Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1908-05-30
Funeral Services of the Late
Frederick ]. Brownell
Yesterday.
SKETCH OF HIS LIFE.
- For Forty Years He Was a
Leader In Every Progress
i've Movement.

The funeral services of the late F.
]. Brownell were held yesterday at
10 o'clock at the Methodist church.
Rev. Geo. H. Means, pastor, conduct
ed the exercises assisted by Drs. j.
w. Lewis and A. P. Lyon and large
concourse of citizens and friends fol-
lowed the body to its resting place in
Riverside Cemetery.
A BIOGRAPHICAL,
The following facts are from Per-
rims History of Christian county:
Frederick j. Brownell was born
near Gloversyille, Fulton county,
New York, on April Is, 1885, of
Scotch-Iris ancestry, he being one
of eleven children. While he was
Ut child his parents moved to
Ohio, and and in this state he spent
his youth. He attended school at
Buffalo. N. Y, Tifin, Ohio, and Den
ison University, Licking county,
Ohio.
His war record was an unusually
interesting one. He enlisted in Oc-
tober, 1861, in the Federal army as
sergeant in the Fifty-frst Indiana
infantry. From the first he demon
strated his worth as soldier and in
side of year he was promoted to
the position of First Lieutenant for
personal bravery during the battle
of Stone River, his commission being
endorsed ''for bravery on the field
of battle" While in command of
his company with his regiment on a
raid through Northern Alabama he
was captured by Gen. Forrest at
Gadsden, Alabama, onMay 3, 1868.
He was kept prisoner for twenty
three months and eleven days, one
year being spent in Libby prison, at
Richmond. In March, 1865, the pris-
oners were held at Columbia, s. c.,
and as Sherman approached on his
march to the sea it was determined
to move them to Charlotte, N. c.,
for greater security. En- route the
train was wrecked and during the
night the sentinel at one point fell
asleep and Mr.. Brownell secured his
cap and Cape to his overcoat and
took. up the role of sentry, in the
darkness the deception not being no.
ticed. Finally he was ordered to es-
cort one of the prisoners, Lieut.. New
brant, to the spring for some water.
AS soon as they got out of sight the
two made for the woods and after
, two weeks of perilous experiences
and hairbreadth escapes, one of
which was when they hid under the
floor of cotton gin and the Confed-
crate soldiers walked about overhead
looking for them, they met with a
branch of Sherman's army which
was then on its march to the sea.
Mr.. Brownell remained with this
force until April when, his time of
enlistment having expired, he re-
ported to Washington as an escaped
prisoner and was honorably dis
charged from the service.
NREring the forty years that Mr..
Rco)wnell was resident of Hopkins
vile ne was identified with practic-
ally every public enterprise that
looked to progress and the develop
ment of the city. He was a Repub-
lican in politics and in the old days
when the city's Board of Trustees
was by common agreement bi-par-
tisan body. he was one of the seven |
sis.i who served long and faithfully lilly
He was active in the movements that
brought our turnpike system. the
Ohio Valley Railway. water works,
electric lights, graded schools, Hotel !
Latham and all.of the Improvements
that one by one changed a country
town into a busy city. His last
great public service was the erection
OF the Y M C. A huildin0 He