Edward Brown
Edward Brown served in the 6th United States Colored Troops with Company H, from August 21, 1863 to December 15, 1864. He was born on July 4, 1843 in Edington, North Carolina to unknown parents.1 The "1850 United States Federal Census for Edward Brown" shows Edward Brown at age seven living in Cape Fear North East Side, Bladden, North Carolina.2 This record also shows that he was attending school and living with three other children - Mary C Brown (10 years old), James Brown (7 years old), and Margaret A Brown (2 years old).3 A paper titled, "Mary E. Brown Vs. Carlisle School Board: A Study of Colored Education in the Carlisle School District" (1985), by Dickinson student David Stratusbaugh mentions Mary E. Brown, the mother of Edward Brown, petitioning to allow her son entry into the white high school, Carlisle Lamberton.4 Edward was currently attending the colored school and advanced to senior grade.5 The paper's description states that Carlisle's Lamberton high school was not integrated until 1918 to 1919.6 The trial was held between the Carlisle School Board and Mary E. Brown that ended in favoring the School Board. Unfortunately, the Judge (Judge Biddle) claimed that "... the committee did not ask for the admission of Edward Brown to the white school...", and therefore the court should not interfere with the school board.7 There are no 1860 census records showing his activity then, but the "Pennsylvania, Civil War Muster Rolls, 1860-1869 for Edward Brown" shows that he was a laborer and lived in Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.8
Three years later, on August 21, 1863, Edward enlisted as a private with the 6th U.S. Colored Troops, Company H. On June 15, 1864, he was presumably wounded in the left foot in Petersburg, Virginia.9 His "U.S. Find A Grave Index, 1600s to Current for Edward Brown" states that he recovered at a hospital in Newark, New Jersey (unknown) and discharged the company on December 15, 1864.10 Since he discharged at Grant General Hospital in New York, it is possible that he was treated there.11 However, it is uncertain whether he was treated there or not. In addition, it is not stated whether he was truly wounded, because there are no current medical records or military records showing such. His "1870 United States Federal Census for Edward Brown" shows Edward Brown or an individual named Edward Brown living in Carlisle, Pennsylvania with another African American, named "Jackson Brown".12 The only information about Jackson Brown is that he is sixty-five years old and a laborer.13 A year after that, an "1880 United States Federal Census for Edward Brown" claims that an individual, named Edward Brown (38 years old; unknown whether he is Private Edward Brown), was living on Locust Alley in Carlisle, Dwelling 264, with spouse, Mary E. Brown, and their four children - Samuel (born 1865); Maggie (born 1873); and John R. (born 1875).14 His census states that was a "laborer" but does not specify what kind of laborer. 15After 1880, there are no census records stating the current individual, Edward Brown.
On February 8, 1915, Private Edward Brown passed away around 71-76 years old from "fatty degeneration and dilitation of heart".16 He was still a laborer and living on 363 W B Ward, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.17 The following children survived: John R. Brown; Mrs. Margaret Leyton; and Adessa Robinson.18 There is no death certificate for his spouse, but his death certificate states that he was "widowed".19 Not long after, on July 25, 1917, his son, John R. Brown, died at 41 years old from "paraplegia".20 John was living on 645 Briggs in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was married, and was a "cabman".21
1. U.S. Find A Grave Index, 1600s to Current for Edward Brown, 2012.
2. 1850 United States Federal Census for Edward Brown, 102B.
3. 1850 United States Federal Census for Edward Brown, 102B.
4. Paper of Mary E. Brown vs. Carlisle School Board, 1985.
5. Paper of Mary E. Brown vs. Carlisle School Board, 1985.
6. Paper of Mary E. Brown vs. Carlisle School Board, 1985.
7. Paper of Mary E. Brown vs. Carlisle School Board, 1985, pg. 10.
8. Pennsylvania, Civil War Muster Rolls, 1860-1869 for Edward Brown, 2015.
9. U.S. Find A Grave Index, 1600s to Current for Edward Brown, 2012.
10. U.S. Find A Grave Index, 1600s to Current for Edward Brown, 2012.
11. U.S. Find A Grave Index, 1600s to Current for Edward Brown, 2012.
12. 1870 United States Federal Census for Edward Brown, 305B.
13. 1870 United States Federal Census for Edward Brown, 305B.
14. 1880 United States Federal Census for Edward Brown, 253A.
15. 1880 United States Federal Census for Edward Brown, 253A.
16. Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1967 for Edward Brown, 2014.
17. Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1967 for Edward Brown, 2014.
18. "The Death Record." The Sentinel, 6.
19. Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1967 for Edward Brown, 2014.
20. Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1967 for John R Brown, 2014.
21. Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1967 for John R Brown, 2014; "The Death Record." The Sentinel, 6.
Bibliography:
1850 United States Federal Census for Edward Brown. Ancestry.com. Pg. 102B. NARA: Washington, D.C., 2009. ancestrylibrary.com/interactive/8054/4189784.
1870 United States Federal Census for Edward Brown. Ancestry.com. Pg. 305B. NARA: Washington, D.C., 2009. ancestrylibrary.com/interactive/7163/4278552.
1880 United States Federal Census for Edward Brown. Ancestry.com. Pg. 253A. NARA: Washington, D.C., 2009. ancestrylibrary.com/interactive/6742/424330.
Family Tree Climber. Photograph of Tombstone of Edward Brown, July 18, 2019. Accessed May 29, 2019. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/130178898/edward-brown/photo.
Paper of Mary E. Brown vs. Carlisle School Board: A Study of Colored Education in the Carlisle School District by David Strausbaugh. 1985. L03.0971. L03, Folder S912m. Past Perfect. Cumberland County History Collection, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania, Civil War Muster Rolls, 1860-1869 for Edward Brown. Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission: Pennsylvania, 2015. ancestrylibrary.com/interactive/9040/41733.
Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1967 for Edward Brown. Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission: Pennsylvania, 2014. ancestrylibrary.com/interactive/5164/41381.
Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1967 for John R Brown. Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission: Pennsylvania, 2014. ancestrylibrary.com/interactive/5164/41381.
"The Death Record." The Sentinel, February 8, 1915. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32043254/edward_brown/.
U.S. Find A Grave Index, 1600s to Current for Edward Brown. Ancestry.com. Find A Grave: USA, 2012. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/130178898.