C. C. BROWN In new ORLEANS.
BE is There to Claim the Fortune Left
by His Sister.
a Characteristic Interview With the
Eccentric Sacramentan in
Local Journal.


Crescent City known. judging by the
Following from the '"rimes-Democrat'
of recent date:
Il am Charles C. Brown, the man
from Sacramento, the only brother of
Fanny Sweet, and am glad to meet a
representative of the 'Times-Demo-
crat,' and the speaker extended a big.
round hand that showed distinct signs
of manual labor for a shake. There is
no mystery connected with my claims
and there has not been the slightest
secrecy in my movements since coming
80 New Orleans, as has been intimated.
We have nothing to conceal"
This was Charles G. Browns own
way Of introducing himself. He is here
from Sacramento, Cal, to contest the
will of Fanny Hinekley- Mills, better
known as Fanny Sweet, and he claims
TO be the only legitimate heir to the
fortune. which is variously estimated
about the $75,000 mark. He is accom-
panied by his only son, Jay r. Brown.
Then tell me the secret of this
strange life that has passed without
anyone really understanding it," re-
quested the reporter.
My dear young man, that life why
at would fill a book. But I will tell you
all I can, and my lawyer will tell in
open court the things I can't.
You must go back with me to the
old homestead in Ohio and try to think
1t about the year of 1924. Two hundred
miles above Cincinnati, in Lawrence
County, at Proctorsville, on Paddy
Creek-yes, plain old Dutch Paddy
Creek. There is where we five children
were born, right on the bank of the
creek. My father was John Jay Brown,
q plain old Dutchman, who served four
years in the army of the Rhine. My
mothers name was Rebecca Small
wood before she married and she was
Erenchwoman.
The first child was James Brown,
who long since died at Bristol Next
came Mary Brown, born in 1920, who
married James McVey and later moved
10 Huntington, w. Va. Sarah Henri
eta Brown was the third child, and she
married John Mccormick of Cincinnati
They started to California in the great
gold rush of 1S49, but he never reached
there, dying on the plains. The fourth
child was Rachel Fanny Brown, who
was just two years, two months and
twenty days older than I, which makes
her having been born in 1921, as my
birthday was February ), 1924.
This, then, was the starting point of
my sister Fanny. We lived in Proctors-
Vile, Ohio, as children and until Fanny
was 10 years old. At that time. which
was about 1871, Fanny went down to
Cincinnati to see her sister, Mrs. Nc
Cormick, who was there with her hus-
hand. This was our first separation and
It so happened that I saw but little of
her after that. She remained in Gin
cinnati until MY sister and brother-in-
law started to drive through to Califor-
MIA, when she went with them My
bother died on the way, but the two
women pushed on to California.
1t was then that I took to steam
boating. I came down to New Orleans
and for years steamboated up the Red
River from this port. / recall many of
the old vessels We ran. oh, this is no
new city TO mel In it's old days 1 knew
it well and many of the old shipping
houses here.
while in California my sister Fanny
had trouble with a man named Putnam
and shot him. It is no secret and don't
care if you publish it. Yes, she shot him
Then she was spirited away from there.
and after much rambling about the
old homestead in Ohio. It wasn't long
until she got into some trouble with my
brother-in-law, McVey, and sued him
for a big sum. That suit was one of
the famous cases in the Ohio courts of
those early days. I returned there at
just this state of affairs and learned
the situation. 1t enraged me very
much and I saw Fanny only once The
time I saw her she was standing on the
deck of the steamboat Henry A. Jones,
Captain Bill Knight, which was lying
at anchor in the Ohio River near our
home Fanny asked me to come on
board and down into the cabin; that
she was in trouble and wanted to see
me I told her no; that I would have
nothing to do with the case, and turned
away.
That was in 1856, and it was the
last time ever saw my sister Fanny.
I sold out everything and skipped.
IN the meantime I had married
Jays mother" continued Mr.. Brown,
pointing to his son, and walking across
the room to blow a wad of tobacco out
OF his mouth Then he pulled a long
shot bag out of his pocket and took
from it a large plug of old Star one
corner of which he proceeded to twist
eft between his thumb and forefinger
The good-natured Californian then con-
tinued:
1--WE went to Missouri and located in
Jasper County. Our home stood on the
county line-in fact, half in Jasper and
half in Lawrence County-but it was
not a home divided against itself. 1
first went to Sacramento Cal. in 1868
and we settled there permanently in
1872. I have been right there ever
sirce. While I was in Missouri my sis
ter Fanny drifted down the river TO
New Orleans. In 1877 she wrote to the
Postmaster at Sacramento. Cal, and
asked if I lived there and to send her
my address. He gave her my address.
and from that time she kept up a cor
respondence with my wife and also my
son Jay"
by what name did you know her?"
asked the reporter.
I'VE always thought her name was
Hinckley until the year 1879, when she
wrote to me, saying that she had just
lest big lawsuit in New Orleans and
was broke. She asked me TO send her
500. drew up a check for 500. with
out word of explanation, and inclosed
1t in an envelope to Fanny Sweet. In
that request she signed herself Fanny
Sweet; that was the first time I had
ever known her by that name We un-
derstood that she married men by the
names Of Seymore and Ranger while in
~ @Pure a