Backward Glance - James Orson Brownell

I love this picture! James Orson Brownell and Minnie May Harper were married on August 30, 1894, in Hiawatha, Kansas. Minnie was so much shorter than James that she had to stand on a wooden box for this, their wedding picture. We are very fortunate to have this bit of family trivia.

James was born in Colesburg, Iowa, on May 20, 1869. He was named for his father. I have often wondered if he was considered a 'junior,' but I've never found any document with that suffix. I suppose that could be because his father died before James was born. His mother was Frances Jackson, who married Mortimer Clark by 1870. Frances was born in Canada. James died on March 10, 1925, in Stockton, Kansas.

Minnie was the daughter of James Paxton and Barbara Jane (Cowger) Harper. She was born January 17, 1874, in Wolf River Township, Doniphan County, Kansas. She died on July 22, 1947, in Colby, Kansas. She and James are both buried in the Stockton Cemetery.

James and Minnie had six children, one of whom was my great-grandmother, Corinne May, who married Russell Hugh Avery. They lived in locations throughout Kansas; including, Wolf River Township in Doniphan County, Gaeland Township in Gove County, Lowell Township in Rooks County and Stockton. Their daughter, Merle, said James worked on the railroad.