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- Maude and Nap established their home in Baker, LA, where for many yearsUncle Nap -- among his many property holdings -- owned and operated the only store in town. Maude was a watercolor artist of some reknown. She was also skilled in sewing-- handembroidery and machine-sewing, as well as designing and making her clothes and designing and making quilts,tablecloths, etc. She was devoted to her nieces and nephews and was generous to them with gifts and entertainment. She alwayshad an open doorat her house and there were few long periods when she was without a houseguest -- sisters and cousins in the early years and nieces later on.Although Maude and Nap had no children of their own, they raised two of his nephews,Charlie DAY and Dr.Eric DAY, as well as his niece Bessie BROWN. Sarah BROWN, another niece they had taken to raise, died as a small child. Both Maude and Nap suffered long illnesses before their death. Nap was partially paralyzed and finallybedridden for a number ofyears and after his death Maude was incapacitated for several years. Throughout both illnesses, Maude's sister Sybil ARBOUR devoted her life to their care.
From a photograph of their house in Baker, LA: Their home is now gone. Home was on Camelia Avenue, Baker Louisiana. Mary Belle Horton Brown and Earl Brown lived in an apartment in this house while their eldest daughter was an infant. Photo says it was taken 5 January 1947 and the ditch is for the gas line being brought to Baker.
From "Baker the First 200 Years 1776-1996" . . .
No history of the City of Baker would be complete without mention of N.B. Brown: business, civic, educational, and religious leader in the Baker community. Napoleon Barfield Brown was the son of Thomas B. Brown and Sara Williams Brown who owned a large plantation on Plank Road east of the present city of Baker. This spacious home which stood on the site of property owned by Dr. E. W. Day Sr. burned years ago. Nap had a half sister Ella White and four Brown sisters: Ollie, Nettie, Bessie, andLena. He had one brother, Wilkins, who was generally spoken of as "Wicks" Brown. As a young man, Nap met, fell in love with, and married MaudArbour of Baton Rouge. The couple had no children of their own but hadconsiderable experience in parental care. The wife of Mr. Wicks died leaving two small girls, Bessie and Sarah. Lena, who had married CharlesDay of Baton Rouge, died one year after her husband, leaving two smallboys, Eric and Charlie. These four childreneventually came to live with Nap and Maud in their home in Baker. Sarah, a precious little girl, died at the age of four. Mr. Brown became a very successful business man. He first had a joint mercantile store with J. B. Merritt. The partnership ended and each went into business for himself. Both prospered. Mr.Brown was the sole owner of the cotton gin which did a flourishing business as long as cotton was king but when the boll-weevil dethroned King Cotton, the gin was closed. Mr. Brown helped to organize the BakerLand Company. This company bought land from Dr. E. B. Young and others. The company laid out streets, lots, five acre tracts, and advertised for prospective home owners. This venture was most profitable until Scenic Highway branched out from Scotlandville, and a road was constructed extending direct to the Baker area. The distance was shortened between theindustries in north Baton Rouge to the Baker area, where men could work in the industries and live with their families in Baker. Mr. andMrs. Brown were good neighbors. They lived next door to the Methodist Parsonage and saw that all went well with the minister's family. If there wasillness or any trouble, Mrs. Brown, an excellent cook, supplied the family with good food until theemergency was over. Many a minister's family left Baker with a little Maud namesake of their good friend and helper. Mr. Brown, although interested and a financial contributor to the Baker Methodist Church, was not a member of the congregation until aftera harrowing experience on the Hammond and Eastern Railway. While on the train, their coach was struck broad-side by a freight engine at a railroad crossing, which overturned their coach. Somehow Mr. Brown was separated from his wife. He searched diligently for her and finally contacted a member of the train crew. He said, "For God's sake, help me find my wife." They found her pinned under the coach. She was rescued and considering the enormity of the wreck, the Browns considered their injuries very slight. When Mr. Brown took the vows of the Baker Methodist Church, Mrs. Brown, then a Catholic, joined with him and worked in the Sunday School and with the Women's Organization. At one time, she was superintendent of the Sunday School. The many varied and complicated activities engaged in by Napoleon Barfield Brown finally took their toll. He became a confined invalid and spent the last months of hislife in a wheel chair, but he was mentally alert and interested in the "goings on" in the community he loved so well until the end. He died 4 September 1934. After N. B. Brown's death, Mrs. Brown went back into the Catholic Church.Her close relatives were of that faith, and she wanted to worship with her family.She had 4children
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1869 - 1952 (82 ans)