New cousins, but no way to contact them

I’m trying to find out a little more about my Brown line this week.  I’ve traced back to my second great grandfather James M. Brown (b. circa 1853, Bloomington, Indiana).  I can’t quite get much farther back yet except that the 1880 U.S. census says his parents were both born in South Carolina.  I found a potential lead on more information in the Ancestral File database on FamilySearch, but I have no way to contact the contributors.  Aaaarrrrgggghhh!

So here’s what I know so far.  The family of my great grandfather is as follows:

Charles Elmo Brown – born 13 Dec 1877, Hindustan, Monroe County, Indiana; married 30 June 1902 to Rose R. MacWhirter, at Grand Avenue Congregational Church, 731 North Hamlin Avenue, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois; died 6 Oct 1943, Los Angeles County, California.

Rose R. MacWhirter – born 21 Jan 1880, New York; died 13 March 1953, Los Angeles County, California.

Children of Charles E. and Rose were:

1. Wallace C. Brown – M; born 1904, Indiana.
2. Ruth R. Brown – F; born 1906, Indiana.
3. Helen Jane Brown – F; born 30 Sep 1908, Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana; died 1998, California.

Charles and Rose appear in the 1910 U.S. census with all three children in Indianapolis.  In the 1920 U.S. census, the family was in Los Angeles (I’ve only seen an index for this record so far).  In the 1930 U.S. census, Charles, Rose and Helen were living at 1833 Middleton Place, Los Angeles.  Charles and Rose were still at that address in the 1940 U.S. census, but all three children had moved out by then.

One generation further back on the Brown line, we have:

James M. Brown – born circa 1853, Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana; married circa 1878 to Jane Neal Campbell in Bloomington, Indiana.

Jane Neal Campbell – born 1850 or 1858, probably in Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana; died 1935.

Children of James M. and Jane were:

1. Minta Barthena Brown – F; born 1873, Indiana; died 1950.
2. Charles Elmo Brown (above)
3. Nancy Rae Brown – F; born 27 Nov 1879, Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana; died 1969.

Going back from 1910, Charles appears in the 1880 U.S. census living with his parents James M. Brown and Jane Neal Campbell and sisters Minta Barthena Brown and Nancy Rae Brown in Marion, Monroe County, Indiana.  The same 1880 census says that James’s parents were both born in South Carolina and Jane’s parents were both born in Ireland (although family legends say that Jane’s family may have emigrated through Canada to Indiana; I have yet to prove this).

Now the cousins that I referred to in the intro are connected in some way through Nancy Rae Brown.  The Ancestral File page for her has her listed as Rae Brown (which corresponds to her entry in the 1880 U.S. census as Rae H. Brown), born 27 Nov 1879, Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana, as the daughter of James Brown and Jane Neail Campbell.  It further states that she married George Franklin Millett (born 11 March 1877, Cedar County, Nebraska; son of George Jefferson Millett and Carrie Augusta Brooks) on 23 Dec 1910 in Fort Pierre, Stanley County, South Dakota.  The Ancestral File connections don’t go further back than James and Jane noted above. 

Two contributors are listed on that Ancestral File page: tlfmfamily2398209 and lfmillet483096.  The frustrating part here is that the Ancestral File entry in the FamilySearch Wiki states:

“For privacy reasons, Ancestral File does not display personal information about submitters. Instead, Ancestral File displays an identifier composed of parts of submitters' names followed by 7-digit numbers. The CD-ROM version and previous online versions of the Ancestral File displayed submitter names and contact information.”

Drat!

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Sources:

• "1880 U.S. census population schedule," index, Beta FamilySearch (http://beta.familysearch.org : accessed 1 October 2010), James M. Brown household; NARA film number T9-0299, page 3A, family 210.
• "1910 U.S. census population schedule," index, Beta FamilySearch (http://beta.familysearch.org : accessed 1 October 2010), Charles E. Brown household.
• "1920 U.S. census," index, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : accessed 22 September 2011), Charles E. Brown household.
• "1930 U.S. census," index, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : accessed 22 September 2011), Charles E. Brown household.
• 1940 U.S. census, Los Angeles County, California, population schedule, 7th Councilman's District, Assembly District 63, Los Angeles, enumeration district (ED) 60-507, sheet 6-A, household 130, Charles E. Brown household; digital images, U.S. National Archives (http://1940census.archives.gov : accessed 7 April 2012).
• "Ancestral File v4.19," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org: accessed 23 February 2012), entry for Jane Neail CAMPBELL.
• "California Death Index, 1940-1997," index, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : accessed 31 March 2012), Charles Elmo Brown entry.
• California Department of Health Services Office of Health Information and Research vital Statistics Section, "California Death Records," index, Rootsweb (http://vitals.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ca/death/search.cgi : accessed 22 September 2011), Charles E. Brown death.
• Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, marriage license, 348185, Charles E. Brown and Rose MacWhirter, 30 June 1902; digital images, Beta FamilySearch (http://beta.familysearch.org : accessed 1 October 2010).
• "World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942," digital image, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : accessed 31 March 2012), draft card for Charles Elmo Brown; film number 2423004, digital folder number 4669483, image number 01551.