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Mitchell-Brown Family Papers, SHM MS-3 1809-1908

SHM MS-3

Biographical Note

Angeline “Angie” and Daniel Mitchell

Angeline "Angie" Brigham was born in West Borough (now Westboro), Massachusetts on June 27, 1824. After graduation from Mt. Holyoke Seminary in Massachusetts, she became the principal of the Young Ladies Seminary in Bridgewater, Mass. Angie married Daniel F. Mitchell on Oct. 3, 1850. The second wife of Mitchell, she became stepmother to two sons: William D. and Daniel Francis. Angie gave birth to a daughter, named Angeline Brigham, on October 5, 1854.

Daniel F. Mitchell descended from Experience Mitchell, who came to the New World on the third Pilgrim ship, the Ann, in 1623. Experience, as one of the "original proprietors," settled in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Daniel was born in Bridgewater on February 7, 1807, the son of Eunice (Mitchell) and Daniel Mitchell, Esq. One of five children, Mitchell showed an early interest in surveying and civil engineering. These interests became a lifelong career.

By February of 1857, Angie was the preceptress at Battleboro Academy in W. Battleboro, Vermont. Daniel moved his family to Kansas in 1857, to support that territory's free-state movement. Angie may have come later, in 1858. In the fall of 1857, the Junction City Town Company was incorporated, with Daniel Mitchell as secretary. However, the family apparently lived in Ogden until, in either 1860, or April 1861, they relocated to Junction City. Mitchell served as surveyor for the town-site in 1858. He also worked at the U. S. Land office as an engineer and as an attorney for land issues. Angie taught school in a log cabin with a dirt floor.

In response to a call for surveyors and teachers in Arizona Territory, the Mitchells joined the Grizzly Callen party bound for Prescott in 1875. The family traveled by covered wagon, bringing with them the possessions they most valued, including a canary in a gilded cage. Prescott's early land distribution had not been exactly legal; early settlers had purchased their lots before the official sale date. A solution was reached in 1875, when Judge Fleury temporarily took possession of all land and resold it to the original owners at little or no cost. Mitchell was hired to assist with this project by making an official survey.

The Mitchells were active in the community: Daniel surveyed the town-sites of Prescott and Wickenburg and served, in 1876, as Justice of the Peace, while Angie was appointed by the State Superintendent of Schools as a member of the Territorial Board of Examiners for teachers. Angie was also a prolific writer and had articles published in such magazines as Harpers Young Folks, Mother's Journal, Youth Companion and Home Journal.

Daniel F. Mitchell contracted an illness while working in Wickenburg and died at his Prescott home on July 23, 1877. He was buried at Citizen's Cemetery. Angeline Brigham Mitchell passed away on July 21, 1906, at the Maricopa Indian Reservation near Phoenix, where she was residing with her daughter's family. She was buried in the local Masonic cemetery. Although her obituary states that the body might later be moved to a plot next to her husband's, there is no record of a re-interment.

Angeline B. Mitchell and George E. Brown

Daniel and Angline's daughter, also named Angeline Brigham and called "Angle," was born in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, on October 5, 1854. Education was valued in the Mitchell family and a gift of a book was common, even for baby Angie. Much of Angie's early education was under the mother's tutelage. She was an excellent student. Attending both Kansas Agricultural College in Manhattan (now Kansas State University) and Lawrence University (now the University of Kansas), Angie was just shy of graduation when her father's financial set-backs forced her to abandon her education. Nevertheless, she soon joined her mother's profession as a teacher. After arriving in Prescott, she taught at Miller Valley, Tiger Mine, Wild Rye, Tonto Basin, and West Prescott schools. In January 1877, she resigned as a teacher in Walnut Grove School and, began to advertise her Private School in the Arizona Miner. In addition to scholastic endeavors, Angie was also a serious student of music.

In March 1881, in Prescott, Angie served as Enrolling and Engrossing Clerk of the House of Representatives for the 11th Legislature. She was an organist at Westside Church in Prescott and a member of the Golden Rule Chapter of the Eastern Star. On April 20, 1881, Angie married George Edward Brown. George Edward Brown was born July 17, 1846, in either Lee County or Burlington, Iowa. His education consisted of instruction in the local schools. In 1861, he enlisted as a private with Company B, 14th Iowa Volunteers. He mustered out at Davenport, Iowa, August 8, 1865. His family emigrated to Kansas in 1866, living in Olathe, Johnson County, Wyandotte, and Topeka. Politically inclined, George was named Secretary of the Republican Central Committee and Delegate to the 1872 Congressional and State Convention. Other jobs included a post in the Kansas State Treasurer's Office and work as a railroad engineer. He traveled to Prescott, by way of Colorado, in 1877, with the Murphy party and established a ranch in the Agua Fria Valley near Mayer.

During their courtship, George was elected as a Republican to the Arizona Territorial Legislature in 1880. After their marriage, George continued his political activities, holding several positions within the local Republican Party. He also acted as deputy sheriff during the administrations of Ed Bowers and William Owen "Bucky" O'Neill, and as a deputy Marshal for the northern part of the Territory. He was also a member of the Prescott Literary, Dramatic, and Library Association, even assuming the post of president. Angie, a meticulous record keeper, became an amateur historian, documenting local events, pioneer histories, and collecting natural specimens. She also served as a member of the Board of Examiners for teachers, both at the territorial and county level. The couple moved from their ranch to the Maricopa Indian Reservation in 1904, when George was appointed to the Indian Service as an agricultural specialist.

George contracted spinal meningitis and passed away in March 1908. Angie died on January 23, 1909. Both are buried in Phoenix. The couple did not have children.

D. F. Mitchell

Daniel Francis, also known as "Frank" and "D. F.," was born to Catherine W. Brigham and Daniel F. Mitchell on June 3, 1843, in Boston, Massachusetts. While in Junction City, Kansas, he joined the Masons, later maintaining his membership and various official duties with the Prescott Masonic Lodge. During the Civil War, Frank served with the Union. Upon his arrival in Prescott in 1876, Mitchell opened a photography studio, known at first as the Art Gallery. He spent many years documenting the people and places in the Prescott area. In 1883, Edwin Baer joined Mitchell in a partnership. Mitchell then retired from the photography business in 1885.

After his retirement, Frank worked in several fields, including jobs in real estate and as a bookkeeper. About 1923, he entered the Pioneers' Home, suffering from blindness. He died on December 28, 1928, following a fall down a flight of stairs at the Masonic Lodge. After a Masonic funeral Mitchell was interred at the Prescott Masonic Cemetery. He was not married.

Scope and Content

The Mitchell-Brown Family Papers consists of school records, diaries, survey records, genealogical information, and other family records compiled by members of the Mitchell-Brown family.

System of Arrangement

Restrictions

Conditions Governing Access

None.

Conditions Governing Use

Unpublished and published manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder. The Sharlot Hall Museum may not own copyright to all parts of this collection. It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the State of Arizona and the Sharlot Hall Museum - this includes its Board of Trustee officers, employees, outside contractors, and agents from and against all claims made by person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright.

Controlled Access Terms

Administrative Information

Custodial History

The Mitchell-Brown Family Papers, in its entirety, was given to Sharlot Hall by Angie Brown in 1909. No further accruals are expected.

Preferred Citation

Mitchell-Brown Family Papers, SHM MS-3. Sharlot Hall Museum Library & Archives.

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