Mildred Brown Collection

View of Tarrant County Courthouse from a wire bridge on Trinity River northwest of the bluff, circa 1900

Northwest view of the Tarrant County Courthouse photographed from a wire bridge on Trinity River, circa 1900

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Mildred Brown donated materials related to her family and her genealogical research on the Brown, Corse, Sebourn (Seaborn, Seabourn), and Weddle families. Many of her ancestors had connections with local businesses, fraternal organizations, and transportation companies. 

SCOPE AND CONTENTS

The Mildred Brown collection focuses on the Northern Texas Traction Company in the 1920's and her family in the late 19th and early 20th century. Amor G. Brown was employed as a painter with the Northern Texas Traction Company, and many of the materials belonged to him. There are some original materials in the collection, but many items are copies of family photographs, military records, correspondence, membership cards, newspaper clippings, and genealogical charts. The collection includes a rare image of the Tarrant County Courthouse shortly after its completion in 1895. The materials in the collection are dated 1861 to 1970, with Mildred Brown's research dated 2001. 

Materials in this collection consist of the following: 

Correspondence

  • Recommendation and verification letters concerning employment of Howard Brown, from Texas Traction Company, 1915-1919

Ephemera

  • Texas Woman's College Believer Endowment pin back button, undated

Genealogy Research

  • Copy of the certificate for Howard Brown's Appointment as Corporal, issued by the Army of the United States of America, January 18, 1919
  • Documents, emails, and copies of deeds for Woolen Mills, property of Chancy Henry Corse, Fort Worth, Texas, 1890-2004
  • Genealogy charts for descendants of Ebenezer Corse, Amor G. Brown, and William Beryl Weddle, compiled by Mildred Brown in 2001
  • Copies of Hazel Corse membership cards for Young Women's Christian Association and A. W., Fort Worth, Texas, 1919-1923
  • Newspaper articles about the deaths of Samuel Cunningham, Mrs. Samuel Cunningham, and Henry Cunningham, owners of Crystal Springs Amusement Center in Fort Worth, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1945; 1953; 1970
  • Newspaper article: Tarrant Woman to Harvest Award, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, June 7, 1994
  • Newspaper articles about the murder of Mike and Ethel Haggerty, Fort Worth Daily Gazette, June 1887
  • Newspaper article: Buses Soon Will Stop at Every Other Corner Here, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, circa 1944
  • Newspaper articles about North Texas Traction Company Paint Shop, undated
  • Obituaries of Nevada Fulkerson, Nannie Knight, and Minnie Seabourn, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, circa 1994
  • Obituaries and articles about the deaths of Amor G. Brown and Howard Brown, 1953; 1970

Images

  • Tarrant County Courthouse photographed from a wire bridge on Trinity River northwest of the bluff, negative and copy of photograph, circa 1900 (image shown above)
  • Monroe Shops of Southern Traction Company in Dallas, 1916-1920s
  • Monroe Shops of Southern Traction Company in Dallas, with Howard Brown, circa 1915
  • Northern Texas Traction Company car barn paint shop, 1920s-1930s
    • 1928 photograph believed to be showing Amor G. Brown, Howard Brown and Lawrence Brown with other members of paint shop team. Other photograph from late 1930's shows Lawrence Brown and Howard Brown with others in paint department.
  • Ethel Mae Corse, Swartz Art Parlor, Fort Worth, Texas, circa 1887
  • Mike Haggerty, Daniel Photography, Fort Worth, Texas, circa 1887
  • Walter Seabourn at Barnhill Place, circa 1930

Programs

  • Testimonial Breakfast Honoring George Henry Clifford, hosted by employees of Northern Texas Traction Company, Fort Worth, June 13, 1925
  • Northern Texas Traction Company Dinner, honoring George Henry Clifford, Texas Hotel, November 4, 1921

Publications

  • All-Church Weekly, published by All-Church Press, Fort Worth, Texas, circa 1923
  • A Texas Idea and How it was Put Across, Stone & Webster, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts, 1925
  • Our Paper, Volume II, Number 8, employee newsletter published by Northern Texas Traction Company, August 1928
  • Practical Series: The Painter, Gilder, and Varnisher's Companion, published by Henry Carey Baird, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1861