Brownlow Cemetery, Hickory Township, Butler County, Kansas

Brownlow, Kansas only appeared on one Butler county map, back when it was part of Union Township. The only visible reminder of the failed settlement is Brownlow Cemetery.

Brownlow Cemetery, also called Lindsey Cemetery, has an unassuming entrance with an old faded sign on the fencepost that probably once read “No Dumping.”

Your map or GPS should direct you right to the 2.5 acre cemetery, located about six miles southwest of Keighley. There’s nothing at the entrance that indicates there’s a cemetery a quarter mile up the hill, sitting high above the neighboring farmland, surrounded by trees.

The cemetery is just a few miles south of US-400, but getting there isn’t the easiest drive. The country roads leading to it are rocky, rough, and rarely traveled. Unless you like risks, you definitely don’t want to make the trip after a big rain, and you’ll want to make sure you have a good spare tire before you go, just in case.

Brownlow Cemetery is very rural. Cell phone service is nearly non-existent, and the closest house is about a mile away. There are no city lights or automobile sounds to distract you from enjoying the peaceful scene. Out here, you are surrounded by the sounds of nature (and depending on the time of year, the occasional farm implement).

Serene or spooky, depending on your perspective.

There are well over 250 people resting here, but not all of them were documented. The earliest death date inscribed here is from the 1860’s on the Edgar family stone, but that is likely a cenotaph.

The first documented burial here was in 1877, but since Brownlow was established six years earlier, there were likely others buried here before that. Early pioneers didn’t have easy access to a marble or stone dealer, and often used wooden markers on graves, which either burned up or rotted away.

The last known burial here was in 2020. The ashes of some ancestors are also floating in the wind here. Brownlow Cemetery is currently maintained by Hickory Township.

History of Brownlow

There hasn’t been much written about Brownlow. Mooney’s History of Butler County published in 1916 doesn’t make a single mention of it. Even the chapter on Hickory Township starts with “probably,” which shows how little is known about the area’s beginnings.

Before Hickory Township was organized in 1875, Brownlow was established in 1871. By the end of that year, Brownlow had a blacksmith, a general store, a doctor, and planned a school, which was built just east of the cemetery.

Brownlow in Union Township. The Butler county history books I referenced don’t mention dividing Union Township to form Hickory Township in 1875, or that Union Township citizens were against the division. Source

Brownlow was named in honor of Senator Parson Brownlow, a staunch Unionist and abolitionist who served as governor of Tennessee after the Civil War, and was then elected Senator. Senator Brownlow also published a newspaper and had a dedicated following, some of whom ended up in Kansas.

William Gannaway “Parson” Brownlow, Tennessee Governor and Senator. Source

Most say Brownlow was extinct by 1876 because the post office moved. But there was still a postal route that went through Brownlow once a week until at least 1880, and the Brownlow schoolhouse taught children and hosted community social events until at least the 1940’s.

Brownlow Settlers

The land where Brownlow Cemetery was established appears to have been claimed by both Reuben Lilly and Wesley Cornell on the same day. Both men have claims for the SE quarter section of Section 8 in Township 28. Later the land is claimed by William Douglas, and there’s also a claim by Joseph Keck on the same date. All of the men who claimed land here in the 1870’s were part of building Brownlow.

Brownlow Cemetery is in the SE 1/4 of Township 28 South, Range 7 East, Section 8. Source

A mysterious Mr. Myers with two wives gets credit for being the first to settle in Hickory Township in 1869, which was actually Union Township first. Myers is also credited with fathering the first white child born in Hickory Township, and burying that child in Hickory Township.

Perhaps Mr. Myers buried his child at what would become known as Brownlow Cemetery. Some say the land Mr. Myers lived on was later claimed by A.J. Armstrong, and records prove that the land Armstrong claimed in 1872 was next to Brownlow Cemetery.

Myers was said to be “compelled” to move away from civilization “like the element to which he belonged,” whatever that means. Some say A.J. Armstrong claimed the land from underneath him, which would be a very compelling reason to leave.

Captain Andrew Jackson Armstrong served with several regiments according to his military service file, including the 3rd Kansas Infantry, the 9th Kansas Cavalry, the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry, and the 79th USC Infantry.

Captain Andrew Jackson Armstrong, also known as A.J. or Jack, was the census taker for Butler county in 1870 and postmaster for Brownlow in 1872. Some considered him “scrappy,” and Mooney’s History called him a man of “unsavory reputation” who associated with “lawless characters” that jumped the claims of other settlers. He was “kukluxed” by a mob, an action that was later claimed to be something that no one took too seriously.

Source

Maybe it wasn’t taken seriously by people from Brownlow. Some say he made it all up and that he was guilty of the same crimes against others. The story was sensational enough to make it all the way to the newspaper in Topeka.

“Capt. A.J. Armstrong, who was a gallant solider of the Fifth Kansas, was recently visited at his home on Hickory creek, in that county, by a band of a dozen leaguers, at midnight. They were after a man named Kirk, a “jumper,” who had taken refuge in Armstrong’s house. Upon the refusal of Armstrong to deliver the hunted man the leaguers fired into his house and wounded him and one of his children. They fired twenty shots into the house and broke every light but two. They also tried to burn the house but failed, owing to dampness. They retired without securing their victim.”

The Daily Commonwealth, Topeka, KS, Apr 19, 1876

Armstrong left Brownlow less than a year after the alleged attack on his home. He maintained his scrappy reputation in New Mexico by detaining a mail carrier with a gun and threatening to murder the editors of the Walnut Valley Times back home.

The Walnut Valley Times, El Dorado, Kansas, May 10, 1878

Some remember Wesley Cornell living near Brownlow school on Hickory Creek, and his land claim shows that he did live next to the school and the cemetery. He was appointed postmaster of Brownlow in 1874, and his son carried the mail on a pony for $3 a week, a position that wasn’t easy to keep filled.

A prairie fire caused by a spark from a stove swept through Brownlow in 1873 and destroyed about everything in its path. Captain Armstrong and Wesley Cornell were among those who lost just about every building, animal, crop, and other property they owned. The damage was great, but no one was killed, and the settlers took care of one another and persevered.

There’s a lot more history to uncover here, and many more people to explore. What do you know about Brownlow?

Burials at Brownlow Cemetery

Every gravestone at Brownlow Cemetery is dated 1877 or later (except for the two Edgar family cenotaphs), but it would be unusual for a pioneer settlement to have zero deaths during its first six years. There are likely earlier burials here in unmarked graves, like the child of Mr. Myers.

Henry Beckon’s grave has a death date of 1877, but it’s buried below the surface of the ground.

Henry, age 28.

The other gravestone with an 1877 death date is for the wife of Edward O’Maley.

Wife of Edward O’Maley, died Sep 15, 1877, aged 46 yrs.

The top has been broken off the stone and name is gone, but the 1875 Kansas census has Edward’s wife’s name as Emily.

Emily, At Rest.

There are at least fifteen members of the Brewer family buried here. The earliest marked Brewer graves are for the first two children born to Henry Brewer and his wife Ruby (nee Comstock). Their children died a few months apart in 1883.

Elmer, died July 21, 1883.

The beautiful stones for the Brewer babies were both broken and reset, so any maker’s mark that may have been visible once is now covered.

Ruby was pregnant with this baby when Elmer died, and then her baby died at birth.

According to census records, William and Cassie (nee Mitchum) were Black, and they were living in Hickory Township with an immigrant family from Switzerland when Albert died. Albert is here alone—William and Cassie are buried in El Dorado.

Albert, son of William and Cassie Jones, 6 months.

Fanny was the daughter of Francis Drake and his wife Alvaretta “Etta” (nee Holly). The Drakes weren’t in Brownlow for long, and there are no other known Drakes buried here. Fanny’s parents are buried in Dodge City.

Fanny, 6 weeks, 2 days.

Johnny, son of James Ellis and his wife Amanda “Mandy” (nee Moore). His parents are buried here with him, and so is his sister.

Johnny, age 6.

Johnny’s sister Blanche was born the year he died, and then she died five years later.

Blanche, daughter of James and Amanda Ellis, age 5.

I couldn’t find any information about this individual who died in 1889. Cemetery records have the name as L.R. Oehle, but the gravestone appears to be carved carved L.R. OHLE, a German surname.

L. Rohle, or L.R. Ohle, died 1889.

Lorena Carter Keck was the mother of Joseph Keck, the last man with a documented claim on this land.

Lorena, wife of Benjamin.

The gravestone for an infant of William Ehlers and Mary (nee Morrison) is leaning against an empty base that it doesn’t appear to match.

Infant Ehlers, born and died Sept 5, 1892.

Oscar Melvin Harwick, son of Oscar Fitchlen and Sarah (nee Pierce). He’s buried next to his mother.

Oscar, son of O.F. & S.A. Harwick, age 14.

Merton Eastin, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (nee Kindred), was just four when she died in 1887, and the face of her gravestone has completely disintegrated.

Merton V. Eastin, 4 years, 11 months, 2 days.

Elmer McKaig died in 1885 at age 1. The urn atop his gravestone has stood the test of time and refuses to be separated from its base, even though it looks like someone tried.