John Waggonfield Brown
1st great grandfather
There are lots of wild and crazy stories about Grandpa Brown’s parents, John Waggonfield and Margaret Melissa Jane Trett. John Waggonfield was a bit of an alcoholic and he loved his hunting dogs. He even brought them into the house with him. In one story she was tired of his drinking and coming home and vomiting in the front yard, so the next time that happened she put arsenic in his vomit so that his dogs would eat it and die. This is the story according to my dad, Elisha Kane Brown:
“Grandad would drink with Dow Bryant. One time he got sick, vomited and one of his hounds ate his vomit along with strychnine which Grandmother administered. Grandad thought he had drunk poisoned whiskey and quit drinking with his friend.”
And another time she got fed up with one his dogs sleeping in their bed, so she took it and tied it to a bent down sapling tree. Then she let go of the tree and the dog went flying through space across the hollar. And of course it never was heard from again. This is also recorded by my dad as follows:
“Grandad was driving logs to Mammoth Springs. Tom Britton lived between Viola and Salem and had this old hound for which Grandad traded a “jiggysaw.” This old hound named Britton would chase a rabbit all day in the shade of a tree. He also delighted to sleep in the middle of one of the beds and would do so at every opportunity. Dad (Ira) and Grandmother assisted Uncle Rath in Old Britton’s execution in the Shoemake Grove. They pulled down a young sapling, tied him to it and let him fly across the holler. He was the longest hound that Grandad had ever seen and was always scrawny, lank and filthy looking.”
Ira Edward Brown - 1894
Elisha Kane Brown - 1921
Kathleen Elizabeth Brown Hill - 1947
John Wagonerfield and Margaret Melissa Jane Trett are in the front of these family photos
Note of Interest: Great Grandma Brown (Margaret Melissa Jane Trett) was very religious and wouldn't let anyone play cards inside her home. So there was a table out front where everyone could sit and play cards.
Back: Stella, Floyd, and Della; Front Annie, Artie, Matt, and Ira
Back: Grover, Dave, Bert, and Porter; Front: Front Annie, Artie, Della, and Stella
Artie and Family Group including Betty Jean, Peggy, Bobby Jo, and Leta
Note of Interest: Great Grandmother Brown (Margaret Melissa Jane Trett) would carry wood in her apron each day from the thicket north of the house.