Charles Wilson Brown collection of Brown and Wilson family papers (Ms.97.3)

Biographical note

Charles Wilson Brown (1874-1974) received a BA in Philosophy from Brown University in 1900, and did graduate work in geology, first at Lawrence University in Wisconsin, then at Harvard University. In 1905 Charles Brown became a professor and the Head of the Geology Department at Brown University.

Professor Brown's father, the Rev. Henry Wheaton Brown (1846-?), was married to Abbie Ellen Wilson, daughter of Rev. William Jones Wilson. Rev. Brown served in the Civil War, went into business for a while, then served as a Methodist pastor in, among other states, Wisconsin, the Dakota Territory, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.

The Rev. William Jones Wilson (1818-1899) was married to Sedelia A. Follett and had two daughters, Abbie Ellen Wilson Brown (married to Rev. Henry Wheaton Brown) and Lanta Wilson Smith (married to Rev. C. Harley Smith). Rev. Wilson built up a church in Belfast, Maine, during his first years as a pastor. He later served in Nebraska, Wisconsin, and the Dakota Territory. His last pastorate was at Hingham, Massachusetts.

Lanta Wilson Smith wrote poems, songs, and hymns, notably "Scatter Sunshine" and "This Too, Will Pass Away". Mrs. Smith accompanied her husband to parishes throughout the Mid West and New England.

See Charles Wilson Brown, Encyclopedia Brunoniana for additional information on Professor Brown.