Seraphina Brown (maiden name: Stevens) was born around 1828 in Massachusetts to Nathan and Lois Stevens. Her father was a laborer. She probably grew up in Barre, Massachusetts, and by 1850, she was living with her sister Lois there. She married James R. Brown in Barre on September 30, 1852, and their daughter Bessie was born around 1862. Her husband worked as a book keeper, and by 1860, they owned $200 of personal property. They moved to Vienna, Iowa, sometime in the 1860s, and her husband worked as a farmer there. By 1870, they owned $10,000 of real estate and $800 of personal property. James died in August 1901, and Seraphina passed away on August 18, 1909.