BROWN, EDWARD HALL (b. 1861, Henderson Co., KY; d. 1946, Henderson, KY), blacksmith.
Born on May 8, 1861, the eldest son of Michael (Mike) Brown and his wife, Susan, Edward Hall Brown followed his father’s career path as a blacksmith. Mike arrived in Henderson in 1860 as a slave of the mayor’s wife. He was allowed to keep his blacksmith earnings and soon purchased his wife for $1,000. After the Civil War, he opened his blacksmith shop on First St.
Edward worked closely with his father, particularly learning how to handle skittish horses. In 1898, he went into business for himself.
Brown’s blacksmith skills led to his business accomplishments of owning several homes, his shop, and stock in mercantile interests. He served as a juror in the U.S. district court and was a member of the National Horseshoers’ Association and the Henderson Blacksmiths’ Association. By 1905, he and other African American community leaders had established (Frederick) Douglass High School, an African American high school in Henderson.
Brown, his wife, and his five children lived at 935 Clay St., and his shop was located at 422 First St. His son, Sneed, began working with him as a teenager and plied the family trade for 51 years, retiring in 1959. In his later years, Edward Brown continued to work as a blacksmith but also worked in the coal mines and took in boarders. The three generations of blacksmiths extended for over 93 years and had the oldest business in Henderson operating under its original name, Brown’s Blacksmith Shop. In an interview, Brown noted how things changed, but he claimed, “There is no way of shoeing a horse by steam or electricity. It must be done by plain hand and muscle.” Brown was buried in Fernwood Cemetery, Henderson, KY.
Reference: Sallie L. Powell, The Kentucky African American Encyclopedia
