Drown, Charles W.

Submitted by Mike Miller

Charles W. Drown, civil sheriff of Orleans parish, and a man well and favorably known all over the same, owes his nativity to Alexandria, La., his birth occurring October 15, 1849. His father, William H. H. Drown, was a native of the Empire state and came to Louisiana in 1840. He here followed the occupation of a mechanical engineer until his death in 1866. Charles W. Drown, the eldest of the children born to his parents, attained his growth and received his education in his native parish. During the war, and when but a lad, he served nearly three years as a clerk in various departments of the confederate army. After cessation of hostilities he engaged as an active steamboat man the capacity of purser, on the Bed river and continued as such until the beginning of 1879, when he located in New Orleans as secretary of the Red river organization. Later he was appointed treasurer and traffic manager for the company, which position he has held through the various changes of the organizations and which he still continues to hold. He was elected civil sheriff in 1888 by the Young Men's democracy, and enjoys the distinction of having run ahead of the ticket, being elected by a handsome majority. Mr. Drown is a member of many of the city clubs, and has been commanding officer of the Continental guards, one of the most prominent military organizations in the United States, for the past eight years. He is a member of the American Legion of Honor. He was married in 1876 to Miss Ella J. Gracey, of New Orleans, and the fruits of this union are four children--two sons and two daughters. The family are members of the Catholic church.

Biographical and Historical Memoires of Louisiana, (vol. 1), pp. 383-384. Published by the Goodspeed Publishing Company, Chicago, 1892.