San Joaquin County Biographies
Ref: Page 1455-1456
Transcribed by: Linda Diane Jackson 10/15/2009
MRS. JENNIE H. BROWN
An inspiring example of what an intelligent, experienced, courageous and aggressively progressive woman may do, when called upon to manage farm properties, is afforded by the very enterprising rancher, Mrs. Jennie H. Brown, who cultivates some fifty-four acres in the upper division of Roberts Island, about thirteen miles southwest of Stockton. A native of New York City, she was born in March, 1862, and is a daughter of Edward and Margaret (Bennett) Hewson, who had come to America on their honeymoon from their native County Tipperary, Ireland, in 1861. She accompanied her parents to California in the spring of 1868, or when she was about six years old. Eventually, they had five children, among whom she was the eldest. For many years Mr. Hewson was a prosperous West Side rancher, having early bought a fine tract of land about six miles northwest of Mohr's Landing, now known as Bethany; and did his share to help develop that part of the country. He passed away in January, 1891, at the age of fifty, survived by his widow and five children, and widely esteemed. These children were Jennie, the subject of our story; Lydia, since deceased; William H., now residing at Bethany; George E.; and Mary A., who is the wife of Walter Mowry, of Stockton. Mrs. Hewson continued to manage the old, hospitable home, until she, too, passed away in 1914 at the age of seventy-four.
Jennie Hewson attended the district school and grew to womanhood on the home rancho. At San Francisco, on August 23, 1882, she was married to John C. Brown, the ceremony, performed by the Rev. Robert McKinsey, taking place in the Howard Presbyterian Church. Mr. Brown was born in Scotland, in July, 1847, and was brought to Canada by his parents when he was three years old. They settled at Pittsburgh, and there he was well educated, taking up engineering. In 1862 he came West and established himself as a reclamation engineer in the Delta of San Joaquin County, associating himself with Bixler & Williams; but on marrying, he abandoned his profession for farming.
In 1882, then, Mr. Brown commenced to farm 500 acres on Union Island, and later on he bought land from the Pescadero Grant on Roberts Island, continuing to cultivate the same until his death in 1919. This later purchase was the home place from 1891 until the present day. However, Mr. Brown lived to see his dream realized, and to behold an unhealthful swamp area of Delta lands transformed into one of the richest of ranch properties in the world—a triumph of American foresight and hard, honest labor reflecting the highest credit upon such brave pioneers as Mr. and Mrs. Brown, who struggled together for years against storms and floods. Few men enjoyed a more honored position than that of Mr. Brown in the community, where he so long lived and labored, and where his word was regarded as even better than his bond. For thirty-eight years he was an honored member of Sumner Lodge, I.O.O.F., at Tracy, and he was also a good Mason of fifty years' standing at the time of his demise.
Mrs. Brown shared not only the hard work and the perplexing problems and heavy responsibilities of her husband, but also his success and honors, and today her deepest joy is in the associations afforded by her children, all of whom are a credit both to the family name and the community in which they have grown up. There were ten children: Lydia married A.J. Thompson, a rancher living near Lathrop, and is the mother of two children; Jennie has become Mrs. A. Maggini, and they reside with their one daughter at Stockton; John A. is a rancher at Bethany; Ed H. is a railway mail clerk; and William C. also follows agricultural pursuits; Robert A. also follows ranching but lives at home; Pearl is the wife of F. Tiana of Stockton; her twin sister, Ruby, is deceased; George A. farms on the home ranch; and Hazel, who graduated from the Stockton Business College, is with the Holt Manufacturing Company in Stockton.
History of
SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY
CALIFORNIA
With A
Biographical Review
of
The Leading Men and Women of the County Who Have Been
Identified with Its Growth and Development
from the Early Days to the Present
HISTORY BY
George H. Tinkham
HISTORIC RECORD COMPANY
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
1923
San Joaquin County Biographies ~ Archive Biography Index ~ Archive Index
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