When William Alexander Brown was born on 26 February 1850, in Ottumwa, Wapello, Iowa, United States, his father, Rinaldo Brown Sr., was 30 and his mother, Nancy McCready, was 23. He married Sylvia Grove Reed on 28 August 1881, in Platteville, Taylor, Iowa, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 1 daughter. He lived in Union Township, Worth, Missouri, United States in 1870 and Worth, Missouri, United States in 1880. He died on 11 February 1888, in Isadora, Worth, Missouri, United States, at the age of 37, and was buried in Isadora, Worth, Missouri, United States.
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The Capitol was located in Iowa City until the 1st General Assembly of Iowa recognized that the Capitol should be moved farther west than Iowa City. Land was found two miles from the Des Moines River to start construction of the new building. Today the Capitol building still stands on its original plot.
Abraham Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation, declaring slaves in Confederate states to be free.
Historical Boundaries: 1863: Worth, Missouri, United States
English, Scottish, and Irish: generally a nickname referring to the color of the hair or complexion, Middle English br(o)un, from Old English brūn or Old French brun. This word is occasionally found in Old French, Middle English and Old Norse as a personal name or byname (Middle English personal name Brun, Broun, ancient Germanic Bruno, Old English Brūn, or possibly Old Norse Brúnn or Brúni). Brun- was also an ancient Germanic name-forming element. Some instances of Old English Brūn as a personal name may therefore be short forms of compound names such as Brūngar, Brūnwine, etc. As a Scottish and Irish name, it sometimes represents a translation of Gaelic Donn (see below). Brown (including in the senses below) is the fourth most frequent surname in the US. It is also very common among African Americans and Native Americans (see also 5 below).
Irish and Scottish: adopted for Ó Duinn (see Dunn ) or for any of the many Irish and Scottish Gaelic names containing the element donn ‘brown-haired’ (also meaning ‘chieftain’), for example Donahue .
Irish: phonetic Anglicization of Mac an Bhreitheamhnaigh; see Breheny .
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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