Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1904-10-14

past halt century. When no was an
infant, his parents, Abraham and Eliza
beth brown, voyaged from Liverpool,
England, to the colonies of their country
in America, and located at Compton, T.
q. He was reared among the primitive
conditions of that locality and helped TO
fell the great trees and TO cultivate the
rich farms for which the forests were
cut away.
Coming to maturity he obtained pc.
sition as turnkey in the Jail OF Sher-
brooke, but this occupation was not con-
genial to him and he was soon employed
in the construction of the Atlantic Il
st. Lawrence Railway, with which he
remained till it became the Grand Trunk
Railway Company, and continued with
the latter as long as he was able to per-
form manual labor.
In 1857 he was married at SherbroOke,
p. O., to Miss Mary Sheerin, native OF
Dublin, Ireland, and during the follow
ing year came to Island Pond as section
foreman. This was long before the
earliest picture of the village that we
have was taken, and when methods Of
railroading were most crude and cumber.
some. From the section he went on TO
the trains as brakeman fora while, and
later commenced to work In the engine
house. The engine house of those days
was much different from that Of later
years. There was none Of the rush Of
manifest freight over the road then
none of the handling Of the modern
compound engine. Men held tho same
position on the road for years, aud the
engine house was little community Of
itself. 1t was not so perilous q place ~
it became later, and we who were boys
here used frequently to visit 1t. Mr..
George w. Noyes had charge Of II, and
there were little sub-departments.
Peter Guilmette had his crew with
which he was sent out in case OF wreck
and toiled with most elementary con
trivances to clear the line again. Much
repairing was then done by hand here
that afterwards was executed In mor'
modern ways in the shops, and fol
many years, in this connection, Johr
Brown stood by the forge aud anvil ir
the northwest corner Of tho old engine
house. Many of US remember him wei
then and kindly words and acts OF hi
that had grown dim with the year
CLEAN out again in those recollection
g that are lighted at the grave OF friend
lie was pleasant to the boys, and man
r time when disaster came to us IN tn
wreckage of bobsled on the hill O
from similar perplexing troubles, "
e turned to John Brown for assistance
). His was wonderful workshop TO us,an
t he kind of Vulcan who could emplo
: the effect of heat aud bend the stubbor
e steel with his strong, bare arm by
- power beyond the natural.
e But then came time Of change. TIL
" toll of the shop began to overcome tl
a physical forces of the strong man. II
d was obliged to give up his occupation
Is and it would seem that he had earne
d some years of happiness as he declines
y and yet keen sorrows came to him. Tw
o. sons, William by lingering illness, on
Thomas by the swift stroke OF fate tn
n often falls upon the railroad man, wei
g taken in the prime Of life, and the
John, the youngest OF the boys, aud wi
survives his father, was terribly injur'
by the cars. Then came heavy b
ne reavement in the untimely decease of h
@. daughter Margaret, the wife Of Il. '
III Fiske, of Lancaster, N. II.