THIRD GENERATION

7. Virginia Carolina Havis ⁽⁴⁾⁽⁵⁾ (photo) was born on 16 Jan 1825.⁽⁶⁾⁽¹⁾ She died in 1911.⁽⁴⁾⁽³⁾ She was buried in Rosemere Cemetery, Opelika, Alabama.⁽³⁾ Virginia Carolina's mother came from Virginia and her father from the Carolinas, thus the name Virginia Carolina.

Virginia was said to be a plain ordinary woman of her day with spectacles, hair parted in the middle, severely combed back into a neat know at the nape of her neck, her face thin, her dress dignified and simple.

[Source: The Orrin Brown Families written by Luella Botsford Henderson]

****************************************
THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY

In your imagination, you must create a picture. Through my description you will see Virginia Carolina Havis. She was a very plain, ordinary woman of her day. Her face is thin. Her eyes could be gray or blue. Her nose is straight with no hint of a saucy tilt to make her attractive. Her dark hair is parted at the middle and severely combed back to a neat little know at the nape of her neck. Small gold-framed glasses, called "spectacle" in her day, adorn her nose. Her dress is dignified and simple. No jewelry, low cut necklines, curls or frills do you see on this young woman.

Now, this is the picture! May I continue and tell you about the real and beautiful Virginia Carolina Havis. This little girl probably never remembered her mother, Martha Jude Havis. Someday, we may learn what year Virginia's mother died. The father married again and had a second family.

When Virginia was sixteen years of age, she married Orrin Brown, who had come from Canada to Oak Bowery. He was thirty-two years old at the time. They were the parents of eight children. In 1853, Virginia lost a little girl, named Virginia C. This baby was only one year and three months old when she died.

Once again, Virginia's heart was heavy with the sorrow of losing her first-born son, Henry, in battle during the Civil War. Her fine young boy, only 19 years old; so many times she had thought about his future. How many times, she had patched the knees of his pants, because he played marbles or climbed trees. Now, he was gone!

Tragedy, tears, and time. They come and they must go. Virginia had the other children and she had to carry on. She still had two sons, Orrin and Minor Havis Brown. The latter, named in honor of her father, was a little red-haired "imp" with a pug nose. He was short, stocky and filled with adventure. He would never be contented to live his life in the staid atmosphere of his old home. He became restless, when he was a young man and traveled to Texas. His father, Orrin Brown I, died in 1879.

Virginia was determined, that this boy would not ruin his future. She wanted him to have a good education. She moved to Austin, Texas with two of her daughters, who were still at home. She opened a boarding house.

In 1881, the University of Texas opened and Virginia sought the services of the best teachers of Journalism for her son, Minor. After he finished his schooling, he became a newspaper publisher in Taylor, Texas. His columns were filled with interest and well written.

Satisfied, that she had accomplished her mission, Virginia returned to Alabama, to live her final years in the familiar surroundings of her childhood and love. There she died in 1911.

This is the story of a remarkable woman, the "Portrait of a Lady," Virginia C. Havis Brown.

The following pages were copies from a Bible that was given to Minor H. Brown and his wife, Ella by his mother (Virginia C. Havis Brown). The presentation and records were written in Virginia's flawless handwriting.

Contribution of grand-daughter, Irma Virginia Brown (Cardiff).

Submitted by Evelyn Havis Luebbert

[Source: Irma Virginia Brown Cardiff, "The Portrait of a Lady"]

******************************

She was married to Orrin Brown I (son of Sherburn Brown and Catherine Dodge) on 14 Sep 1841 in Oak Bowery, Chambers Co., Alabama.⁽⁶⁾⁽⁴⁾⁽¹⁾ Virginia was 16 when she married Orrin, who at 32 was twice her age. Orrin Brown I⁽⁶⁾⁽⁷⁾⁽⁸⁾ was born in 1809 in Canada.⁽⁶⁾ He died in 1879.⁽⁶⁾⁽³⁾ He was buried in Rosemere Cemetery, Opelika, Alabama.⁽³⁾ Orrin Brown came from Canada as a young man to the thriving Alabama town of Oak Bowery in Chambers County where he was an early settler.

Orrin Brown was appointed Postmaster of Oak Bowery on December 30, 1848. He was one of the signers of a petition to incorporate the Village of Oak Bowery, dated January 15, 1850. [Source: the Logan Genealogy.]

A description of the Oak Bowery Methodist Church states that "The church was lighted by two large chandeliers with pendant crystals, a gift of OrrinBrown." The church burned in 1897 and a new church was erected on the site and is still in use. [Source: the Oak Bowery Methodist Church write-up.]

He moved to Opelika in the 1850's and was the owner of Orrin Brown and Company. [Source: Lee County and her Forebears.]

Virginia Carolina Havis and Orrin Brown I had the following children:

23 i. Henry C. Brown was born in 1844.⁽⁶⁾ He died on 1 Jun 1862 in battle near Richmond, Virginia.⁽⁶⁾⁽³⁾ Henry C. Brown died in battle near Richmond, Virginia June 1, 1862.)
[Source: Tap Roots article on Orrin Brown]

Another source [Lee County and her Forebears] states that Hency C. Brown died in 1863.

+24 ii. Kittie Brown.
+25 iii. Mary Sophia Brown.
26 iv. Virginia Carolina Brown was born in 1852.⁽⁶⁾ She died in 1853.⁽⁶⁾
+27 v. Orrin Brown II.
+28 vi. Minor Havis Brown.
+29 vii. Jessie Brown.
+30 viii. Belle Brown.

Home Return to Table of Contents