Jonathan BROWN (9 Feb 1817-23 Aug 1875) +
Sarah Currier STEVENS (6 Aug 1821-7 Jan 1904)

Milton S. (1846-24 Dec 1864)

Levi Vilas (10 Feb 1852-23 May 1936) — m. Flora May Hill on 25 Mar 1897; m. Myrtie Ellen McCrillis Garvin on 14 Oct 1902

Ida Louisa May (19 Dec 1867-30 Jan 1874) — adopted

Jonathan was the youngest of nine children born to Ebenezer Brown and Mary Whittier of Vershire, Orange County, Vermont.

Sarah was the daughter of millwright Levi Stevens, Sr. and his second wife Hannah Mann of Exeter, Penobscot County, Maine. Her death certificate claims her father was named Amos and her mother’s maiden name was Currier, but her birth record — which has her full name and a date of birth that matches her tombstone – says Levi & Hannah Stevens of Exeter. (She did have a brother named Amos; don’t know where “Currier” came from.) Her father died when she was a child. In 1831 her mother remarried. Her mother and stepfather remained in Exeter, but the 1840 census showed that Sarah wasn’t with them. In 1838, she joined a party of friends who were traveling to Ohio, reasons unclear. She found the journey too hard and bailed in Corinth, Vermont, where she had relatives. See her obituary below for more about this period.

Jonathan and Sarah married on 10 Dec 1843 in Corinth. The marriage record by the Rev. H. Johnson listed Jonathan Brown as resident of Vershire and Sarah C. Stevens from Corinth. In the 1850 census, Jonathan (33), Sarah (28), and their son Milton (4) were living with Jonathan’s parents in Vershire. Their second son, Levi, was born in 1852.

Jonathan’s parents died in 1852 and 1858. In between those deaths, on 10 Jan 1856, Jonathan and Sarah moved to Eden, Lamoille County, Vermont. The 1860 census found them and their two sons there: Jonathan (43), Sarah (39), Milton (13), and Levi (8). A Hiram (40) and Susan (41) Stevens from Maine were living nearby with their children.

Also nearby in 1860 was the Bailey family, most of them from Canada: Hiram (40) and Louisa (nee Dupont, 41), plus Joseph (14), Emily (10), John (8), Frank (7), Mary (4), and Charlie (1). We’ll be seeing them again. A book entitled EDEN, VERMONT - The History of Eden in the Nineteenth Century by the students of grades 4, 5, and 6 of Eden Central School, published in February 1984, mentions Hiram Bailey as an early settler in Eden.

Milton enlisted in F Company of the Vermont First Cavalry during the Civil War, against the wishes of his mother. She wanted his father to go down to the train station and get him off the train, but Jonathan felt Milton was old enough to make his own decisions. Milton died of pneumonia in a military hospital, and his mother didn’t even hear he was sick until he had already died. Sarah never forgave Jonathan. The loss of her favorite son turned her bitterly anti-Union. She had Milton buried in civilian clothes, and made his uniform into a doormat so that visitors to the house would wipe their feet on it.

The 1870 census for Eden showed Jonathan (53), Sarah C. (48), and Levi V. (18) Brown. It listed their former neighbor Hiram Bailey (supposedly 44, but he routinely misreported his age to census-takers) as a farm laborer. His four daughters Emily (21), Mary L. (13), Sarah A. (3), and Ida L. (2) were living with their father at the Brown farm, but his son James (7) was living with another area family, Adams. The youngest Bailey child, Ida, was the girl whom the Browns later adopted. The Browns also had a 15-year-old Vermont-born domestic named Lucy Sturtevant.

Ida May died in 1874 of cerebro-spinal meningitis. Jonathan killed himself with a morphine overdose in 1875.

The 1880 census for Eden showed the family down to just Levi (28) and his mother Sarah (58). Their household included as servants the Bailey children James (supposedly 19, actually 17) and Sarah (13). James Bailey died the following year, just 18 years old.

Hiram Bailey died in 1896, reported age 81, and is buried in Mountain View Cemetery, Morristown, Lamoille County.

In the 1900 census for Eden, Sarah was living with Levi and his daughter Alice in the same house they had moved to in 1856. She died in 1904.

Jonathan and Sarah are buried in Craftsbury Common Cemetery, Craftsbury, Vermont, as are their children. The cemetery is on the south side of Craftsbury Common, which is a mile or so north of the town of Craftsbury. Sarah’s obituary reads:

MRS. SARAH STEVENS BROWN.

Sarah C. (Stevens) Brown, widow of the late Jonathan Brown, died at the home of her son, L. V. Brown, in Eden on January 7, after an illness of five weeks, aged eighty-two years and five months. The deceased was born in Exeter, Maine, where she resided till seventeen years of age, when she started in company with a party of friends for the then far away State of Ohio. The journey and mode of travel being too severe for her, she stopped with relatives at Corinth, Vt., and allowed the rest of the party to go on. She lived some years in the family of the late Hon. L. B. Vilas of Chelsea, and spent many hours in caring for the late postmaster general, William F. Vilas, in his childhood days. December 10, 1843, she married Jonathan Brown of Vershire, and on January 10, 1856, they moved to Eden, into the same house from which she was tenderly carried out January 10, 1904. Forty-eight years of her useful and beautiful life were spent in that home which has also been a home for so many needy ones, both young and old, during that time. Her motto was, “Works as well as faith; do as much, not as little, as I can.” Two sons were born to her, Milton S., who laid down his life for his country in the civil war, and L. V. Brown, at the old homestead. Burial was at North Craftsbury.

Children

Milton S. Brown (1846-1864)

Milton’s brief life is described in the family section above.

Levi Vilas Brown (1852-1936)

Levi has his own entry in the family tree.

Ida Louisa May (Bailey) Brown (1867-1874)

Ida was the youngest child of the Bailey family, originally neighbors of the Browns and later working for them. Jonathan and Sarah adopted her. She died of cerebro-spinal meningitis in 1874.

Links

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4SG-BMB -- 1821 birth of Sarah; see image 27

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Currier-280 -- A link between a Currier family of Vermont and the Stevens family of Exeter, Maine

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XFNP-1MS -- Jonathan and Sarah’s wedding, 1843, marriage cert

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F8R8-53K -- Jonathan and Sarah’s wedding, 1843, church record

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MC2D-1VF -- 1850 census

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MFDS-33N -- 1860 census

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/82219247/milton-s-brown -- Milton’s grave

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XFF5-WB9 -- Ida May’s birth, 1867

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6R4-B88 -- 1870 census

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XF8X-Q65 -- Ida May’s death, 1874

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/82219259/ida-may-brown -- Ida May’s grave

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XFSJ-22N -- Jonathan’s death certificate

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/82219168/jonathan-brown -- Jonathan’s grave

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8WD-7WH -- 1880 census

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8WD-MV7 -- 1880 census, Hiram Bailey

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14558733/hiram-bailey -- 1896 grave of Hiram Bailey

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMP9-64S -- 1900 census

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPQP-ZY23 -- 1904 death record, Sarah

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/82219188/sarah-c-brown -- 1904 grave of Sarah

Unexplained

Dana Baldwin Chapman (1801-25 Jul 1865) of Orange County, Vermont married Sarah Currier “Sally” Stevens (26 Sep 1804-2 Nov 1878) from Vermont, daughter of John and Rhoda Stevens, on 10 Dec 1825 in Corinth, Vermont. They’re buried in the Meadow Meeting House Cemetery, Corinth. Obviously, this isn’t the same Sarah Currier Stevens, but it’s hard to believe the name is a coincidence. Maybe Sally was the relative that our Sarah stopped in Corinth to stay with.

There was yet another Sally Stevens born 4 Apr 1802 in Corinth to Caleb and Betty Stevens.

The Stevenses

The question: Who was the Hiram Stevens who lived near the Browns in Eden? The proximity, the name, and the Maine roots suggest he was a relative of Sarah’s, possibly a brother or half-brother, but there’s no record of Levi Stevens, Sr. of Exeter, Maine having a son named Hiram. I thought at first he might have been the Hiram Stevens who married Susan Bailey back in Maine, but that man died in 1864.

Hiram B. Stevens (~1819-?26 Sep 1897?) +
Abigail M. “Abbie” Scott (2 Dec 1821-23 Feb 1870)

Goodwin W. (1840-????)

Melissa F. (1842-????) — m. Silas Webber on 1 Dec 1858

Nancy Jane (31 Jul 1844-6 Oct 1925)

Winthrop (1847-????)

Hiram, Jr. (1849-????)

Alfretta (1851-16 Mar 1873) — m. Andrew A. O’Rourke on 15 Jun 1869

Florence Ella (1853-????) — m. Andrew A. O’Rourke on 13 Nov 1873

Charles Fremont (1856-26 May 1944) — m. Nellie J. Washburn on 22 Feb 1881; m. Jessie G. Sargent on 8 Sep 1886

Xenophon Udall (5 May 1860-194x) — m. Avanda E. “Vandie” Buffum on 31 Jan 1889

Frank S. (~1862-19xx) — m. Mary Bond on 17 Nov 1885; m. Ida E. Albee on 28 Nov 1907

Vashtia R. (1865-16 Sep 1871)

I don’t know exactly when or where Hiram was born. Most records said he was from Maine and indicated a year of birth from 1811 to 1820.

Abbie was born in Greensboro, Orleans County, Vermont. Her parents were Royal Scott (30 Jan 1800-????) and Nancy Smith.

No record of when Hiram and Abbie married, either. Place-of-birth listings for their children in the 1860 census indicate that they lived in Maine until the mid-1840s.

The 1850 census listed Hiram Stevens (38) from Maine and apparent wife Mary (35) from Vermont, living in Greensboro, Orleans County, Vermont. Children were Goodwin (9), Melessa (8), Nancy (6), Winthrop (4), and Hiram (2), all listed as born in Vermont. Every record I’ve found for what were definitely the children listed above named their parents as Hiram Stevens and Abigail Scott. I can’t explain the woman of the house being listed as “Mary” in this census and then as “Susan” in the 1860 census, or the large change in ages and “Susan” being listed as coming from Maine rather than Vermont. Maybe Abigail was never home, and, I don’t know, a sister of Hiram’s was visiting?

The June 1860 census listed Hiram Stevens (40) from Maine and Susan (41) from Maine, in Eden, Lamoille County, Vermont. Children were Goodwin (20), Nancy (15), Winthrop (13), Hiram Jr. (11), Alfretta (9), Florence (6), Charles F. (4), and “Cris B.” (6 months). The presence of Goodwin, Nancy, Winthrop, and Hiram Jr. establishes that this was unquestionably the same family as in 1850. Xenophon was born a month before the census, so he was probably the baby boy listed as “Cris”. The family were living two houses away from Jonathan and Sarah Brown, and another two houses away from Hiram Bailey and family. Goodwin and Nancy were listed as born in Maine, the other children in Vermont.

Abbie died in 1870, and is buried in Craftsbury, Orleans County. The stone says, “Abigail M., wife of Hiram Stevens”. The 1870 census listed Hiram (54), now supposedly from Vermont, living in Craftsbury with children Florence (17), Charles (14), Xenophon (12), ?Lizul? (boy, 10), and Vastia (6). What looks like “Lizul” must have been Frank.

I can’t find Hiram for certain after 1870. There are records of a Hiram Stevens (4 Apr 1813-26 Sep 1897) from Norway, Oxford County, Maine who was probably him. This man was the son of Amos Stevens and Deborah Vickery, but I have no record of his early years. On 6 Sep 1875, he married Mary Jane Shaw (~1823-????) from Canada in Littleton, New Hampshire. The 1880 census showed them in Waterbury, Vermont, with Hiram listed as a farmer. He died in Willowdale, New Hampshire (a milltown that no longer exists, on the river just south of Littleton) in 1897. The death record described him as a retired shoemaker.

Children of Hiram and Abbie

Haven’t found Goodwin after 1860. One site says he was born in Maine, was a soldier in Company I of the 1st Vermont Cavalry during the Civil War, and was last known living in Ragan, Harlan County, Nebraska.

Melissa married Silas Webber on 1 Dec 1858 in Craftsbury. There are records of a pension going on until 1934, but other details – nothing. Maybe the marriage record got the surname wrong.

Nancy died in Craftsbury in 1925. I don’t know where she was for all the years between 1860 and 1925. The death record claimed her parents were Hiram Stevens from England and Abigail Scott from Vermont.

Hiram Jr... the 1870 census listed a Hiram F. Stevens of about the right age as a university student in Burlington, but I’m pretty sure this was Hiram Fairchild Stevens (1852-1904) from St. Albans, later a prominent lawyer and politician in Minnesota. Different man.

Alfretta, who was born in Craftsbury, married Andrew O’Rourke (1845-20 Aug 1918) from Portland, Maine in St. Johnsbury in 1869, and died of complications from a miscarriage in 1873. She is buried in East Main Street Cemetery, Newport, Orleans County.

Florence married Andrew O’Rourke (1845-20 Aug 1918), widower of her late sister Alfretta, in late 1873. They had at least nine children, including two reportedly separated by three months:

??? (22 Nov 1883-????)

Rose Lillian (20 Jun 1891-????)

Ella Bernice (19 Sep 1891-????) wtf?

Myrile I. (2 Oct 1896-????)

They moved to Buckland, Franklin County, Massachusetts, and then to Waukesha County, Wisconsin by 1890. The 1900 census showed them in Waukesha. They must have moved back to Vermont, since Andrew died in Waterbury in 1918. He is buried in the same cemetery as Alfretta.

Charles married Nellie Washburn of Craftsbury in 1881. Don’t know what happened to her, but he married Jessie G. Sargent in 1886.

Xenophon’s 1860 birth record listed his parents as Hiram Stevens and Abigail Scott, noting Abigail was from Greensborough, Orleans County, Vermont (directly southeast of Craftsbury) and Hiram was a shingle-weaver from Maine. Xenophon married Vandie E. Buffum of Monroe, New Hampshire in 1889. He died in Craftsbury in 1940.

In 1880 Frank was working on the farm of the Washburn family, which included Nellie (17), whom his brother Charles married the following year. Frank moved to Massachusetts, where in 1885 he married Mary Bond. In 1907, he married Ida E. Albee. Frank told the 1910 census that his parents were from England and Scotland. He had dropped that story by the 1920 census, but that’s two children of Hiram saying their father was from England. Frank’s second wife Ida (1863-1925) died in 1925 and is buried in Springfield Cemetery, Springfield, Massachusetts. I don’t know about Frank himself.

Vashtia died of dysentery in Craftsbury in 1871.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4SG-BM1 -- 1821 birth of Sarah

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V8MB-Q9P -- 1821 birth of Abigail Scott

https://vermontcivilwar.org/get.php?input=29889 -- About Goodwin

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MC2D-MMM -- 1850 census

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V893-79M -- 1858 wedding of Melissa

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MFDS-33P -- 1860 census

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V893-M7W -- 1860 birth of Xenophon in Eden

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V89S-THS -- 1869 wedding of Alfretta

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/82474938/abigail-m.-stevens -- 1870 grave of Abigail in Craftsbury

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6RC-284 -- 1870 census

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6RQ-ZSH -- 1870 census, poss. Hiram Jr.