Lake County, Indiana


                 Death of Pioneer Farmer and Banker
William Barringer Brown, pioneer farmer and banker died...at 7 
o'clock. Mr. Brown was born in a log cabin in South East Grove, 
June 17, 1843, the second son of Alexander and Eliza Barringer 
Brown, who came from Schenectady, New York in 1837 and settled 
here on land granted Alexander Brown for services rendered to 
his country in the War of 1812.  Mr. Brown has lived to see this 
county develop from a wild hunting ground with a population of a 
few hundred people to one of the most prosperous in the whole 
United States with a population of over a quarter million souls. 
He has been one of the leaders in the development of the Southern 
end of Lake County, changing this marshy wilderness, The Garden 
of Eden, for ducks and geese and all wild fowl, to productive farm 
land.  Enormous ditches were dug, dykes were built, the course of 
a river was changed, through the determination and ingenuity of Mr. 
Brown.  It seemed to be his ambition to keep the land he loved apace 
with the gigantic strides being made by capitalists in the development 
of the Calumet region.  
Mr. Brown was married in 1877 to Caroline Matilda Sigler of Hebron 
and they settled in Crown Point, where they have continued to live.  
To this union were born five children, Mrs. Mabel Straley, Mrs. 
Bernice Geisel, Mrs. Eva Fifield of Crown Point, Mrs. Bessie Krost of 
Pasadena, Cal., and Walter Barringer Brown, an only son, who prededed 
his father in death in 1907.  
Mr. Brown, although gradually failing in health for the last year, 
almost up to the time of his death, took an active part in the managing 
of his farming operations and as a director of the First National Bank 
of Crown Point.
.......
William Barringer Brown
The death of William Barringer Brown...citizen of the county, occurred 
at his home on south Main Street on Friday afternoon, following an 
illness of several months.  The deceased was born in Eagle Creek 
township eighty-one years ago and all of his life has been spent in 
the near vicinity.  There are few men who have had a larger part in 
the development of Lake County.  He was director of the First National 
Bank and in company with his brother, the late John Brown, his advice 
and counsel was a potent factor in building this institution up to its 
present financial strength and standing.  It is a tribute to the Brown 
integrity and worth of character to say that for many years the Brown 
brothers, John and Barringer, carried a joint bank account, both 
checking from one common fund and pooling their interests for the 
common good, all without friction or sign of disagreement.  The 
deceased was at one time one of the largest landowners in the county, 
and to his foresight, and perseverance, much if not practically all of 
the development of the Kankakee marsh region is due.
The funeral services were held from the home on Monday afternoon, with 
Rev. T. H. Adkins of the Presbyterian church in charge.

Both notices in the Crown Point Register, Vol. 68 #2, Thursday Jan. 1, 
1925

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Submitted By Constance Fifield Moore
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