John Brown

BROWN, MINEHART, DREXLER, SLIFE, BETZER, ROGERS, FENSTERMAKER, HAYNES, BAKER

Posted By: Karen Peyton (email)
Date: 11/18/2004 at 21:49:10

Obituary Central City Newsletter:

John Brown was born at Wildheim, in Wurtemburg, Germany, July 19, 1815. He died in Central City, Iowa, September 29, 1905 aged ninety years. He lived in Germany until 22 years of age and in 1837 came to the United States, accompanied by his older brother Michael, the father of Morris Brown. Mrs George Brown and Mrs. John Baker. The brothers, after living for a short time in Buffalo, came west to Toledo and for five years worked on a canal in Ohio. This employment proved unhealthy and John Brown left it to work on a Ohio farm. He Feb. 14, 1847, ten years after his arrival from Europe, he married Mrs. Mary E. Fenstermaker, a sister of Mr. John Minehart, recently deceased. Three years later, May 27th, 1850, the young couple came to Linn County, Iowa, and settled on government land in Boulder Township. The country was new, the soil productive and land cheap. With the courage of youth they established a home and built the second log house in the town. Here they overcame the adverse conditions of a new country, reared their children and reached material properity and pleasant home surroundings. June 20, 1886, the wife who journeyed with him passed away.

He remained on the farm until six years ago, when he moved with his son, George, to Central City. For the last five years he has been very feeble from extreme old age and often expressed a desire for the rest of a better land. He passed peacefully away to the other shore, his siffereing being softened in every possible way by the tender care given in the home of his son.

He was a member of the Lutheran Church in Germany and in Ohio, joined the Reform Church. At the organization of the Boulder Reformed Church in 1858, he was one of the charter members. He was an Elder in this church and during all its history was an active, faithful member.

He was the youngest of 11 children, now all dead. He had six children, George W. and William H. Brown, of Central City and Boulder; Mrs. Sarah Slife, of Central City; Mrs. Lydia Drexler, of Boulder; Mrs Cathering Betzer, of Clinton; and Mrs. Caroline Rogers, who died in 1878. Noah Fenstermaker was a step-son and Mrs. Mary Haynes, a step-daughter. There are 10 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren.

Funeral services were held at the Baptist Church, conducted by Rev. J. B. Gidney, who spoke from 1 Cor. 15, 51-58, the text used at the funeral of Mrs. Brown. A large congregation assembled and there were many carriages in the procession which followed the remains to the Boulder cemetery, where the burial took place. The many years he spent in this locality had won for him the kindest regard from all classes, who were ready to honor is memory. The bearers were James McQueen, Judeon Peet, William Treff, Simon Bruner, William Haas and Winfield Barrett.