Orson Pratt Brown - Life, Times, Family

IWWILLIAM ALVIN BROWN 1866-1945

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Captain James Brown---John Martin Brown---Alvin Wilson Brown

Beulah Matteson and husband Alvin Wilson Brown

William Alvin Brown
and his wife Beulah Matteson

Alvin was born May 29, 1866, Ogden, Weber, Utah - died June 21, 1945, Salmon, Idaho
Beulah was born 1882 Harper County, Kansas - Died in 1946 on Lemhi River Road in Salmon, Idaho

William Alvin Brown was born at Wilson Lane, Weber, Utah on May 29, 1866. He had a twin brother, Calvin Brown. Their grandfather was Captain James Brown, founder of Ogden, Utah, originally called Brownsville.

Alvin and Calvin were the sons of John Martin Brown and Almeda Wilson Daley Brown

Hattie Matteson Bucher, Alvin Brown, Beulah Matteson Brown

Alvin Brown with twin brother Calvin Brown

Alvin and Calvin Brown

Beulah May Matteson Brown and Alvin Brown c.1910

Alvin Brown married Beulah May Matteson, who was born in Harper County, Kansas in 1882 to Mr. Matteson and Hattie Matteson Bucher. Her family came to Grey's Lake, Idaho in 1899. Beulah and Alvin met and married in Ogden where she had answered his newspaper advertisement seeking a wife. Twelve children were born to the couple.

Children of Alvin Brown and Beulah Matteson Brown:
Andrew Brown b. 1901; d. 1901 at Grey's Lake, Idaho.
DuShane Harwood Brown b. 1902 at Ogden
Beulah May Brown b. 1904 at Idaho Falls; md. Stricklan
Dorothy Lucetta Brown b. 1906 at Dillon, Montana; md. Henry Frederick Rackham
Albert Comstock Brown b. 1908 at Dillon
Merrill Reeves Brown b. 1910 at Bellevue
David Wilson Brown b. 1912 at Ammon, Idaho
Joy Muriel Brown b. 1914 at Idaho Falls
Claire Marguriet (sp) Brown b. 1916 at Idaho Falls
Patrick McKinley Brown b. 1918 at Idaho Falls
Jennie Beatrice Brown b. 1920 at Idaho Falls,
Lewis Orson Brown b. 1924 at Salmon, Idaho.

Beulah May Brown Stricklan, Albert Comstock Brown, DuShane Harwood Brown, Dorothy Lucetta Brown Rackham Larson at Axe Canyon, Dillion, Montana c.1909
Back: Beulah May Brown (Stricklan), Baby: Albert Comstock Brown, DuShane Harwood Brown
Front with dog: Dorothy Lucetta Brown Rackham Larson
at Axe Canyon, Dillon Montana c. 1909

Alvin Brown brought his family to Lemhi County in July 1921, arriving with a sheep camp wagon, a light spring wagon, and six saddle horses. The Browns spent their first summer up the Lemhi helping various ranchers with their haying, threshing and later, potato picking.

The family moved to town and rented a house on St. Charles Street, then moved to a house up on the Bar to spend the fall and winter. There was only one car in Salmon at the time, and it belonged to Dr. Hanmer. His son had a motorcycle that was very noisy. Alvin had a light wagon loaded with potatoes, beets, pumpkins, and squash, planning to take them home to store for the winter, but first stopped at Veals's Store to get something. While he was inside Bill Hanmer came along on his motorcycle and scared the team, which headed up the hill towards home. Beets, carrots, broken squash, and pumpkin were scattered all the way to the house. Mr. Brown had to go back and pick up everything off the road that had not been ruined.

The family moved to Sandy Creek for one year, then to Haynes Creek for two years, and finally moved to a house on the old Lemhi Road that now belongs to Mildred Miller, where they lived for about five years.

The oldest son, DuShane, built a two-story log house that stood between the Lemhi River, the sawmill (Phillip's now). Alvin and Beulah moved to this house about 1929 and they lived there until their deaths, Alvin on June 21, 1945, and Beulah in1946, both in Salmon, Idaho.

[It seems that Henry Frederick Rackham married Margaret Ellis b. 1897, together they had the youngest child shown above, Jim Ellis Rackham born around 1831.]

Chester Rackam:

Chester Rackham was born in Salmon, Idaho in September 1924, the second child of Henry [Frederick] Rackham [Jr., b. July 28, 1893 in Ogden], and Dorothy [Lucetta Brown] Rackham b. 1906 in Dillon, Montana. There was an older sister, Beth Rackham, and two brothers, Howard Rackham and Eugene Rackham. Beth was born in October 1922. Howard was born January 1, 1926, Eugene was born March 27, 1927. All three were born in Salmon or Baker, Idaho.

Henry and Dorothy Rackham moved to Salmon in 1919. Henry Rackham was a World War I veteran and holder of the French Cross of Honor. He worked for Nick Burgraff in Salmon. He passed away [December 5, 1954] in 1955, and is said to rest in the Veteran's Cemetery in Ogden, Utah.

Dorothy Lucetta Brown Rackham was born in Dillon, Montana in 1906. She was the daughter of Alvin and Beulah Brown who had made their home in Salmon. Dorothy worked on ranches and cafes in Salmon and Lemhi County. These included Small Boys and the Old Smoke House Cafe. Dorothy passed away in 1984. She was buried in the Gibbonsville Cemetery.

Howard Rackham married Helen Fackrell. They had three children, Clifford Rackham, Steve Rackham, and Diane Rackham. All three children were graduates of Salmon High School.

Howard served in the Navy during World War II. Most of his working years were spent on the Salmon National Forest, where he retired after twenty-five years of service.

Eugene married Joy Hurley. They had two children, Bill Rackham, and Carol Rackham. Both graduated from Salmon High School. Eugene spent his time during World War II as a cook in the army occupational forces in Japan. He retired from the City of Salmon where he worked as an equipment operator.

Eugene 5, Howard 6, Chester 8, Beth 10 Rackham , c. 1932

Chester Rackham went to the third grade in Salomon, then the family moved to Ogden, Utah were he finished school and went on to Utah State University in Logan, Utah. There he studied Air Craft Navigation Instruments. He graduated from Utah State and was called to Hill Air Force Base to work as an instructor in Navigational Equipment. In April 1942 Chester joined the Marine Corp and was shipped overseas to join Major Gregory's (Pappy) Black Sheep Squadron. While with this Squadron Chester received the Silver and Bronze Stars and was promoted to Gunnery Sergeant. He received the Purple Heart in action on Wotje Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

Chester was honorably discharged on February 1, 1946. He then returned to Salmon and went to work on ranches and as a packer and fire lookout for the Salmon National Forest.

In 1955 Chester again joined the Marine Corp. He spent most of this time in Japan and Formosa. Upon his honorable discharge in 1964 as a gunnery sergeant, Chester returned to Salmon and immediately went back to work for the Salmon National Forest as a packer and fire lookout and patrolman. He spent fifteen seasons as a fire lookout . The seasons were spent on the Long Tom Lookout on the North Fork District. Other lookouts he worked on were Bear Creek Point, Short Creek, and Middle Fork Peak on the Cobalt District, and Ulysses on the North Fork District. Chester is a member of the VFW Post 5840 in Salmon, the Lloyd Shaw Post of the American Legion in Salmon and the disabled American Veterans Chapter 20 in Salmon.

Chester is currently working for the Salmon Ranger District in Salmon and the Salmon School District 291. [Probably never married.]

--Written by Chester Rackham, pages 630-631 in Centennial History of Lemhi County, Id.

Sources:

PAF - Archer files

Story by Gayla Kaiser, Page 132, Centennial History of Lemhi County, Idaho, Vol. I, page 132., and Vol. III Pages 630-631.

[Bracketed], bold, corrections, additions by Lucy Brown Archer.

Beulah May brown StricklanDaughter of Alvin Brown, Salmon, Idaho
Beulah May Brown Stricklan
Daughter of Alvin Brown
Salmon, Lemni, Idaho