Herbert C. Brownson Herbert C. Brownson is one of a family of three children, who own one of the fine landed estates of Clayton county, and the property includes the original old homestead which was obtained by their paternal grandfather in the early pioneer days when this now opulent section of the Hawkeye state was little more than an untrammeled wilderness. Herbert C. Brownson and his brother and sister own and reside upon the old homestead and as representatives of the third generation of the family in Clayton county they are well upholding the honors of a name that has been one representative of prominence and influence in connection with the civic and industrial development and upbuilding of the county. The eldest of the three children is Miss Lois Brownson, who was graduated in the Fayette Business College and who is now the popular chatelaine of the attractive home, the extensive farm being under the direct and effective management of her brothers, Herbert C. and Lloyd. Herbert C. Brownson was born on the farm which now represents his home and which comprises two hundred acres of most productive land, in Section 22 Farmersburg township. The date of his nativity was February 5, 1884, and he was the second in order of birth of the three children who remain on the old homestead. His parents, Freeman and Rachel (Datisman) Brownson, were natives respectively of the state of New York and of Germany, and the latter was a child at the time of her parents' immigration to the United States. Freeman Brownson was a youth at the time when his parents established their home amid the pioneer wilds of Clayton county, and here he and his wife continued to reside until their death. He inherited the pioneer homestead of his father, Daniel Brownson, who came to Clayton county in 1846 and who acquired in 1849 a homestead of forty acres that is now included in the fine landed domain owned by his grandchildren. Freeman Brownson was a man of vigor and industry, known for his sterling character and his mature judgment, and he added to the area of the old homestead until he had accumulated one of the valuable farm properties of the county, the same being represented in the splendid farm now owned and occupied by his three children. The Brownson brothers are known
as progressive young agriculturists and stock-growers and
are giving special attention to the raising of short-horn
cattle and Duroc-Jersey swine. Both give allegiance to
the Democratic party and Herbert C., the immediate
subject of this review, is now serving as treasurer of
the school district in which he gained his early
education. He and his brother and sister are still unwed
and in the attractive home they are fully upholding its
long maintained reputation for generous hospitality. All
attend and support the Congregational church in the
village of McGregor, which is their postoffice address. source: History of Clayton
County, Iowa; From The Earliest Historical Times Down to
the Present; by Realto E. Price, Vol. II; page 59-60 |