Robert James Brown,   b. 17 Aug 1880, Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 17 Oct 1956, Toronto, York, Ontario, Canada   (Age 76 years). Robert married firstly on 19 Jan 1901 in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada to Grace Ellen Worthington,   b. 13 May 1880, Burlington, Halton, Ontario, Canada ,   d. UNKNOWN, Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada .

1. 1. Mabel Brown,   b. 21 Oct 1899, Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada ,   d. UNKNOWN. Mabel was born two years prior to her parents’ marriage. She is found only in the 1901 census. She is not found wth her father and his second wife in 1911, nor has she been found elsewhere in the 1911 census. No marriage or death record has been found for her.

Robert’s birth record in Hamilton in 1880 gives his name as Robert James Brown, son of William James Brown, a moulder, and Rachel Brown. In 1881, he is shown residing in Hamilton with his parents, William and Rachel Brown, and his sister, Sarah Elizabeth.

In 1891, he is found in Hamilton with his widowed father and two siblings. His name is given as Robert Brown.

Robert’s 1901 marriage in Hamilton to Grace Worthington shows his parents as William Brown and Rachel Brown. His name is given as Robert James Brown and he was employed as a labourer. He is found in 1901 in Hamilton, Ward 6, with his wife Grace and newborn daughter Mabel. He was employed as a roller. In 1904 he married to Emma Arnold and his name is given as James Robert Brown with parents William Brown and Rachel (no surname). In 1921, Emma gives his name as James Brown where they are shown with the three children shown here, but no sign of his daughter, Mabel, from his first marriage.

31 July 1915, James Robert Brown, WWI attestation papers issued. Wife: Emma. Gives birth as 17 Aug 1883 (not 1880).

Undated discharge papers for James Robert Brown, medically unfit, hand-written note says deceased 17-10-56,

4 Aug 1916 death of Robert James Brown, age 36, 132 Balliol Street, Toronto.

Robert James Brown married secondly 21 Nov 1904 in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada to Emma Arnold,   b. 1883, Toronto, York, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 1974, Bancroft, Hastings Co, Ontario, Canada   (Age 91 years). They had the following children:

1. 1. Mabel Emma Brown,   b. 21 May 1905, Toronto, York, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 31 Aug 1905, Toronto, York, Ontario, Canada   (Age 0 years). According Mabel’s death registration, she died of marasmus (severe malnutrition). This can be caused by viral infection, inadequate production of breast milk, or neglect.
   2. Robert Brown,   b. 1915, Toronto, York, Ontario, Canada ,   d. UNKNOWN. Robert is not recorded in the family trees of his sister’s descendants, so appears to be unknown to them. This would suggest that he died young, although it’s possible that he moved away and lost contact.
   3. Audrey Emma Brown,   b. 1917, Cabbagetown, Toronto, Ontario, Canada ,   d. May 1977, Toronto, York, Ontario, Canada   (Age 60 years). Audrey married on 22 Sep 1933 in Aurora, York, Ontario, Canada to Charles Raymond Thwaites,   b. 14 Nov 1912, York, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 1978, Ontario, Canada   (Age 65 years). In 1921 she was residing in Toronto South, with her parents. They had the following children:
      1. Martha Valerie Thwaites,   b. 4 Feb 1938, Toronto, York, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 9 Oct 1986, Willowdale, Ontario, Canada   (Age 48 years) 
      2. John Charles Thwaites,   b. 9 Feb 1943, Toronto, York, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 7 Apr 1943, Lansing, York, Ontario, Canada   (Age 0 years)
   4. Florence Rose Brown,   b. 23 Oct 1918, Toronto, York, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 30 Oct 2001, Newmarket, York, Ontario, Canada   (Age 83 years).
   5. Pearl Valery Brown,   b. Abt 1924, Toronto, York, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 25 Sep 2009, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada   (Age ~ 85 years). She married an unknown spouse. No children are recorded.

William Brown,   b. 1883, Ireland ,   d. UNKNOWN.

No record has been found of William’s birth in Ireland.

Possibly residing in 1901 in Middlesex North, lodging with the Clemens family, working as a farm labourer, immig 1888. Possibly the same William Brown: William Brown, 29, Irish, toolmaker ~~~ engineer, and wife Jean Brown 27, entered Detroit, Mich, USA, MAR 1909, from Hamilton, ON, brother of Charles Brown of 29 Stinton St, Hamilton ON, bound for ~~~ Michigan. (no marriage record found) (Note: This is almost the exact same time that his suggested cousin, Robert Brown, moved to Detroit.)

The following birth fits for a possible second marriage for William’s father, but would have made him a bigamist.
Name: William James Brown
Gender: Male
Birth Date: 8 Mar 1884
Birth Place: Wentworth, Ontario, Canada
Father: William Brown
Mother: Ellen Lillbourne

Mary Aileen Brown,   b. 27 Feb 1870, Armagh, Northern Ireland ,   d. 2 Nov 1941, Whitby, Ontario, Ontario, Canada   (Age 71 years). She was married firstly on 8 Nov 1905 in London, Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada Robert Kells,   b. 1880, Ireland,   d. 2 Apr 1934, Whitby, Ontario County, Ontario, Canada (Age 54 years). They had no known children. After Robert died, Mary married secondly to George Edmond Sturgess,   b. 20 Jan 1861, Whitby Ontario ,   d. 3 Sep 1942, Whitby, Ontario, Ontario, Canada   (Age 81 years).

In later census records Minnie records her birth as 1877, however the ship’s passenger list in 1888 records her as the oldest child in the family at 17 years old. The 1891 census supports this. It is not until 1900 and later that Minnie begins recording her age as much younger. It is believed that the earlier census records reflect a more accurate record and that in later census records she was “less truthful” about her real age. Minnie’s marriage record gives her name as Mary Aileen Brown. In 1911 she is shown as Minnie Kells, married, but living with her parents and no sign of her husband. Neither Minnie nor her husband Robert have been found in the 1921 census. There is no record of Minnie and Robert having any children. In fact, there is no record of them ever having lived together after their marriage. They remain a bit of a mystery. Robert Kells’ death informant was his wife, Mrs. R. Kells — assuming this is the same Robert Kells.

Her death record in 1941 in Whitby, Ontario (the same location as the death of her first husband) shows her as the wife of George Sturgess. She is recorded as Marie Aileen Sturgess, daughter of John Brown and Sarah Cooke.

Robert Brown,   b. 24 May 1875, Tandragee, County Armagh, Ireland ,   d. 23 Oct 1944, Eloise, Wayne County, Michigan, USA   (Age 69 years). He married on 28 Aug 1908 in Windsor, Essex County, Ontario, Canada   to Laura Estella Deemert,   b. Feb 1892, Avoca, St Clair, Michigan, United States ,   d. 2 May 1961, Michigan, USA   (Age ~ 69 years). She was the daughter of Lewis Deemert and Luela Eddy. 

No birth record has been found for Robert. Robert’s date of birth shown here conflicts with the birth date of his brother, William. It is likely an error. It seems more likely that he was born a year earlier.

According to Harriet Brown (nee Jones) Robert Brown was married and moved from Hamilton to Detroit after which the Brown family lost touch with him. Harriet believed that Robert was born in 1879. Robert is listed in the passenger list for the ship Sarmatian in which Robert is recorded as being 11 years old on his arrival in 1888. This age conflicts with the ages of the other children, however few of the ages on the ship’s list agree with other sources. Robert has not been found in the 1891 or 1901 censuses in Canada. Robert was married on 28 AUG 1908 in Windsor, Essex County, Ontario, Canada to sixteen year old Laura Deemer/Deemert of Avoca, Michigan, USA. Robert was 33 and is recorded as being the son of John Brown and Sarah Cook and was working as a molder and residing in Detroit, Michigan, USA at the time of his marriage. Laura lied about her age at the time of the marriage and said she was 20. Census records confirm her age as only 16. She was also 4-5 months pregnant at the time according to the age of her son on the 1910 census. Her surname at her marriage is recorded as “Deemer” but earlier census records and family trees record her surname as “Deemert.” The wedding was witnessed by George Whitewill of Brantford (where Robert’s brother Jim was living) and Olive Snelgrove, who appears to have been just the minister’s wife. Robert is found in 1910 shown as b 1876 in Ireland, residing in Detroit with his 18 year old wife Laura and their 16 month old infant son, Robert L. Brown. Robert was drafted on 12 SEP 1918 for American military service in WWI. At which time he was residing at 310 Baker Street, Detroit, Michigan, USA with his wife Laura Estella Brown. His date of birth on his draft is given as 24 MAY 1875. He was employed as a crank-shaft straightener for Northway Motor & Manufacturing Company, 524 Maybury in Detroit (the engine manufacturing division of General Motors). In 1920 Robert and his family are still living in Detroit and Robert is working as a machinist in an auto factory. The names of his children remove any doubt as to the fact that he is the correct Robert. DNA evidence also confirms this relationship. Robert and his family have not been found in 1930, except son Robert L Brown who was in the Michigan State Prison.
The marriage witness, George Whitewill is found in the 1911 census in Canada as follows: “George Whitwell, b 1866 in England, res 1911, ward 4 Brantford, accountant in a bank, imm 18*7 (illeg, may say 1907). Wife, Mary Elizabeth, b 1875 in USA of Scottish origins. Anglican.” He appears to be no relation to the Browns and may have been just a friend of Robert’s.

According to Robert’s granddaughter, Jan Mercier,
Robert came to Windsor, Essex, Ontario, Canada with one of his siblings before moving to Detroit, Michigan, USA, presumably for employment. Family lore indicates that Robert and Laura were married by a relative in Windsor. Robert may have contracted malaria on the journey from Ireland. Allegedly, the lady who ran a boarding house he stayed at nursed him back to health. He stayed at a boarding house when he arrived in Detroit. Whether he stayed in boarding houses on two occaisions or whether details of two different times in his life have become blurred together is unknown. Family lore also indicated that he died of heart failure, and that he was a heart patient at Eloise Hospital in Westland, Michigan, USA. However, his death certificate inidcates that he died of complications from syphilis. The Eloise Infirmary was a full service hospital with its own farm, as well as being home to a notorious insane asylum that was reputed to be haunted. Most of the buildings have been torn down and there’s a creepy graveyard full of unnamed patients, some marked with bricks inscribed with serial numbers. It is not beleived that Robert is buried there, although his burial place is unknown.

Robert and Laura had the following children:

1. 1. Robert Lewis Brown,   b. 11 Jun 1909, Avoca, St Clair, Michigan, United States ,   d. UNKNOWN.  Robert’s military records indicate his brith as 11 June 1909, as given here. However, in 1910 Robert was residing with his parents as an infant son, where he is given as 16 months old. The census was taken in April 1910 making his real birth about DEC 1908 or JAN 1909, meaning his mother was pregnant when she married. The 1920 census gives his birth as MAY 1909. In 1920 he was residing in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, USA with his birth family. Robert is the only member of this family found in the 1930 census at which time he was an inmate in the Michigan State Prison.According to family records, Robert was imprisoned twice. The first time in 1930 for unknown reasons. The second time in the 1940s, he was the getaway driver in a robbery. He is alleged to have married an unknown actress briefly, who left him and ran away to New York. He was said to have had poor impulse control. He later lived with his sister Minnie. He had no known children.
   2. Ruth May Brown,   b. 29 Nov 1912, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA ,   d. 16 Jun 2002, Dearborn Heights, Wayne, Michigan, USA   (Age 89 years). Ruth married Abt 1928 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA  to Clinton Curtis Williams,   b. 5 Sep 1907, Calumet, Michigan, USA ,   d. 4 Mar 1975, Mount Clemens, Macomb, Michigan  . Ruth married secondly on 28 Nov 1934 in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, USA   to Edward Wagner,   b. 25 Jan 1907, Illinois, USA ,   d. 15 Aug 1978, Michigan, USA   (Age 71 years). Ruth was residing with her parents in Detroit in 1920. Her marriage to Clinton Williams has not been found. The date shown here is an estimate. In 1930 she is shown as Ruth Williams, but is living as a boarder without her family. By her first husband she had the following children: 
      1. Clinton Curtis Williams,   b. 1929, Michigan, USA ,   d. UNKNOWN
      2. Robert Williams,   b. 19 Jun 1933, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA ,   d. 25 Apr 2005  (Age 71 years) 
   3. Thomas James Brown,   b. 5 Jul 1915, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan ,   d. 18 Apr 1986, Westland, Wayne, Michigan, USA   (Age 70 years). Thomas married on 18 Jan 1939 to Thelma Pearl Lang,   b. 7 May 1911, Terra Haute Vigo, Indiana, USA ,   d. 19 May 1984, Canton, Wayne, Michigan, USA   (Age 73 years). Thomas was residing with his parents in Detroit in 1920. He has not been found in 1930. They had the following children:
      1. Living Brown
      2. Living Brown
   4. Minnie Aileen Brown,   b. 6 Aug 1919, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA ,   d. 24 Nov 1984, DeKalb, Georgia, USA   (Age 65 years). She married to James Leo “Red” Mercier,   b. 7 Nov 1915, Windsor, Essex, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 1979, Michigan, USA   (Age 63 years) . Minnie had five children, but only two made it to adulthood. It may have had something to do with the rheumatic fever she had as a teenager, but one boy was stillborn. Another boy named Donald died shortly after birth. The youngest, Joann, was injured at birth by a doctor’s negligence. She had severe brain damage and died at the age of 5.
      1. Gerald Mercier,   b. 1939, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA ,   d. 2009  (Age 70 years)
      2. Living Mercier 
      3. Donald Mercier,   b. UNKNOWN,   d. UNKNOWN
      4. Unkown Mercier,   b. UNKNOWN,   d. UNKNOWN
      5. Joann Mercier,   b. UNKNOWN,   d. UNKNOWN
   5. Laura M Brown,   b. 1923, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA ,   d. UNKNOWN. She married to James Briggs,   b. UNKNOWN,   d. UNKNOWN. They had the following child:
      1. Living Briggs,   b. UNKNOWN
   6. Mary Brown,   b. 1925, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA ,   d. Abt 1970  (Age 45 years). Mary married to Peter Booher,   b. Abt 1925,   d. Abt 1970  (Age ~ 45 years). Mary fell down a flight of stairs as a child. She was disfigured as a result, her back was twisted and hunched and she had to wear a block in one shoe. She wrote letters to soldiers during WW2 in an effort to boost morale. One in particular was Peter Booher. He was touched by her letters, and when the war was over they arranged to meet. She didn’t know if he would accept her because of her condition, but Minnie said, “I guess he liked what he saw.” They were happily married until they each died in the 1970s. (c/o niece Jan Mercier)
   7. Joan Alda Brown,   b. 13 Oct 1930, Detroit Wayne, Michigan, USA ,   d. 3 Jan 2006, Highland, Oakland, Michigan   (Age 75 years). She married on 28 Oct 1950 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA  to John Vick,   b. 27 Oct 1929, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA ,   d. UNKNOWN. They had the following child:
      1. Living Vick,   b. UNKNOWN

William John Brown,   b. 15 Oct 1875, Tandragee, County Armagh, Ireland ,   d. 15 May 1943, London, Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada   (Age 67 years). William married on 26 Jun 1907 in St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Dorchester, Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada to Winnifred Merril Drake,   b. 31 Jan 1881, London, Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada,   d. 14 Nov 1960, London, Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada (Age 79 years).

William worked as a crew chief linesman for Bell Telephone for most of his life. He was a Freemason and an avid bowler. William was a “very strict father” who had a strong say in who his daughters dated. He even governed their personal appearance. Once, when Winn wanted her “beautiful long hair cut short like the other girls”, William humiliated her by taking her to a men’s barber shop where she received a crew cut. His eldest daughters never married.

They had the following children:

1. Merrill Elsie Brown,   b. 15 May 1908, Dorchester, Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada,   d. UNKNOWN. Merril worked as a file clerk for the Toronto Bank (which became the Toronto Dominion Bank) for most of her life. She was a very timid woman who never married and lived together with her sister Winn for life.
2. Sarah Winnifred Brown,   b. 29 Jul 1911, London, Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada,   d. UNKNOWN. Winn, like her sister Merrill, never married the two sisters lived together for life. Winn was a strong leader. She was captain of the girls’ basketball team in high school and was an executive in the insurance industry (personnel manager for London Life) years before it was socially acceptable for women to hold such positions. Winn was a strong caretaker who lived with, and looked after, her parents in their later life. She also lived with her younger sister Merrill for life.
3. Jean Adeline Brown,   b. 8 Aug 1916, London, Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada,   d. 6 Jun 1994  (Age 77 years). She married on 22 May 1942 to Cyril Stennett,   b. 27 Oct 1910, Horbling, Lincolnshire, England ,   d. 12 Oct 1989  (Age 78 years). Jean was described by her sisters as a “rebel” in the family and was the only sister of the three who married. However her descendants never considered her to be “rebelious”. Jean received her gold medal and music teaching certificate in voice from the Toronto Conservatory of Music and sang with the Toronto Opera Company. She also sang as a paid soloist with Wesley United Church, First United Church, Dundas Centre United Church all in London, Middlesex, Ontario. She also sang with All Saints Anglican Church, Bishop Cronyn Memorial Anglican Church, and St. James Westminster Anglican Church, all in London. Jean and Cyril had two children:
   1. Living Stennett
   2. Living Stennett

Chief Const. Thomas Albert Brown, MBE Chief of Police,   b. 12 Apr 1877, Tandragee, Armagh, Ireland ,   d. 30 Mar 1952, Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada   (Age 74 years).

His information is presented below.

Anne Cardelia Brown,   b. 4 May 1878, Tandragee, County Armagh, Ireland ,   d. 1934, Niagara-on-the-lake, Welland County, Ontario, Canada   (Age 55 years). Anne married 28 Aug 1907 in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada to Franklin Alfred Slingerland,   b. 21 Sep 1880, Port Dalhousie, Niagara, Ontario ,   d. Unknown, Niagara-on-the-lake, Welland County, Ontario. They had the following child:

1. John Frederick Price Slingerland,   b. 5 Sep 1908, Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada,   d. UNKNOWN. Family records indicate that Fred was mentally handicapped. He never married nor had children.

James Cooke Brown,   b. 16 May 1882, Tandragee, Armagh, Ireland ,   d. 24 Mar 1950, Brantford, Brant County, Ontario, Canada   (Age 67 years). 

Jim, or “Col. William” as he was known in show business, was a colourful man, “one of the last of the old time medicine show men”. He was a rebel who ran away to join the circus, or so his story goes. He worked as a telephone lineman, like his brother William, until at least 31 years of age. However, he was also likely a bootlegger in the employ of Canada’s most famous mobster. In the last ten years of his life, he became a carnival performer and a “snake oil” salesman who was known to set up his stand on the street corners of Brantford to sell his elixirs. He was the black sheep of the family and was completely cut-off by his brother Tom. Tom’s descendants never knew of his existence. His brother William’s daughters remember that it was not permitted to speak of Jim in Tom’s presence. Even Jim’s nephew Stewart Brown never knew of his Uncle Jim’s existence. As Stewart’s grandson, I only found of his existence from the descendants of Jim and Tom’s other brother, the real “William” Brown. Jim died in Brantford while setting up his pitch stand, however he was residing in Galt at the time. He is buried in Mountview Cemetery, Cambridge (Galt), Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

It is speculated that the rift may have begun over Jim’s dubious military service. Jim claims to have been a member of the Canadian Mounted Rifles and present at the coronation of King Edward VII. He claims to have fought in the Boer War, having served the entire campaign. All of this is possible. His gravestone records him as a Private in the 3rd Canadian Mounted Rifles. However the 3rd Regiment, Canadian Mounted Rifles, was formed in Alberta, so it seems somewhat dubious that a Hamiltonian would be part of that regiment. They were deployed in April 1902 in the Boer War after fighting had already ceased. They were disbanded in July 1902 without having seen action. His brother Tom certainly served in the military, but never saw any action (see note: Thomas Brown) and one theory is that Tom was jealous. Another speculation is that Jim’s military record is somewhat fictional (he was not a colonel) and that he combined the identities of his brothers William and Tom to create his sideshow persona. It is certain that Tom was present at the coronation of Edward VII. Was Jim present also, or did he “borrow” that story? If he did indeed “borrow” part or all of his military record from his brothers William and Tom, then this would certainly have offended his proper public figure of a brother, Tom, the Chief of Police. The real truth may never be known and may be a combination of both theories.

According to Michael Dean (grandson of Tom Brown), his mother shared a story that her father, Tom Brown, had a brother who was a bootlegger who was always getting into trouble with police, but Tom Brown arranged to have him driven out of town every time he was caught so that he would not be arrested and charged. The most likely candidate for this brother would be James Brown as it fits with his character and his later residence in Brantford which would be “just out of town” for Hamilton. It would also explain the rift between James and Tom. If it is true that James was a bootlegger then he would have had to have worked for either Rocco Perry or Anotiono Papalia as they ran all bootlegging in the Hamilton area.

The attached newspaper clipping speaks volumes about the personality of “Col. William” and reading between the lines can reveal much of the division between Jim and Tom. Jim never married, and never had children (that we know of!).

Brown, Jim – Obituary
“Snake Oil” Maker Dies
Brantford Free Press – March 24, 1950
Photo caption: “Col.” William Brown, 72, one of the last old-time medicine show men whose snake oil has been bought by thousands of Canadians, died suddenly of a heart attack in Brantford as he was setting up a new pitch.

Medicine Show Man Dies Setting Pitch in Brantford
“Col.” William Brown, 72, one of the last of the old-time medicine show men, died suddenly here today. As Col. Brown he was known to thousands of Canadians, and to more thousands he sold his snake oil. His real name was J.S. Brown [sic] and his address was 7 Wellington Street, Galt. He suffered a heart attack outside a Brantford factory and death was almost instantaneous.

Until the last, he was a showman. He was about to set up his pitch outside the Market Street plant of the Massey-Harris Company here when he was stricken. It was payday at the plant and he was going to sell a little of his snake oil, to which, in recent years, he had added the word “liniment”. And, according to a druggist friend, it was a good liniment.

His death caused considerable excitement and the circumstances surrounding it were as unusual as some of the stories he told in his spiel when a crowd gathered. In his bag he had a big snake but no one knew if and when he was admitted at the hospital a nurse, Miss Alice Riddell, opened the bag seeking for some identification and the snake popped its head out. Nurse Riddell dropped the lid again, but quick. Almost the same thing happened in Col. Brown’s neat and tidy two-roomed home in Galt. A police sergeant and constable went there to look for a hidden store of money he was, by popular opinion, supposed to have. They started the search aware there might be a snake around but they didn’t spot it for a minute. They found it curled up on top of a box. Another big one, it apparently was allowed the freedom of the house while the Colonel was away.

Colonel Brown called his snakes rattlesnakes, but D.S. Sossin, perhaps his closest friend, said one was a blue racer and the other a yellow bull snake. It was the yellow bull snake the police found. They got it back in its box and it will go for biological study to the collegiate at Galt if the school wants it. Traffic Officer James Davison has the other snake at the police station here. It is likely that it will be destroyed.

“Man of Mystery”
Colonel Brown, who was a striking figure in his 10-gallon hat, white goatee and mustache, was often called “a man of mystery.” He wore his hair long and flowing. For years he had his own medicine show that travelled all over the content. He travelled, too, with circuses and carnivals. The colonel, wherever he appeared, looked like a man who had just come from where the sweet magnolias blossom, every girl is a belle, a gentleman is “suh”. But he never saw the south, except with a medicine show. His had been a more rugged career. He was a member of the Canadian Mounted Rifles at the coronation of King Edward VII, he liked to recall, and before that he had fought in the Boer War, serving in the entire campaign. He told interviewers that he was considered “the black sheep” of his family and he declined to give any of his family background. He was, he admitted, the oldest pitchman still on the road. His snake oil liniment was guaranteed by him to help or cure corns, colds, coughs, drawn cords, sprains, asthma, catarrh, hay fever and rheumatism among other things.

“Real Actor”
The colonel always put on a show before he started selling and anyone who ever stood on his pitch was satisfied they were listening to a fine talker and watching a real actor. He covered 30 of Ontario’s major fairs every year in the last ten years and was a star attraction.

The dignity he assumed on the pitch to match the title he had acquired the same way he never let drop in his spiel. What he had to offer, he pointed out, with some flourish, was an educational lecture on American snakes. At the right time, he would relate how a dying Indian chief had revealed to him the power of snake oil as a cure-all.

At one time he had 50 to 100 snakes in one of his show pits – he used to relate. He also could remember one huge python he owned. “It was 38 feet long and weighed 400 pounds,” he once told an interviewer. “It took eight men to carry it every time the show moved.”

The colonel loved his snakes like pets. One he startled the staff of a Kingston hospital when he walked in to report he had been bitten by a rattlesnake. He wouldn’t have gone in, he said, if the fangs had not stuck in his finger and he was afraid of an infection.

The colonel said he was a bachelor. His body was taken from here to Galt today. No one in either city seemed to know of any immediate relatives though it was reported that the colonel had a brother who was at one time chief of police in one of Canada’s largest cities.”

In 1891 he was residing in Hamilton with his parents and siblings.

In 1901 he was residing in Hamilton with his parents and siblings. He was employed as a telephone linenman.

In 1911 he was residing in Hamilton with his parents and sister, Minnie Kells. He was employed as a foreman for a hydro-electric company.

He has not been found in the 1921 census.

His gravestone records him as Pvt James C Brown, 3rd Canadian Mounted Rifles.

Margaret Ruth Brown,   b. 12 Apr 1907, Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada ,   d. Dec 1982, Prospect, Oneida, New York, USA   (Age 75 years). Ruth married on 5 Jun 1926 in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada to Fred Elton Parkinson,   b. 7 Dec 1901, Helmshore, Lancashire, England,   d. 21 Feb 1978, Rockport, Maine, USA  (Age 76 years).

Ruth Brown was born in 1907 in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada, as the second child of Tom Brown and Jean Stewart. Her father was the chief of police in Hamilton. Her childhood best friend was Harriett Jones.

On 5 Jun 1926, at age 19, Ruth married in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada to Fred Parkinson. Her best friend, Harriet Brown, was supposed to be her Maid of Honour, but Harriett was unable to attend the wedding due to her own mother’s death.

Four years later, in 1930, Ruth’s older brother, Stewart Brown, married Harriett Jones.

Ruth and Fred had two children in Hamilton: Stewart and Ross.

In 1938, at age 31, Ruth and Fred moved their young family to New Hartford (Utica), New York, USA.

They had the following children:

1. Stewart Elton Parkinson,   b. 27 May 1930, Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada, d. 12 Feb 1998, Cape Vincent, Jefferson, New York, USA (Age 67 years). He married on 29 Sep 1951 in Northfield, Washington, Vermont, United States to Veva Mack, b. 10 May 1942, New York, d. 14 Aug 2001, Cape Vincent, Jefferson, New York, USA (Age 59 years).

   Obituary from Watertown Daily Times (New York, USA) – 14 FEB 1998. Deceased: Stewart E Parkinson, Business Owner.  Stewart E Parkinson, 67, of 32878 Route 12E, died Thursday at his home, where he had been under the care of Hospice of Jefferson County. He had been ill with cancer since December.  He and his wife Veva owned and operated Le Petit Ciel Mobile Home Park and River Ram Wool Farm.  Born May 27, 1930 in Hamilton, Ontario, son of Fred and Ruth Brown Parkinson, he moved with his family to the Utica area, graduating from New Hartford Central School. He was an alumnus of Norwich University, Northfield, Vermont. He married Veva Mack in 1973. The couple lived for many years in Prospect. Mr. Parkinson was a purchasing agent for General Electric Company in Utica before moving to Cape Vincent in 1985. While in Prospect, Mr. Parkinson was a village trustee. He was an avid pistol shooter, a member of Trenton Fish and Game Club and a snowmobiler with the Rat Pack. After moving to Cape Vincent, he was a director and member of Cape Vincent Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Cape Vincent Correctional Facility’s advisory board. he enjoyed raising sheep, horses, dogs and birds. He was a member of the Black River Valley Horseman’s Association. Besides his wife, he is survived by a son, Jay, Holland Patent; three daughters, Ruth Ann Parks, California, Barbara Gardner, Vernon Center, and Tamara Mason, Cape Vincent; a stepson, Fred Robenski, Taberg, eight grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. A son, Jeffrey, died in 1985. They had the following children:

   1. Jeffrey Paul Parkinson, b. 20 Apr 1952, Montpelier, Washington, Vermont, USA, d. 27 Jan 1985  (Age 32 years)
   2. Living Parkinson
   3. Living Parkinson
   4. Living Parkinson
2. Ross Allan Parkinson, b. 16 Apr 1936, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, d. 8 May 2016, Eatonton, Georgia, USA (Age 80 years). Ross married firstly on 7 Apr 1956 in New Hartford (Utica), New York, USA to Martha A Bartle,   b. 1936,   d. 1979  (Age 43 years). He married secondly on 20 Dec 1963 in New Hartford (Utica), New York, USA to Nina Josina Leonora Van Gelder,   b. Private.

   Ross Parkinson was born in 1936 in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada.
   In 1938, when Ross was just two years old, his parents moved to New Hartford (Utica), New York, USA. Ross attended Cornell University but dropped out after losing right arm in 1956, at age 20, in an industrial accident at the company that his father was running in nearby Oriskany, New York, USA.
   In 1956, at age 20, the same year that he lost his arm, Ross married in New Hartford, New York, USA to Martha Ann Bartle, with whom he had four children.
   In 1962 or1963, Ross and Martha divorced.
   On 20 Dec 1963, at age 27, in New Hartford, New York, USA, Ross married to Nina van Gelder.
   A year later, in May 1964, Ross and Nina moved to Halmstad, Sweden, where he worked as a consultant to a Swedish felt maker. They extended their stay to 14 years after Ross became the General Manager of the company.
   Ross and Nina had two daughters in Sweden. According to a long-time family friend Ross may also have had another daughter, possibly named Eva, in Sweden with a woman named Siv Lindblom.
   In 1978, at age 42, Ross sold the Swedish company, Wallbergs A/B, to Albany International.
   In 1979, Ross and Nina and their daughters moved to Albany, New York, USA.
   A few months later, in the spring of 1980, they moved to Blumenau, Brazil where Ross became Vice-President and General Manager of the Albany operations there. They were there for seven years.
   In 1987, Ross and his family moved back to the United States where he was Vice-President of Northern operations for the company. Ross later retired in Eatonton, Georgia, USA, where he died in 2016 at age 80.
   (Source: Author’s personal correspondence with Ross in 2010, supplemented by information from long-time family friend, Jim Kellner. See below.)

   Ross and his frist wife, Martha, had the following children:
   

   1. Living Parkinson
   2. Living Parkinson
   3. Living Parkinson
   4. Living Parkinson

Ross and his second wife, Nina, had the following children:

1. 1. Living Parkinson
   2. Living Parkinson

Mary Helen Brown,   b. 4 Dec 1912, Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada ,   d. UNKNOWN, Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada  . Helen married Abt 1930 in St. John’s Presbyterian Church, Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada to George Robson,   b. Abt 1910,   d. UNKNOWN. Mary was described as “delicate” like her brother Stewart. Harriet Brown recalls her name as “Helen Elizabeth” or “Betty”, but Harriet may have been confused. Her sister, Florence Brown, was her maid of honour and Dorothy Tasker sang at the wedding. Helen and George had the following child:

1. Living Robson 

Florence Jean Brown,   b. 9 Aug 1917, Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 18 Apr 2009, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada   (Age 91 years). Florence married in Dec 1941 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada  to Basil Dean,   b. 1915, Newbury, Berkshire, England ,   d. Aft 1962, Calgary, Alberta, Canada   (Age > 48 years). 

Basil Dean was born in Newbury, England and graduated from the University of London in Journalism where he received an award for “Best Student of The Year” in 1936. He came to Canada on a work experience or internship and spent several months at each of several Southam Publishing newspapers including the Montreal Gazette, Hamilton Spectator, Edmonton Journal and Calgary Herald. It was while working at Hamilton Spectator that he met his future wife, Florence Jean Brown, who was a reporter. While at the Edmonton Journal he spent some time covering the “police beat”. When the old police station was torn down in the ’70s, they discovered a desk with “Basil Dean, the only gentleman in Alberta” scribed inside one of the drawers.

Basil fell in love with Canada and Florence Jean Brown and decided to emigrate. He was the only male Dean to ever leave Newbury and was the oldest of five children followed by John, Betty, Josie and Tony. John took over the family grocery store when their father died in the mid-‘1950s; John died circa 1965. Betty died a few years ago and Josie a number of years ago. Tony died just before Christmas 1995. Basil died just before Christmas, 1967.

After he decided to make Canada home, he covered King George VI’s Canadian tour among other things and returned to Hamilton – no doubt largely due to his future wife. His future father-in-law, Hamilton Police Chief, Tom Brown, was in charge of security for the same royal visit.

Basil joined the RCAF and received orders to report for duty on Boxing Day, 1941. A hasty marriage was in order. Jean’s father, Tom Brown, arranged the wedding, apparently using his connections to circumvent waiting periods, etc. and managed to scrounge a minister on Christmas Day. Basil married Jean in the Brown family home in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, on Christmas Day, 1941.

During the war Basil was posted to several locations in Canada including Edmonton so Jean went with him. He was a media liaison officer and while in Edmonton covered the construction of the Alaska Highway. He eventually rose to rank of Squadron Leader and spent several years overseas attached to the RCAF’s Overseas HQ in England. Jean remained in Hamilton when he was oversease and continued working as a reporter. At the end of the war he was stationed in England. Jean travelled there in 1945 after VE Day, where they remained for a time.

While in England, in 1946, Jean gave birth to her first child.

Basil covered the Winter Olympics in Switzerland in 1948. When he & Jean were invited to some sort of gala she didn’t have anything suitable to wear; Barbara Ann Scott, the Canadian Gold Medalist, loaned her a gown.

Basil, and his young family, moved back to Canada in the late spring of 1949 and Basil became a reporter at the Calgary Herald and in 1955 became its publisher. He was made Publisher of the Edmonton Journal in January, 1962.

Basil was made an Honourary Chief at Hobbema, AB (now Maskawacis First Nation) around 1959-60 for the stance that the Calgary Herald took against the federal government’s planned changes to the Indian Act and which they were forced to abandon.

Basil and Florence had the following children:

1. Living Dean 
2. Christopher Dean,   b. Nov 1952, Calgary, Alberta, Canada ,   d. Aug 1990, Alberta, Canada   (Age ~ 37 years). Christopher married in 1974 in Alberta, Canada, to Philippa Byfield,  b. UNKNOWN. Christopher and Philippa had no children. Both died young under tragic circumstances.

Kenneth Richard Brown,   b. 18 Apr 1937, Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 9 Sep 1998, London, Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada   (Age 61 years). Ken married in 1960 in Ryerson United Church, Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada to Jacqueline Rose Angus, b: Private.

Ken was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario. He spent his whole life searching. Throughout his life he was very religious. He was very active in Ryerson United Church in Hamilton (the same church that his grandfather helped build) as a boy and youth and showed a strong passion in his Christian faith. He was president of the Tower Club (Ryerson’s youth group) and was a very active lay-preacher as a youth. As a boy he received a call from God to enter professional church ministry, but he was discouraged from pursuing this call by both his mother and a school teacher who regrettably and wrongly told him that he was “not smart enough” to pursue such a calling.

Having the door closed to his authentic call and vocation, Ken spent the rest of his life searching for an alternative vocation. He worked most of his life unsatisfied in retail and commercial sales (primarily in medical equipment sales) while remaining very active in the church, especially working with youth. In 1989 he was ordained as an Elder of the Presbyterian Church at Chalmers church in London, Ontario. His spiritual impact on youth was evidenced at his funeral, which was standing-room-only (in a sanctuary that seats over 500), with many former church youth having travelled great distances to attend.

Ken was also very active in Freemasonry; he was particularly intrigued by its quasi-religious and ancient historical aspects. One of his more proud achievements was the year he spent as Grand Junior Warden for the Grand Lodge of Canada (Ontario). He was widely respected by his “brethren” lodge members and his Masonic funeral was also largely attended.

Having been raised in a home of uneven and sparing affections, Ken was very careful to be equal and generous in his affections and support of both of his son’s widely different lives, careers and hobbies. Though his temper could sometimes get the better of him, Ken did break the lineage of hereditary family violence from his father’s side; he disposed of the family “heirloom” disciplinary leather strap. His descendants will be forever grateful. Ken was 61 when he suffered a series of debilitating strokes, the last of which proved fatal.

They had the following children:

1. Richard (Ryk) Brown. He is the author of this project.
2. Living Brown