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Harry Brown
Vol. 3, Pages 1913-1914

     There are turning points in every man's life called opportunity.  Taken advantage of
them mean ultimate success.  The career of Harry Brown is a striking illustration of the
latter statement.  Diligent and ever alert for his chance of advancement, he has progressed
steadily until he is recognized today as one of the foremost business men of Anadarko.
Here he is held in high esteem by his fellow citizens, who honor him for his native ability
and for his fair and straight-forward career.  Mr. Brown is the owner of a large lumber
yard at Anadarko and in connection with his business sends supplies to various sections
throughout Caddo County.

     A native of the Emerald Isle,  Harry Brown was born at St. Johnston, Donegal County,
Ireland, September 30, 1861.  His paternal grandfather was Henry Brown, who spent his
entire life in Donegal County, Ireland, where he was keeper of a large landed estate.
James Brown, father of Harry, was born at St. Johnston, Ireland, in 1845, and he
immigrated to America in 1862, landing in Maryland, whence he journeyed west to
Illinois and going thence to Carbondale, Kansas.  He was a coal miner and followed his
occupation in many states from the Atlantic to the Pacific.  April 22, 1889, he settled
permanently at Edmond, Oklahoma, and there he has since been most profitably engaged
in the lumber and hardware business.  Although seventy years of age he enjoys splendid
health and his intellect is as keen as in the prime of life.  In politics he is a loyal
republican and he represented his district in the Oklahoma Legislature in 1893.  He is a
devout communicant of the Roman Catholic Church and is affiliated with the Knights of
Columbus.  He married Jane Britten, who was born in Paisley, Scotland, in 1845, and
who died at Edmond, Oklahoma in 1899.  The following children were born to Mr. and
Mrs. Brown:  Harris is the subject of this sketch; Isabella married Dan Mooney, an oil
man at Ponca City, this state; J. J. assists his father in the hardware business at Edmond,
Oklahoma; Dennis T. has been lost track of; Catherine married Charles S. Pitman and
they live at El Paso, Texas; she is a graduate of the Edmond Norma School; and Mayme,
a graduate of the kindergarten department of the Edmond Norma School, is a
stenographer and teacher and resides at home with her parents.

     Harry Brown came to America with his mother in 1866, his father having come to this
country five years earlier.  As a result of the family moving so often, he was educated in
the public schools of several states.  April 22, 1889, he settled in Edmond, Oklahoma,
and there was engaged in the mercantile business until 1894.  He then accepted a position
as traveling salesman for the Buford & George Manufacturing Company, selling farm
implements for that concern in South Kansas and Oklahoma for the ensuing ten years.  In
1904 he came to Anadarko among the pioneers and here engaged in the lumber business,
continuing in that line of enterprise with marked success to the present time.  His well
equipped lumber yard is situated on the corner of East Broadway and Seventh Street and
he ships large supplies of lumber to distant points throughout Caddo and neighboring
counties.  His is a republican in politics and has served on the school board in Anadarko
for a number of years.  He is a shrewd business man but is possessed of a kindly and
genial personality that makes friends for him wherever he goes.

     In Edmond, Oklahoma, in 1890, Mr. Brown married Miss Sarah McFadyen, a
daughter of John McFadyen, who was a farmer near Edmond prior to his demise.  Mr.
and Mrs. Brown have two sons:  Harry J. was graduated in the University of Oklahoma,
in 1914, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and he is now pursuing a post-graduate
course in that institution, making a specialty of mathematics and calisthenics, which
subjects he expects to teach in the Durant Normal School next year; John D. is a junior in
the University of Oklahoma.  Both boys are fine examples of sturdy young American
manhood and they have promising careers ahead of them.

     The Brown family are communicants of the Roman Catholic Church, to whose good
works they are liberal contributors of their time and means.  Mrs. Brown is a woman of
most gracious personality and she is popular with all who have had the pleasure of
meeting her.

Transcribed for OKGenWeb by Norma Capehart March 5, 2003

SOURCE: Thoburn, Joseph B., A Standard History of Oklahoma, An
Authentic Narrative of its Development, 5 v. (Chicago, New York: The
American Historical Society, 1916).