IIBROWN'S FORT 1847-1853, Utah Territory
Website Link Index

Orson Pratt Brown's Father and six of his families settled Brown's Fort and Brownsville in the Utah Territory =
Children of Martha Stephens, wives: Esther Jones, Sally Steadwell Wood (maybe), Abigail Smith Abbott, Mary McRee Black, Phebe Abbott and their respective children

Brown's Fort

(Named Fort Buenaventura when Captain James Brown purchased the Fort in late1847)

1845-1853
Utah Territory

This WebPage is dedicated to Jim W. Brown. The Best Cousin anyone can have. Also in Honor of his Direction of the Orson Pratt Brown Family Reunion at this, Brown's Buenaventura Fort and the Rendezvous, in 1988.

Much thanks for all his contributions to our family and to this website.


James W. Brown
Compiled by Lucy Brown Archer

Ogden Valley in winter -view from Powder Mountain
Ogden  Valley View
Quoting Edward Tullidge, early Utah historian, who says: "Miles Goodyear claimed a tract of land, which was a Mexican Grant to him made in 1841 [1840], commencing at the mouth of Weber Canyon and following the base of the mountain north to the Utah Hot Springs; thence west to the Salt Lake and thence along the shore of the Lake to a point opposite the Weber Canyon and thence east to the place of beginning. Captain James Brown purchased the 225 square mile tract in 1847 - he kept only three hundred acres, for himself and his families. Captain James Brown opened the remainder to anyone who would come settle in the area.


Front Gate to Brown's Fort on north side


View of Brown's Fort from top of Sand Hill


Rendezvous Re-enactment at Brown's Fort


Rendezvous at Brown's Fort


Brown's Settlement at Brown's FortGoodyear's Fort and Brown's Settlement are actually a sort of island of the Weber River
The Fort was abandoned due to heavy flooding in the spring of 1851, Captain Brown moved his families northeast of the established fort to the area shown above as Brown's Settlement.

Brown's Fort Schoolhouse
"Schoolhouse" cabin on northwest corner of fort

Brown's Fort Home
"Home" cabin on northeast corner of fort

Brown's Fort Store
"Store" cabin on southwest corner of fort


Brown's Fort Bowery
"Bowery" on southeast corner of fort

Inside of Brown's Fort Schoolhouse
"School" cabin interior - visit by CJB's great, great, great granddaughters


Inside Brown's Fort Schoolhouse
"Home" cabin interior

Shoshone Village
Shoshone Village near Fort and fishing pond


Shoshone Village
Shoshone Village

Brown's Fort south side
View north of south side of Brown's Fort



Brown's Fort GardenGarden on east side of Brown's Fort


BEGINNINGS ......

Members of the Mormon Battalion passing through the various western states took note of places that would make good pioneer settlements. They proved to be some of the most outstanding colonizers. Captain James Brown who led the sick Battalion and the Mississippi Saints into Utah set out on August 9th [1847] for San Francisco by way of Fort Hall [near what is Pocatello, Idaho today]. While passing through Weber Valley, he was so impressed with Buenaventura, that he approached Goodyear with a proposition of buying. Goodyear was not over anxious; later President Young definitely instructed the authorities who remained in Utah to buy the Fort, which sale was negotiated by Captain James Brown, Henry G. Sherwood, Daniel Spencer, and Ira Eldredge. The money was provided by Captain Brown who had returned from California."--Heart Throbs of the West, Vol. 12, 1951, Page 208]

After he returned from his duties at Sutter's Mill in California, Captain Brown purchased Miles Goodyear's cabin and fort in November 1847. Brown retained all the livestock and 300 acres of the immense amount of land [225 square miles] he had purchased from Goodyear. Brown gave the rest of the land to new colonists without cost as they came north to settle. The purchase price of $1,950 for the Goodyear homestead was paid from Captain Brown's officer's pay, pay for laundress Mary McRee Brown, and that of his soldier sons, Alexander and Jesse, as well as from business conducted by Captain Brown while in California.

Before Brigham Young left for Winter Quarters on August 26, 1847, he left instruction for Goodyear to be bought out. Not until Captain Brown returned with the Battalion pay was there enough money in the Utah Territory to pay the purchase price.

The balance of the $10,000 in Spanish doubloons collected in California included the balance due to the Sick Detachment (the remaining portion that had not been collected when they were in Pueblo).  The pay collected was distributed to the soldiers of the Sick Detachment of the Mormon Battalion. See Robert Steele journal, and others.

Captain James Brown sent his two sons, Alexander Brown and Jesse Brown, to take possession of the property on 12 January 1848. Two months later, on 6 March 1848, Brown moved his family, accompanied by the families of Henry C. Shelton, Louis B. Meyers, and George W. Thurkill, into the fort region on the Weber River. A few days later, the families of Robert Crow, Rueben Henry, Artemus Sprague, Daniel Burch, William Stewart, Mrs. Ruth Stewart, and Urban Van Stewart followed to the new settlement. The Brown family occupied Goodyear's fort and the other settlers built homesteads along the Weber River to the south and as distant as Mound Fort, two miles to the north beyond the Ogden River. The first home in Ogden outside of the Goodyear's fort was built by Captain James Brown and Datus Ensign

After the purchase of Goodyear's fort, Captain James Brown had been appointed bishop over the ward area designated as Brown's Settlement Ward or the Weber River Ward in 1849 by Brigham Young and the ruling council in Salt Lake, and he was also elected to be the civil leader of the Weber River Precinct. Early in 1850 the Brown family abandoned the old Fort Buenaventura of Miles Goodyear and relocated on higher ground near present 29th Street and west of Wall Avenue because of flooding of the Buenaventura settlement by the Weber River.

"The bridges erected across Weber and Ogden's Fork last winter sailed down stream the first spring freshet; and the crossings are all occupied by ferries. Brown's Fort was vacated, on account of water, at our last advices. We have never before known the water as high in the Basin, as the present season, and the past week." --Deseret News, June 8, 1850, page 15.

This new fort consisted of about a block of houses built in the fort plan. Besides the Brown family, the new fort drew several other families to this more southern location. At that same time James Brown also moved one of the original Goodyear cabins to the Tabernacle Square near present Grant Avenue and 22nd Street where some of his family lived. That same building was moved several times through the years, but presently stands near where Brown had once placed it on Tabernacle Square.

The Weber River site of Fort Buenaventura was the first of the Mormon settlements in Weber County; but during a visit to the Weber River community in September 1849 by Brigham Young and other Mormon leaders, including Heber C. Kimball, Jedediah M. Grant, and Thomas Bullock, it was decided where the city of Ogden would be located, Thomas Bullock wrote on 2 September 1849.



MAKE PLANS TO VISIT BROWN'S FORT SOON

2450 "A" Avenue
Ogden, Utah 84401

Call 801-399-8099

www.fortb.com


Sources:

http://www.media.utah.edu/UHE/w/WEBERCT.html states Weber County is 644 square miles.

http://www.city-data.com/city/Ogden-Valley-Utah.html states Ogden Valley is 347.5 square miles.

Copyright 2005 www.OrsonPrattBrown.org

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PERSONAL ANCESTRAL FILE
...
Password Access Only

ADDRESS LIST FOR BROWN FAMILY
...
Password Access Only

ORSON PRATT BROWN FAMILY REUNIONS
... Easter 1986 through October 2005


... ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION - BY-LAWS
COMMENTS AND INPUT ON ARTICLES

... Published December 2007:
"ORSON PRATT BROWN AND HIS FIVE WONDERFUL WIVES VOL. I and II"
By Erold C. Wiscombe

... Published March 2009:
"CAPTAIN JAMES BROWN AND HIS 13 WIVES"
(unfortunately the publisher incorrectly changed the photo
and spelling of Phebe Abbott Brown Fife's name
after it was proofed by this author)
Researched and Compiled by
Erold C. Wiscombe

... Published 2012:
"Finding Refuge in El Paso"
By Fred E. Woods [ISBN: 978-1-4621-1153-4]
Includes O.P Brown's activities as Special Church Agent in El Paso
and the Juarez Stake Relief Committee Minutes of 1912.


...Published 2012:
"Colonia Morelos: Un ejemplo de ética mormona
junto al río Bavispe (1900-1912)"
By Irene Ríos Figueroa [ISBN: 978-607-7775-27-0]
Includes O.P. Brown's works as Bishop of Morelos. Written in Spanish.

...Published 2014:
"The Diaries of Anthony W. Ivins 1875 - 1932"
By Elizabeth Oberdick Anderson [ISBN: 978-156085-226-1]
Mentions O.P. Brown more than 30 times as Ivins' companion.

... To be Published Soon:
"CAPTAIN JAMES BROWN 1801-1863:
TEMPER BY NATURE, TEMPERED BY FAITH"

Send Comments and Information to: 
OrsonPrattBrown@gmail.com


ORSON PRATT BROWN FAMILY UPDATES

... FAMILY GROUP PHOTOS
...
FAMILY REUNIONS

... FAMILY GET TOGETHERS

... Lily Gonzalez Brown 80th Birthday Party-Reunion
July 14, 2007 in American Fork, Utah

...Gustavo Brown Family Reunion in October 2007

... FAMILY MEMBERS WHO DIED RECENTLY
... NEWS, WEDDINGS, BABIES, MORE
... HELP US IDENTIFY THESE ANCESTORS
Send Additions and Information to:
OrsonPrattBrown@gmail.com


ORSON PRATT BROWN 1863-1946

...... Wives and 35 Children Photo Chart
...... Chronology
...... Photo Gallery of OPB
...... Letters

ORSON'S JOURNALS AND BIOGRAPHIES

...... Biographical Sketch of the Life Orson Pratt Brown
...... History of Orson Pratt Brown by Orson P. Brown
...... Journal & Reminiscences of Capt. Orson P. Brown
...... Memories of Orson P. Brown by C. Weiler Brown
...... Orson Pratt Brown by "Hattie" Critchlow Jensen
...... Orson Pratt Brown by Nelle Spilsbury Hatch
...... Orson Pratt Brown by W. Ayrd Macdonald


ORSON PRATT BROWN'S PARENTS
- Captain James Brown 1801-1863

...... Wives and 29 / 43 Children Photo Chart
...... Captain James Brown's Letters & Journal
...... Brown Family Memorabilia
...... Mormon Battalion 1846-1847
...... Brown's Fort ~ then Brownsville, Utah
...... Chronology of Captain James Brown

- Phebe Abbott Brown Fife 1831-1915

- Colonel William Nicol Fife - Stepfather 1831-1915


ORSON'S GRANDPARENTS

- James Brown of Rowan County, N.C. 1757-1823

- Mary Williams of Rowan County, N.C. 1760-1832

- Stephen Joseph Abbott of, PA 1804-1843

- Abigail Smith of Williamson, N.Y. 1806-1889

- John Fife of Tulliallan, Scotland 1807-1874

- Mary Meek Nicol, Carseridge, Scotland 1809-1850 


ORSON PRATT BROWN'S 5 WIVES

- Martha "Mattie" Diana Romney Brown 1870-1943

- Jane "Jennie" Bodily Galbraith Brown 1879-1944

- Elizabeth Graham MacDonald Webb Brown 1874-1904

- Eliza Skousen Brown Abbott Burk 1882-1958

- Angela Maria Gavaldón Brown 1919-1967


ORSON PRATT BROWN'S 35 CHILDREN

- (Martha) Carrie Brown (child) 1888-1890

- (Martha) Orson Pratt Brown, Jr. (child) 1890-1892

- (Martha) Ray Romney Brown 1892-1945

- (Martha) Clyde Romney Brown 1893-1948

- (Martha) Miles Romney Brown 1897-1974

- (Martha) Dewey B. Brown 1898-1954

- (Martha) Vera Brown Foster Liddell Ray 1901-1975

- (Martha) Anthony Morelos Brown 1904-1970

- (Martha) Phoebe Brown Chido Gardiner 1906-1973

- (Martha) Orson Juarez Brown 1908-1981

- (Jane) Ronald Galbraith Brown 1898-1969

- (Jane) Grant "Duke" Galbraith Brown 1899-1992

- (Jane) Martha Elizabeth Brown Leach Moore 1901-1972

- (Jane) Pratt Orson Galbraith Brown 1905-1960

- (Jane) William Galbraith Brown (child) 1905-1912

- (Jane) Thomas Patrick Porfirio Diaz Brown 1907-1978

- (Jane) Emma Jean Galbraith Brown Hamilton 1909-1980

- (Elizabeth) (New born female) Webb 1893-1893


- (Elizabeth) Elizabeth Webb Brown Jones 1895-1982

- (Elizabeth) Marguerite Webb Brown Shill 1897-1991

- (Elizabeth) Donald MacDonald Brown 1902-1971

- (Elizabeth) James Duncan Brown 1904-1943

- (Eliza) Gwen Skousen Brown Erickson Klein 1903-1991


- (Eliza) Anna Skousen Brown Petrie Encke 1905-2001

- (Eliza) Otis Pratt Skousen Brown 1907-1987

- (Eliza) Orson Erastus Skousen Brown (infant) 1909-1910

- (Eliza) Francisco Madera Skousen Brown 1911-1912

- (Eliza) Elizabeth Skousen Brown Howell 1914-1999

- (Angela) Silvestre Gustavo Brown 1919-


- (Angela) Bertha Erma Elizabeth Brown 1922-1979

- (Angela) Pauly Gabaldón Brown 1924-1998

- (Angela) Aaron Aron Saul Brown 1925

- (Angela) Mary Angela Brown Hayden Green 1927

- (Angela) Heber Jedediah Brown (infant) 1936-1936

- (Angela) Martha Gabaldón Brown Gardner 1940


ORSON'S SIBLINGS from MOTHER PHEBE

- Stephen Abbott Brown 1851-1853

- Phoebe Adelaide Brown Snyder 1855-1930

- Cynthia Abigail Fife Layton 1867-1943

- (New born female) Fife 1870-1870

- (Toddler female) Fife 1871-1872

ORSON'S 28 SIBLINGS from JAMES BROWN

- (Martha Stephens) John Martin Brown 1824-1888

-
(Martha Stephens) Alexander Brown 1826-1910

-
(Martha Stephens) Jesse Stowell Brown 1828-1905

- (Martha Stephens) Nancy Brown Davis Sanford 1830-1895


-
(Martha Stephens) Daniel Brown 1832-1864

-
(Martha Stephens) James Moorhead Brown 1834-1924

-
(Martha Stephens) William Brown 1836-1904

-
(Martha Stephens) Benjamin Franklin Brown 1838-1863

-
(Martha Stephens) Moroni Brown 1838-1916

- (Susan Foutz) Alma Foutz Brown (infant) 1842-1842

- (Esther Jones) August Brown (infant) 1843-1843

- (Esther Jones) Augusta Brown (infant) 1843-1843

- (Esther Jones) Amasa Lyman Brown (infant) 1845-1845

- (Esther Jones) Alice D. Brown Leech 1846-1865

- (Esther Jones) Esther Ellen Brown Dee 1849-1893

- (Sarah Steadwell) James Harvey Brown 1846-1912


- (Mary McRee) George David Black 1841-1913

- (Mary McRee) Mary Eliza Brown Critchlow1847-1903

- (Mary McRee) Margaret Brown 1849-1855

- (Mary McRee) Mary Brown Edwards Leonard 1852-1930

- (Mary McRee) Joseph Smith Brown 1856-1903

- (Mary McRee) Josephine Vilate Brown Newman 1858-1917

- (Phebe Abbott) Stephen Abbott Brown (child) 1851-1853

- (Phebe Abbott) Phoebe Adelaide Brown 1855-1930

- (Cecelia Cornu) Charles David Brown 1856-1926

- (Cecelia Cornu) James Fredrick Brown 1859-1923

- (Lavinia Mitchell) Sarah Brown c. 1857-

- (Lavinia Mitchell) Augustus Hezekiah Brown c. 1859

ORSON'S 17 SIBLINGS from STEPFATHER FIFE

- (Diane Davis) Sarah Jane Fife White 1855-1932

- (Diane Davis) William Wilson Fife 1857-1897

- (Diane Davis) Diana Fife Farr 1859-1904

- (Diane Davis) John Daniel Fife 1863-1944

- (Diane Davis) Walter Thompson Fife 1866-1827

- (Diane Davis) Agnes Ann "Aggie" Fife 1869-1891

- (Diane Davis ) Emma Fife (child) 1871-1874

- (Diane Davis) Robert Nicol Fife (infant) 1873-1874

- (Diane Davis) Barnard Fife (infant) 1881-1881

- (Cynthia Abbott) Mary Lucina Fife Hutchins 1868-1950

- (Cynthia Abbott) Child Fife (infant) 1869-1869

- (Cynthia Abbott) David Nicol Fife 1871-1924

- (Cynthia Abbott) Joseph Stephen Fife (child) 1873-1878

- (Cynthia Abbott) James Abbott Fife (infant) 1877-1878


ORSON PRATT BROWN'S IN-LAWS

- (Diana) Caroline Lambourne 18461979

- (Diana)  Miles Park Romney 1843-1904

- (Jane) Emma Sarah Bodily 1858-1935

- (Jane) William Wilkie Galbraith 1838-1898

- (Elizabeth) Alexander F. Macdonald 1825-1903

- (Elizabeth) Elizabeth Atkinson 1841-1922

- (Eliza) Anne Kirstine Hansen 1845-1916

- (Eliza) James Niels Skousen 1828-1912

- (Angela) Maria Durán de Holguin 1876-1955

- (Angela) José Tomás Gabaldón 1874-1915


INDEX OF MORMON COLONIES IN MEXICO

INDEX OF MORMON MEXICAN MISSION

INDEX TO POLYGAMY IN UTAH, ARIZONA, MEXICO

INDEX TO MEX. REVOLUTION & THE MORMON EXODUS

INDEX OF SURNAMES

MAPS OF THE MEXICAN COLONIES


BROWN FAMILY MAYFLOWER CONNECTION 1620

BROWN's in AMERICAN REVOLUTION 1775-1783

BROWN's in AMERICAN CIVIL WAR 1861-1865

BROWN's in WARS AFTER 1865

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Contact Us:
Orson Pratt Brown Family Organization
P.O. Box 980111
Park City, Utah 84098-0111
OrsonPrattBrown@gmail.com