Latest revision as of 03:29, 2 November 2021

Clifford Henry "C.H." Brown was possibly introduced to the Brethren thru his wife Bertha M. Owen, who was born in Neodesha, Wilson, Kansas where there was an exclusive brethren meeting in a home. See Neodesha Meeting Room, KS. He was in fellowship with the Des Moines Meeting Room (TW) from at least 1911 until 1961 when they moved to California where they would remain for the duration of their lives.

C.H. was born in 1884 in a home on Main St. & Brown St. in Runnells, Polk, Iowa to John Wilber Brown (b. 1859 - d. 1906 Vandalia, Jasper, IA) and Rua Elizabeth Means Brown (b. 1862 - d. 1905 Vandalia, IA). His parents are buried in the Runnell cemetery. In 1910, he was serving on the faculty at East High School in Des Moines. He was offered a teaching position at Grinnell College but he declined in favor of entry into full-time work for the Lord, which he did for over sixty years.

In June of 1910, C.H. married Bertha M. Owen. Bertha was born in 1885 in Neodesha, Wilson, Kansas, the daughter of William Thomas Owen (b. 1861 Diffies, Montgomery, N.C.) who died when Bertha was two, in 1887, in Neodesha. Bertha's mother was Harriet "Hattie" Brigham Owen (b. 1861 IL). Her father was a son of Kaiser M. Owen (b. 1825 N.C. - d. 1909 Los Angeles, CA) & Mary Williams Owen (d. 1889 Neodesha, KS). It may be noted that the Brigham family was living in Neodesha, KS by 1875.

C.H. and Bertha adopted Daniel Wiebe by 1920, he was born in Kansas in 1917, and died in San Diego, California in 1989. His name was eventually changed to Daniel Wiebe Brown, and he served in the U.S. Army during WWII. His wife's name was Jan M. Brown, and in the 1970's, he was working as a medical technician in San Diego for the Kaiser Permanente Medical Group, which is today one of the largest non-profit healthcare plans in the world.

Henry Short was a leading brother at the Des Moines Meeting Room for many years, beginning with January 26, 1958, the occasion of his 23rd birthday, when C.H. led Henry to Christ, and discipled him until November of 1961 when Henry married Agnes Roossinck. Agnes relates that nobody could spell or pronounce her old last name, so Henry helped her name became more Short. A day after C.H. and his wife Bertha relocated to California, the newlyweds took over the rental of their home at 1306 Lyon St. during the first year of their marriage, which had been purchased by the City of Des Moines during the development of the freeway.

Sources

• Ancestry.com
• Findagrave.com
• EB/TW AAB's 1911-1942
• Agnes Roossinck Short in Oct. 2021
• Henry Short letter about C.H. Brown