Floy Miles Brown was the third and youngest daughter of Charles and Rebecca Brown. Born February 15, 1879, Floy lived her whole life in Vancouver. She married fellow Vancouver citizen Will DuBois, member of the prominent pioneer DuBois family of Vancouver. Floy passed away on September 28, 1975 and her obituary below appeared in The Columbian the following day. An interesting fact: According to Floy’s granddaughter Anne Hurley, Floy owned the very first automobile in Vancouver.

This photograph of Harriet Brown Carpenter and her son Edward Laramie Carpenter Jr. was sent to me last week by Brown family member Liz Carpenter. Liz is the daughter in law of E.L. Carpenter Jr. and attended the luncheon we held here in the Brown House in May. Communicating with Liz, I found out E.L. Jr. was born right here in the Brown House. Photo taken 1905. More about Harriet and her son are posted on the May 30th and July 21st postings in this journal.

I found a copy of this postcard while researching the Brown House at the Clark County Historical Museum. The Brown House is pictured on the front. The postcard is from Mrs. Charles Brown (Rebecca) and is to her daughter Harriet Brown Carpenter.

The postcard reads: “When will you ever write again. Have you received the Union suits. All well- Floy and Will had a fine trip to Willamette valley”. Mother, Mrs. Charles Brown.

Floy, mentioned in the postcard, is the daughter of Rebecca and sister of Harriet. Will is Floy’s husband, Will DuBois.

A union suit is a type of one piece long underwear typically worn by men. It traditionally buttons up the front and has a button up rear “access hatch”. These would have been very common at the time Rebecca wrote this postcard in the early 1900′s. To get a better idea of what a Union suit looks like I have placed a vintage ad below.

Now that it is football season I thought it would be appropriate to post something regarding this sport. The Vancouver High School football team of 1920 was the most successful team to date at that time, with a record of 8-1. How does this pertain to the Brown House? Richard DuBois, grandson of Charles Brown, was a member of this great squad. Richard is in the back row, sixth from the left. Click on images to enlarge and read details about each game. You can also read more about Richard DuBois on the April 25, 2006 journal posting.

Frances Renewed Brown was the middle daughter of Charles and Rebecca Brown born in October of 1876 here in Vancouver, Washington. She was raised and attended school in Vancouver, graduating from high school in 1895. On April 23, 1910 she married Charles Everett Wilson and together they had one son, Charles S., who is 93 years old and currently resides in Corvallis, Oregon. Little is known about Frances, even to her own son and the rest of the Brown descendants. Her son Charles was an orphan by the age of seven. Charles was subsequently raised by his Aunt Floy DuBois for a short period of time and he ultimately settled in and was permanently raised by Alice Hubbard, a family friend, here in the Brown House. Charles Wilson has only ever seen two photographs of his mother. According to Charles Wilson’s daughter in law Liza Tharp-Wilson, when Frances died most of her belongings, including photographs, went to her sisters Floy and Harriet and were lost to her own branch of the family. Frances died April 4, 1920 in Los Angeles, California and is buried in Raymond, Washington.

Grandson of Charles Brown, Edward Laramie Carpenter Jr. was born March 3, 1900 in Vancouver, Washington right here in the Brown House. His parents Edward Laramie Sr. and Harriet Brown Carpenter were living in Aberdeen, Washington at the time but Harriet returned to Vancouver to give birth at the family home which was fairly common at the time.

E.L. attended public school in Aberdeen and attended the University of Washington, where he graduated with a degree in Engineering. While attending the University of Washington, he met his future wife, Margaret Kamps. They would eventually have two children, Edward L. III and Margaret (Peg). Peg visited the Brown House on July 10th while passing through Vancouver. This photograph of E.L. Carpenter Jr. was donated by his daughter Peg as well as this memoir taken from the American Society of Civil Engineers.

In 1942 E.L. was called into active duty in the U.S. Naval Reserve. He was assigned to the Admiral’s staff in the Alaska Sector and while on an inspection trip in July he was killed in an airplane crash.

July 10th was another great day for the Charles Brown House. We were fortunate to have another one of Charles Brown’s great-granddaughters stop by the house on her way through town. Peg Shaeffer, granddaughter of Harriet Brown Carpenter, was unable to attend the luncheon here on May 25th but expressed and interest to drop in next time she was passing through Vancouver.

Peg stayed for a little over an hour, took a tour of the house, and shared information pertaining to her side of the family. She also learned new information she did not know about her own family, research I had done. Margaret “Peg” Carpenter was born September 24, 1925 in Seattle, Washington to Edward Laramie Carpenter Jr. and Margaret Kamps. She married David Shaeffer and they have five grown children.

Coincidentally, Peg’s husband David lived in the Brown House for a few years as a very small child! His parents rented the front part of the house from Alice Hubbard. It was not until a few years after their marriage that the connection they both shared with the Brown House was discovered. David Shaeffer has a distinct recollection of the stairwell to the upstairs of the house. Peg quotes, “It scared him to death, it was so steep!”. Photograph of Peg Shaeffer on the front porch of the Brown House. Also, the stairwell her husband speaks of.

1866
Alonzo and Isabella Cook, original owners.

June 19, 1874
Charles and Rebecca Brown. Charles died April 19, 1901.

June 1901
Homestead claim by Rebecca Brown. Rebecca died in 1910.

September 12, 1925
Heirs of Rebecca Brown deeded it to Alice Hubbard. Alice died April 3, 1935. It is unsure who occupied the house for the next five years.

April 13, 1940
Mary Prindle, Alice Hubbard’s sister, sold the house to William and Julia Frost, another sister and brother in-law. Mary may have inherited the house from her sister Alice after she passed away.

May 31, 1946
Law office of Bates and Burnett became owners. This was the first decentralized law office in the City of Vancouver.

June 8, 1960
Attorney James Gregg and wife Barbara became owners.

September 2004
The law firm of Stahancyk, Kent, Johnson and Hook purchased the Historic Charles Brown House.

The only photograph of Charles Brown we have been able to obtain so far was donated to our law firm by his descendants during the luncheon we hosted on May 25th.

A luncheon to celebrate the completion of our first phase of restoration and to share and exchange Brown family genealogy was held on Thursday May 25.

We were fortunate to have two of Charles Brown’s great-granddaughters, Nancy Brunquist and Deborah Reis, join us. Liz Carpenter, wife of great-grandson Ted Carpenter, also attended. Other guests included neighbor Ted Reavey, Kas Anderson from the Clark County Historical Museum, Clark County Genealogical Society President Diana Cruz, Dean Baker from the Columbian, prior Vancouver long range planner Derek Chisholm, and attorney James Gregg and wife Barbara. Stahancyk, Kent, Johnson and Hook representatives were Teresa Foster, Shantel Bray, Jade Bunker, Leah Rivas and Vince Roman.

The luncheon was a success and all enjoyed sharing information and stories. The guests were all impressed with the result of the restoration. Thursday May 25th was a very rewarding day for all involved.

Charles Brown House

Vince Roman, in tie, beginning tour of house.

Nancy Brunquist, Kas Anderson, Diana Cruz.

Sharing stories during lunch.

Charles Brown descendants Deborah Reis, Nancy Brunquist and Liz Carpenter.