My Genealogy Hound

BENJAMIN BROWN, deceased, was a well-to-do farmer of the town of Cuyler, and was born in that town, near Keeney’s Settlement, May 12, 1814. He was a son of Seabury and Polly (Fox) Brown, and grandson of Benjamin Brown.

Benjamin Brown, Sr., was born in East Hartford, Conn.; shortly after his marriage to Dorinda Webster in 1795, he emigrated to this county and settled near Keeney’s Settlement, where he remained the rest of his life. He purchased a large tract of Government land and followed farming all his life. This land was formerly covered with forest; but time, the fertility of the soil, and the necessity of man, have transformed nearly all of it into a productive farm. He was a member of the Baptist Church, and one of the foremost ones in erecting the Baptist Church in Keeney’s Settlement, in which church he was a deacon for many years. He was the father of a large family of children.

Seabury Brown was a resident of Cuyler all his life, where he followed the vocation of a farmer. He owned three hundred acres of the best improved land in that section of the county. In addition to farming, he also operated a dairy. Mr. Brown passed from this life in 1854. He was united in marriage to Polly Fox, and they reared a family of two sons and five daughters.

Benjamin Brown, subject of this personal history, spent all his life in the town of Cuyler, with the exception of the last five years, when he was a resident of Cazenovia, N. Y. He was engaged in general farming, and owned some three hundred acres of land. He passed from this life at Cazenovia, N. Y., June 5, 1878. At the time of his death he left an estate that was valued at several thousand dollars, including a farm of three hundred acres now operated by his son-in-law, H. W. Keeney. He was united in marriage to Sarah Bogardus, daughter of Stephen and Sarah Bogardus, who were early settlers in Cuyler from Columbia County, N. Y. Mrs. Brown was born November 11, 1816, and died April 14, 1897. They reared a family of ten children, of whom four are still living. The nine who grew to maturity are as follows: Stephen, deceased; Phoebe, deceased; Celestia, deceased; Anna, who resides in Cuyler; Norman, deceased; William Henry, deceased; Israel D.; Seabury F.; and Alice E., wife of H. W. Keeney, whose personal history appears elsewhere. Israel and Seabury Brown engaged in the flour and feed business under the firm name of Brown Bros. They followed this business until 1896, when they began to deal in hardware. They are now the leading hardware merchants in the village. Mr. Brown was an attendant of the Methodist Church, and devoted much time and means to enhance its well being. In politics Mr. Brown was a staunch Republican. On another page appears a portrait* of our subject, and with it we also present an excellent likeness of Mrs. Brown as a companion picture.

*An engraving was included in the original printed volume.