Colusa County
Biographies
URIAH WAVERLY BROWN
In tracing the genealogy of the branch
of the Brown family represented by this influential attorney of Colusa we find
that he is descended from one John Brown, who immigrated
from Ireland to New York prior to the war of the Revolution, removing to Virginia
shortly after the close of that historic struggle. William, a son of this
original immigrant, removed from Virginia to Kentucky in company with Daniel
Boone, the Kentons, and other pioneer families of the
Blue Grass state. Following the westward trend of emigration he settled in
Missouri when that state was beyond the confines of civilization, being one of
the very earliest settlers of Montgomery county. At
the time of his death, which occurred in Dekalb
county Mo., in 1865, he had reached the age of eighty-nine years. In religion
he was of the Baptist faith. Among the twelve children born of his marriage to
Miss Adams was William E., whose birth occurred in Montgomery county, Mo., in 1828, and who during early manhood
cultivated land in Dekalb county, that state. In his
life, no less than those of his ancestors, the pioneer instinct was early
displayed. That “Westward the star of empire takes its way” he thoroughly
believed, and, foreseeing to some extent the present dominance of the west, he
resolved to seek a home beyond the shadow of the Rockies. Accompanied by his
wife and child, in 1865 he crossed the plains with mule-teams, as a member of a
large and well-armed expedition that safely made the dangerous trip through the
midst of hostile Indians. For two years he remained at Corvallis, Ore., but in
1867 came to California and settled in the Antelope valley, about twenty-five
miles west of Colusa. For many years he engaged in the stock business, making a
specialty of sheep-raising, and he still continues agricultural pursuits,
making his home on a farm owned by his son, Uriah Waverly. He was reared in the
Baptist faith and has always adhered to the doctrines of that denomination. His
wife, Martha J., was born in Kentucky and died in California in 1872; she was a
daughter of Robert Bentley by his marriage to a Miss Burnett, and traced her
ancestry to an old Virginia family. At an early day her father settled in
Missouri, where he died in 1864,
Of the children of William D. and
Martha J. Brown the only one to attain mature years, Uriah Waverly Brown, was
born near St. Joseph, Mo., November 24, 1860, and was five years of age when
the family settled in Oregon. After coming to California he attended country
schools and later, through his own efforts, paid his expenses through Pierce
Christian College at College City, from which he was graduated in 1882 with the
degrees of B. S. and B. L. During the ensuing three and one-half years he not
only taught school but also studied law under the preceptorship
of Richard Bayne. In 1887 he was admitted to the bar and has since attained
rank among the successful attorneys of Colusa. As one of the attorneys for the
defendant in the trail of W. N. Taylor for the murder of Dr. E. V. Gates he was
instrumental in securing an acquittal. Besides his general practice, he acts as
attorney for the Bank of Arbuckle, of which he is a stockholder; attorney for
the Farmers & Merchants Bank of Colusa, of which he is a stockholder; and
in legal matters in this vicinity represents the interest of the Sacramento
Valley Land Company, in which he holds stock. Besides owning a number of grain
farms he is interested with others in the Von Dorsten
ranch of twenty-one hundred acres, which they subdivided, this being one of the
pioneer efforts of subdivision of large ranches in the Sacramento valley. On
the organization of the Cooks’ Spring Mineral Water Company in 1899 he was made
its president and has since officiated in that capacity. Largely through his
efforts the value of the water of this spring has become known in the west, and
the company is now the largest shipper of natural mineral water on the Pacific
coast. He is also one of the largest owners of the Colusa & Lake Railroad
and one of its directors.
The marriage of Mr. Brown united him
with Miss Emma Lovelace, who was born in Missouri and accompanied her parents
to California in 1868, settling in Colusa. Of their union four children were
born, namely: Azile A., Harris Nesbit, Uriah Waverly,
Jr., and Bentley Lovelace. The family are (sic)
identified with the Colusa Christian Church, in which Mr. Brown holds office as
president of the board of trustees. During the long period of his professional
activity he has gained a high reputation for thorough knowledge of the law, yet
he has not limited his energies to his practice. His interests are wide and
varied, and his citizenship has proved of the greatest material advantage to
Colusa, for he has fostered movement for its benefit and given his hearty
support to public-spirited projects. He is a member of the Colusa Board of
Trade, and has also given effective service to the city through his labors as a
member of the board of library trustees. He was initiated into Odd Fellowship
in the Colusa Lodge. Since the organization of the Odd Fellows’ Association, a
corporation, he has acted as its president and in that capacity was
instrumental in the building of the Odd Fellows block, the largest business
structure in Colusa. His fraternal relations further include connection with
Masonry. Made a Mason in Colusa Lodge, he was later raised to the chapter and commandery degrees in this city, and is also a member of
Islam Temple, N. M. S., of San Francisco. While he is a believer in Democratic
principles, no radical partisanship has ever marred the influence of his
citizenship, but party matters have ever been secondary to the progress of his
city and the development of its resources. It is to such men as he that a city
owes its prestige and a commonwealth its standing in the galaxy of states.
Transcribed By: Cecelia M. Setty.
Source: "History of the State of
California and Biographical Record of the Sacramento
Valley, Cal.," J. M. Guinn, Pages
310-313.
The Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago, 1906.
© 2017 Cecelia M. Setty.
Golden Nugget Library's Colusa County Biographies