Creator: Brown family.
Collection number: 4349
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Abstract: Joseph Brown was born in Columbus County, NC, on 9 July 1863. In 1890, he became interested in agriculture, and was chiefly responsible for the development of the strawberry-growing industry in North Carolina. Brown was elected to the North Carolina State Senate in 1893 and served there until 1928. During his first term as senator, Brown met Minnie McIver; the couple was married on 9 June 1898. Joseph Brown died 26 June 1937. Minnie McIver, born 1 January 1874 in Moore County, NC, taught music at high schools in Henrietta and Whitehall, NC, until she married Joseph Brown. Minnie Brown was active in many organizations and clubs in Columbus County, NC, and as a result, she was appointed to the State Board of Charities and Public Welfare; she served in that position from 1925 to 1937. In 1925 she became a member of the consolidated University of North Carolina’s Board of Trustees. Minnie Brown died on 21 January 1957. The collection includes letters, speeches, short stories and other writings, and photographs of Joseph Addison Brown (1863-1937) of Chadbourn, North Carolina, an agriculturalist and state senator; and of his wife, Minnie McIver Brown (1874-1957), a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina, and an active civic leader.
Repository: Southern Historical Collection