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Southampton’s Connection to the Columbia Space Mission 2003 Astronaut David Brown, M.D. a Descendant of Historic Saugeen Métis By Patsy L. McArthur, Saugeen Historian |
Heritage Métis
David Brown M.D |
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Few things nag
genealogists and researchers more than “dead ends” –
families who seem to vanish into thin air, or elusive
records of historic fact that deny an accurate picture of
the past. Recently a phone call from Peter Granville Brown
of Connecticut unlocked a family puzzle regarding the fate
of Hannah Augusta Granville, born at Saugeen in 1868, the
daughter of Gabriel Granville and his wife, Mary Higgins. It
also revealed an incredible Saugeen connection to space
exploration.
As it turns out, Southampton can lay credible claim to an accomplished medical doctor, US Navy pilot, and a decorated crew member of the Columbia Mission, David Brown, M.D. Regretfully, as we all witnessed, the mission’s fate was a re-entry disaster in 2003, and all aboard lost their lives. David, a Mission Specialist, was the second great grandson of Gabriel Granville, one of Saugeen’s oldest resident fishermen. Well-known, Gabriel was born in the Saugeen territory ca 1837, and tragically drowned while on his way to the Fishing Islands in 1903 – exactly one hundred years before the Columbia tragedy. How did it happen that Astronaut David Brown, born in 1956 in Arlington, Virginia, gives Southampton its only known claim to a decorated US astronaut? It is through Hannah Granville, David’s great grandmother, born on Front Street, Southampton. Hannah was born on January 2, 1868, and baptized into the Catholic faith. Her sponsors were Joseph Longe, Jr., and Christine Plante. On December 26, 1888, at age 20, Hannah married Thomas Russell in the Queen’s Hotel, Port Elgin. The ceremony was performed by Reverend James Gauley, and witnessed by Kathleen Russell of Owen Sound and Seth Smith of Southampton. On April 29, 1892, Hannah Russell (nee Granville) gave birth to Hannah Augusta Russell, at Southampton. Augusta was the grandmother of Astronaut David Brown. It was Augusta’s fate to leave Southampton while still a child, when her family migrated to Whitefish, Michigan Migration to Michigan was not uncommon for Saugeen’s French-Métis families. There were close Saugeen Métis family ties to Michigan, established long before water crossing between Ontario and Michigan became common. These were enduring French ties, established generations earlier during the fur trade and in Quebec. Augusta’s parents, Hannah and Thomas Russell chose to migrate at the turn of the century to Northern Michigan, it is thought because other relatives from Southampton were already there. One relative was Hannah’s uncle, Moses Beausoleil (Gabriel Granville’s half brother), a well-known Southampton cooper. Moses left Southampton in the 1870s, sailing with his family from Owen Sound to the Manitoulin area where the family was enumerated on Cockburn Island in the 1881 Census. Shortly afterwards the family migrated to Cedarville, Michigan, where family members became guides and fishermen. As it turned out in Michigan, Augusta Russell as a young stenographer took a position with the United States government. She married Harold McDowell Brown on April 15, 1915, in Brimley Michigan. . 22/03/2009 05:48 PM |
Both were government stenographers
and their work took them to Arlington, Virginia, where they lived and
raised a family of three. Arlington is just outside Washington, DC.
Eventually Harold went to law school and spent a career with the
Interstate Commerce Commission Their three children were: Edward Russell Brown, a civil engineer. He served in WWII, first in Scotland where he met and married his wife. They raised four children in York, Pennsylvania. One of Edward’s sons is Peter Granville Brown, the source of the information for this story. Barbara Brown, Harold and Augusta Russell Brown`s only daughter never married. She spent a career working with Elizabeth Arden`s, residing in Arlington, Virginia. Harold’s and Augusta’s third son, Paul Brown, was the father of Astronaut David Brown. Paul became a lawyer and then a judge in the Virginia Superior Court. He married Dorothy in 1950 and had two sons. The first, Doug, is an accountant in Alexandria, Virginia. The second was Astronaut David Brown M.D. David went to medical school, served in the U.S. Navy as a jet pilot and navy surgeon, and eventually became an astronaut. David was a crewmember aboard the Columbia space shuttle lost upon re-entry in 2003. Paul Brown, now in his nineties, resides in Washington, Virginia. There is much published about the accomplishments of Astronaut David Brown M.D. who joined the U.S. Navy after his medical internship. His Navy assignments included the Navy Branch Hospital in Adak, Alaska; he was deployed on the USS Carl Vinson in the Western Pacific; in 1988 he was the only flight surgeon in a ten-year period chosen for pilot training; he qualified on the F-18 Hornet and was deployed aboard the USS Independence. In 1995, he was flight surgeon to the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School where he also flew the T-38 Talon. In 1996, David reported to the Johnson Space Center, and was subsequently assigned to the crew schedule to launch in 2003. While doing genealogy or researching local history, ``dead ends`` once solved always bring a sense of accomplishment, a recording of details, and then the drawer is closed. On the other hand, particular accomplishments defy archiving, such as those of Astronaut David Brown M.D., second great grandson of Gabriel and Mary Higgins. All Southampton residents will want to acknowledge a remarkable life, accomplished in a few short years by a descendant of a local family. The community, particularly the historic Saugeen Métis community, has reason to be proud of David Brown`s achievements! A photo display can be viewed at the Historic Saugeen Métis community office, 204 High Street – the line from Gabriel Granville, Saugeen fisherman and cooper, to great great grandson, Astronaut David Brown M.D. – definitely one of our own! Recommended for viewing also is the NASA Columbia Memorial honouring the STS-107crew and their dedication to the spirit of exploration and discovery. David is shown in the picture on the extreme left.
http://www.nasa.gov/columbia/
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