Lumberman.
Born at Muirkirk, Ayrshire, Scotland in 1842, son of Alexander Brown and Janet Kerr, he came to Canada with his family in 1854, settling at Galt, Canada West [now Ontario]. On 21 April 1872, he and Thomas Rutherford left Galt to make their fortunes in Manitoba, founding a company that later became Brown & Rutherford.
In 1865, he married Margaret Neilson (?-?) and they had five children: Helen Neilson Brown, Janet Kerr Brown (1869-1945, wife of Robert Crawford, mother of John Neilson Brown Crawford), James H. Brown (1871-?), Alexander Henry Brown (1872-1960), and Winnifred Margaret Nielson Brown (1876-1961, wife of Edward Robert Erb). After his wife died, he married her sister Isabella Neilson (1844-?) in 1880. An active curler, he was President of the Granite Curling Club (1884-1885) and Thistle Curling Club (1887-1888).
He died at his Winnipeg home, 170 Buchanan Street, on 12 April 1922 and was buried in the Brookside Cemetery. He was inducted posthumously into the Manitoba Curling Hall of Fame (2008).
See also:
MHS Centennial Business: Brown and Rutherford Company Limited
Marriage registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
1901 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.
Obituary [Helen Neilson Perkins], Winnipeg Tribune, 10 June 1907, page 7.
“Alex. Brown, Sr., dies after long illness,” Manitoba Free Press, 13 April 1922, page 14.
“Mrs. Alex Brown, Sr., pioneer here, dies,” Manitoba Free Press, 15 October 1930.
Obituary [Alexander Henry Brown], Winnipeg Tribune, 1 February 1960, page 21.
Obituary [Winnifred Margaret Erb], Winnipeg Free Press, 27 April 1961, page 30.
We thank Rick Mutton for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 22 March 2024
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