Hamilton Brown | Murdered

Hamilton Brown was the oldest son of James Brown (ca. 1802-1867) and older brother of Elizabeth (Brown) Anderson. In the 1850 census, Hamilton is listed with his wife Rebecca Ramsey, in the household of James Brown. Hamilton and Rebecca were relative newlyweds, having married in 1849 and Hamilton and his half-brother, Thomas J, were working as carpenters. They were living near Astoria in Fulton County, Illinois.

Hamilton is not only enumerated in the Brown household with his wife, but is also enumerated in the John W Smith household (DN 163), near the household of Elizabeth Anderson, his sister (DN 160). Smith was listed as a carpenter. It is possible that Hamilton was living with Smith to learn the carpentry trade as an apprentice or journeyman. In 1859, the average wage per day for a carpenter in Illinois was $2.00.

Murder

In 1857, Hamilton Brown was killed in Astoria by William Tate. The 1879 History of Fulton County recorded the killing in its text:

In November, 1857, Wm. Tait was indicted for the killing of Hamilton Brown at Astoria. One night while passing along the street Brown was struck upon the head with a stone or a piece of iron. From the wound inflicted he died. Tait was supposed to have thrown the stone and therefore was indicted for the murder. He was liberated upon bail fixed at $500. He was tried and acquitted. Cyrus Walker was his attorney.

Ancestry.com. History of Fulton County, Illinois [database on-line]

The story was reported in the Lewiston Democrat and picked up by the Weekly Chicago Times. The killing was reported to be a result of a dispute over drinking soda at a saloon in Astoria.

This story contrasts with the description of Astoria in the History of Fulton County:

Generally speaking, Astoria has borne a good reputation as a quiet orderly town, doubtless greatly shielded by the ennobling influence of her strong religious organizations. Occasionally, however, the town has been disgraced by a street brawl. In an early day intoxicating liquors were freely dispensed, but now there is no saloon here, thanks to the order-loving community who have voted down the hellish traffic and driven the liquor-venders from their midst.

Ancestry.com. History of Fulton County, Illinois [database on-line]

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Drinking Soda Water in the 1850s

Sources

United States. Bureau of Labor Statistics , Stewart, Estelle M. (Estelle May), 1887-1938 and Bowen, Jesse Chester, 1865-1948. History of Wages in the United States From Colonial Times to 1928 : Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. 499 , Washington, D.C: G.P.O., October 1929, https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/4067, accessed on April 10, 2023.