Ma and Pa Brown

©  Kathy Duncan, 2019

Within the family, my maternal grandparents were known as Ma and Pa Brown. When I was a child, the whole community referred to my great-grandmother as "Ma Brown." Their real names were Henrietta Elizabeth (Kelley) and Toy M. Brown. My great-grandmother went by the name "Bessie." They married in Titus County, Texas on August 1899 and were still living there in 1900. They knew my grandfather's mother, Maggie (Cawthon) Chapman in Titus County.  By 1910, the Browns were living in McCurtain County, Oklahoma and had lived in Oklahoma for at least a year before the census was taken. By 1920, they were living in Red River County, Texas. Once in Red River County, they lived consistently in English and Avery areas.

These pictures come from my cousin Jim Hughes, who recently found the negatives among his mother Nina (Brown) Hughes Flynn's things, and he had them developed. My mother insists that some of the pictures were taken by my aunt Louise (Chapman) Lennon. That did not make much sense to me until mother explained that when poor people wanted to share pictures with each other, they mailed the negatives to distant family, and let their relatives make copies of pictures they wanted. My guess is that they did not feel much need to have the negatives returned because they already had their prints. That means that negatives could change hands many times and get further away from their origin. It also increases the odds that distant cousins have pictures of my family. Also, when I think about it, I don't recall seeing any negatives at my grandparent's house.

My mother told me that her mother mailed her some negatives once, and my father, who was quick to dispose of the trash burned the letter and negatives before my mother had a chance to have her prints made. That was back when people had burn barrels. Sigh.

The following picture of Henrietta (Kelley) Brown was made at the home of her daughter Nina (Brown) Flynn in Fort Worth, Texas. My best guess is that this was in 1945.

Henrietta "Bessie" (Kelley) Brown. Ft. Worth, Texas.

The following picture is of Henrietta (Kelley) Brown. My mother believes that it was taken at the Brown home in English and that car in the background belonged to Dick Hughes, Nina's husband.

Henrietta (Kelley) Brown. English, Texas.

The following picture is of Henrietta (Kelley) Brown and Toy M. Brown at the Latimer home in English, Texas. My mother said she believed that this picture was taken by Louise (Chapman) Lennon. She recalled being there that day.

Henrietta (Kelley) and Toy M. Brown. English, Texas.

The following two pictures are of Toy M. Brown, obviously taken on the same day.

Toy M. Brown

Toy M. Brown