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Elam Brown
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Birth: Jun. 10, 1797
Herkimer
Herkimer County
New York, USA
Death: Aug. 10, 1889
Lafayette
Contra Costa County
California, USA

Son of Scottish parents, Thomas and Elizabeth (Lyons) Brown. Elam married Sarah Allen on January 10, 1823 in Madison County Ilinois. Elam and Sarah had 4 children: Thomas, Warren, Lawrence Myers, and Margelene. In 1845 Sarah passed away and Elam sold the farm and moved west. With himself as Captain, he began the long journey to the Pacific Ocean by wagon train along with 16 families leaving St. Joseph Missouri, May 1st, 1846.
Assisting Elam in the captain duties was Isaac Allen. Accompanying Allen was his wife Margaret and their children. Isaac's oldest son, William, brought his wife, Albina and their children and Albina's brother Overton Harris Foster. The rigors of the journey took its toll on the families of the train. Several members of the party took ill with "plains fever", later discovered to be caused from drinking the milk of the oxen and cattle. Some of them died including Isaac Allen. He was buried on the banks of the Humbolt River in what is now Nevada.
After arriving at the Rancheria de John Sutter, they rested for several days before moving on to the Santa Clara valley in hopes of making it their home.
Elam whip sawed redwood lumber in the summer of 1847 in the San Antonio forests which was ferried to San Francisco, which at that time was called Yerba Buena.
It was during this time that Elam married Margaret Miller Allen, widow of co-captain Isaac Allen. The merging of the two families produced a rather large one with all the children from both marriages.
During the next several years, Elam Brown was involved in not only private enterprise but also politics. He is considered by some to be the founder of Lafayette, CA., was appointed Alcalde on his district in 1848 and one of the original repersentatives in the Monterey Convention in 1849.

 
 
Family links: 
 Spouse:
  Margaret Miller Allen Brown (1794 - 1884)
 
 Children:
  Lawrence Myers Brown (1833 - 1877)*
 
*Calculated relationship
 
Inscription:
Age 92 years 2 months
 
Burial:
Alhambra Cemetery
Martinez
Contra Costa County
California, USA
Plot:
 
Maintained by: Sterling Foster
Originally Created by: Maureen Marella
Record added: Sep 24, 2001
Find A Grave Memorial# 5797859
Elam Brown
Added by: Row Walker
 
Elam Brown
Added by: Steve Harrison
 
Elam Brown
Added by: DioDellamorte
 
 
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In memory of Elam Brown.
- Laurel Robson
 Added: Oct. 19, 2011

- Grave Finder
 Added: Sep. 17, 2011
Elam Brown was born in June 1797 in Herkimer, Herkimer County, New York. He first married Sarah Allen on January 9, 1823 in Greene County, Illinois. He second married Margaret Boyd Miller on July 1, 1847 in California. They both traveled overland to Ca...(Read more)
- Steve Harrison
 Added: May. 8, 2008
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