James Franklin Brown was born September 6, 1887 in Harnett
County, North Carolina (between Raleigh and Fayettville) to John William Brown
and Flora Ann Campbell. He had a large number of brothers and sisters. Of note his age would vary depending on what
documents he was filling out so the birthdate may be more like 1884. By 1905 he was in Delmar, Maryland working
for the railroad and the 18 year old swept 23 year old Sallie Mamie Sirman off
her feet and he married her in that year. He gave his age as 23 on the marriage
certificate. Sallie was the daughter of
William Sirman who was one of the town founders and an influential businessman. J. Frank Brown in the 1910 census is living
with his father in law and working as a locomotive engineer on the
railroad. His brother Joseph down in Youngsville NC also
worked for the railroad at this time.
By 1916 J. Frank Brown had moved on to what he seemed to
love best – automobiles. He built a garage
in 1916 called Brown’s garage in which
he sold Ford Motor Cars and did repairs.
From about this point forward he was a mover and a shaker in
Delmar. Rarely did an issue of the local
papers not have a mention of him or his wife entertaining, going on trips,
boating, fishing etc.
In 1920 his wife Sallie (1883-1920) died of Uremic
poisoning. She is buried in St Stephen Cemetery.
They had no children.
In 1922 Frank Brown remarried. This time to Mildred Lewis of Salisbury. She was the daughter of Maggie White and
stepdaughter of Stansbury White of Pittsville MD.
above from the Democratic Messenger July 29, 1922
Again J. Frank Brown continued to make the news. He was one of the charter members of the
Delmar Volunteer Fire Company created in 1922.
He served as President of the Fire Company. He was elected Commissioner of Delmar Maryland in 1924.
And in one of the stranger news articles he was mentioned in
is this one.
above from The Morning News 19 Sept 1925
By 1927 things had taken a turn for the worst for
Frank. He had given up his garage and
was manager of the Standard Oil Filling station at the intersection of Bi-State
and State Street in Delmar. His wife left him and returned to live with her
mother and stepfather in Pittsville. They
had no children. His name is mentioned
in the newspapers now only in foreclosure notices and tax sales.
In 1942 when he filled out his WW2 Draft Card he has no permanent
address only a Post Office Box in Salisbury and he notes that he is unemployed.
(this is at a time when there is huge demand for workers for the defense
industry) he gives as a contact who will always know where he is – his brother,
Joseph Leonard Brown in North Carolina.
By 1945 no one seems to know where he is as this ad appeared
in the Salisbury Times
Salisbury Times March 6 1945
The next mention I find of him is in 1956 when he died in
the Gov. Bacon Health Center in New Castle Delaware.
The obituary says he was buried in Delmar but I have found
no headstone.
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