Thursday, June 1, 2017

My Great Uncle Charles H Brown


Rev. Charles H Brown

(Most of the material included in this blog came from Angie B. Jefferson the daughter of Rev. Charles H Brown who authorized the Wikipedia.org article and her Mom's obituary. The materials compiled for the Centennial Celebration for Dad was also done by her right down to the copying and binding.)  

I have many people in my family that have done great things. Some like Uncle Charles is a very famous person in and around Charlottesville, Va.  Rev. Brown not only ran a successful church in the City but also built a large part of the residential Charlottesville area.

I had the 1986 Family Reunion in Charlottesville. Uncle Charles made sure that the reunion was a great success.

February 2, 3, 4th, 2007, the people of Charlottesville, Va. held a Centennial  Celebration to mark his accomplishments in the area.  (Book printed in part for this Blog)

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(Special Thanks to Stephanie Ann Williams Tulloch 
for helping me put this blog together)



 Rev. Charles Hunter Brown (aka Rev. Charles H. Brown and Rev. C.H. Brown)
(Feb. 2, 1907 - Jan. 17, 1996), an American building contractor, religious and community leader, did much to provide affordable housing, employment and on-the-job training, social and spiritual relief for many in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, Virginia during the 1940s; and, during and after the Civil Rights Era.

Early years
Reverend Charles Hunter Brown, born February 2, 1907 to Lacy and Martha Brown in the Proffit Historic District, Virginia  was one of several sons born to the Browns. He often missed school to help out at home during the growing and harvesting season. As a young man, he sought employment away from the grueling life he had known as a farmer. His early employment included work with a company that laid Macadam roads. Rev. Brown’s call to the Ministry came in his late twenties. He fellowshipped with various Pentecostal churches even after he met and married Angie Loving. He later worked at odd jobs including the now defunct Arthur’s Grill in downtown Charlottesville, Virginia. It was then that the early seeds of entrepreneurship started to grow. In the meantime, he met Dr. John L. Manahan [2] who owned Fairview Farm in Scottsville, VA located in Southern Albemarle County. Dr. Manahan hired him to be caretaker for his dairy farm. Brown, along with his wife and children moved into the manor house. There he had no problem getting into the swing of farming. Milking cows and transporting the milk to the Monticello Dairy in Charlottesville provided an occasional break from the farm.
Master Builder
Farming was what Brown did to earn the money he needed to move his family back to Charlottesville and pursue his dream of becoming a builder. He had frequently purchased tools and Audel manuals that he told his wife would one day make money for him. In the summer of 1945, Brown purchased a house on 10 ½ Street that he subsequently remodeled and added on a 3-room apartment. He moved his family of 3 daughters and 2 sons back to town. For a while, he worked for H. T. Ferron, a company that made cinderblock; and for R. E. Lee & Sons who would later become a major player in the construction industry in Charlottesville. Later, he hired himself out as a carpenter remodeling houses and doing additions. Soon he had a contract to build his first house. By the mid-1950s, Blacks who wanted to build in Charlottesville and the surrounding counties started to seek him out.
12th and Rosser
It was in the mid-1940s that Rev. Brown and a few others started to hold worship services from house to house. They most often met in a 2-story house on Henry Avenue across from Moseley’s Store. Rev. Brown and Rev. Moseley managed to secure a plat of land on the corner of 12th Street, NW and Rosser Avenue. In 1947, it was there that Rev. Brown constructed Holy Temple Church of God in Christ, his first major non-residential building. Soon after building the church, Brown met E. R. Martin. After doing a number of jobs for Martin who owned a lot of property, a deal was struck that made Brown the owner of several acres of land on 12th Street, NW. It was there that he built what would become the “family home.” The land had been a dumping area on a dead end street. However, the location was ideally suited for Brown and his family that had swelled to 5 daughters and 5 sons. Brown seemingly could not get away from farming. He maintained huge gardens and several pigs until the late 1950s. The vegetables from the gardens were shared with church members and neighbors alike. Brown eventually built and sold 4 more houses on the same block. Most of the houses were constructed of cinder block with 2 front dormers for less than $10,000. In 2006, some 45–50 years later, the average market price was $190,000.

In April 2008, The Piedmont Area Preservation Alliance and the Charlottesville Architectural Review Board of Charlottesville, Virginia, recommended that Rev. Charles H. Brown's first non- residential structure, the Holy temple Church of God in Christ, be added to its list of important historic city buildings. In September 2008 the recommendation was accepted. 

Building Innovator
Rev. Brown became a licensed contractor in the city of Charlottesville in the mid-1950s. He built more than 50 residential and commercial structures as well as a dozen churches in Charlottesville and the surrounding counties. Because many were built for people with limited income and no means of financing such a project, Brown's challenge was to give his clients the best, as well as the most for their money. He became popular as a builder because he allowed his customers to make a small down payment and often financed the balance for them or sometimes even co-signed a note at the bank. His structure of choice was usually cinderblock. Many of his renovations or additions received a cosmetic coat of stucco. Brown’s reputation as a fair and honest man gained him the respect of both Whites and Blacks in the community. During his eulogy of Rev. Brown, Rev. Paul Coleman said "...Before there was urban renewal or redevelopment and housing, there was Rev. Brown."

Nearly all of his structures are still standing. Unlike houses that are constructed on a concrete slab today, Rev. Brown dug out the foundation; poured concrete footings and constructed the walls from the ground up. He studied drawings from books of plans that were available by mail. These books allowed him to use his natural artistic abilities sketch to out proposed house plans for his clients. He taught himself to read and interpret architectural drawings and blueprints. One of his most notable commercial structures was the EconoLodge, formerly the Econo Travel Lodge, at the University of Virginia  which was demolished in 2013 
http://insidecville.com/city/visionary-builder/ 

to create a green space. Having established himself in the business community as a master craftsman, Rev. Brown often did brickwork or concrete work for other contractors. As a skilled craftsman, he spent time teaching his laborers how to perform carpentry tasks and how to lay brick.
Rev. Brown's Ministry
In 1960, Brown became Pastor of the church he had built some 13 years earlier. He and his sons, Ralph, an ordained Minister and Nehemiah Hunter Brown[6], a musician (who became a minister in 1980); brought a community-oriented flavor to the worship experience. The elder Rev. Brown was extremely supportive of youth in and out of the church. He opened the doors of the church to Nehemiah and a contingent of University of Virginia students as well as to local high school students who wanted to start a choir. The high school students formed an Interdenominational Gospel Choir which later became the Dimensions of Gospel who later bridged the gap between UVA students and local towns people. The University of Virginia students had been denied the use of facilities on the school grounds for rehearsals, but under the leadership that they found at Holy Temple Church of God in Christ [7], the renowned Black Voices [8] of the University of Virginia were born. Of note is the selection of the Holy Temple Church site for consideration to be added to the Register of Historical Buildings. The building was selected because of its enduring architecture and its cultural significance to the community.

During his tenure as Pastor, Brown also served as the District Superintendent over other churches in the Charlottesville and Waynesboro, Virginia areas. Most notably, he was known as a Bible scholar and teacher. Being a mild-mannered, soft-spoken man gave him an air of aloofness that often gave way to a fathomless wisdom and generosity. He was active as a Pastor, attending State and National meetings until shortly before his death from the complications of congestive heart failure in 1996. In 1998, shortly after his death, a Virginia State House of Delegates Joint Resolution [9] was issued recognizing Reverend Brown's work and contributions to the community.



Angie Loving Brown Angie Loving Brown of Charlottesville, Virginia, departed this life on, Wednesday, June 25, 2014. She was born in Esmont, Virginia, on September 25, 1918, the daughter of the late Charles and Malissa Henderson Loving. 

She was the widow of the Reverend Charles Hunter Brown. Two sons, Robert Shirley Loving and Charles Brown; a daughter, Martha Buford Brown Johnson-Walker; a brother, William Anderson; and a sister, Malicia Marion Loving preceded her in death. She attended the original Jefferson School in Charlottesville and was employed briefly in the mid-60s at the University of Virginia Medical Center. 

Mother Brown was also a registered daycare provider for nearly twenty years. Mother Brown devoted her life to Christ at an early age. She met and married the Reverend Charles H. Brown in November 1939 and they raised their family along with many other neighborhood children. They readily opened their church and home to UVA students in the early 70s sometimes preparing meals for them. Mother Brown cooked not just for the students, but she was the first food vendor on the downtown mall serving up her renowned potato salad and sweet potato pie. 

She lived nearly 69 years in the home that she and her husband built in the 12th and Rosser neighborhood. Mother Brown was known to walk anywhere she wanted to go until she was well into her 90s. She was blessed with a strong will and a sound mind. Mother Brown was known for her love of stylish clothes and hats. 

She leaves to cherish her memory five sons, Joseph, Matthew, Ralph, Nehemiah and John Brown; four daughters, Virginia Wright and husband, Willie of Richmond, Virginia, Angie B. Jefferson and husband, Oscar of Palmyra, Virginia, Mary F. Brown, and Millissia Monk of Charlottesville, Virginia; 41 grandchildren; 50+ great grandchildren; and a host of other relatives and friends. Funeral Service will be held 12 p.m. Saturday, July 5, 2014, at the Holy Temple Church of God In Christ, 12th and Rosser Ave., with the Reverend Ralph Brown officiating.


References


Great Uncle Charles H Brown is the
 brother of my Grandfather John Brown

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