Kelly Brown, whose ripened powers place him among the capable representatives of civil law practice in Muskogee and who is also numbered among the lawmakers of the state, having been a member of the fifth general assembly of Oklahoma, is descended from an old English family, several of the representatives thereof with the nobility. Having incurred the being connected with nobility incurred the displeasure of the reigning monarch, the original progenitors of the family in America were obliged to flee to the new world, this occurring about the time of the Revolutionary war, settlement being made by them in Virginia. One or more of the family made their escape by becoming stowaways on vessels crossing the Atlantic. From Virginia members of the family made their way into Kentucky and it was in that state that Allen K. Brown, father of Kelly Brown, was born and reared. He there married Eliza Lykins, also a native of Kentucky, and in support of their family he followed the occupation of farming and stock raising in Kentucky until about 1897, when he removed to Oklahoma, becoming a resident of Ardmore. Allen K. and Eliza (Lykins) Brown were parents of five sons and two daughters. These in addition to Kelly Brown are: Henry H., who is engaged in law, practice at Ardmore; John F., a farmer and stock raiser of Kentucky, residing in Lexington; William M., connected with the Ardmore lee, Light Power Company; Russell B., a member of the Ardmore bar; Mrs. W. H. Stacey of Cannel City, Kentucky; and Mrs. M. Lykins of Ardmore.
The birth of Kelly Brown occurred at Caney, Morgan county, Kentucky, in 1885, and there he pursued a public school education until brought to Oklahoma by his parents, after which he continued his studies in this state, completing a high school course at Ardmore as a member of the first graduating class there. He also studied for a year in Hargrove College at Ardmore, at the end of which time he matriculated in the University of Texas, which he attended for two years. His preparation for the bar was made as a law student in the University of Chicago, in which he completed his course in 1910.
Returning to Oklahoma he was here admitted to practice and opened an office in Ardmore, where he was associated with his two brothers, Henry H. and Russell B., in the firm of Brown, Brown & Brown until 1915, when he came to Muskogee.
Aged in the general practice of civil law and re he is regarded as a strong advocate and wise counselor. He has been connected with much important litigation and his presentation of a cause, shows his strength as an attorney. His deductions are always sound, his reasoning clear and he is seldom, if ever, at fault in the application of a legal principle. His powers have constantly developed and ripened through experience and from the beginning of his career he has remained a close student of the fundamental principles of the profession.
Mr. Brown has also figured very prominently in democratic circles in Oklahoma and has delved deep into political problems, so that he is ever ready to support his position by intelligent argument. He served as secretary of the democratic central committee of Carter County, while still a resident of Ardmore, and acted as chairman of the county election board. In 1914 he was elected representative of Carter County in the lower house of the state legislature. The vote accorded him was unmistakable evidence of his personal popularity and the confidence reposed in him, for be received a majority in every precinct of the county, with the exception of one which contained a large Negro population. While serving in the house Mr. Brown was made chairman of the committee on public service corporations, also served on judiciary committee No. 1 and on the committees on criminal jurisprudence, oil and gas, elections, fish and game, enrolled and engrossed bills and capitol building. He did much to promote the oil conservation measure enacted in the fifth general assembly and staunchly supported many other bills and plans which he believed would be of benefit to the commonwealth at large. He introduced various bills, most of which received the strong approval of the governor, including a bill for the exemption of farm products from taxation and the recreating of the Supreme Court commission in accord with the views of Governor Williams.
A bill creating a state bureau of weights and measures, in conformity with an act of congress that enabled Oklahoma to obtain from the federal government a laboratory equipment valued at twenty thousand dollars, was also introduced by Mr. Brown, as was a bill relating to probate court procedure, a measure in which he was very deeply interested. He likewise introduced a bill creating a state cemetery fund; another making it a felony to carry a revolver or pistol; a bill relating to licenses for the practice of law in Oklahoma; a bill establishing an accounting system for municipal corporations; a bill providing that applicants for charters for public service corporations shall make a showing to the corporation commission that there exists a public necessity for such corporation; and a bill creating county boards of insanity. His legislative service received the strong endorsement of his constituents and his course was at all times one of credit and honor to himself and the people whom he represented. Mr. Brown has also held public office since removing to Muskogee, here filling the position of city attorney from February, 1919, until May, 1920, when the city was placed under the charter form of government and he resigned. He has since devoted his attention to general law practice and his clientage is now extensive and of a most important character.
In 1911, in Paris, Texas, Mr. Brown was married to Miss Leta May Woodward, daughter of John C. Woodward, editor and publisher of a Paris newspaper. They have four children: Martha, Elizabeth, David Kelly, Richard Blackstone and Leta May. Mr. and Mrs. Brown are consistent and active members of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, in which he has filled various offices, earnestly promoting every branch of the church work.
For recreation Mr. Brown turns to tennis and fishing. He belongs to the Wauhillau Club, also to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, while along strictly professional lines he is identified with the Muskogee Bar Association, the Oklahoma State Bar Association and the American Bar Association. During the years 1919 and 1920 he served as secretary of the Muskogee Bar Association. He takes a lively interest in the science of government and in those questions which have to do with national, as well as community, welfare. Oklahoma acknowledges her indebtedness to him for effective service in behalf of the commonwealth, while a large clientele account him a valuable representative of their legal interests.