Ammi Almanzia BROWN
1829 - 1899 (69 years)
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Name Ammi Almanzia BROWN Born 13 Sep 1829 Boston, MA 
[1] Gender Male Census 1840 Burlington, Otsego Co, NY Census 1855 Butternuts, Otsego Co, NY Census 1860 Crawford Co, WI Residence 1862 Palmyra, Jefferson Co, WI [2] Military From 22 Aug 1862 to 26 Jul 1865 [3, 4] Cpl, Co A, 1st Wisconsin Heavy Artillery, Civil War Residence 1869 New Berlin, Chenango Co, NY [5] Census 1870 Guilford, Chenango Co, NY Occupation carpenter [5, 6, 7, 8] Residence 1874 Elmira, Chemung Co, NY [9] - 258 W. Hudson Street, occupation carpenter
http://www.joycetice.com/director/1874p058.htm
Residence 1881 Verndale, Wadena Co, MN [7] Residence 1885 Aldrich Twp, Wadena Co, MN [6] Residence 1888 Escondido, San Diego Co, CA [8] - "The Great Register of San Diego County for 1890" contains the following entry:
Ammi A. Brown, age 57, nativity Massachusetts, occupation carpenter, local residence Escondido, date of registration Feb 13 1888.
(NOTE: "Great Register" is simply the California name for voter registration records. It probably comes from the fact that the old registration books were huge and very heavy. The pages in the book are arranged alphabetically with each new registration appearing under the previous one. California voter registration began in 1867, the state legislature required each county to record voter information on the local level. The registers contained the voter's name, age, occupation, birthplace, when and where the granting of U.S. citizenship occurred and the court where that took place. SOURCE: http://sherifenley.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-great-registers-of-california.html )
Residence From May 1897 Orting, Pierce Co, WA - Washington Soldiers Home
Residence Jun 1893 - May 1897 Montesano, Chehalis (now Grays Harbor) Co, WA Died 20 Jun 1899 Orting, Pierce Co, WA [10, 11] - at the Washington Soldiers Home
Buried Washington Soldiers Home Cemetery, Orting, Pierce Co, WA [11, 12] Notes - Very little has been found regarding Ammi Almanzia Brown and wife Almira Sanders. It is not known for sure when or where they were married or when they moved to Minnesota. Born in Massachusetts in 1829, Ammi was found in the 1840 Census with his parents and brother residing in Burlington, Otsego Co, NY. He was next found in the 1855 State Census of Otsego County, New York, along with his first wife Deborah and their daughter Ida. Five years later, the 1860 Census found him residing in Crawford County, Wisconsin with Deborah, and their two children, Ida and Edwin. (Further evidence of this first marriage is his 1898 application to the Washington Soldiers Home, on which he stated that he had two children, ages 44 and 16.) He was a resident of Palmyra, Jefferson Co, Wisconsin in Aug 1862 when he entered military service for the Civil War. Ammi's and Almira's marriage must have occurred upon Ammi's return from Civil War duties, as they are found together in the 1870 Census in Guilford, Chenango Co, New York. They were next found in the 1885 Census of Wadena Co, Minnesota, with son Addison.
Circumstances taking Ammi from Minnesota (possibly by way of California) to the state of Washington in 1893 are unknown. An affidavit by son Addison Avery Brown, dated Aug 21 1935 at Clarksburg WV, regarding establishment of Addison's birthdate, stated that his family had moved from Minnesota to Montesano, Washington, when he was about nine years old, that the family Bible had been destroyed in a house fire about three years later, that his mother had died when he was about six years old, that his father had died when he was about 18 years old, and that he had no living siblings.
Ammi remarried twice after Almira's Dec 1887 death, first to a second Deborah S. in 1888 in California. They divorced in 1894 in Seattle or Tacoma. He married again in 1895 in Tacoma to a Rachel A. But she left him within a couple of years, though they apparently never divorced.
Addison Avery Brown always gave his parents' names as Ammi Almanzia Brown and Almira Saunders (or Sanders), and official records support that. But Addison's obituary identified his parents as Adli Brown and Rachel Sanders. The basis for that information is not known, other than an apparent confusion of his mother with his stepmother. Ammi's middle name Almanzia has been found in only two documents, son Addison's delayed birth certificate, and Addison's application to the Modern Woodmen of America.
Son Addison's birth certificate, which was not registered until 1943 when he was a longtime resident of Doddridge County, WV, identified his father as Ammi Almanzia Brown, age 54 at the time of Addison's 1881 birth, born in Massachusetts, occupation carpenter; and his mother as Almira Saunders Brown, age 39 at time of Addison's birth, born in New York. Information supporting the delayed filing was provided in affidavit by Edith Maria Weeden, 20 Brown Avenue, Norwich, Chenango County, NY, who was identified as Addison's cousin. Addison always told his son Armand that Edith was Addison's only living relative outside the immediate family. Edith was later found to be Almira Sanders' niece, a daughter of her sister Mary Sanders Terwilliger.
Civil War Service Records reflect that Ammi A. Brown, a resident of Palmyra, Wisconsin, served as a Private with Co A of the Wisconsin 1st Heavy Artillery Regiment from Aug 1862 to Jun 1865. Applications to the Washington Soldiers Home in 1897, 1898 and 1899 show this to be the same Ammi A. Brown, born Sep 13 1829 in Boston, Massachusetts, carpenter by trade, who was the husband of Almira and the father of Addison. He applied for a Civil War pension on Sep 16 1890, classification "Invalid," which likely corresponds to what is now called "disabled."
Census records before 1850 listed only the head of household by name. The following is the household of Ammi Tufts Brown, father of Ammi A. Brown.
1840 Census, Burlington, Otsego Co, New York:
Household of Ammi T. Brown
1 male age 40-50 (this would be Ammi T. Brown, who we know from the 1870 Census was born about 1799)
1 male age 10-15 (i.e., Ammi A. Brown, b. 1829)
1 male age 5-10 (i.e., Andrew J. Brown, b. 1834)
1 female age 40-50 (i.e., Annis)
NOTE: Daughter Julia is not accounted for.
No record of Ammi A. Brown was found in any 1850 Census. However, the following census entry cannot be ignored:
1850 Census, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire (Town of Milford), enumerated on Aug 20 1850:
Ai Brown, 22, b. Massachusetts, carpenter; Rosina Brown, 21, b. Mass; Lola (Lela ?) Brown, 1, b. New Hampshire.
In the next household:
Levi Tuffts, 50, cabinet maker; Mary W. Tuffts, 43; Helen Tuffts, 6. Birthplace for all indicated as New Hampshire, but the use of ditto marks under Lola Brown, above, leaves open the possibility that Massachusetts was intended. It is noteworthy that Ammi A. Brown's father, Ammi Tufts Brown, was named for his uncle, Ammi Tufts, the husband of his mother's sister Lucy (Williams) Tufts.
Minnesota Land Records, Document 16156, St. Cloud Land Office, on file at U.S. Bureau of Land Management, show that Ammi A. Brown purchased 80 acres of land on Dec 16 1890, with the following legal description: Aliquot Parts S1/2SE, Base Line 5TH PM, Fractional Section No, Township 134 N, Range 34 W, Section # 4.
In "The Famous & Not So Famous," published by the Verndale Historical Society in 1987, it is noted that the relationship between the many Brown families who settled there has not been entirely determined. Of the many pages devoted to settlers of the Brown surname, only the following three entries appear regarding this one:
(1) "Architect and Builder. I am prepared to take contracts for erecting buildings of all kinds. Plans and specifications furnished on short notice. Stair building a specialty." [Wadena County Tribune, Dec 5 1878, attributed to A. A. Brown]
(2) "A. A. Brown has erected a barn near Verndale." [Verndale Journal, Dec 26 1879]
(3) "The A. A. Brown Furniture, 1882, is mentioned in 'Bartlett Township History,' Volume I." It is noted that there were apparently two A. A. Browns, Ammi Almanzia and Albert A., both carpenters and residing in Verndale at that time.
Based strictly on the two Censuses and on son Addison's birth certificate, Ammi would have been born either ca 1840, ca 1832 or ca 1827; but entries on his applications to the Washington Soldiers' Home consistently and specifically state his birth date as Sep 13 1829. Ammi Almanzia Brown was thought by family lore to have died at age 74 of apoplexy, although son Addison, born in 1881, recalled that he was about 18 at the time of his father's death, which would have been shortly after Ammi's last admission to the Washington Soldiers' Home in Orting, Pierce Co, WA in 1899. Discovery of his grave at the Washington Soldiers Home Cemetery in Orting shows that Ammi Brown's death occurred on Jun 20 1899, also reflected in Pierce County death records.
Person ID I3621 Doddridge County Roots Last Modified 3 Feb 2018
Father Ammi Tufts BROWN, b. 22 Nov 1799, Brooklyn, Windham Co, CT , d. BTWN 1870 - 1874, New York (Age 74 years) Mother Annis COOKE, b. 16 Sep 1800, New York , d. 27 Jun 1851 (Age 50 years) Family ID F21523 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family 1 Deborah S. THOMPSON, b. CA 1837, Otsego Co, NY [13, 14] Notes - We have found no record to show when or where Ammi A. Brown's first marriage, to Deborah S. Thompson took place. Her parentage is also not known.
1855 New York State Census, Otsego County (Town of Butternuts), enumerated on Jun 29 1855:
Ammi Brown, 25, b. Massachusetts, carpenter, resident of this town for 2 yrs; wife Deborah S. Brown, 18, b. Otsego Co, resident of this town for 2 yrs; child Ida A. Brown, 1, b. Otsego Co.
1860 Census, Crawford Co, Wisconsin:
Ami Brown, 30, b. New York, occupation (blank); Deborah, 28, b. New York; Ida, 6, b. New York; Edwin, 2, b. Wisconsin.
Although our Ammi Brown was not born in New York, he did live there before coming to Wisconsin. Despite the discrepancy, and the five-year variance in Deborah's age, this appears to be our Ammi with his first wife and their children (Edwin later appears with him in the 1870 Census). Ammi was a resident of Wisconsin when he entered the military in 1862.
No record of this Deborah has been found after this census. It is presumed that she died sometime before 1870, when Ammi was found in Chenango County, New York with his second wife Almira and his and Deborah's son Edwin. However, their daughter Ida is not accounted for in the 1870 Census, That leaves the possibility that Ammi and Deborah divorced and that Ida was with her mother in 1870.
Children 1. Ida May BROWN, b. Nov 1853, Otsego Co, NY , d. 1 Dec 1924, Snohomish, Snohomish Co, WA (Age ~ 71 years)2. Edwin BROWN, b. CA 1858, Wisconsin Documents 
1860 Census, Scott (Sladesburg), Crawford Co, Wisconsin, 10Aug1860 Family ID F21524 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family 2 Almira SANDERS, b. CA 1843, New York , d. 19 Dec 1887, San Diego, San Diego Co, CA (Age ~ 44 years) [6, 15] Married BTWN 1860-1870 - The 1860 Census shows Ammi with his first wife, Deborah, but he was with Almira in the 1870 Census.
Notes - 1870 Census, town of Guilford, Chenango Co, NY:
Ami Brown, 39, b. Massachusetts, occup house carpenter; Almira Brown, 28, b. New York; Edwin Brown, 11, b. Wisconsin; Ami Brown, 71, b. Connecticut, occup carpenter & joiner.
Although relationships are not stated, it would appear that the elder Ammi is the father of the younger, who in turn is the father of Edwin. Based on the earlier census, Edwin's mother was Deborah, not Almira. No entry for this Edwin Brown was found in any subsequent census.
No entry for Ammi Brown was found in the 1880 Census, although we know that he was in Minnesota for the birth of son Addison in 1881.
The 1880 Census of Minnesota lists in Aldrich Twp, Wadena Co, Albert A. Brown, age 40, carpenter, born in New York; and his wife Almira Brown, age 35, born in New York, her father born in Connecticut, and her mother born in New York. Despite the discrepancies, the possibility cannot be discounted that this is the couple in question. The same Census shows Charles W. Brown, age 35, born in New York, father born in Connecticut, mother born in New York. Given ages and locations, these two Browns could be brothers or other close relatives.
The 1885 Census of Minnesota lists in Aldrich Twp, Wadena County, A. A. Brown, age 53, born in Massachusetts; Almira Brown, age 41, born in New York; and Addison (misspelled Adison), age 3, born in Minnesota.
It appears that the family moved from Minnesota to southern California not long after the 1885 census, but their stay there was short-lived. Almira died in San Diego, California on Dec 19 1887. Ammi remained in California, at least for awile. California Voter Registration records indicate that Ammi A. Brown was a resident of San Diego County in 1888. "The Great Register of San Diego County for 1890" contains the following entry:
"Ammi A. Brown, age 57, nativity Massachusetts, occupation carpenter, local residence Escondido, date of registration Feb 13 1888."
Son Addison was presumably also in California during Ammi's stay there, although we have found no proof of that.
Children 1. Addison Avery BROWN, b. 1 Aug 1881, Verndale, Wadena Co, MN , d. 13 Jan 1954, Youngstown, Mahoning Co, OH (Age 72 years)Documents 1885 Census, Aldrich Twp, Wadena Co, Minnesota Family ID F1277 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family 3 Deborah S. ___ Married 1888 California Divorced 9 Nov 1894 Tacoma, Pierce Co, WA [16] Notes - Following the death of his wife Almira in San Diego in Dec 1887, Ammi A. Brown soon remarried. This was confirmed by the discovery of an item in the Tacoma Daily News of Sep 10 1894, which reported that Ammi A. Brown had filed for divorce from Deborah S. Brown on the grounds of desertion after only three days of marriage. A news item in the Nov 12 1894 issue of that newspaper stated in its entirety "Armi [sic] A. Brown has been divorced from Deborah S. Brown." A slightly more detailed account was printed in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer of Nov 10 1894 in a column titled "Brief Tacoma News," dateline Tacoma, Nov. 9: "A. A. Brown secured a decree of divorce today from Deborah Brown. They were married in California in 1888, started on their honeymoon and got as far as Portland, when Mrs. Brown left her new husband, after just three days of married life."
We have found nothing to further identify this Deborah S.
Documents Divorce Notice, Sep 1894 Divorce Notice, Nov 1894 Family ID F22901 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family 4 Rachel A. ___, b. 6 Mar 1850, New York , d. 1 Feb 1904, Tacoma, Pierce Co, WA (Age 53 years) Married 27 Jun 1895 Tacoma, Pierce Co, WA [17] Separated SPRING 1898 Notes - Ammi A. Brown was divorced from his third wife, Deborah S., in November 1894. Just over three years later, his marital status was listed as married on his Feb 1898 application to the Washington Soldiers Home. But on his March 1899 application to the Soldiers Home, his entry for marital status was "She has left me, I do not know where she is." Correspondence from his fourth wife Rachel A. Brown and others, found in his Soldiers Home file, shows that Ammi and Rachel were married on Jun 27 1895 in Tacoma, and that she left him in Spring 1898. A letter from her dated Sep 29 1899 indicates that she had not been informed of Ammi's death three months before, supporting his contention that she had deserted him.
Family ID F24976 Group Sheet | Family Chart
- 258 W. Hudson Street, occupation carpenter
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Event Map 
Born - 13 Sep 1829 - Boston, MA 
Census - 1840 - Burlington, Otsego Co, NY 
Census - 1855 - Butternuts, Otsego Co, NY 
Residence - 1862 - Palmyra, Jefferson Co, WI 
Residence - 1869 - New Berlin, Chenango Co, NY 
Census - 1870 - Guilford, Chenango Co, NY 
Residence - 1874 - Elmira, Chemung Co, NY 
Residence - 1881 - Verndale, Wadena Co, MN 
Residence - 1885 - Aldrich Twp, Wadena Co, MN 
Residence - 1888 - Escondido, San Diego Co, CA 
Divorced - 9 Nov 1894 - Tacoma, Pierce Co, WA Married - 27 Jun 1895 - Tacoma, Pierce Co, WA 
Residence - From May 1897 - Orting, Pierce Co, WA 
Residence - Jun 1893 - May 1897 - Montesano, Chehalis (now Grays Harbor) Co, WA Died - 20 Jun 1899 - Orting, Pierce Co, WA 
Buried - - Washington Soldiers Home Cemetery, Orting, Pierce Co, WA = Link to Google Earth
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Photos 
Washington Soldiers Home Cemetery, Orting, Pierce Co, WA Washington Soldiers Home Cemetery First Methodist Episcopal Church, Wadena, Minn., 1880 N.P. Train Depot, Verndale, Minn. - 1880
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Sources - [S608] 1885 Minnesota Census.
Identified as A. A. Brown, age 53, birthplace Massachusetts. Wife: Almira, age 41, birthplace New York. Son: Addison (misspelled Adison), age 3, birthplace Minnesota. - [S1711] Civil War Service Records, (
). - [S5] Headstone.
The military headstone reads: "Corp'l A. A. Brown, Co A, 1st Wis H.A."
Officers of the Wisconsin 1st Heavy Artillery Regiment were Colonel Charles C. Meservey; Lieutenant Colonel Jacob T. Foster; and Majors Charles C. Meservey, L. H. Drury, Richard W. Hubbell and David C. Fulton. The regiment originated in Dec 1861 as a detached company of 2nd Wisconsin Infantry and was stationed at Fort Cass. On Aug 28 1862, a detachment of 40 men, with three pieces of artillery, was sent to garrison Fort Buffalo, an exposed post, where it repulsed an enemy attack. It returned to Fort Cass in Sep 1862, moved to Fort Ellsworth in November, and was transferred to Fort Worth in May 1863. In Jun 1863, Capt. Meservey was authorized to recruit a battalion of four batteries of heavy artillery, using the original battery as a basis. Battery A moved in October from Fort Worth to Battery Rodgers, where it remained until May 1864, and was then transferred to Fort Willard (Fort Willard Circle and Glen Drive, off Fort Hunt Road, Alexandria, VA). It returned to Battery Rodgers in August and was mustered out at Washington on Aug 18 1865. The entire regiment's original strength was 1,777, with gains by recruits (407), draft (4) and reentlistments (29) bringting to total to 2,217. Losses were by death (73), desertion (70), transfer (28), discharge (223), unaccounted for (3), and mustered out (1,820). (Sources: "Civil War Regiments from Wisconsin," by Lt. Col. Jerome A. Watrous, originally published in 1908 by Federal Publishing Company, reprinted in 2003 by eBooksOnDisk.com, pp. 106-107; http://www.civilwararchive.com/Unreghst/unwiarty.htm )
http://www.dodgejeffgen.com/archive/PalmyraCivilWar.htm - [S1711] Civil War Service Records, (
).
Documents obtained from the Wisconsin Historical Society: Descriptive Roll of Company A, First Regiment, contained the following entry: Ammi A. Brown, age 32, married, residence Palymyra, occupation carpenter, eyes blue, hair brown, complexion sandy, height 5' 7-1/2", rank Private, enlisted Aug 22 1862 at Palmyra by Lt. Caleb Hunt, term of service 3 years, mustered in on Aug 30 1862 at Madison, mustered out on Jun 26 1865 at Battery Rodgers, Virginia. - [S2201] City Directory.
- [S608] 1885 Minnesota Census.
- [S1599] Birth record of son.
- [S72] California Voter Registrations, 1866-1898, (Ancestry.com).
- [S2201] City Directory.
From Boyd's 1874 City Directory of Elmira, New York: "Brown, Ammi A., carpenter, h 258 W Hudson " The key to abbreviations indicates that the "h" stands for house.
http://www.joycetice.com/director/1874p058.htm - [S3] Washington Death Records, 1883-1960 [database on-line], (Ancestry.com).
- [S1899] http://home.comcast.net/~suvcw1/cemetery/graves/orting.pdf.
- [S934] Findagrave.com.
- [S1791] 1860 Census.
- [S1583] Marriage record of daughter.
- [S1616] Immediate family.
- [S1596] Newspaper article.
The following item, with the headline "Sanctification," appeared in the Tacoma Daily News of Sep 10 1894, page 3, quoted here in its entirety: "Ammi A. Brown has filed a suit for divorce from Deborah S. Brown, on the grounds of desertion. They lived together but for three days, and during those three days she refused to be a wife to him in fact as well as name and then returned to her former home and refused to live with him."
An article in the Nov 12 1894 issue of that newspaper, p. 3, one of several items under the title "City News," stated in its entirety "Armi [sic] A. Brown has been divorced from Deborah S. Brown."
A slightly more detailed account was printed in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer of Nov 10 1894 in a column titled "Brief Tacoma News," dateline Tacoma, Nov. 9: "A. A. Brown secured a decree of divorce today from Deborah Brown. They were married in California in 1888, started on their honeymoon and got as far as Portland, when Mrs. Brown left her new husband, after just three days of married life." - [S114] Marriage record.
A letter from S. A. Crandall, attorney for Rachel A. Brown, written to S. M. Allen at the Orting Soldiers Home, is quoted here in its entirety: "Tacoma, Wn, April 27 1900. S. M. Allen Commandant, Orting Wash. Dear Sir: I have the honor to say to you that Mrs. Rachel Brown has called to consult me with reference to her claim to the funds and effects of the late Ammi Brown, and I note what you say to her in your communication on Nov 14, 1899. I have known both Mr. and Mrs. Brown for some years, and as Justice for Tacoma Precinct performed the ceremony that made them husband and wife June 27th 1895. I have the certificate issued to them before me and identify Mrs. Brown and the party mentioned in the certificate, which I enclose herewith, and which I would thank you to return to me. If necessary I will furnish an affidavit of the foregoing facts. Very respectfully, S. A. Crandall."
- [S608] 1885 Minnesota Census.