Feeling blue about the Browns

Carl Oscar Brown might have been my great-great-uncle if World War I had not intervened and cut short his life. I've yet to prove the theory, but my hypothesis is that he was the mythical beau my gr-gr-aunt Eva Dow lost in the war, because of which she never married. I've been researching Carl and his family for a number of years but so far have not been successful in locating any living family members who might have information that would help to prove (or disprove) my theory.

The full story and a brief family tree appear below. Carl’s brother George and sister May predeceased him and both died without having married or had children. Likewise Carl was unmarried and childless when he was killed in action in France. His other brother married Doris Alice Torazzi and had one daughter, Anne Marea Brown, who trained as a teacher. She was teaching at Tinana School in 1956. Her last know residence per electoral rolls is 21 Princes Street, Townsville in 1963 where she continues to work as a teacher. She has been unable to be found in subsequent electoral rolls nor can evidence of death or marriage be located. Her Mum Doris relocates to Townsville in 1972, living at 1 Baralga Street, Cranbrook until her death in 1978.

Carl Oscar Brown was born January 10, 1888 (according to his naturalisation papers) in Iowa, USA, the oldest son of Adolph Edw(v)ard Christensen Brown and Anne Maree Anderson. The family arrived in Australia on October 7 1889 aboard the Alameda to Maryborough. Adolph and Anne married in Council Bluffs Iowa on 16 March 1887, however, Anne had family in the Maryborough region when the Browns arrived in Australia.

The family lived from 1905 until approximately 1943 at 35 Fort Street, Maryborough and later at 31 Zante Street, Maryborough. Adolph was a house painter, a member of the Protestant Alliance Friendly Society Lodge, and sat on the boards of several local businesses. Anne Maree regularly played hostess at CWA meetings and at croquet club events.

Carl attended the Albert State School and later Maryborough Boys Grammar to which he was awarded a scholarship in 1902. At the end of his first year at Grammar School, it was noted that he had ‘maintained his position’ over the course of the school year. He also won an award for mapping in the Junior division. He participated in many local sports, notably cycling and sailing, as both a competitor and an official and committee member. His obituary in the Maryborough Chronicle describes him as ‘very popular’.

At the end of 1904, Carl passed the AMP Society’s examination and was employed as a clerk in this business, first in Maryborough and later in Brisbane. He enlisted in the AIF in 1916, spent several months in training camps in Australia before embarking for overseas service. He spent additional time in training camps in England. He did not reach the front lines until May 1918 and sadly was killed within a month.

He is buried in Ebblinghem British Cemetery in France and was memorialized by his family on the headstone on the graves of his siblings George and May in the Old Maryborough Cemetery.

Carl is also included in the memorial publication Queenslanders who Fought in the Great War (which includes the only known photo of him) and his name appears on the Honour Board for past students who have served at Maryborough Boys Grammar School.

His enlistment papers describe him as 5’ 10”, 136 lbs, with a fair complexion, brown eyes, and fair hair. The story of his war service will follow in a subsequent post.

If anyone can add any information to the above or knows anything about his niece Anne Marie Brown, I'd love to hear from you at janeh4573 at gmail dot com.