Obituaries are some of the most informative records in genealogy research. However, they can also be misleading. Take, for example, the children of Mary Emma (Barber) Brown Laine. Of the Brown-Laine siblings' obituaries, some of them either do not exist or have not been found yet. Those that have been found sometimes give a misleading picture of which siblings were survivors.
The older siblings were the children of John C. and Mary Emma (Barber) Brown:
1. John Robert Brown 1868 - 1946
2. Emma Arsenia (Brown) Brown 1870 - 1950
3. Thomas Jefferson Brown 1871 - 1936
4. Lenora H. (Brown) Lane 1871 - 1932
5. Toy Mansel Brown 1875 - 1953
The younger siblings were the children of Leroy W. and Mary Emma (Barber) Lain:
6. Turie Lea (Lain) Stephenson 1881 - 1967
7. Morris Cleveland Laine 1884 - 1964
8. Jewel Reese Laine 1886 - 1961
For the purpose of examining the obituaries, I am going to put them in date order by the date of the siblings' deaths.
Lenora H. (Brown) Laine: no obituary found yet.
Thomas Jefferson Brown:
Tom J. Brown died 19 Apr 1936 - Tom J. Brown, 65, a well known Franklin County citizen and prominent in Flora Bluff community life east of town was claimed by death at his home early Sunday morning after a hopeless struggle with pneumonia. He had been ill eight days. Funeral services were held Monday afternoon at the Mt. Vernon Baptist Church by Rev. J. E. Witt, pastor, burial following in City Cemetery. Mr. Brown a faithful member of the Baptist Church for some 50 years, had affiliated himself many years ago with the local institution. The deceased had spent his life in Titus and Franklin Counties, living in the Daphne community before making his home 18 years ago at Flora Bluff, where he was a successful farmer. Surviving are his wife and five children, Mrs. John Mebane, Mrs. Herman Stinson, Mrs. Roy Fenn, Alvin T. Brown and David Brown all of Franklin County.
[Source: The Optic; Franklin County, TX; 24 April 1936]
In naming only his immediate family as survivors, this obituary might lead you to think that Tom J. Brown had outlived most of his siblings. However, the opposite is true.
John Robert Brown:
John Robert Brown's obituary lists only three siblings: Emma Arsenia (Brown) Brown, Toy M. Brown [name misspelled in obit], and half-sister Turie Lea (Laine) Stephenson. This obituary might lead you to believe that brothers Morris Cleveland Laine and Jewel Reese Laine have predeceased John Robert. However, they were both still living at this time.
Emma Arsenia Brown:
Emma Arsenia (Brown) Brown's obituary names two brothers: Toy Brown and Jewel Laine. Now we know that Jewel Laine is still living, but we might be lead to believe that Morris C. Laine is deceased. However, he is still living.
Toy Mansel Brown:
Toy Brown Buried Sunday at Engish. Toy M. Brown, farmer at Avery, died at his residence May 29 at 5 a.m.
His funeral was conducted May 31 in the English Methodist Church by Rev. O.B. Rogers, former pastor. Interment was in the English cemetery, Clarksville Funeral Home in charge.
Pallbearers were Charles J. William, Bryant Grant, Luther Giles, Olan Markham, Delbert Gortney and Mr. Stinson.
Mr. Brown was born in Jacksonville, Texas, August 26, 1875, and had been a resident of Red River County forty years. He was married August 18, 1898 to Bessie Kelley at Mt. Pleasant. She survives.
Other survivors are twenty-six grandchildren, twenty great grandchildren and three sons and daughters: Homer L. and Nelson K. Brown, Colorado Springs, Colorado; Warner Brown, Schroup, Idaho; Mrs. W. S. Chapman and Mrs. Alma McCain, Avery; Mrs. H.H. Lane, Witchita Falls, and Mrs. Richard Hughes, Arlington, Texas.
[Source: The Clarksville Times; Clarksville, TX; Fri. 5 June 1953]
None of the Laine siblings are mentioned in Toy Brown's obituary.
Jewel Reese Laine:
Spur Pioneer, J. R. Laine, Buried Sunday - Funeral services for J.R. Laine, 74, were held Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. in the First Methodist Church, Rev. William McReynolds, officiating.
Mr. Laine, who had been ill for some time, died January 7th.
Born October 12, 1886, he came to Spur and Dickens County in 1910, shortly after the town was founded. He married the former Miss Willie Dee Montgomery in McCauley, Texas in 1907. He was a member of the Methodist Church. He worked for many years as a painting contractor and was retired at the time of his death.
Survivors include his wife, Mrs. J.R. Laine; one daughter, Mrs. Horace Wood, Spur; two sons, Tanner Laine, Lubbock, and W.J. Laine, Fort Worth. One brother and one sister also survive. They are Morris Laine, California and Mrs. Turie Stephenson, Houston.
Pallbearers included D.J. Dyes, Frank Watson, Clarence Foreman, George Link, Dr. Bob Alexander and Bill R. Barrett.
The Roundup SS Class served as honorary pallbearers.
Interment was in Spur Cemetery.
[Source: The Texas Spur; Spur, TX; 12 January 1961]
Jewel Reese Laine's obituary accurately names the last two surviving siblings: Morris C. Laine and Turie Lea (Laine) Stephenson.
Morris Cleveland Laine: no obituary found yet.
Turie Lea (Laine) Stephenson:
Mrs. Stephenson of Austin Dies. Mrs. Turie Lea Stephenson of Austin died Monday at 3 p.m. in Austin. Mrs. Stephenson was born January 13, 1882 in Titus County.
Funeral services were held Wednesday at 10 a.m. in the Smith-Bates Chapel with burial in the Masonic Cemetery.
Survivors include two daughters, Mrs. Ladye Madge Johnson, Houston and Mrs. Maurine Lee, Miss., and two sons, Woodrow and J.P. Stephenson of Houston.
The Rev. George H. Harris officiated.
[Source: The Mt. Pleasant Times, Wed. 18 June 1967, p. 3]
One lesson here is that the obituaries of all family members need to be sought out. It is too difficult to draw valid conclusions from just one obituary. If I had stopped my research with my great-grandfather, Toy Brown's obituary, and if I had not known better, then I might not know that there were additional half-siblings.
The other lesson is the wealth of information that can be drawn from the obituaries as a group. For instance, these obituaries put the Brown family on a rough timeline. The Browns were still in Alabama in 1868 when John Robert Brown was born. They were in Titus County, Texas by 1870 when Emma Arsenia Brown was born. However, by 1875 they were near Jacksonville, Cherokee County, Texas when Toy M. Brown, the youngest, was born. By 1882, Mary Emma (Barber) Brown had remarried to Leroy W. Laine and was back in Titus County, Texas. There may turn to be some inconsistencies in this information, but it provides a rough framework for the family's movements.
