Ross Sullivan Martin

In 1924, Ross Sullivan Martin purchased the four lots from W.F. Brown on October 24th.  The terms stated that he paid $200 down and agreed to make four more payments of $200 in 1925, 1926, 1927, and the final payment was due on or before October of 1929.  For a total cost of $1,000.  The court record doesn't clearly state if that purchase was for the house and lots so I'll have to keep looking into that.

What I have learned since looking at the document filed at the Coleman County courthouse is that I am related to W.F. Brown.  Growing up I remember my grandparents and my dad refer to him as Uncle Wes, who was the brother to my dad's grandfather.  Since Talpa was a pretty small community I figured the odds were pretty great that this Brown person who sold the lots to Ross Martin was a relative. 

Wesley Franklin Brown, or Uncle Wes as he was called by family, was born October 22, 1874 in Pontotoc, Mississippi and moved to Texas when he was 16 in 1890.  Seven years later at the age of 23 he and his family moved to Coleman County. At the time he sold the lots to Ross Martin he would have been 51. 

One of the stories I have always found interesting is that he along with three other siblings never married.  For many years they lived on the family ranch together farming and ranching.  On August 26, 1952, Uncle Wes died at the age of 78.  

Before this week I couldn't really explain the connection that I felt to this house.  Driving by it always caught my eye and I always wondered about it.  Finding out this week that there is a connection between the house and our Brown family may explain a little bit more about why it caught my eye!  This has made the journey even more exciting---wanting to find out more.  I'm sure there will be more history to uncover not just in the house but in so many other ways!

Here is the page out of the Coleman County records:

Here are two pictures of Uncle Wes as a young man and as an older man:

Uncle Wes is in the back row, second young man in the middle.  He was around 16 in this picture.

Uncle Wes with his siblings Mattie, Ada, Uncle Wes, and another sibling I don't have the name for. Mattie and Ada along with Wes were three of the four siblings that lived together. This picture could reflect how he looked when he sold the lots to Ross Martin.