William Marion Brown was born on 5 Apr 1813 most likely in Warren County, Tennessee. He was the fourth child and second son of David Brown and his wife who was possibly a Sarah Miller. His father, David Brown, served in the War of 1812, and in 1814 sold the Warren County land which he had purchased in 1809 and the family moved to the St. Clair County AL area where David had served in the Creek War when William Marion was an infant. Nothing is known of his childhood, although he must have gone to school and learned to read and write. Though his father David could not write his name and always signed with a mark, William Marion was the Sheriff, Tax Assessor and Collector of Marion County AR which would have required the ability to read, write and do math.¹

William was quite possibly known to his family as "Billy" since he was known as "Billy Brown" during the short time he lived in Marion County AR. Although William Marion was called "Billy" during at least part of his adult life, the name Marion must have been an important one in the Brown family. William Marion had a younger brother whose first name was Marion and his first son was also named Marion

William Marion Brown and Elvira Hearn Dearman were married on 5 Aug 1834.²   Elvira Hearn Dearman, the daughter of Richard and Margaret Dearman, is listed in the family records as being born in Monroe, Mississippi Territory in 1818 which means that her family was in the Alabama territory before Alabama became a state. The children of William Marion and Elvira Hearn Dearman Brown were Marion J. Brown, Daniel Richard, Theopolus Moody, Harriet J., Amanda Caroline, David Martin, Elvira Hearn, James Ham, Thomas Lively, and William.   Elvira was 38 years old when her husband Billy was killed and her youngest child was an infant. Elvira continued to live in Marion County AR after the death of her husband. She never remarried and died in 1870. After her death, three of her sons, including my great grandfather, Daniel Richard Brown moved to Retta near Burleson County, TX.

1850 Census of St. Clair County, AL.³ 

Move to Marion County AR

 According to the notes of Marvin Ryan, the Browns arrived in Marion County AR about 1850. Since they were on the 1850 census of St. Clair

County, AL, their arrival in Arkansas had to be after the date of the census, probably closer to 1851. Billy Brown received patents of land in several
locations in the northern  section of Marion County&emdash;one location near Yellvile, and another parcel described in one of the patents lay in both
Marion and Baxter counties at a bend in the White River. 

C. S. Turnbo in the Turnbo papers describes very graphically the life in early Marion County. Those papers can be browsed or searched at the
Marion County AR GenWeb site at http://www.rootsweb.com/~armarion/marioncoinfo/turnbo.htm.4 

There is no record on the Bureau of Land Management record site that William Marion Brown applied for a land patent in St. Clair County, AL. 
The following patents were issued at the Batesville AR land office on March 1, 1855.

Document#: 4202	NE Sect. 23/Twp 19-N R 15-W 24.04 acres BAXTER/MARION LEFT BANK OF WHITE RIVER
Document #: 5930	SWNW Sect. 2/ Twp. 18-N R.16-W MARION NENW Sect. 2/ Twp.18-N R. 16-W MARION 80.55 acres for both patents
Document #: 6518	NWSW Sect. 34/ Twp19-N R.17-W -W 40 acres MARION
Document#:6047	WNE Sect. 3/Twp 18-N R17-W MARION NENW Sect 3/Twp.18-N R, 17-W MARION 40 acres for both patents5

The following entries in the C. S. Turnbo manuscripts relate to Billy (William Marion) Brown, Sheriff of Marion County AR.

The following is a biographical sketch of Buck Cokers children and grandchildren as far as we are able to obtain theinformation, nearly all of which was furnished me by Bill Trimble son of Allin Trimble, the last named was a child of Mrs. Sallie Trimble daughter of Buck Coker. The Coker family belongs to the oldest Pioneer race of people in Northwest Arkansas. We have mentioned elsewhere that Buck Coker settled at the lower end of the Jake Nave Bend of White River in what is now Boone County Ark. in January 1815. Joe Coker was Buck Cokers eldest child. He married a white woman in Alabama and two daughters, Betsey and Sallie were born of this marriage. Soon after the death of this woman he married an Indian woman of the name of Ainey and the issue of this marriage were "Prairie" Bill, Herrod, "Little" Joe, Daniel the fiddler, Laferty Coon who was a confederate soldier and was killed at Port Husdon. The daughters were Rebecca, Jane and Mary Ann. Joe Coker brought this Indian wife with him to White River in 1814 and as we have mentioned elsewhere he lived in the Sugar Loaf Country in Boone County, Ark. After Mr. Coker come to Northwest Arkansas he taken unto himself another Indian woman by the name of Cynthia. By this illegal marriage there were born John, George and Randolph. George was killed by Jake Nave in the Jake Nave Bend of White River and Randolph killed sheriff Billy Brown near the village of Dubugue.............. There was also another son named Charles. The daughters were Sallie who married Tom Brown and he died at the foot of bluff on the east side of the mouth of Trimbles Creek in Marion County, Ark. Some years after the death of Brown she married Allin Trimble and Malinda who married South foot (Will) Bill Woods who built a mill on Georges Creek 6 ? miles north of Yellville and Nancy who married Lize Wood who settled the Arch Anderson farm near Dodd City Ark. and Jane who married "Rosin" Bill Wood and Abbie who married Jim Churchman and John Coker killed him and while Sheriff  Billy Brown made an attempt to arrest him for this crime Randolph Coker shot and killed Brown.........

In relating accounts of Yellville and vicinity, Mr. Bancum says that his father, on his arrival on Crooked Creek, rented land of Jesse Wickersham, son of Daniel Wickersham. Daniel was living then on Mill Creek one mile south of Yellville. John Wickersham, brother of Jesse, was selling groceries in Yellville when we arrived. John Martin and Jesse Wickersham owned a partnership store at Yellville. Jim Wilson was selling goods there, too. Mike Mathis lived one-half mile below town. Dave Stinnette lived on what is now the William Wilkerson farm one and three-quarter miles west of Yellville.  John Powell lived on Crooked Creek, on what is now the Tom Davenport land. John Rose owned a little mill on Greasy Creek. Billy Brown , who was afterward made sheriff and was killed near the village of Dubuque, while acting in discharge of his duty, lived seven miles west of Yellville. All these names mentioned were here before we arrived or near about the time we did. My father was present when the bloody battle occurred in Yellville, between the Everettes on one side and the Kings on the other side.

One among the roughest streams in North Arkansas is Jimmies Creek in Marion County, which empties into White River just below the mouths of the Two Sisters Creeks. Jimmies Creek is noted for its many rugged mountains gulches and rough hollows, but never the less it is inhabited by several industrious families and a few people settled along this water course several years before the war. Among the residents here is Billy Parker son of John Garrison Parker and Mary (Johnson) Parker. Billy Parker was born in Rutherford County, Tennessee October 29, 1832, and when he was grown up to be a young man he turned his head westward, he arrived at Yellville in Marion County Ark. in the year 1850. He said that Yellville was only a small country village then and contained only two small stores. Jim Berry owned one of them and Bob Jefferson and Jess Wickersham was the proprietors of the other store. Some of the names of the other citizens who lived at Yellville at the time were John Wickersham and Jim Wickersham who were brothers to Jess Wickersham. There was another Wickersham whose given name was George. There were also Prink Jefferson and the old man Jefferson, Gid Thompson, John Estes, Garrison Phillips, Dr. William Oowdry, Jess Young and Judge Wood. "I remember" said Mr. Parker "that George Wickersham was accused of killing Tutt by ambushing him in the bluff at town while Mr. Tutt was going down the creek. Alph Burns shot and killed Doe Treat who weighed 250 pounds. I. C. (Ice) Stinnette was sheriffe of Marion County when I come to Yellville in 1850. Billy Brown succeeded him in the sheriffes office.  After Mr. Brown was killed, Mr. Stinnette served again as sheriffe. I have a fresh recollection that when Brown was killed and after John and Randolph Coker was put in jailat Yellville I was appointed as one of the guards to watch the jail and prevent the escape of the Coker boys who were chained together. During one dark night while a violent thunder and rain storm was passing over someone got in to the jail house and cut the chains off of the ankles of the Coker boys and lead them out of the jail house and the two prisnors made their escape. But I was not on guard that night.

A FEW ITEMS OF EARLY TIMES
By S. C. Turnbo

Among the early day pioneers of Marion County is John B. Hudson son of Jesse and Matilda (Everette) Hudson and was born on Crooked Creek 4 miles below the site of Powellon Christmas day in 1837. His parents died many years ago and they both rest in the cemetery at the mouth of Georges Creek. This graveyard is an ancient one; the dead bodies of a few Indians were the first interments here. Near this graveyard is a church house and school building. The White River branch of the Missouri Pacific Railway passed near this spot also. Mr. Hudson stated to the writer that his grand parents John and Agnes Hudson when they died were the first white people buried here. "My grandfather John Hudson settled the creek bottom just below the mouth of Georges Creek and cleared the first land there in 1833. He lived in the bottom opposite the spout spring. This land is known now as the Davenport farm. Also "dancin" Bill Wood, John Overcan and Sheriffe Billy Brown who were all very early settlers here are buried here. Several years ago a new graveyard was started some 300 yards northeast of the old burial ground."⁶

From a letter from Marvin Ryan dated August 19, 1977:

I also have a Tax record showing that William Marion Brown owned horses, mares and mules worth $290.00 and 4 slaves worth $2,000.00 and six parcels of land which are not valued, in Marion County, Arkansas in 1854. The above records prove to some extent the statement in a letter from William Brown to one of his sisters still living in St. Clair County, Ala. that he was dealing in Land and doing quite well. He also says that he is the Sheriff, Tax Collector and Assessor."⁷

From the notes of Marvin Ryan, Brown family researcher:

William M. Brown Sheriff of Marion County, Ark. 25 Oct 1854.  He died on 25 Apr 1856 at Yellville, Marion, Arkansas, USA, at age 43 killed by Randolph Coker while Billy tried to arrest Randolph's brother John for the murder of Jim Churchman, husband of the Coker brothers' sister Abby.

"I found several bits of information on the death of William Brown in the 'S.C. Turnbo Papers' a very informative and wide ranging history of the people and the area of the White River region of Northwestern Arkansas which is unpublished and without an index. It extends over a period of probably 40 years and possibly even 50 years during the time when Brown was killed. ... It gives the exact location of his death, and the details concerning it. these facts have been kept alive by word of mouth by many of our cousins whose families have lived there since his death" in 1856 at Marion County, AR.⁸ William M. Brown appointed Sheriff of Marion County, Arkansas 25 October 1854 and replaced by Ralph Arnold 28 April 1856 due to death. Sheriff vacancies were filled very promptly in those days." 

From a letter from Marvin Ryan dated August 19, 1977:

Great Grandfather William Brown's death was widely known in St. Clair Co., Alabama not only because of its unusual circumstances of cause, the predicament of a 38 year old widow with ten children the oldest being only 21 years of age, and both the Brown and Dearman familys were among the ten most prominent families in the county, according to a book on St. Clair County, history......^9,10

From the notes of Marvin Ryan: "Browns are buried in Georges Creek Cemetery on Hwy 62 - (towards Harrison) near Yelleville, Ark.¹¹

Please send e-mail to: Judy Voran bjvoran-at-direcway.com

Created with The Master Genealogist for Windows on 09 Dec 2000 at 19:42:54.