Mrs. Lester Ranney Brooks was the widow of Lester Ranney Brooks (1847-1902). She lived at 1955 Haro Street from 1916 to 1920.
She was born Josephine Bullen on Mary 12, 1850, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Her father was John Bullen (1803-1884), a successful businessman and politician in Kenosha; her mother was Henrietta Mygatt (1806-1895).
On April 9, 1873, in Elba, Minnesota, she married Lester Ranney Brooks. He was born on May 19, 1847, in Redfield, New York. He was a successful business man and financier. He was also the commodore of the Minnetonka Yacht Club. He died in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 11, 1902. He was buried in Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis. He left an estate of over $700,000, which was a vast sum at that time.
Josephine (almost always called Mrs. Lester Brooks) continued to live in Minneapolis until about 1915. By 1915, she had arrived in Vancouver and was living at 1955 Haro Street. Her son, Philip Ranney Brooks, and other members of the Brooks family, also lived in the West End of Vancouver.
From 1921 to 1923, she was at 891 Chilco Street. In 1923, she moved to her new house at 5055 Connaught Drive.
About 1927, Josephine moved to Oregon. Starting about 1930, she lived with her son, Philip, in Portland, Oregon, until he died on July 23, 1940.
Josephine died in Portland on May 3, 1944. She was buried in Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Sources
Lester Ranney Brooks
Charles Collard Adams, Middletown Upper Houses, Middletown Upper Houses; a history of the north society of Middletown, Connecticut, from 1650 to 1800, with genealogical and biographical chapters on early families and a full genealogy of the Ranney family, New York, Grafton Press, 1908, https://archive.org/stream/middletownupperh00adamo#page/n10/mode/1up; Descendants of Thomas Ranney, page 343, https://archive.org/stream/middletownupperh00adamo#page/343/mode/1up.
“New York, State Census, 1855,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K6SD-J6X : accessed 29 Oct 2014), Lester R Brooks in household of Sheldon Brooks, Redfield, Oswego, New York, United States; citing Secretary of State; FHL microfilm 857437.
“United States Census, 1860,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M4LL-NKH : accessed 29 Oct 2014), Lester R Brooks in household of Sheldon Brooks, Whitewater, Winona, Minnesota, United States; citing “1860 U.S. Federal Census – Population,” Fold3.com; p. 17, household ID 142, NARA microfilm publication M653; FHL microfilm 803576.
“United States Census, 1870,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MD45-71M : accessed 29 Oct 2014), Lester Brooks in household of Sheldon Brooks, Minnesota, United States; citing p. 4, family 26, NARA microfilm publication M593, FHL microfilm 000552216.
“United States Census, 1870,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MDH6-VPL : accessed 29 Oct 2014), Lester Brooks in household of Sheldon Brooks, Minnesota, United States; citing p. 4, family 26, NARA microfilm publication M593, FHL microfilm 000830431.
“Minnesota, Marriages, 1849-1950,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FDX4-KJQ : accessed 29 Oct 2014), Lester R. Brooks and Josephine M. Bulline, 09 Apr 1873; citing FHL microfilm 1377818.
“Minnesota, State Census, 1875,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MKJ9-57Q : accessed 29 Oct 2014), Lester R Brooks, Winona City, Winona, Minnesota; citing p. 897, line 20, volume W – 1, State Library and Records Service, St.Paul; FHL microfilm 0565731.
“United States Census, 1880,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MZ91-7NF : accessed 03 Nov 2014), Lester R Brooks, Winona, Winona, Minnesota, United States; citing sheet 239C, NARA microfilm publication T9, NARA microfilm publication T9, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C.; FHL microfilm 1254637.
“Minnesota, State Census, 1885,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MQFS-QDP : accessed 29 Oct 2014), L R Brooks, Winona, Winona, Minnesota; citing p. , volume Winona, State Library and Records Service, St.Paul; FHL microfilm 000565759.
“United States Census, 1900,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M9SX-SB2 : accessed 29 Oct 2014), Lester R Brooks in household of Ad W Bronson, Election District 3 Minneapolis city Ward 4, Hennepin, Minnesota, United States; citing sheet 1B, family 1, NARA microfilm publication T623, FHL microfilm 1240766.
“Minnesota, Death Records, 1866-1916,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XP8X-KYL : accessed 03 Nov 2014), Lester R. Brooks, 11 Nov 1902; citing Minneapolis, Hennepin, Minnesota, Public Health Center, St. Paul; FHL microfilm 1499026.
“Minnesota, Deaths and Burials, 1835-1990,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FDM6-C83 : accessed 03 Nov 2014), Lester R. Brooks, 11 Nov 1902; citing Minneapolis, Hennepin, Minnesota, reference ; FHL microfilm 2117536.
Find A Grave, Find A Grave Memorial# 75303519, Lester R. Brooks, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=75303519; Birth: unknown; Death: Nov. 11, 1902; Burial: Lakewood Cemetery, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA; Plot: SECTION 23 LOT 25 GRAVE 23
“Brooks Estate is $712,500,” The St. Paul Globe, January 28, 1903, page 6, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn90059523/1903-01-28/ed-1/seq-6/.
Josephine Bullen
Find A Grave, Find A Grave Memorial# 94222635, John Bullen, Jr, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=94222635; Birth: May 16, 1803, Clinton, Oneida County, New York, USA; Death: May 9, 1884, Kenosha, Kenosha County, Wisconsin, USA; Burial: Green Ridge Cemetery, Kenosha, Kenosha County, Wisconsin, USA.
Find A Grave, Find A Grave Memorial# 94226152, Henrietta Mygatt Bullen, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=94226152; Birth: Sep. 7, 1806, New York, USA; Death: Oct. 12, 1895, Kenosha, Kenosha County, Wisconsin, USA; Burial: Green Ridge Cemetery, Kenosha, Kenosha County, Wisconsin, USA.
Society, Vancouver Province, July 8, 1914, page 8: “Mrs. Lester Brooks of Minneapolis, who has been spending the summer here, has purchased the residence of Mr. and Mrs. C.R. Gilbert on Haro street, which she will use as a summer home. Mrs. Brooks will not occupy the house until next spring.”
B.C. Saturday Sunset, March 13, 1915, page 5: “Mrs. Brooks has returned from Minneapolis and is now settled in the house in Haro street she acquired last autumn.”
Heritage Vancouver Society, Building Permits, 1901-1921; http://permits.heritagevancouver.org/index.php?cID=1:
| District: | Point Grey |
| Permit: | 3473 |
| Owner: | Brooks, Mrs. Lester |
| Architect: | Gillingham, Henry Herbert |
| Builder: | Newitt, S. J. |
| Legal Address: | DL: 526 Block: 889 Sub: Resub: Lot: 18-21 |
| Date (Y-M-D): | 1921-04-25 |
| Street Number: | 5055 |
| Street Name: | Connaught Drive |
| Value: | $30,000.00 |
| Remarks: | Dwelling/House; 50×100 feet, two-stories; full concrete basement; exterior half-timber finish w/ white stucco gables above first flr.; thatch shingle roof [DBR May 9, 1921]; [A-listed on Vancouver Heritage Register] |
| Reference ID: | PG-5563-5564-2 |
The original architect of the Connaught Drive house was Henry Herbert Gillingham. Alvah L. Hager, the general manager of the Canadian Fishing Company, bought the house about 1927. After 1960, the house was the setting for a series of religious organizations.
“Oregon, Death Index, 1903-1998,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VZ4D-XM5 : accessed 03 Nov 2014), Josephine Brooks, 03 May 1944; from Portland, Oregon, certificate number , Ancestry.com, “Oregon, Death Index, 1898-2008,” Oregon State Archives and Records Center, Salem.
Find A Grave, Find A Grave Memorial# 75303519, Josephine Bullene Brooks, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=75303572; Birth: unknown; Death: May 3, 1944, Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon, USA; Burial: Lakewood Cemetery, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA; Plot: SECTION 23 LOT 25 GRAVE 24.
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