Willie Albert Brown and Cliffie Delilah Ferguson
Page -1-
Early Days
Willie Albert Brown was the first of seven children born to Oliver
Martin and Harriett Elizabeth Wilson Brown. Oliver and Harriett (Lizzie) had married
on March 2, 1890. The location is uncertain, though oral tradition places the
event in southern IN. Shortly after the ceremony, the young couple, Lizzie’s
parents (Joseph and is second wife, Nancy), and other members of the family
moved from southern IN to Breckinridge Co., KY. Tradition attributes this
decision to relocate to a desire to "follow the timber".
Breckinridge
Co. was the home to vast stands of virgin timber. One rich area was along the
banks of Daniels Creek in the valley (“glen”) first settled by Summers Dean. Dean
was a native of Mercer Co., KY, born in 1800 on April Fool’s Day. In 1891 the
railroad came to the sleepy valley and the town of Glendean (now Glen Dean)
began to blossom. The attraction was access to the lumber. Soon, the Dean Tie
Company began to harvest the lumber. Some was shipped ‘raw’ while other logs
were hewn by hand to make railroad ties. The Company shipped an average of
1,400 train carloads of lumber and ties annually.[1]
It was in Glendean that the Browns and Wilsons settled and found work. It was
also there that Willie Albert was born on December 21, 1890.
When
the trees were depleted in Glendean, the families moved southward, finally
settling in the Cromwell community in Ohio Co., KY sometime before 1900. During
the Glendean years, Willie completed the 6th grade, the only
schooling he would have.
Cliffie
Delilah Ferguson was born June 24, 1895, in Ohio Co., KY. She was the ___ child
and __ girl born to James Alexander and Virginia Brownlowe Reynolds Ferguson.
Cliffie would complete only the first eight grades.
Marriage and
Family
Willie
and Cliffie were married on August 4, 1912. He was 21, and the bride was just
shy of her 17th birthday. The gray-eyed, brown-haired, 5’7” Willie
towered over the 4’11” Cliffie. Cliffie would later recall that she weighed but
98 pounds when they married.
The
following year, on November 12th, their first child, Ruby Sherril,
was born.[2]
Ruby Sherril would be known to family and friends as Shirley. Almost two years
would pass before the next daughter, Annie Glendean was born on October 16, 1915.[3]
Young Annie would live but three months. In January of 1916, she was discovered
dead in her bed.
[1]
Breckenridge County historical website http://www.usgwarchives.net/ky/breckinridge/towns/glendean.html
[2]
Ruby Sherril was born on November 12, 1913, in Ohio Co, KY. She died on July
12, 2002. She was buried in the Cool Springs Baptist Church, Cemetery, Cool
Springs, KY (Ohio Co.).
[3]
Annie (or Anna) Glendean Brown was born in Ohio Co., KY, October 16, 1915. She
died in Ohio Co., KY, January 16, 1916. Her death certificate is number 31736,
volume 64, death volume 16. Her middle name was derived from the town, Glen
Dean, in Breckenridge Co., KY where Willie Albert was born. She was buried in
the Dennis Cemetery in Ohio Co.
Page -2-
In
June of 1917, Willie was required to register for the draft. He claimed
exemption based on having a wife and one child. He was listed as having black
hair and blue eyes, being of slender build with olive skin. As the War ended
rather quickly after the US entered the conflict, the draft never reached
Willie.
Cliffie
next gave birth on October 1, 1919.[4]
The oral history does not match the public records. The only thing known by the
family was that Adril was born that day and said to have been a 10-pounder, an amazing
birth weight for such a small mother. No public record of Adril’s birth from
1919 exists. This was confirmed by Adril’s story that his mom had to attest to
his age when he went to enlist in the Army in early 1941. A KY birth record was
finally created in 1976, perhaps with the onset of the first indications of his
declining health. Adril’s name was chosen by Cliffie in memory of a grade
school classmate who had died young. That first Adril had been a favorite of young
Cliffie. The official records tell a twisted story. On the same day, a Maxie
Brown was said to have been born to Cliffie Ferguson. Unfortunately, this was
not discovered until the 2010s, long after that generation had passed. There
are a couple of possible explanations. In the day before databases, ledger sheets
were used to record births. A Clerk could have easily gotten off one line. The
birth record should have belonged to Adril. This would explain why no record of
Adril’s birth could be found in later years. Given Adril’s size (10+ pounds),
there simply could not have been another child.[5]
On
May 7, 1922, Willie, Cliffie, Shirley and Adril would visit his dad and mom,
Oliver and Lizzie.[6]
After
a long gap, the couple’s last child, Willie Cebert, was born on August 31, 1925.[7]
Cebert, as
he was to be called, took his first name from his father. Shirley and Adril
were quiet introverts, like Willie. Cebert, in contrast, never met a stranger,
young or old. His outgoing personality was much more like Cliffie’s. Cebert was
beloved by nieces and nephews for his jokes and antics as much as Shirley and
Adril were beloved for their calmness.
Like
many men in Ohio Co., Wille Albert made a living as both a farmer and an
underground coal miner. After living in the Prentiss community for a few years
in a small, clapboard-covered log home with a dirt floor, the couple bought a
38-acre farm in Cool Springs on Rochester Road.[8]
The main house had a living room, kitchen, and bedroom on the main floor and an
unfinished attic. As the family grew, a bedroom was added to the back of the
house. With money scarce and materials expensive, the spare room was built
‘just big enough’ with ceilings of just over six-and-a-half feet. Like most
families of the area at that time, the Browns heated with coal.
[4] Adril
was born October 1, 1919, in Ohio Co., KY. He married Garnette Mae Simpson on
June 1, 1946. Adril died on December 24, 1978, at St. Joseph's Hospital in
Louisville, KY. He is buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Louisville, KY. The KY
Birth Index erroneously lists a Maxie Brown, born October 1, 1919, to Cliffie (in
addition to Adril’s 1976 certificate), volume 21, certificate 10007.
[5] A copy
of Maxie’s birth certificate, 10007, was obtained in June 2025. It did not
clarify anything.
[6]
It’s not clear why this visit was special enough to make the May 12, 1922,
edition of the Hartford Republican.
[7] Cebert
Willie was born August 31, 1925, in Ohio Co., KY (volume 61, certificate
30463). He died February 2, 1994, in Evansville, IN. His Social Security number
was 403-36-0021.
[8] Ohio
Co., KY Deed Book 70, page 241, WA Brown purchased 38 acres from Otis N. and
Nora Rock. The farm would eventually be expanded to 53 acres. The house was on
the east side of KY 369 less than a mile before its junction with Cool Springs
Road. The house no longer stands.
Page -3-
When
the 1940 census was taken in April, the family was living in Cool Springs in
the Rockport reporting precinct. Adril (20) was still at home. He and his
younger brother, Cebert (14), were running the farm. Willie (49) was working as
a rock crusher for the Works Progress Administration (WPA). His experience in
the 1930s as an underground coal miner with the Highview Mining Company of
Prentiss, KY, where he sometimes might have been paid with company scrip, as
shown below.
His
coal mining experience would have made him well qualified for the WPA work.[9]
In 1941, the 51-year-old Willie had to register for the draft. The Army noted
that he was 5’8”, 160 lbs., with gray hair, gray eyes, and a ruddy complexion.
His draft card noted that his WPA job was at Fort Knox in Hardin Co., KY, some
90 miles from Cool Springs. Willie never threw away his WPA Employee
Identification Card. It was part of the treasure of two lifetimes discovered
after Cliffie’s death. Willie had been WPA employee 2092-1865. His card was
issued on March 10, 1941.[10]
During the War, the WPA would assist in the construction of 3,000 new buildings
and an airfield on the base to house and train the tens of thousands of new
recruits who would begin Army life there. Such projects would have required
enormous quantities of crushed stone.
By
the mid to late 1950s, the living room of the Cool Springs home included a
small black and white TV (Willie loved TV). The nearest stations were in
Evansville and Louisville, so the Browns had an antenna with a rotator mounted
on a tower adjacent to the house. Static in the picture was common and changing
stations often meant swinging the antenna around to point at the proper city.
The living room walls were hung with various paintings of Biblical settings,
and the table tops invariably held a copy of the Bible and perhaps a church
periodical.
There was no indoor plumbing. Needed water was drawn from a nearby well. Outbuildings included a smokehouse, corncrib/barn, chicken coop, two-seater outhouse, and garage. In addition to the many acres of corn, the Browns had a small vegetable garden and several fruit trees.
[9]
Highview Mining, owned by Ken Highview, operated at least two mines along the
Prentiss Road. Mine #11 was above the cutoff to the Slaty Creek Cemetery. The
other was well to the south near the Thoroughfare Stream crossing. The mines
were both purchased by the Peabody Coal Company prior to the 1960s. Willie
seems to have worked primarily in Mine #1. Both were underground mines at the
time. Peabody seems to have converted them to surface mines. According to http://www.coaleducation.org/coalhistory/coaltowns/coalcamps/ohio_county.htm
the company operated from 1931 to 1941 and had 68 employees. It is one of 26
‘coal camps’ listed for Ohio Co. during the period. More examples of the company
scrip can be seen at https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/prentiss-ky-coal-scrip-token-highview-4884658936
[10]
His WPA Personnel Records were ordered August 29, 2025, from the National Archives and Records Administration in St. Louis, MO.
Page -4-
One rather vivid memory is of a day when the men were all gone, and Cliffie was
at the house with daughter-in-law Garnette and grandkids Dorothy and Kent.
Somehow it was noticed that a snake was in one of the apple trees near where
the kids had been playing. Cliffie retrieved a hoe, knocked the snake to the
ground, and killed it (leaving the grandkids in awe).
The
small white house lacked many things, but it had a nice front porch with a
porch swing. There was always quiet competition among the grandkids to see who
got to sit in between Willie and Cliffie. The front porch was famous for
another reason. It was the setting for one of those family tales that
grandchildren never tire of hearing. One evening, Cliffie was home alone
(Willie being at the mines) when she heard the distinct sound of heavy footfalls
on the porch. This was followed by something or someone trying to break the door
down. Being fearless, she grabbed her shotgun and called out for the person or
persons to stop and identify themselves. The stomping and crashing continued
without a word of reply. Having already given fair warning, Cliffe shot through
the door and heard a body fall to the porch floor with a heavy thud. After
several unanswered calls, she peeked and saw a dead deer on the porch. It had
become rabid and acted erratically. For many years thereafter, her
brother-in-law would carefully approach the house. Still hundreds of feet from
the house, he called out (in jest), “Don’t shoot Cliffie”.
Willie’s
last car was a light-blue 1956 Ford. It was a used car, in perfect shape when
bought in 1957.[11] In
about the same timeframe, the children pooled their resources and bought their
dad his first tractor. Up until then, he had done all the plowing with a mule.
Decline and Death
Willie
Albert died in Ohio Co., KY on November 13, 1964.[12] He
had been ill and was spending some time at his daughter’s (Shirley) home.[13]
The family was watching TV together (one of Willie’s favorite pastimes). At the
end of the program or at a commercial break, someone noticed that he had died
peacefully. He had been suffering from congestive heart failure compounded by
black lung. To a young person, Cliffie and Willie had been like a storybook
couple that had grown old together but still very much in love. To witness her
grief was awful, for her sense of loss was great. With maturity, we came to
understand how blessed they had been regardless of Wars and a Depression.
End Notes and
References
- marriage license
[11] The
purchase date is an estimate based on very fuzzy memories. After Willie’s
death, the car sat in the garage for several years and slowly decayed. In 1967,
Adril ‘bought’ the vehicle from Cliffie (who did not drive) as a first car for
his son, Kent. Kent has vivid memories from the late 1950s of sitting in the
backseat of the car behind Willie as he drove Adril and Kent around the coal
fields to see some of the huge coal shovels that had recently been introduced
at the Peabody mines. Kent kept the car through college and his first few years
in TN, adding another 200,000 miles to the odometer.
[12] Death
certificate, W. A. Brown, Ohio Co., KY, volume 64, #26409, November 18, 1964.
His death certificate incorrectly lists his birthplace as Glyndean, IN. Willie
was born in Glendean, KY. Cebert, who provided the information, may not have
clearly known or may have simply been under stress.
[13]
Ohio Co. News, November 20, 1964, page 2. W. A. Brown, 73, Dies at Daughter's
Home, Willie Albert Brown, 73, died at 10:15 pm, Friday, November 13 at the
home of Mrs. Shirley Burris, Rt. 1, Beaver Dam. Mr. Brown was born December 21,
1890, in IN and was a son of the late Oliver and Elizabeth Wilson Brown. He was
a member of the Cool Springs Baptist Church. He was married on August 4, 1912,
to Miss Cliffie D. Ferguson, who survives.
Page -5-
- census records
- Cliffie's Social
Security Number was 403-70-2413
- Willie’s Social Security
Number was 400-03-9198, issued December 5, 1936
- 1900 Ohio Co., KY
census, Cromwell precinct, page 82. Oliver and Elizabeth have been married
for 11 years and all their children are living. Oliver is listed as a
teamster who has been unemployed for four off the last twelve months.
Hattie can neither read nor write. The Brown's do not own their home but rent.
The property is listed as a house rather than a farm.
·
Oliver,
head, born 6/1868, age 31, born Ind., father born Ind., mother born IN
·
Hattie,
wife, born 10/1873, age 26, born Ind., father born Ind., mother born IN
·
William,
son, 12/1890, age 9, born KY, father born Ind., mother born IN
·
Carl,
son, born 3/1896, age 4, born KY, father born Ind., mother born IN
·
Otto,
son, born 6/1898, age 2, born KY, father born Ind., mother born IN
- 1900 Ohio Co. KY
census, page 76, Cromwell precinct. All indicate that they were born in KY
and that their dads and moms were born in KY. James is a farmer; Arthur is
a farm laborer. He owns his home and farm free and clear; their farm is
number 198 on the farm schedule. The couple has been married 17 years,
has had seven children, and five are still alive.
|
Name |
Relationship |
Birthdate |
Age |
Can
Read |
Can
Write |
In
School |
|
James
A. Ferguson |
head |
Jan
1863 |
37 |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
Jane
B. |
wife |
Sept
1867 |
32 |
No |
No |
|
|
Viola |
daughter |
Feb
1885 |
15 |
Yes |
Yes |
yes |
|
Oma |
daughter |
Sept
1886 |
13 |
Yes |
Yes |
yes |
|
Arthur |
son |
April
1890 |
10 |
No |
No |
no |
|
Cliffie |
daughter |
June
1895 |
4 |
|
|
|
|
Norma |
daughter |
Feb
1899 |
1 |
|
|
|
- 1910 Ohio Co., KY census, page 88; the
family rents its home, lives on a farm, all seven kids are living, and
Oliver is self-employed.
·
Oliver,
head, age 47, born Ind, father born?, mother born IN, cannot read
·
Lizzie,
wife, age 36, born Ind, father born Ind, mother born IN, reads
·
Willie,
son, age 20, born KY, father born Ind, mother born IN, reads
·
Carl,
son, age 14, born KY, father born Ind, mother born IN, reads
·
Otto
M., son, age 12, born KY, father born Ind, mother born IN, reads
·
Floy,
daughter, age 8, born KY, father born Ind, mother born IN, cannot read
·
Willis
T., son, age 6, born KY, father born Ind, mother born IN, cannot read
·
Iva,
daughter, age 3, born KY, father born Ind, mother born IN, cannot read
·
Myrtle,
daughter, age 3, months, born KY, father born IN, mother born Ind, cannot read
- 1910 Ohio Co., KY census, page 85. They own their own house with no mortgage and have been married 26 years. Jennie has had 10 children, six are living. They live on Prentiss Road. All entrants list their place of birth as KY, their dad's place of birth as KY and their mom's place of birth as KY.
|
Name |
Age |
Relationship |
Occupation |
|
James |
47 |
|
farmer |
|
Jennie
B. |
43 |
wife |
|
|
Cliffie
D. |
14 |
daughter |
|
|
William
S. |
7 |
son |
|
|
Edney |
6 |
daughter |
|
|
Nealy
Burden |
57 |
farm
hand |
laborer |
|
Lottie
B. |
9 |
daughter |
|
|
Richard
J. |
3 |
son |
|
- 1920 Ohio Co., KY census, page 070, they
rent, he farms.
|
Name |
Age |
|
William
Brown |
29 |
|
Cliffie |
24 |
|
Shirley |
6 |
|
Adril |
5/12 |
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