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brownhistory THE HISTORY OF LILLIE LEE BROWN HAYES MYRES
Lillie Lee Brown was born October 1, 1882 in Fannin County, Georgia. She was a daughter
of William Wilburn Brown and Mary Ann Garrett Brown and was one of at least twelve children.
Fannin County, Georgia
is located in the extreme north portion of the state in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains and near the border of Tennessee.
Lillie's parents, William Wilburn Brown and Mary Ann Garrett Brown, immigrated to Fannin County in 1848 from
Wilkes County, North Carolina.
THE BROWN FAMILY
James A.
Brown was born on February 14, 1809 in Wilkes County, North Carolina and died September 5, 1897 in Fannin County, Georgia.
He was a son of James Brown and Nancy Brookshire** Brown. James married Nancy German on March 16, 1831 in Fannin County,
Georgia. Nancy was a daughter of Charles German and Catherine Kellar German.
(**Nancy Brookshire
was from North Carolina where her father, William Brookshire, was a Revolutionary War soldier).
James and Nancy migrated to Fannin County, Georgia from Wilkes County, North Carolina in 1848 along with their children
and their children's families.
In 1865 James was described as as being 5 foot 9 inches tall with gray hair, dark
eyes and a dark complexion.
James, along with his son, William Wilburn Brown, signed the Oath of the Allegiance
to the Union sometime in 1865 in exchange for being able to retain his citizenship in the United States.
The children
of James A. Brown and Nancy German Brown were:
William Wilburn Brown
Mary Lousia Brown
Rebecca Brown
Charles E. Brown
Nancy Brown
Martha Ann Brown
James, Nancy and several of their children are
buried in the private cometary called "Brown Cemetary" on James' farm (now Bill McCarter's farm) on Star Creek, east of Morganton,
Georgia.
William Wilburn Brown was the son of James Brown and Nancy (German) Brown. He was born March 28, 1832
in Wilkes County, North Carolina.
In 1865, William Wilburn was described as being six feet tall with blue eyes,
dark hair and a fair complexion.
An early census of Fannin County from 1860 shows William Wilburn and
Mary Ann (Garrett) Brown living in Fannin County with their first child, Lilly, who was one year old at the time. Lilly apparently
died young as she is not seen any any further documents. Our Lillie Lee was probably named after her deceased older sister.
William's occupation was listed as "farmer" and Mary Ann's occupation was listed as "housekeeper". It has been said of William
Wilburn Brown that he was a "farmer, a Democrat and a Baptist".
There were at least thirteen children born to
William and Mary Ann Garrett, with Lillie Lee being the youngest. The known children are:
Elizabeth Brown
Elizia Brown
Gorgia Brown
Thomas B. Brown
Lousia Rebecca Brown
William Brown
Cely Brown
Martha A. Brown
James W. Brown
John L. Brown
Mary L. Brown
Nancy S. Brown
Lillie Lee Brown
William Wilburn Brown enlisted in the Confederate Army on March 4, 1862 with the rank of Captain. He served in the
52nd Infantry Regiment, Georgia, Company H (also known as the Fannin Rifles). He resigned his commission on January 8, 1864
and sometime between August 26 and November 9, 1865 he signed the Oath of Allegiance to the Union in return for being able
to retain his citizenship in the United States.
William's brother, Charles E. Brown, enlisted at the same time
as William with the rank of Private. Charles, however, never saw battle. He died on May 20, 1862 in Knoxville, Tennessee
from the measles.
Apparently almost a third of the men from Fannin County who enlisted in the Confederate Army
died before ever being involved in fighting. They were from an isolated area in the mountains of Northern Georgia and had
never been exposed to measles, small pox and other serious ailments so they were especially vulnerable and many of them were
unable to fight off the illnesses.
William was serving in the Confederate Army when the 52nd was surrendered
to the Union Army at Vicksburg, Mississippi on July 4, 1863. About three days later all prisoners were paroled and allowed
to return to Georgia.
Most of the members of the unit, including William, returned home, regrouped and rejoined
the fighting in the fall.
It appears that William and Mary Ann Brown immigrated to Harrison, Boone County, Arkansas
shortly after 1865 and the end of the Civil War.
It is unknown when Mary Ann Garrett Brown died but William Wilburn
married a Mary E. Dennis (born 1861) in Harrison, Boone County, Arkansas, on November 15, 1896. There were no known children
of this union.
Lillie Lee Brown was born October 1, 1882 in Harrison, Boone County, Arkansas; the youngest child
of William Wilburn Brown and Mary Ann Garrett Brown.
On December 25, 1898, Lillie married James Howard Hayes in
Boone County, Arkansas.
Sometime between 1907 and 1909 the family immigrated by covered wagon to Meridian, Idaho.
Three of their children, Alma, Forrest and Wilburn were born in Meridian.
Before 1916, when Marie was born, the
family had moved back south to Checotah, McIntosh County, Oklahoma.
In 1920, James Howard Hayes died in the influenza
pandemic that swept through the entire country, leaving Lillie a widow with ten children to raise.
Sometime after
James Howard?s death Lillie met and married Mr. Myres. He also preceded her in death.
On June 6, 1982, Lillie Lee Brown Hayes Myres passed away at the age of ninety nine. Not only was she
nearly one hundred years old, she also passed away before any of her ten children. She left behind ten children and numerous
children and great grandchildren.
James Howard history HISTORY OF JAMES HOWARD HAYES
James Howard Hayes was born in 1879 in DeKalb County, Tennessee. He was a son of Isaac Montgomery
Hayes and his first wife, Nancy John Moore. He had one sister, Clatie Nevada Hayes who was born in 1877.
It is
believed that James Howard and his sister, Clatie, were raised by their paternal grandparents, Isaac Hill Hayes and Ibline
Fuson Hayes, while his father remarried and raised a second family.
From census records it shows that most of the male
members of the Hayes family were farmers.
James Howard Hayes married Lillie Lee Brown, the daughter of William
Wilburn Brown and Mary Ann Garrett Brown on December 25, 1898 in Harrison, Boone County, Arkansas.
They migrated
to Meridian, Idaho by covered wagon around 1908 and then to Checotah, Oklahoma before 1916.
James Howard Hayes died in 1920 during a rampant influenza epidemic which claimed lives all across the midwest
and northeastern United States. At the time of his death his youngest child, my grandmother, Fannie Bell Hayes Combs Oden,
was only one and a half years old. He left behind a widow and ten children.
James Howard is buried next to Lillie
in Checotah, Oklahoma.
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