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Woodward Patterson Brown
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WOODWARD PATTERSON BROWN, of Kittanning, though one of the younger business
men of that borough associated with important interest, has had responsible
connection with the Brown Drug, Book and Music Store for many years, the
untimely death of his father having forced its management upon him when he was
little more than a boy. He has measured up to the requirements of the business
and its steady expansion forms part of the commercial history of Armstrong
county. For several generations Mr. Brown’s ancestors, both paternal and
maternal, have figured in public and business life in Kittanning.The Browns are descendants of such superior families as the Pattersons,
Reynolds, Rohrers and Woodwards, and others of like distinction. Griffin
Brown, grandfather of Woodward Patterson Brown, though he died when a
comparatively young man had attained high position in Warren county, Pa. He
was a prominent oil producer and served as associate judge at the time of his
death. He married Elizabeth Rohrer, daughter of Frederick and Mariamne
(Stevenson) Rohrer. Frederick Rohrer served as treasurer of Armstrong county,
and owned the first newspaper in the county. To Griffin Brown and his wife
Elizabeth (Rohrer) eight children were born: Charles, deceased, married
Adelaide Leonard, was an employee of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for
many years; Frank, who married Mrs. Ida Jones, is in the oil business in
Independence, Kans.; Amnie married Howard M. Clarke, of Fredonia, N. Y.;
Carrie, never married, lives in Tidioute; Asa, deceased, was a druggist in
Kittanning; Carl, married to Gertrude Sturgeon, of Virginia, is a real estate
dealer in Philadelphia; John Rohrer is a manufacturer of Memphis, Tenn.; and
George Rohrer Brown was the father of Woodward Patterson Brown.George Rohrer Brown was born in Tidioute (near Warren), Warren county, Pa.
He was reared principally in the home of his uncle, John W. Rohrer, by whom he
was adopted when ten years old, his father having been accidentally killed.
His education was received in the borough schools and he learned the drug
business with another uncle, George Stevenson Rohrer. In 1880 he founded the
Brown Drug, Book and Music Store, now owned by his widow and managed by his
son, and conducted it ably until the time of his death in 1899. George Rohrer
Brown married Isabel Patterson, daughter of David Patterson and his wife Eliza
(Reynolds) Patterson.The Patterson family orginated in County Donegal, Ireland, James Patterson,
the great-great-grandfather of Woodward Patterson Brown, being a native of
that county and a prosperous landowner. His son John Patterson, the
great-grandfather, was born in what is now West Virginia and was a prosperous
farmer; he married Jane Scott, of Ohio. Their son, David Patterson, was born
in West Virginia. As a young man he came to Rural Village (now Rural Valley),
where he was a merchant and postmaster for several years. Moving to Kittanning
he built the Patterson building on Jefferson street, and became one of the
most respected and highly esteemed business men of the town. He married Eliza
Reynolds, daughter of David Reynolds and his wife Mary (Woodward) Reynolds,
granddaughter of George Reynolds and Margaretta (Stoop) Reynolds and of
Absalom Woodward. To David Patterson and Eliza (Reynolds) Patterson three
children were born: Francis Elliotte married Kate Reynolds, daughter of
William Reynolds, and they live in San Diego, Cal.; Woodward Patterson,
deceased, married Rebecca M. Truby; Isabel Patterson became the wife of George
Rohrer Brown.Four children were born to George Rohrer Brown and his wife Isabel
(Patterson) Brown: Woodward Patterson; Elizabeth Roher; Georgia Isabel,
married to Peter Graff 3d of Worthington, and Gladys Elliotte – all of whom
were born in the Patterson homestead on Jefferson street, where their mother
was born and where they still live.Woodward Patterson Brown was born May 1, 1882, in Kittanning. He was reared
and educated in the borough, attending public school. When but seventeen years
old, on account of his father’s death, he took charge of Brown’s Drug, Book
and Music Store, and has managed it ever since, the development of the
business being the substantial reward of a progressive policy that has stamped
him one of the most capable merchants of the borough. Personally he is held in
no less esteem than in business associations, as shown by the public duties he
has been asked to assume.At present he is serving as treasurer of Applewold borough, which office he
has held for several years. He is a director in the Kittanning Plate Glass
Company, and a vestryman in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, of which his family
have been members for several generations. He is a Knight Templar Mason,
belonging to the chapter and blue lodge at Kittanning.Mr. Brown married Margaret Reese, daughter of George W. and Mary M.
(Donnelly) Reese, and granddaughter of Isaac Reese, a prominent manufacturer
of Pittsburgh. George W. Reese, Mrs. Brown’s father, is very prominent in the
business and manufacturing affairs of Armstrong county.On the maternal side Woodward Patterson Brown’s great-great-grandfather was
George Reynolds, a soldier in the French and Indian war; a considerable
account of his family appears in the sketch of Ross Reynolds, in this work.
David Reynolds, son of George, was one of the most prominent citizens of
Kittanning and Armstrong county in his time. He was a member of the first
board of county commissioners, postmaster, one of the trustees of the old
Kittanning Academy, one of the first hotelkeepers, and one of the early
merchants. His wife was a daughter of Absalom Woodward, whose public spirit
and progressive disposition led him into various activities in the early days
of the county, especially to the encouragement of such movements as his
foresight judged to be of permanent value in furthering the general welfare.
Religion and education had one of their most influential supporters in this
good citizen. He was a pioneer promoter of the Bible Society in this region.
Of his large family eight survived him. A fuller sketch of him appears in this
work.Source: Pages 961-962, Armstrong County, Pa., Her People, Past and
Present, J.H. Beers & Co., 1914
Transcribed November 1998 by Joyce Sherry for the Armstrong County Beers
Project
Contributed for use by the Armstrong County Genealogy Project (http://www.pa-roots.com/armstrong/)Armstrong County Genealogy Project Notice:
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