The Life and Legacy of Reverend Thomas Brush Brown and Amanda Harris

​The story of the Reverend Thomas Brush Brown and his wife, Amanda Harris, is a testament to the resilient spirit of the early settlers of Upper Canada. Their lives spanned nearly the entire 19th century, witnessing the transformation of the Canadian wilderness into established townships and communities.

​Thomas Brush Brown was born on August 4, 1804, in Argenteuil, Quebec. He was the son of Joseph Edward Brown (then 36) and Rebecca Brush (29). Growing up in the early 1800s, Thomas was part of a generation that saw the expansion of British North America.

​Amanda Harris was born roughly nine years later, around 1813, in Ontario. Her parents, Elisha Harris and Angelina Loomis, were young settlers themselves, aged 27 and 21 at the time of her birth.

​In 1830, the couple united in marriage in East Nissouri Township, located in Oxford County, Upper Canada. This union began a lifelong partnership that would last over six decades.

​Thomas and Amanda were the heads of a remarkably large and vibrant household. Together, they raised a family consisting of at least 13 children:​6 sons (as shown in the pictures with Thomas)

and ​7 daughters, (no picture)

​Raising such a large family in the mid-19th century required immense fortitude. As a Reverend, Thomas likely balanced his responsibilities to his congregation with the demanding labor of maintaining a homestead in Nissouri Township, where the family resided for at least a decade. Picture included shows their family attention their Golden Anniversary.

​The year 1893 marked the end of an era for the Brown family. After 63 years of marriage, Amanda passed away on January 5, 1893, at the age of 81. Her death occurred in Nissouri Township, the place they had called home for so long.

​Thomas did not survive his wife by long. He passed away later that same year, on December 17, 1893, at the age of 89. While Amanda’s life ended in the township where they lived, They were laid to rest in St. Marys Cemetery in St.Marys, Ontario.

​Today, their legacy lives on through their thirteen children and the deep roots they planted in the soil of Oxford and Perth County, contributing to the religious and social fabric of early Ontario.