62Isaac Brown in an undated photograph. Resized and cropped; original scan .1 I have one other photo of 62Isaac; see below.

62Isaac W. Brown

62Isaac Brown in an undated photograph. Resized and cropped; original scan .1 I have one other photo of 62Isaac; see below.

62Isaac Brown in an undated photograph. Resized and cropped; original scan .1 I have one other photo of 62Isaac; see below.

62Isaac W. Brown was born 17 October 18472,3 in Cherokee County, North Carolina.2

62Isaac's mother is 125Drucilla Mathis, but his father is unidentified, as explained below.

Problem: Resolved Who is 62Isaac's mother? Consider the following excerpt from a probate record dated 18 August 1911 in Marshall County, Alabama.4 Some heirs of Drucilla Wiles, who died in March 1910. Full page.4 Compare the above-highlighted names with the names of 62Isaac's children as identified in his household's 1880 and 1900 census entries:5,6 62Isaac's household in 1880. Full page.5 62Isaac's household in 1900. Full page.6 Since 125Drucilla is the grandmother of 62Isaac's children (and since the mother of 62Isaac's wife 63Sophronia is already otherwise identified), 125Drucilla therefore must be 62Isaac's mother. 125Drucilla's maiden name Mathis is explicitly stated in the death certificate of one of her daughters7 and also can be inferred from the 1850 census, which shows her and 62Isaac (albeit with the Mathis surname, probably recorded by a hasty census-taker) together in the household of Louis Mathis.8 1850: 62Isaac and his mother 125Drewsy. Full page.8

Problem: Unresolved Who is 62Isaac's father? The above evidence pertaining to 62Isaac's mother raises an important follow-up question: Where is 62Isaac's father? Why isn't he with 62Isaac and 125Drucilla in the 1850 census? Perhaps he died sometime between the time he fathered 62Isaac (circa 1846) and the 1850 census. Sadly, Cherokee County's early records were destroyed by the cowardly sociopath George W. Kirk in May 1865, so any pertinent probate record is lost. Furthermore, no contemporary Cherokee County newspapers are held by North Carolina's Government & Heritage Library. Whoever 62Isaac's father was, he must have been alive in 1840, and he may have lived near 125Drucilla's father 250Louis Mathis. Therefore, we can check 250Louis' 1840 census entry to see whether any Brown households were nearby. In so doing, we find John W. Brown, listed just 5 households from Louis'. John's census entry shows that he did not have any sons in the expected age range,9 although erroneous entries are certainly possible. Notice that 62Isaac named his firstborn son John.10 The next closest Brown household (at considerable distance) is that of Thomas Brown, who also had a son in the expected age range.11 Although we cannot identify 62Isaac's father, a Y-DNA sample from a known male-line descendant of 62Isaac shows numerous matches to other Brown men,12 so we can be confident that 62Isaac's father was indeed a Brown. However, the Y-DNA matching is not firm enough to let us make any confident, further steps towards identifying 62Isaac's father. (Perhaps the best matches are to kits 954072, 17865, and 428586, representing patriarchs Calvin Brown, Elihu Brown of Conecuh Co. AL, and John Brown, respectively; each matches 62Isaac's descendant on 64 of 67 markers.)

The 1850 census shows 62Isaac with his mother 125Drucilla and maternal grandfather 250Louis Mathis still in Cherokee County, North Carolina.8 As explained above, 125Drucilla was probably a widow by this time, which may explain why she was living with her father.

1850: 62Isaac with his family in Cherokee County, North Carolina. Full page.8

The 1860 census shows 62Isaac with his mother and new step-father Lewis Wiles in Murray County, Georgia. The children's birthplaces suggest that the family moved from North Carolina to Georgia circa 1858.13

1860: 62Isaac with his family in Murray County, Georgia. Full page.13

On 1 June 1863, 62Isaac enlisted in Company G of the 4th Tennessee Infantry.14 Despite hailing from Tennessee, this regiment fought for the Union, not the Confederacy. Although 62Isaac's enlistment record shows his birthplace as "Spring Place, Ga," this is probably simply where he had been living prior to his enlistment; at that time, Spring Place was the county seat of Murray County (where he'd lived in 186013 and where he'd marry less than two years after the war15). His enlistment record also provides his height (5 feet, 3 inches) and physical description (dark eyes, dark hair, dark complexion).14

After enlisting, 62Isaac's service record shows that he was present continuously through the rest of the war.16 However, the roll for May and June 1864 shows that he was sick,17 and he was occasionally assigned to side tasks, namely loading and unloading railroads cars in March 1864, and shipping coal by boat in July 1864.18

Around late September 1863, 62Isaac's regiment was in McMinnville, Tennessee to support Union forces who had recently conquered nearby Chattanooga. On 3 October 1863, Confederates tried to disrupt the Union's supply line into Chattanooga, and as part of this effort, they overtook McMinnville and captured all the Union soldiers there. 62Isaac was one of many captured that day, but was swiftly paroled.19 You can read more about this engagement here.

In February 1864 62Isaac's regiment was positioned at/near the Holston River in the vicinity of Knoxville, and on 20 February 1864 "moved out 3 miles on the Sevierville road, to support cavalry skirmishing with the enemy; returned same evening." 20

After the war, 62Isaac married 63Sophronia A. Waldrip on 8 February 1867 in Murray County, Georgia.15

An excerpt from 62Isaac's and 63Sophronia's marriage record. Full page.15

By 1870 62Isaac and 63Sophronia had relocated to Marshall County, Alabama, where they would spend most of their adult lives. The next three censuses show the growth of their family.

1870: 62Isaac's family in Marshall County, Alabama. Full page.10

1880: 62Isaac's family in Marshall County, Alabama. Full page.5

1900: 62Isaac's family in Marshall County, Alabama. Full page.6

The 1880 census also surveyed 62Isaac's farm, gathering data on his crops, livestock, etc. The census shows that his farm owned/produced cows, chickens, pigs, butter, Indian corn, oats, cotton, and apple and peach orchards. (You can see the census sheet here.) 21

62Isaac was a justice of the peace in Marshall County in the late 1880's and early 1890's, as apparent from numerous instances whereby he certified county records, mostly deeds. The earliest such record I've found is dated 3 December 1888,22 and the latest 1 September 1892.23

A photograph taken circa 1894 shows 62Isaac, 63Sophronia, and many of their children. Since it's a large image, I've put a small "sample size" below, but see more information about the photo, including a colorized enhancement, an identification of the people in the photo, etc.24

62Isaac's family circa 1894. Resized and cropped; original black-and-white scan .24 Learn more about this photo here.

62Isaac allegedly kept journals/diaries, two of which—from 1891 and 1905—have been transcribed. You can see the full transcriptions here: 1891, 1905.25,26 The 1891 journal suggests that 62Isaac was a schoolteacher since it includes notes about students, class schedules, etc. The 1905 journal includes notes about items purchased and their prices, farming activities, fishing trips, and a semi-daily description of what he did throughout the summer and autumn of 1905.

On 18 October 1905 he hand-wrote a letter to express his consent for his underage daughter to marry.27

1905: A letter handwritten by 62Isaac. Full page.27

62Isaac died of asthma and "lung trouble" on 7 May 1909. He's buried next to his wife in Phil Campbell Cemetery, Franklin County, Alabama at coordinates N34.348721 W87.705794. His death certificate,28 obituary,2 and a photo of his grave3 are below. His death certificate suggests that he'd moved to Franklin County about 18 months before his death. The Masonic lodge mentioned in his obituary still exists today.

Sources Cited:

2: "Obituary," The Franklin Times (Franklin County, Alabama), 3 June 1909, page 1, rightmost column. Copied on 30 September 2010 from the Alabama Archives' microfilm box 059, reel 1908/01/02-1910/12/29.

3: The tombstone of Isaac W. Brown (17 October 1847 - 7 May 1909), Phil Campbell Cemetery, Franklin County, Alabama, at coordinates N34.348721 W87.705794. Photo taken by 1Bryant Knight circa 2012.

4: Marshall County, Alabama. Probate estate case files for the years 1905-1927 / folder labeled "Wiles, Drucilla _ Mar. 1910" / a petition dated 18 August 1911. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRGV-9DL7>, accessed 3 March 2026.

5: 1880 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Fractional Township 8 Range 1E, Marshall County, Alabama. Enumeration district 254, page 194A, dwelling 9, family 9, Isaac Brown household. NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 24. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYBS-SSP1?cc=1417683&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AM4VS-6XB>, accessed 23 September 2021.

6: 1900 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Precinct 21 Cranford, Marshall County, Alabama. Enumeration district 96, sheet 9A, dwelling 140, family 140, Isaac Brown household. NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 30. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-691Q-8TP?i=17&cc=1325221&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AM9DX-SWH>, accessed 23 September 2021.

7: Alabama deaths index for the years 1908-1974, entry for Mary Frances Perkins, who died 8 October 1946 in Marshall County. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J69J-W42?lang=en>, accessed 4 March 2026. A similar database on Ancestry.com states that the death certificate is volume 47, certificate 23182, roll 4.

8: 1850 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Cherokee County, North Carolina. Page 46 (stamped), dwelling 596, family 596, Louis Mathis household. NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 625. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6PQZ-FWN>, accessed 3 February 2026.

9: 1840 U.S. Federal Census. Cherokee County, North Carolina. Page 245, John W. Brown household. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YBJ-9CKF>, accessed 3 March 2026. This image is also available on the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/populationsc18400357unit/page/n225/mode/1up.

10: 1870 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Township 8 Range 2E, Marshall County, Alabama. Page 7, dwelling 50, family 51, Isaac Brown household. NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 29. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-D18S-J4J?i=6&cc=1438024&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMHKK-F5T>, accessed 23 September 2021.

11: ibid., page 248, Thomas Brown household. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYBJ-94ZH>, accessed 3 March 2026.

12: FamilyTreeDNA 67-marker y-DNA test for Augusta "Gus" Brown of Phil Campbell, Alabama, FTDNA sample 197459. You can see Gus' raw results here. To compare his results with others', open this page, and search for Gus' sample number (197459).

13: 1860 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Murray County, Georgia. Page 48, dwelling 324, family 320, Lewis Wiles household. NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 132. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYBT-861>, accessed 4 March 2026.

14: Compiled service records of volunteer Union soldiers who served in organizations from the state of Tennessee. Service record for Private Isaac W. Brown of Company G, 4th Tennesse Infantry / 4th image [FamilySearch image #2313]. NARA microfilm publication M394, roll 144. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHN-G3YF-1P54?cat=499031>, accessed 21 September 2021.

15: Murray County, Georgia. Marriages book 2 (1860-1874), page 121, the marriage of Isaac Brown and Sophrona Waldroop on 8 February 1867. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9BZC-Y17?i=225&cat=277039>, accessed 21 September 2021.

16: Compiled Union service record of Private Isaac W. Brown of Company G, 4th Tennesse Infantry / various images throughout his folder. NARA microfilm publication M394, roll 144. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHN-B3YF-1GWR?i=2309&cat=499031> et seq., accessed 21 September 2021.

17: ibid., 5th image [FamilySearch image 2314].

18: ibid., 13th image [FamilySearch image 2322].

19: ibid., 15th image [FamilySearch image 2324].

20: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume XXXII, Part 1, page (Government Printing Office, Washington, 1891), page 51.

21: 1880 U.S. Federal Census (Agriculture Schedule). Fractional Township 8 Range 1E, Marshall County, Alabama. Enumeration district 254, page 1, line 9, family 9, Isaac Brown farm.

22: Marshall County, Alabama. Deed book R, page 417. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLF-XZ7K>, accessed 21 April 2025.

23: Marshall County, Alabama. Deed book T, page 668. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3SH-W3XF-4>, accessed 21 April 2025.

26: ibid., transcription of a 1905 journal.

27: Marshall County, Alabama. A collection of loose marriage-related records for the years 1836-1950, a letter from Isaac W. Brown dated 18 October 1905. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-G15T-99X>, accessed 4 March 2026.

28: Alabama death certificates, volume 6, roll 1, certificate 477 for W. Isaac Brown, who died 7 May 1909 in Phil Campbell, Franklin County, Alabama.