Paul G. and Mary M. Brown

The following bio was taken from page 127 of the book entitled "Rusk County History" compiled and edited and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission.

Transcribed by Shirley Koym

Submitted by Gloria Briley Mayfield, Rusk County TX Coordinator

Paul Gentry Brown and Mary McCarter Brown were married in Henderson in 1934. They lived here until her death in 1973. Their only child, David and his family live with him here now.

Mary was the daughter of Elias Hubbard (Pat) McCarter and Ellen Tipps McCarter. The Tipps, who were natives of Rusk County, were a large and prominent family. Mary was born at Minden on March 6, 1905. At age two, her family moved to Mount Enterprise. She attended the Mount Enterprise schools and Henderson High School. He attended Sam Houston State Normal College and Stephen F. Austin College. She acquired a teacher’s certificate and taught one year in Patrick and taught the second grade in Henderson for nine years.

Paul came to Rusk County in January 1931. His parents were Henderson Lee Brown and Lauraetta Gentry Brown. Lee’s parents were Benjamin Franklin Brown and Lucy Russell Brown. Benjamin was born at Clinton, Louisiana. He attended a military academy in Nashville, Tennessee, and was a captain in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He returned to Clinton but shortly thereafter went to Bosque County, Texas, where he married Lucy, the daughter of a local physician. Lee was born in 1872. When Lee was four years old, they moved to Stephens County.

Paul’s maternal grandfather was Gilbert Fate Gentry. He also was a confederate soldier and lived in northeastern Arkansas. His wife was a McQuirter. Lauraetta Alice Gentry was their daughter and was born in 1873. After Etta was grown, the family moved to Stephens County, coming by covered wagons pulled by mules.

Lee and Etta, who was a schoolteacher, were married in 1895. He built them a two-room house. Their son Paul was born on May 13, 1897. Lee acquired considerable land on which he farmed and ranched. He also served as a County Commissioner and on the County School Board.

Paul was raised in Harpersville, a small farming community, where he attended a two-teacher school. He attended Breckenridge High School and graduated from Britton’s Training School in Cisco. He secured a teaching certificate and taught for one year. He served in the Army during World War 1 from September , 1918 through April, 1919. That fall he entered the University of Texas and obtained a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree in 1923. He returned home to Breckenridge and began to practice law. He served for two years, 1925-1926, as District Attorney of the 90^th Judicial District. He then formed a law partnership with Floyd Jones and continued to practice law there.

The Depression hit Breckenridge hard; so, in January, 1931, Paul came to Henderson and formed a law partnership with Renne Allred, Jr. They practiced law together until Renne was appointed District Judge. The Legislature created the Special District Court of Rusk County and Paul Brown was appointed as its Judge in January, 1935. He was subsequently elected to that position and served nearly ten years before resigning to enter a law partnership with A. H. Waldrop and Charles W. Shaw. In 1952 he was elected Judge of the Fourth Judicial District Court of Rusk County. He served until April 1954 before retiring.

Until recent years Paul raised cattle on his farm on the Chickenfeather Road. In 1963 he was named Best Conservation Farmer in Zone 5 of Rusk County. He is a member of the United Methodist Church. He is a lifetime member of the Board of Directors of the East Texas Area Boy Scouts and has received the Silver Beaver Award. He is past president of the Henderson Kiwanis Club.

Submitted by Mrs. David Brown