Description

John E. Brown (b. 1849 – d. 1895) died on November 24, 1895 in Prescott, Arizona of heart failure. Nicknamed “Baldy,” he was a native of the state of New York. Information from his obituary indicated he was a war veteran, enlisting in the army as a drummer at age 12. He served throughout the Civil War and was a bugler.  J. E., as he was also known, came to Arizona with the First Cavalry and served in campaigns against the Apaches. He was one of General Crook’s trusted scouts and also carried the mail, a very dangerous responsibility.

Brown was identified with William Vanderbilt’s businesses in Prescott. In The Weekly Arizona Miner, May 28, 1880, he is noted as being interested in mines in and around Groom Creek reporting that "every one showed up well." In 1881, another Arizona Miner article noted that he was a candidate for Village Marshall. Also, for a time, J. E. worked with Sam Hill at the tinner’s trade.

He was also an active fireman as a member of Dude Hose Company No. 2. A Sharlot Hall Museum’s Days Past article, “Stage-struck Songsters: Operetta in Territorial Prescott - Part 2” written by Tom Collins and published November 24, 2007, listed J. E. as performing in 1882 in "H. M. S. Pinafore" as Ralph Rackstraw, the romantic tenor leading role, and in 1891 in “H. M. S. Pinafore” at the Prescott Opera House (Howey’s Hall).

At the time of his death, J. E. did not have family in Prescott, but had sisters and brothers back in the state of New York.

Sources: Chronicling America; Sharlot Hall Museum obituary notebook; The Weekly Arizona Miner, May 28, 1880 and December 30, 1881; Sharlot Hall Days Past article, “Stage-struck Songsters: Operetta in Territorial Prescott - Part 2” written by Tom Collins, published November 24, 2007.