While walking through Lanam Ridge Cemetery in Brown County, Indiana, my daughter and I came across a grave of the Brown Family.
Looking at the granite monument, at first it seems fairly unassuming, listing the names and dates of the Brown Family.
Marion Lee Brown 1862-1930
Lourena Brown 1864-1930
Paul Brown 1901-1930
What caught our attention is that they all have the same year for the death date. My first thought was that maybe they were all killed in a car accident. The roads in Brown County are not the best in the current day, but they definitely were not good in the 1930s. Also, the fact that there were very lax laws concerning drivers and cars in the 30s, an auto accident was a completely valid option.
But no, it was not an auto accident. Their lives taken from them unceremoniously. That's why were are here today.
Marion Lee Brown was born in Marion County, West Virginia on September 6, 1862 to Michael T. Brown (b. September 6, 1836, West Virginia - d. December 2, 1911, Washington Township, Brown County, Indiana) and Mary E. Veach Brown (b. September 15, 1838 - d. February 13, 1906). They are both buried nearby in Lanam Ridge Cemetery.
He had many siblings:
John Fremont (b. June 28, 1857, West Virginia - d. December 31, 1943, Nashville, Indiana). He is buried in Lanam Ridge Cemetery nearby.
Samuel D. Brown (b. 1861, Bloomington, Indiana - d. February 11, 1947). He is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, Bloomington, Indiana.
Rebecca E. Brown Young (b. April 27, 1864, Brown County, Indiana - d. September 4, 1924, Brown County, Indiana). She is buried in New Bellsville Cemetery, Brown County, Indiana, but does not seem to have a headstone, or at least there has been no photo of a headstone for her.
Margaret "Maggie" E. Brown Rogers (b.1867, Brown County, Indiana - d. September 20, 1939, Seattle, Washington) She is buried with her husband in Evergreen-Washelli Memorial Park in Seattle, Washington.
Infant Son Brown (b. October 1, 1881 - d. October 8, 1881). He is buried is Lanam Ridge Cemetery nearby.
Lourena/Lurena "Rennie" Baughman was born on March 20, 1864 in Brown County, Indiana to Jacob Baughman (b. February 22, 1818, Ohio - d. December 13, 1889, Brown County, Indiana) and Eliza Jane Snider Baughman (b. November 15, 1823 - d. August 10, 1906). Curiously, Eliza Jane, Lourena's mother, was kidnapped by her father and brought to Indiana to live with him.
She had several siblings:
William Baughman (b. January 25, 1848 - d. October 22, 1910). He is buried in Lanam Ridge Cemetery nearby.
Mary E. Baughman (b. December 7, 1852, Indiana - d. August 21, 1853, Indiana). She is buried in Snider Cemetery in Bean Blossom, Indiana.
Eliza Jane Baughman Yoder (b. November 4, 1853, Indiana - d. December 20, 1934, Brown County, Indiana). She is buried in Lanam Ridge Cemetery nearby.
Sarah Catherine Baughman Morrison (b. November 13, 1855, Brown County, Indiana - d. May 13, 1929, Indiana) She is buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery, Brown County, Indiana.
Amanda Ellen Baughman Chitwood (b. November 3, 1857, Brown County, Indiana - d. June 12, 1943, Monroe County, Indiana) She is buried in Little Union Cemetery, Unionville, Indiana.
Lydia Ann Baughman Snyder (b. November 1859 - d. February 10, 1928, Seattle, Washington) She is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery, Seattle, Washington.
Marion and Lourena were married on April 21, 1889 in Brown County, Indiana.
They had several children, the first born just a few months after they were married:
Lawrence Glen Brown (b. January 26, 1890, Nashville, Indiana - d. May 23, 1919, Mesves-sur-Loire, Bourgogne, France) He entered service in 1917 and was sent oversees. Unfortunately, he never saw action, as he was shot in the back while reading a book on the roadside. He died of his wounds as Mesves Hospital in France. He is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Leonard Roland Brown (b. February 7, 1892, Nashville, Indiana - d. November 29, 1975, Martinsville, Indiana) He is buried in Washington Park North Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Olive B. Brown (b. August 25, 1893, Nashville, Indiana - d. September 12, 1978, Bloomington, Indiana). She is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana in an unmarked grave.
Mauddell Brown (b. September 10, 1897, Nashville, Indiana - d. February 21, 1988, Indianapolis, Indiana). She is buried in an unmarked grave in Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Beryl Brown Ruggles (b. October 12, 1899, Nashville, Indiana - d. July 8, 1991, Stuart, Florida). She is buried in Washington Park North Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Paul Brown (b. 1901 - d. December 15, 1930, Brown County, Indiana). His name is listed on the headstone with his parents.
Mark Brown (b. January 19, 1908 - d. February 4, 1908). He is buried in Lanam Ridge Cemetery nearby.
The Brown Family, Marion, Lourena and Paul all share the same death date, December 15, 1930. This is because they were murdered.
The couple owned a nice home and an orchard on Lanam Ridge. They had given their children a good life and the best education that they could offer. It seemed that they probably employed local men to help with jobs on the farm as a man named Chester Bunge was working with Marion, known as Lee to his friends and family, by chopping wood. Somehow, things went bad that day and Paul, Brown's son, who is listed on the headstone, grabbed a gun and shot Chester and both of his parents. Chester was not wounded bad enough at the moment because he managed to run away to a neighbor's house, that of Frank Crews. With some help, they returned to the Brown home to find it in flames.
Paul was gone. It was thought that he had probably run toward the railroad and jumped a train to get out of the area. Another thought was that he had maybe run into the woods and committed suicide. His brother and the Sheriff began a search, but found nothing to substantiate that claim.
In the rubble of the home, two bodies were found. One was determined to be that of Lee Brown, but the other was so badly burnt it was hard to determine the exact identity. They were buried together in a double casket in one grave in Lanam Ridge Cemetery. The following year, the bodies were exhumed for further examination. At this time, it was determined that the two bodies were male, so possible Lee and Paul. But if so, what happened to Lourena? This fueled all sorts of theories and since it has been more than 90 years and this has still not been solved, we will likely never know exactly what happened.
An inquest was made into the death's. The coroner of the time, Joshua Bond, stated that "according to the evidence from Chester Bunge, I find that Lourena Brown was wounded by pistol shot and that she was standing in the kitchen as he left the house and according to the position in which her body was found I could not determine whether she went to the basement or fell through the burning floor to the basement. I could not determine whether she died of pistol shot or fire." It is because of this statement that her name was listed on the headstone along with her husband. The two doctors that arrived at the scene of the fire were very descriptive in their determination of the identities of the deceased. But, the second time the findings were different, even though the doctors and the coroner from the first time around stood by their decision that it was Lee and Lourena and that Paul was nowhere to be found.
Chester Bunge made a statement about what happened that day as did Frank Crews. Frank notes in his statement "...Mrs Lee Brown" called and "asked, Is this Frank? and I answered yes. She then said, Come over here as quick as you can..."
Unfortunately, we will never know what exactly happened that day or who is really buried under the headstone at Lanam Ridge Cemetery. DNA analysis is virtually impossible at this late stage in the game, especially with the fire thrown into the mix.
Whatever happened that day, it is Brown County's only unsolved mystery and will stay that way, fueling theories for a long time.
The Brown Family, you are not forgotten.
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REFERENCES
Adventures in Brown County History & Genealogy - Thriller Thursday
Adventures in Brown County History & Genealogy - Thriller Thursday Part 2
Reddit Thread - The Brown Family
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