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From Galveston Heiress To Hands-On Philanthropist

• Galveston Unscripted | J.R. Shaw

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A vivid portrait of Betty Brown emerges: a bold Galveston socialite who turned privilege into service, steered a women’s home with hands-on grit, and shaped civic life before and after the 1900 storm. We trace the woman behind the legend, separating folklore from the record while honoring the force of her will.

• family roots, Ashton Villa, and early wealth
• European art study and expanding worldview
• public image, gossip, and social daring
• the 1900 hurricane and relief efforts
• leadership at the Letitia Rosenberg Home
• inventive fundraising and Angora cats
• defense of the tango and cultural pushback
• health decline, resignation, and tributes
• folklore, hauntings, and enduring legacy


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Her executive ability is well known. There is no half-hearted work about what this lady does. When she goes into anything, time is put at a discount. Enterprise and energy have no leisure to hear what might happen, as all is centered on what will happen if good work is done. Hence, the success this chairman always achieves in what she sets her heart and mind to do. Any guesses who we're talking about? Need another clue? Journalist and author Gary Cartwright described this local philanthropist as, quote, homely. She had thin lips, a prominent chin, and a nose upon which a family of eagles could have roosted. Disconcertingly, atop a fantastic hourglass figure. Know who it is yet? Okay, here's the last hint. She never married and had no children, but her nieces gave rave reviews. One said that her aunt was, quote, a very beautiful, talented, and fascinating woman at all times. Tall, of beautiful figure, queenly dignity and graciousness personified. Another niece described her a little more bluntly. She was not a raving beauty, but held herself erect, head high, and her Grecian nose always seemed as though she was smelling something, either good or bad. She was a queen, though she was not a beauty. She carried herself so erectly and gave one the feeling that they were in the presence of royalty. What about the real Rebecca Ashton Brown? Miss Betty Brown, in her own words. Well, she didn't leave us many of her own, but we do know that in 1902 she applied for a passport. And some of that information is self-reported, right? This document describes her as 5'8 with blonde hair, blue eyes, a pointed chin, with a quote, regular nose. She lists her occupation as an artist, which was true enough. It also lists her birth year as 1865, making her 37 years old. This was not true. Betty Brown shaved 10 years off of this passport application, probably just because she could. Whether this was vanity, convenience, or social convention from women travelers, historians can only speculate. In 1902, she was actually 47 years old, and in many ways, her life was just beginning. On February 18, 1855, Rebecca Ashton Brown, more commonly known as Betty Brown, was born on the island into Galveston Royalty. Her mother, Rebecca Ashton Stoddart, was brought to Galveston Island as a very young child in the 1830s, right about the time the city of Galveston was getting its start. Betty's father, James Moreau Brown, was 10 years older than her mother, and immigrated from New York in the 1840s. Once established here, he and his business partner opened a hardware store in the island in 1847. James Moreau and Rebecca Ashton married in 1848, and the couple immediately began building their family life. Her father quickly became one of the most important businessmen in the area, supplying construction materials for the booming Galveston County. On top of that, he became president of the Galveston, Houston, and Henderson Railroad in 1859. To support his growing family and to firmly establish them on the island, James Brown commissioned the construction of a large, three-story home on the island made out of a very uncommon material for coastal Texas at the time, brick. This home, known as the Ashton Villa, is one of the oldest and most storied on the island. The Ashton Villa itself has the right to have its own episode, so we won't get into it much here. But suffice to say that this stately building, being the family's residence, played a significant role in shaping Betty's early life and social standing. Ashton Villa, completed in 1859, was among the first brick homes on Galvison Island, a practical choice against hurricane winds and even fire. Its survival through the many hurricanes that Galvison has had, including the 1900 storm, owes largely to that material strength. Betty Brown was the third child out of five, and the couple's first daughter. The young family embraced their social position, ensuring the children lack for nothing by providing them with the highest quality clothing, education, and experiences. By 1870, the Brown family was one of the wealthiest in Texas. As she grew up, Betty's independence and intelligence became her defining traits. Her love for art and painting, a socially acceptable pursuit for young Victorian women, was not just a hobby for her. Unlike many women of her time, Betty had the opportunity and encouragement to wholeheartedly pursue her art. In 1881, she embarked on a transformative journey with her family to Europe, where she lived and studied for two years. She was determined to pursue art. Betty studied art in Vienna between 1881 and 1883, while making many trips to other major European cities. Though her art career never really took off, this experience opened her eyes to the broader world off of Galveston Island. Betty caught the travel bug and began collecting souvenirs from all over the world, bringing them back home to display at Ashton Villa. Her European trip not only enriched her art, but also broadened her horizons and instilled in her a love for travel and exploration. Photographs of Betty Brown from this era of her life give us a glimpse into her personality, a bold young woman dressed in the finest clothing, with glittering jewelry, a flamboyant hat or elaborate hairstyle, and usually a matching fan held in one hand. But never with a wedding ring. Betty never married, despite having plenty of opportunities. Contemporaries speculated about her private life. Gossip was gossip, and rumors circulated. But it all seems to lead back to Victorian's social fascination more than fact. By all accounts, she was happy devoting her time and energy to her supportive family and experiencing the best life could offer her. She even caused a scandal by racing her carriages down the street, and she was known for hosting the best parties, even smoking and drinking at those parties. She thrived at social events, especially when she was the hostess. In 19th century Galveston society, this behavior by an unmarried woman was considered daring, yet Betty's social status and family name shielded her from ostracism. Simultaneously, she was admired and whispered about. However, Betty also balanced this lifestyle with philanthropic work, helping the family maintain their place in the community at large, even during the island's darkest hour. Positioned on the island's highest point, Ashton Villa fared the 1900 hurricane better than many other buildings. The flooding and storm surge didn't impact the home as much as other wooden structures on the island. In the aftermath of the United States' deadliest natural disaster, thousands of Galvestonians had lost their lives, and thousands of homes and buildings were destroyed across the island. The first floor of the Ashton Villa had to be cleared of mud and debris, but the Brown family immediately opened the doors to victims of the storm and began helping to clean up the city. The devastating 1900 storm changed the lives of everyone on the island, and even the boisterous Betty Brown was brought down to earth by this disaster. After the storm, Betty Brown began slowing down her travel schedule and invested more of her time, energy, and money into the local community. Betty was well acquainted with the philanthropic affairs of her parents and continued to support their legacies after their deaths. However, she was finally prepared to start really building her own. The Letitia Rosenberg Home for Women first opened in 1888. This organization was dedicated to helping elderly women who couldn't care for themselves financially or health-wise. Initially funded and founded by the philanthropic-minded Henry Rosenberg, in memory of his first wife, Letitia, Betty continued her mother's legacy of supporting the institution. However, Betty went a step further and served as president of the Board of Lady Managers, which oversaw the day-to-day operations of the home. For 14 years, she worked to ensure the home was financially sound and able to provide for the elderly and impoverished women living on Galveston Island. Like most charitable institutions of its era, the Letitia Rosenberg home primarily served white women. Nevertheless, Betty's leadership reflected a significant civic role for women long before they gained voting rights. And true to her usual style, Madam President Betty Brown was very hands-on. According to Betty's biographer, Sherry McLeroy, Betty personally supervised construction projects, personally shopped for the home, bought and sold cows, and frequently covered additional expenses from her own accounts. She even bred and sold white Angora cats on the side, only$5 a kitten, with all proceeds going to the home. It only took two kittens to install an electric light on the front porch. Family letters corroborate her fundraising through cat sales, though when it comes to verified accounting, the two kittens equals one light story might not make it through an audit without a second look. And speaking of those white Angora cats, it's worth knowing that Betty had a lifelong obsession with them. Her nieces and nephews even remembered piling kittens on the long trains of her expensive dresses and dragging the precious cargo through the house. During Galveston's long recovery effort after the 1900 storm, the festive social parties resumed. Betty's family recounted fond memories of their aunt during this period, with the queen continuing to hold court over life in the villa and across the island. In 1913, Betty even courted controversy by defending a fundraising, quote, tango ball for charity, after local ministers denounced the dance as immoral. She replied, quote, the tango, when properly executed, is perfectly harmless, end quote. Perfectly encapsulating her mix of defiance, wit, and civic spirit. Unfortunately, Betty was also increasingly confined to the Ashton Villa. By the mid-1910s, Betty's health was seriously impacting her work and social activities. Historians and contemporaries alike noted a lingering cough and an increasing number of days spent convalescing in her own home. She resigned from the board of the Rosenberg Women's Home in 1918, citing her poor health, though she was named honorary president for life. According to McLeroy and Archival Records, she suffered from a chronic respiratory illness. Some modern researchers speculate she may have had ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease, but her exact diagnosis is uncertain. Medical documentation from 1920 is inconclusive. Following her resignation, the Board of Lady Managers stated that, quote, no trouble was too great for her to take, no detail too small to escape her attention in all matters affecting the welfare of the home. In her resignation, the institution loses the most valuable and faithful officer in its history, wherein is forever written the results of years of consistent effort and which will always stand as a monument. End quote. Rebecca Ashton Brown died at home on Monday, September 13, 1920. Betty was 65 years old. The funeral services were held the next day, and she was buried alongside her family at the Episcopal Cemetery on Broadway. Though the funeral services were private, there were 19 honorary pallbearers, including John and George Seely, W. L. Moody Jr., and John Hutchings Sr., some of the island's most influential men. Galveston's elite, civic leaders, and social figures regarded her as a local matriarch. Rebecca Ashton Brown, Miss Betty, was a local and loud presence on the island through some of its highest and lowest points. On the surface, she was a flamboyant, vivacious socialite who left a truly extraordinary mark on Galveston. But digging a little deeper, she was also an intelligent, thoughtful, and driven philanthropist who had a deep love for her family and community. Now, if you've been following this podcast long enough, you know that I don't do ghost stories. But everything that comes next adds to the lore and wonder of Galveston Island. Legend has it that she loved Ashton Villa so much that she decided to stay. If you visit Ashton Villa today, her figure is rumored to appear at the top of the stairs at Ashton Villa, waiting to greet her guests in one of her trademark turquoise gowns. And if you listen closely, you may even hear her warming up the piano for a sing-along. Ghost stories like these are part of Galveston's oral tradition, first documented decades after her death. No contemporary records mention hauntings. But the legend of Miss Betty lives on through local folklore. Historian David G. McComb in his 1986 book, Galveston A History, described Betty's lingering cough with an unusual wry tone. Biographer Sherry McLeroy later cited his unintentionally cruel interpretation about her dying cough. She was known to have a chronic bronchial cough loud enough to startle the streetcar mules on the street. Legend goes that amused pedestrians would gather to witness the plotting animals awaken with surprise and bolt away running. Whether true or exaggerated, the story encapsulates Betty's reputation. Even in frailty, she commanded attention.

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J.R. Shaw

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