Person Record
Metadata
Name |
Brown, Charles |
Notes |
Charles Brown, aka Carlos Moreno, was a talker and a wanderer who left a landmark adobe building. It is the oldest man made structure left in San Mateo county, and today it still sits on private property. It was built in 1835. Charles Brown is something of a mystery. He was a great teller of tales, and he gave conflicting stories about his past. He was one of the first Americans to come to San Mateo County, which was part of San Francisco in the early days. Brown was from New York, and deserted an American whaling ship, Alvine, at San Francisco in 1829. He joined briefly with the Hijar-Padres Party in Sonoma in 1834. He got some land in Napa Valley from Mariano Vallejo in 1835, but he didn't stay there. He was a restless, bombastic man, who was a hopeless speculator. In 1837 he married the daughter of Antonio Garcia of San Jose and brought his bride to the adobe he had built near Portola Valley. He had bought land from John Coppinger, the original grantee from the Mexican Government of Rancho Cañada Raymundo. He reportedly paid for the land with lumber. In 1849 Brown built the first mill on the peninsula, a pit saw powered by water. It became evident when the creeks dried up in summer that waterpower was an unreliable method. A steam-powered mill replaced it the following year, but by then Brown had moved on. Whiskey stills were often to be found among the sawmills. It was a lively drinking, brawling community of vagabonds in the redwoods in those days. Charles Brown was a willing participant. He spent time in the San Jose jail for his part in a near fatal altercation with another sawyer. Brown left the woods in 1850. His wife had died by that time, and he had some financial problems. He wandered to the north. He married Rosalia De Haro, widow of William Augustin Andrews, and settled on her family's land near Lake Merced. From there he faded into obscurity until his death in 1896. (Joan Levy/2004) See Also, "Charles Brown and his Renowned Adobe" by Gilbert Richards La Peninsula, Vol. XV, No. 5, May, 1970 |
Othernames |
Carlos de Jesus Moreno Charley Brown |
Born |
1815 |
Birthplace |
New York |
Deceased |
July 17, 1896 |
Deceased where |
San Francisco |
Occupation |
Sailor, sawyer, speculator |
Places of residence |
New York San Francisco Sonoma Woodside |
Spouse |
-?- Garcia, Rosalia De Haro Andrews, |
Children |
Ann Rose Amelia Charlotte Josephine |
Related Records
-
Collection of Charles Brown Portrait Copies - Print, Photographic
Black and white copy prints of an original photograph taken by Silas Selleck of San Francisco some time in the mid to late 1800s. Copy prints were created by General Graphics in 1969. 1969.144.001A-E - Untitled [Charles Brown Portrait] Black and white photographs show Charles Brown sitting for a formal portrait photograph. He wears a light-colored coat, vest, pants, and white shirt with an upturned collar and bow tie. He sits in three-quarter...
Record Type: Photo
-
Residence of Charley Brown Esq. - Print
Residence of Charley Brown Esq. drawn on July 28, 1850, by William H. Dougal. Copy print of original drawing depicts the residence of Charles Brown built near Portola Valley. The image shows several buildings in a clearing surrounded by tall pine and deciduous trees. A single-story adobe appears at center, and a two-story A-frame building stands just to the right. Vertical fencing creates a yard around the clearing and follows the roadside that p...
Record Type: Archive
-
San Mateo County Times Photograph Collection: Brown - Browning (male) - Photograph, Black-and-White
San Mateo County Times photograph collection. This folder contains black and white portrait photographs of men that were used in the daily newspaper known as: the San Mateo County Times; The Times; San Mateo Times and Daily News Leader; Advance Star. The collection is arranged alphabetically by folder. Images are 8" x 10" or smaller. Folder: Brown - Browning (male) Date Range: 1974 - 1990 Individuals: 2017.054.013.1 - Brown, Carl, Jr. 2017....
Record Type: Photo
