Brown, Anna “Annie” Alexis Ferguson (1841-1920) (4 of 4)

Unidentified Photographer’s Portrait Photograph of Anna “Annie” alexis Ferguson Brown, Mary Louise Brown Hall, Aletha Hall O’Brien, and Margaret Aletha O’brien

THE PHOTOGRAPHER/ PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO:

Photographer: Unidentified

THE SITTER:

Names: Anna “Annie” Alexis Ferguson Brown, Mary Louise Brown Hall, Aletha Hall O’Brien (Baker) & Margaret Aletha O’Brien. Aletha Hall O’Brien Baker would have been known as Aletha Hall O’Brien at the time this portrait was taken.

Description: Aletha Hall O’Brien (Baker) (1883-1966) appears in the center of this pyramidal composition directly above her daughter, Margaret Aletha O’Brien (1908 - 1990). On the left is Anna “Annie” Alexis Ferguson Brown (1841-1920), the child’s maternal great-grandmother. On the right, is Mary Louis Brown Hall (1860-1932), the child’s maternal grandmother.

Biographical Note: Anna “Annie” Alexis Ferguson was born in 1841 in County Galway, Ireland. By age 5, she and her family had immigrated to the United States and lived in Boston, Massachusetts. Annie sailed around Cape Horn and came to California in 1856 to live in Petaluma with her sister and brother-in-law, Sabina and Thomas Rochford. On May 18, 1858, Annie and Daniel Brown were married at the Rochford’s house by Father Louis Auger. Annie and Daniel had twelve children, seven of whom survived until adulthood. Besides raising their children, Annie was active in St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church and participated in local fairs, entering tapestries and other works of art she had created.  Annie lived in Petaluma until a few years after the 1902 death of her husband.  She moved to San Francisco with her son, Vincent and three of her unmarried daughters, Josephine, Emma, and Kathleen Elise. Annie died in San Francisco on March 13, 1920.  She was buried next to Daniel in Calvary Cemetery in Petaluma, and eventually most of their twelve children were interred with them in the Brown Family Plot. 

*This biographical note was written by Anna Alexis Ferguson Brown’s descendant, Kathleen O’Brien Balestrini.

Family Affiliation: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/41848304/annie-alexis-brown Search this archive and the Sonoma County Library photograph archive for additional portraits of the Brown family.

Bibliography: Primary Sources: Petaluma Argus-Courier: March 28, 1900, p. 1; March 13, 1916, p. 2; March 13, 1920, p. 4 (obit); March 15, 1920, p. 5.. Petaluma Daily Morning Courier: October 12, 1904, p. 1; March 20, 1922, p.3; September 13, 1911, p. 5; March 14, 1920, p. 8 (obit). Petaluma Weekly Argus: September 1, 1888, p. 2. 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:  5 x 7 3/4 inside of frame

Medium: Gelatin or collodion photographic print

Description, front:

Description, back: Handwritten in script in pencil is : “Annie Alexis Ferguson Brown (left) 1841-1920”; “Mary Louise Brown Hall" (right) 1860-1932”; Aletha Hall O’Brien Baker (top) 1883-1966; and “Margaret O’Brien McSherry Fassoth Reed (BABY) 1908-1996”.

Date: 1910-1912

Condition:

Owner: From the collection of Kathleen O’Brien Balestrini, digital copy by permission.

Reproduction rights: The Petaluma Museum Association makes no assertions as to ownership of any original copyrights to the digitized images here reproduced.  These images are intended for personal or research use only. Any other kind of use, including, but not limited to commercial or scholarly publication in any medium or format, public exhibition, or use online or in a web site, may be subject to additional restrictions including but not limited to the copyrights held by parties other than the Association. USERS ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE for determining the existence of such rights and for obtaining any permissions and/or paying associated fees necessary for the proposed use.