BM-25 – Marion Sanford (1846-c.1893)
52 Ancestors – Week 92
My second great grandmother, Marion Sanford, was born between 02 Jun 1846 and 01 Apr 1847 in Michigan[i],[ii]. The 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880 and 1885 Dakota Territory census records are all consistent with those dates. She was the first child of William M Sanford and Mary E Parsons[iii]. She had six siblings: Elva P, Almon C, William A, George P, and two whose names are Unknown.
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| “Winter Scene on Saline Area Farm.”Photo Courtesy: University of Michigan Library Digital Collections |
In the 1850 Census she was living in Saline, Washtenaw, Michigan with her parents and a one-month-old “infant” who is most likely a sibling whose name is unknown. Also living with them were J. W. Sanford, age 19, and Charlie Sanford, age 11[iv]. Their relationship is unknown but I suspect they were siblings of William.
It appears that the family moved to Indiana about 1857-58, because her siblings Elva and Elmon (Almon) were born in Michigan; but, her youngest sibling, Willie, whose age was one during the 1860 Census was born in Indiana. The infant from the 1850 census appears to be missing. Interestingly enough, the 1860 Census shows her name as Mary, living in Aurora, Dearborn County, Indiana and she was attending school. She was counted in the census on 01 Jun 1860 in Aurora, Dearborn, Indiana (Attending School)[v].
When she was 19, she married W Henry Brown, son of Benjamin Brown and Eliza Fowler, about 1866 in Michigan[vi].
1. Nettie May Brown was born about 1867 in Michigan[vii].
2. Arthur Durwood Brown was born on 05 Dec 1869 in Saline, Washtenaw, Michigan[viii].
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| Saline RR Depot Opened c. 1870 Photo Courtesy: Saline Area Historical Society |
She lived in Saline, Washtenaw, Michigan, on 01 Jun 1870 (Keeping House)[ix].
3. Charles D Brown was born about 1871 in Michigan[x].
4. Mary Brown was born about 1872 in Michigan[xi].
5. Ahnond Brown was born on 01 Apr 1873 in Saline, Washtenaw, Michigan[xii].
6. Clifford Gerome Brown was born in 25 Nov 1875 in Michigan[xiii].
7. William Henry Brown was born about 1876 in Michigan[xiv].
8. Clyde Hewett Brown was born in Apr 1877 in Michigan[xv].
9. Frederick Brown was born on 25 Jan 1878 in Saline, Washtenaw, Michigan[xvi].
She lived in Saline, Washtenaw, Michigan, on 01 Jun 1880 (Keeping House)[xvii].
10. Adia Brown was born on 01 May 1882 in Saline, Washtenaw, Michigan
 Photo Courtesy Saline Area Historical Society |
A large fire burned much of downtown Saline May 21st 1881. I wonder if the fire, and it causing the loss of business and customers in Saline contributed to the Browns leaving Saline and moving west, to Dakota Territory sometime between 1882 and 1883[xix].
11. Marion and Henry’s youngest child, Edward Warberton Brown, was born on 31 Jan 1884 in Robinson, Kidder County, North Dakota[xx].
The 1885 Dakota Territory Census indicated that the W. H. Brown family lived in Jamestown, Stutzman County, Dakota Territory[xxi]. Jamestown was founded in 1872 and was a river crossing for the Northern Pacific Railroad. In 1873, Stutzman County became the first county in Dakota Territory. In 1883, Jamestown incorporated as a city and in 1889, North Dakota became a state. So, the Brown family were settlers in the Dakota Territory and many of them were still in North Dakota when it became a state.
I have been unable to find either Marion or her husband W Henry Brown in any records after 1885, so I have no death or burial information regarding Marion. By 1900, the children of Henry and Marion appear to have disbursed. Their youngest, 16 year-old Ed, was staying with Charlotte Sanford, the widow of his first cousin, once removed, so I suspect that both Marion and Henry had died by then.
Endnotes:
[i] 1860 United States Federal Census (A), Ancestry, https://www.Ancestry.com, 1860 – Indiana, Dearborn, Aurora, Page 420, Dwelling 220 – Wm Sanford.
[ii] 1885 Census – Dakota Territory, NDSU Archives, Page 44-018. https://library.ndsu.edu/db/census/family?ed=44-018-10.
[iii] History of Washtenaw County, Michigan: Together with Sketches of Its Cities, Villages and Townships… (1881), Pg 1409. Imgage, Google Books (https://books.google.com/books?id=2z0XAQAAMAAJ).
[iv] 1850 United States Federal Census (A), Ancestry, https://www.Ancestry.com, 1850; Michigan, Washtenaw, Michigan, Page 737 & 738, Dwelling 214 – Wm Sanford. https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=try&dbid=8054&h=3267880.
[v] 1860 United States Federal Census (A), Ancestry, https://www.Ancestry.com, 1860 – Indiana, Dearborn, Aurora, Page 420, Dwelling 220 – Wm Sanford.
[vi] Speculation. Marian’s first child was born in 1867 when she was 20. I guess-timate she and Henry were married about a year earlier when she was 19.
[vii] 1870 Census, Ancestry, https://www.Ancestry.com, 1870; Census Place: Saline, Washtenaw, Michigan; Roll: M593_708; Page: 316A; Image: 86; Family History Library Film: 552207. https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1870usfedcen&h=27532996&indiv=try.
[viii] Minnesota, Division of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Death, Arthur D Brown.; Minnesota Historical Society.
[ix] 1870 Census, Ancestry, https://www.Ancestry.com, 1870; Census Place: Saline, Washtenaw, Michigan; Roll: M593_708; Page: 316A; Image: 86; Family History Library Film: 552207.
[x] 1880 Census, Ancestry, https://www.Ancestry.com, 1880; Census Place: Saline, Washtenaw, Michigan; Roll: 609; Family History Film: 1254609; Page: 276B; Enumeration District: 237; Image: 0033 AND Image: 0034.
[xi] Ibid.
[xii] Department of Vital Records, Michigan, Births, 1867-1902 (Lansing, MI, ), Family Search, Almond Brown, 01 Apr 1873. https://familysearch.org/pal:/mm9.1.1/nqn7-56v.
[xiii] World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, Ancestry, https://www.Ancestry.com, Registration State: North Dakota; Registration County: Kidder; Roll: 1819445, Page 113 of 141.
[xiv] 1880 Census, Ancestry, https://www.Ancestry.com, Year: 1880; Census Place: Saline, Washtenaw, Michigan; Roll: 609; Family History Film: 1254609; Page: 276B; Enumeration District: 237; Image: 0034.
[xv] 1900 Census (A) (National Archives and Records Administration), Ancestry, https://www.Ancestry.com, Year: 1900; Census Place: Wells, Wells, North Dakota; Roll: T623_1234; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 214.
[xvi] Department of Vital Records, Michigan, Births, 1867-1902 (Lansing, MI, ), Family Search, Fred Brown, 25 Jan 1878. .
[xvii] 1880 Census, Ancestry, https://www.Ancestry.com, 1880; Census Place: Saline, Washtenaw, Michigan; Roll: 609; Family History Film: 1254609; Page: 276B; Enumeration District: 237; Image: 0033 AND Image: 0034.
[xviii] Department of Vital Records, Michigan, Births, 1867-1902 (Lansing, MI, ), Family Search, Adia Brown, 01 May 1882.
[xix] Speculation: Adia was born in 1882 in Michigan and Edward was born in North Dakota in January 1884.
[xx] California, Death Index, 1940-1997 (Ancestry.com. California, Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.), Date: 1964-03-31.
[xxi] 1885 Census – Dakota Territory, NDSU Archives, Page 44-018.
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