14) Thomas Francis Brown: Elected mayor for the Town of Welland in 1891 & 1892

Vital statistics

Birth: December 22, 1847 at Ballina, Mayo, Connaught, Ireland

Death: December 14, 1899 at Welland, Ontario, Canada (age 51)

Burial place: Welland Roman Catholic church adjoining cemetery

Parents: John / Jane (née Flynn)

Spouse: Cecelia (née Cafferty)

Children: Nancy / David

Occupation: Wheelwright

Religion: Roman Catholic

Political affiliation: Liberal

Community affiliations: President of County Reform Association / Justice of the Peace / High School Board / Chief of Welland Fire Department

Profile

Thomas Francis Brown was born in the town of Ballina, Mayo County in Ireland on December 22, 1847 to John and Jane (née Flynn) Brown. Almost immediately after his birth the family immigrated to Canada, settling in Hamilton, then to Niagara Falls New York. It was in 1856 that the family moved to Welland and settled down for good.

Thomas and two of his brothers operated a substantial business in Welland known as the Brown Bros. The company had a liquor store and a feed store on East Main Street. They also operated a roller flour mill in the area of what became the Welland High School. They also owned a considerable amount of other Welland property, including two valuable hotels— the City Hotel and the Windsor House.

Thomas was never a councillor for Welland, rather he set his sights on the mayoralty. In 1890 he decided to run for mayor against the extremely popular David Ross, the subject of our last profile. Thomas lost 213 to 162. David Ross did not run the next year, and Thomas did, defeating Hugh Alexander Rose and George H. Burgar with a large majority. The included picture is an advertisement he ran in the Tribune campaigning for mayor, as unfortunately no photos can currently be found of Thomas. In 1892 Thomas was acclaimed mayor (unopposed). He ran for a final time in 1893 but was defeated this time by George H. Burgar 210 to 162. This was a contentious election because the past 6 months saw a dispute between Mayor Brown and the clerk Hellems, which promised to cause legal trouble for the town if it was to continue with Brown’s re-election, so this was mostly the cause for his defeat. G. R. T. Sawle wrote of him that “Being a man of strong and inflexible opinion he conceived many political quarrels both inside and outside his own party.”

While mayor for only two years and never a councillor, Thomas spent a lot of time and civic effort with the High School Board and the Welland Fire Department, among others. He also organized what was known as the Citizens’ Independent Hook and Ladder company, which was an efficient volunteer fully equipped fire company, and ran it for five years, with the town eventually buying it.

He married Cecelia (née Cafferty) on November 5, 1879, whose parents were also Irish, and they had two children, Nancy and David. In a biography of Thomas it was said of his character that he “is of a genial disposition; the warm heart that beats within his bosom, and his open-handed charity, make him deservedly popular with those who enjoy his acquaintance.”

G. R. T. Sawle also wrote “Tom Brown was a large man with a heavy paunch. When he died in December 1899 a special casket had to be made. As the corpse was being taken out of the house to the hearse the bottom of the casket gave way, much to the embarrassment of the mortician and the pallbearers. A heavy plank was secured to support the bottom of the casket and on this plank the remains were carried from the hearse into the Roman Catholic church.” Despite that embarrassment, the funeral was heavily attended and there was much mourning for Thomas, who was beloved. He was President of Branch 119 of the Catholic Mutual Benefit Association, and its members passed a resolution upon his death, hastening to convey “to the bereaved widow and relatives of our deceased president this sincere expression of condolence, and while praying for the repose of his soul, and remembering his sterling worth, we bow to the will of the Almighty, who knoweth all things, at the same time praying our Divine Father to console the bereaved widow, sister and brother in this, the hour of their trial.”

Sources

“Funeral of Late T. F. Brown.” The People’s Press, December 19, 1899.
“Late T. F. Brown.” Welland Tribune, December 15, 1899.
“Mayoralty Election.” Welland Tribune, December 30, 1892.
Sawle, G. R. T., “Hometown” (1959), 23.
Welland Tribune Printing House, “The History of Welland County” (1887), 549-550.