Leonora Smith Brown

Leonora Smith Brown

Leonora (Smith) Brown was a fifth generation Norfolk County resident descending from Long Point Settler William Smith, a millwright from Long Island who settled in New Brunswick after the American Revolution then arrived in Norfolk in 1798. A maternal ancestor, Maiden Rice Stacy had an adventurous life during the Revolution. She was captured in Virginia by Indians and brought by them to Fort Detroit.

Leonora's parents Thomas Smith and Martha A. Thompson had a one hundred acre farm in Lot 2, Concession 1 Walsingham Township near Clear Creek. Leonora was born on May 9, 1863 the third of six children. She married Arthur W. Brown, a son of Willard and Catherine Mary (Shoemaker) Brown who was born in Walsingham Township on November 24, 1860. The couple lived on College Street in Port Rowan. Arthur, a fourth generation Norfolk resident, started his working career as an engineer then joined the Long Point Company as a keeper, helping to conserve the unique ecosystem on Long Point. Arthur died in 1922 and Leonora lived into her nineties until 1956. They were buried in Bayview Cemetery, Port Rowan.