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The Life of WILLIAM HARRY BROWN

Mr. Brown’s private mausoleum, in the shape of a pyramid, was erected in 1898-1899 and is attributed to the noted architects Alden & Harlow. The diminutive adaptation standing approximately 35 feet is the only one of its type in the cemetery and has been a landmark for over a century. The building was inspired by the Great Pyramids, which Mr. Brown and his family visited. Above the bronze doors of the mausoleum is a winged sun-disc, considered by the Egyptians as a symbol of divine protection. It is a prevalent symbol on Egyptian-style mausoleums and monuments throughout the cemetery. Mr. Brown’s father, William Hughey Brown, was a successful, respected coal operator and ship owner. He died in 1875 leaving his vast holdings to Harry and his three brothers. The reorganized firm of W. H. Brown Sons prospered until the late eighteen hundreds when it was sold. Aside from the family business, Harry Brown was vice president of the Marine National Bank, a director of the Union Trust Company, and a member of the Board of Managers of The Homewood Cemetery. He was an ardent yachtsman and held a ship captains license. In 1914, he and his son William sailed the family yacht, Visitor II, through the Panama Canal in what was reportedly the first passage of a private vessel through the canal. Mr. Brown and his brother Sam, who died in 1905, provided the funds for the building of the Mary S. Brown Memorial-Ames Methodist Church on Beechwood Boulevard, Squirrel Hill, in memory of their mother. Mr. Brown, an enthusiastic Mason, was also responsible for the erection of the W. Harry Brown Home for Boys in Elizabethtown, PA benefiting orphaned dependent sons of Pennsylvania Masons. Mr. Brown’s wife Margaret (Boyle), an international hostess who introduced the breakfast dance to London society also was a frequent hostess to Edward, Prince of Wales prior to his becoming King of England. Mr. Brown, his wife, two daughters, son and son-in-law are entombed in the eight-crypt pyramid.

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