Brown, Daniel (c.1830 -1902)(3 of 3)
/Unidentified Photographer, Portrait Photograph of Daniel Brown
THE PHOTOGRAPHER/ PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO:
Photographer: The photographer of this portrait is unidentified; however, its ornate, carved chair can be seen in other portraits taken in the Bushnell Photography Studio in San Francisco, California. For an example see the portrait of George Plummer McNear in this archive.
THE SITTER:
Name: Daniel Brown
Description: The elderly gentleman depicted in this portrait sits with his legs crossed in a highly ornate, carved chair. He is meticulously groomed and attired in an elegant business suit. He strikes a fashionable pensive pose: resting his right elbow on the arm of the chair, he places the fore finger of his right hand upon his cheek. He leans casually to his right and rests his left hand on his thigh. He is balding and sports a gray chin beard with no mustache. In the background is a painted backdrop depicting a vaguely rendered vase, drapery, and foliage.
Biographical Note: Daniel Brown was born in 1830 in County Tipperary, Ireland, and as a child immigrated to the United States with his family. The Brown family lived in New York City until the late 1840s when his father died. Daniel and his mother and sisters then headed to California. They made it as far as New Orleans and were recorded there in September on the 1850 U.S. Census, Daniel working as a clerk. Two months later, Daniel was again recorded on the 1850 Census, this time in Placerville, California, and this time working as a miner. Daniel had been drawn by the Gold Rush. By1853 Daniel had settled in Petaluma and was selling liquor. On May 18, 1858, he married Annie Alexis Ferguson, also from Ireland. Daniel and Annie had twelve children; seven lived to adulthood.
An old family story said that Daniel found selling liquor more profitable than digging for gold and this appears to have been accurate. By 1858 Daniel’s name appeared in Petaluma newspapers as “Wholesale Dealer in WINES & LIQUORS.” He continued in his very profitable liquor business for years, accumulated his wealth, and began to invest in land, property, and mining companies, locally and spreading into other counties. He was active in politics, participated in local committees for city development and railroad construction, and was on the board of the Mutual Benefit Association. For years he was on the board of several Petaluma and Santa Rosa banks and until his death he was vice-president of the local Wickersham Bank. Two of the Brown daughters, Mary Louise and Lillian Nathalie, married and had children thereby continuing the Brown-Ferguson line. Daniel Brown was 72 when he died in 1902. He was buried in the Brown Family Plot in the Petaluma Calvary Cemetery. His fortune was set up in a trust that supported his widow and the surviving Brown descendants until the death of the youngest daughter Kathleen Elise in 1970 at 93.
*This biographical note was written by Annie Alexis Ferguson Brown’s descendant, Kathleen O’Brien Balestrini.
Family Affiliation: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/41847997/daniel-brown Search this archive and the Sonoma County Library photograph archive for additional portraits of the Brown family.
Bibliography: The Sonoma County Journal: March 19, 1858, p. 2; August 27, 1858, p. 2; October 17, 1862, p. 2; June 5, 1863, p. 2. Petaluma Argus-Courier: January 13, 1900, p.2; January 14, 1902, p.3; April 4, 1902, p. 1; April 30, 1902, p. 4; May 23, 1902, p. 1; October 14, 1902, p. 1. Petaluma Weekly Argus: July 25, 1873, p. 3; February 12, 1875, p.1; October 18, 1878, p. 3; October 28, 1881, p.3. Petaluma Daily Morning Courier: April 94, 1902, p. 3; May 20, 1902, p. 1 & 4; May 23, 1902, p. 1, 2; May 23, 1902, p.2; January 9, 1903, p. 4. For additional information and artifacts pertaining to the Brown family, see the Kathleen O’Brien Balestrini Collection at the Petaluma Historical Library & Museum.
THE PHOTOGRAPH:
Format / Size: oval, approximately 5” x 7”
Medium: matte collodion photographic print
Description, front: This portrait is surrounded by a dark oval mat with a gold inner band.
Description, back: Hand written in pencil along the top is: “1895”, “Daniel Brown”, and “1833 [sic]-1902”. An additional back sheet to this portrait contains a ripped label proclaiming the framer of the portrait to be “Ball Wall Paper”. The Ball Wall Paper Company advertised in the Fresno Morning Republican between 1907 and 1918.
Date: 1895
Condition: This portrait is in good condition.
Owner: From the collection of Kathleen O’Brien Balestrini,
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