Ohio History Journal
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550 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. THOMAS J. BROWN. Thomas J. Brown, a life member of this Society, died at his home in Waynesville, Warren county, Ohio, early on Wednesday morning, |
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April 2nd, 1913. He was born near the village of Bellbrook, Greene county, Ohio, August 16th, 1833, thus at the time of his death, being but a few months under eighty years of age. Mr. Brown's entire life was spent in the immediate vicinity of the place of his birth and the home of his boyhood. Thomas J. Brown was the youngest son of David W. and Lydia Rowser Brown, who came here from Bedford county, Pennsylvania, and settled in Greene county at a very early period and reared a large family of children. Of the ten children comprising the family, only one, Mrs. S. P. Kindle, of Waynesville, Ohio, a sister, survives Mr. Brown, although all grew to adult age. At the age of fourteen Mr. Brown suf- |
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fered the loss of his hearing, but with the fortitude which characterized his entire life, he bore his affliction without a murmur. In fact, the loss of this faculty seemed to sharpen those remaining, and with stimulated desourcefulness he sought his life work and pleasure along lines in which his affliction would not interpose too great a handicap. In Science and Journalism principally, he found an adequate vehicle for carrying his aspirations to a gratifying achievement. Mr. Brown received his education at Wittenberg college, where he developed a deep interest in the study of scientific works and litera- ture. This led him into the field of Geology, in which he became a recognized scholar. He was closely associated with the late Professor Edward Orton, of Ohio State University, for a number of years, and took an active part in the Geological survey of Warren and Greene counties. At an early age Mr. Brown became interested in the study of Archaeology, finding much material for research in his section of the state. Residing within a few miles of Fort Ancient, Warren county, that great earthwork became a source of never failing interest to him, and for a period of more than half a century it was the objective point of numerous pilgrimages. He became a life member of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society in 1889, and always took a deep interest in its welfare and proceedings, and was a valued contributor to the quarterly publications. He was likewise a member of the Maryland |
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Editorialana. 551 Academy of Sciences and a contributor to the organ of that body. Dur- ing his years of study and field explorations, Mr. Brown assembled a large collection of Geological and Archaeological specimens. A few years before his death he presented to the Bellbrook High School, where as a youth he had been a pupil, his Geological collection, and a few years previously gave his Archaeological collection to the Museum of the O. S. A and H. Society. On May 23, 1861, in St. Barnabas Church in Baltimore, Maryland, Mr. Brown was married to Sophia Annie Stinchcomb, who died March 13, 1911, shortly before the fiftieth anniversary of their wedding. The couple began life at Cottonwood Farm, near Ferry, Greene county, but in 1878 they moved to Waynesville, where they spent the remainder of their lives. In a business way Mr. Brown, perhaps, was best known as the owner and editor of the Miami Gazette, which paper he edited for more than a quarter of a century. Two daughters, Annie Urith and Mary Thomas, were born to Mr. and Mrs. Brown. Despite his great age, Mr. Brown's mind remained clear until within a few moments of his death, and he was able to converse with his daughters concerning the events of the day. ABRAHAM J. BAUGHMAN. Abraham J. Baughman, for many years a member of the Board of Trustees of the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society, died at |
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Mansfield, O., October 1, 1913. He was born September 5, 1838 in Monroe Township, Rich- land County, this State. He received his edu- cation in the district schools, taught school and studied law, but on the breaking out of the Civil War he enlisted in Company 1, 16th Ohio Vol- unteer Infantry and afterwards in Company E, 32nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Owing to ill- health he was honorably discharged on account of physical disability. In 1885 he was appointed to a clerkship in the U. S. Treasury Department at Washington, D. C. He afterwards was connected with the New York World and the Chicago Inter-Ocean. |
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His taste however seemed to divert him to historical study and writing, so he returned to Ohio to devote his labor to this work. He wrote a history of Richland county, and contributed to the local state press re- sults of his historical research. He organized the Richland County His- |