Gertrude May AMRINE

  General Notes:

Photo: In 1959, Gertrude May (Amrine) (Allum) Brown posed with her son, Wren Orvid Allum. Gertrude was willingly helpful in the early 1960s and provided important details about ALLUM.
From DeeAnna Allum Granston


Gertrude (Amrine) (Allum) Brown (1885-1964), second wife of John Banks Allum (1843-1927):

March 28, 1960 letter:

"All of my husband's children [from his first marriage] were older than I. Jennie was 3 years older, Rex 7 years older and, Alta, 12 years older.

"My second husband, Jim Brown, and I are living in the small town of Tiffin, Iowa. He has been sick the past 3 years. He is 79, and I am 75. I am quite well for my age.

"Jim has a daughter married to Alfred Erickson, and we have a son, Jim, Jr., who lives just 6 miles east of us in Coralville. He is married and has one little boy."


1963 letter:

"My husband and I moved to Cedar Rapids in October, 1961. We lived here less than a year when my husband died. It has been a year last August since he passed away."


Myrna (Allum) Schloeman (1905-1999), daughter of John Banks Allum and Gertrude (Amrine) (Allum) Brown, June 10, 1964 letter to DeeAnna:

"Mom passed away May 18 at 10:45 a.m. She died of a heart attack. We rushed her to the hospital but to no avail. They just couldn't save her. Her heart was just worn out.

"It was a shock to all of us, and it is hard to realize she is gone. I went to her house so many times a day and got up at night to see if she had a light, and it is hard to look across the street and know she will never come out the door and walk around the house or go to the store for groceries or mail a letter.

"I guess we have to look at it this way: It must have been her time to go. But it was difficult giving her up. You lose your best friend when your mom is gone."




1885 BIRTH of Gertrude May Amrine

1900 MARRIAGE of Gertrude May Amrine and John Banks Allum on March 6 at Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, Iowa by Rev. John Y. Aitchison

1900 newspaper NASHUA REPORTER, Nashua, Chickasaw County, Iowa, March 22:

"John B. Allum, age 50, and Gertrude Amrine, age 18, were married at Council Bluffs March 8."

1900 CENSUS, Iowa, Iowa County, Marengo Township, Marengo ("John B.," age 57, "Barber" is written, but then crossed out) (second wife Gertrude, age 15) (J. B.'s son, "Louis R. Alum," age 21, is in the household, as well as J. B.'s daughter "Jennie Alum," age 17) ("Albuna" in some census indexes)

1905 CENSUS, Iowa State Census, Iowa County, Marengo ("J. B." ... "Gertrude" ... and "O. W." Allum) ("O. W." was Wren Orvid Allum)

1910 CENSUS, Iowa, Iowa County, Marengo Township, Marengo ("John B.," age 67, "Barber") ("Gertrude W.," age 25) ("Bertrude Allwin" in some census indexes)

1915 CENSUS, Iowa State Census, Iowa County, Marengo ("J. B.," age 72, "Barber," completed 8 years of grammar school, religious preference, "Methodist")

1915 CENSUS, Iowa State Census, Iowa County, Marengo ("Mrs. J. B.," age 30, completed 3 years of high school, religious preference, "Methodist")

1920 CENSUS: Iowa, Iowa County, Marengo Township, Marengo ("John B.," age 77, "Barber") ("Gertrude," age 34)

1923 DIVORCE of John Banks Allum and Gertrude (Amrine) Allum

1923 MARRIAGE of Gertrude (Amrine) Allum to James Garfield Brown on September 27 in Highland Park, Wayne County, Michigan

1930 CENSUS, Iowa, Benton County, Florence Township, Norway ("James G.," "Laborer, County ?")

1962 DEATH, James Garfield Brown, at approximately 81 years

1964 DEATH, Gertrude May (Amrine) (Allum) Brown, at 79 years 1 month 6 days

Gertrude married John Banks ALLUM, son of William ALLUM 2nd and Mary Ann FIELDS, on March 6, 1900 in Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, Iowa. (John Banks ALLUM was born on January 12, 1843 in Greene County, Pennsylvania, died on February 12, 1927 in Marengo, Iowa County, Iowa and was buried on February 13, 1927 in I.O.O.F. Cemetery, Marengo, Iowa County, Iowa.)

Gertrude next married James Garfield BROWN, son of Squire Napolean BROWN and Catherine KLEIN, on September 27, 1923 in Highland Park, Wayne County, Michigan. (James Garfield BROWN was born on September 17, 1880 in Iowa and died in August 1962 in Cedar Rapids, Linn County, Iowa.)