John Brown | |
|---|---|
 Miniature of Brown byEdward Malbone | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromRhode Island's at-large congressional district | |
| In office March 4, 1799 – March 4, 1801 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas Tillinghast |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Stanton Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1736-01-27)January 27, 1736 |
| Died | September 20, 1803(1803-09-20) (aged 67) Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America |
| Spouse | Sarah Smith |
| Children | James Brown III Abigail Brown Francis Sarah Brown Herreshoff Alice Brown Mason |
| Parent(s) | James Brown II Hope Power |
| Relatives | Chad Brown (ancestor) Nicholas Brown Sr. (brother) Moses Brown (brother) Joseph Brown (brother) John Brown Francis (grandson) |
| Occupation | Merchant, politician, slave trader |
John Brown (January 27, 1736 – September 20, 1803) was an American merchant, politician and slave trader fromProvidence, Rhode Island. Together with his brothersNicholas,Joseph andMoses, Brown was instrumental in foundingBrown University (then known as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations) and moving it to their family's former estate in Providence.[1][2][3][4]
Brown laid the cornerstone of the university's oldest building in 1770, and he served as its treasurer for 21 years, from 1775 to 1796.[2][4] He was also one of the founders ofProvidence Bank and served as its first president in 1791.[1][2] Brown was active in theAmerican Revolution, notably as an instigator of the 1772Gaspee Affair, and he served in both state and national government. At the same time, he was a powerful voice ofproslavery thought, clashing aggressively in newspapers, courts and the political system with his brother Moses, who had become an abolitionist.[1][4]
Brown's home in Providence is now a museum andNational Historic Landmark.[2] His personal desk and bookcase reside at theYale University Art Gallery inNew Haven, Connecticut. The desk is attributed to Daniel Spencer, who opened his cabinetmaking studio in Providence, Rhode Island in 1772.[5][6]
John Brown was born inProvidence in theColony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, on January 27, 1736, to James Brown II (1698–1739) and Hope Power (1702–1792). His paternal grandparents were Elder James Brown (1666–1716), a pastor at the First Baptist Church, and Mary (Harris) Brown. His father, James Brown II, established himself early in the mercantile business, trading in slaves, rum, molasses, and other goods. His parents, who were married in 1723, had six children, including: Mary (1731–1795), who married Dr. David Vanderlight, James (1724–1750), the eldest son who was a sea captain and who died young,Nicholas (1729–1791), Joseph (1733–1785), John (1736–1803) andMoses (1738–1836).[7]
John Brown was a descendant ofChad Brown, a co-founder of Providence and early Baptist minister at theFirst Baptist Church in America followingRoger Williams. His uncle was Obadiah Brown I (1712–1762), who joined Brown's father, James Brown II (1698–1739), in the mercantile trade in cocoa, rum, molasses. He also enslaved and sold men, women and children of African descent. Obadiah's initial role was as master of his brother's shipping vessels in the West Indies trade. After the death of Brown's father in 1739, Obadiah retired from the sea himself, but continued the business. He also helped to raise James' young children, later forming a partnership with James' four surviving sons as "Obadiah Brown & Co." Obadiah Brown I, who married his first cousin, Mary Harris (1718–1805), daughter of Toleration and Sarah Harris, had eight children. All four of their sons died in early childhood, and their four daughters, Brown's first cousins, were Phebe Brown (born 1738), who married John Fenner (brother of Governor Arthur Fenner), Sarah Brown (1742–1800), who married Lt. Gov.Jabez Bowen (1739–1815), Anna Brown (1744–1773), who married her first cousin,Moses Brown, and Mary Brown (born 1753), who marriedThomas Arnold (1751–1826).[8] Another uncle was Rhode Island Deputy GovernorElisha Brown and a nephew wasNicholas Brown Jr., the philanthropist and the namesake of Brown University.
Brown went on to own a successful farming and shipping business with his brothers, Nicholas,Joseph, andMoses Brown. He was active in theslave trade andChina trade and invested heavily inprivateers during the 1760s through 1780s.
Brown was a leader in theSons of Liberty and was one of the instigators of theburning of theGaspee in 1772. Aaron in his affidavit says as the boats got below HMS Gaspee's bows he saw Brown fire a musket andCaptain Dudingston immediatly falling from where he was stood[9]. Along with theBoston Tea Party, this was one of the first violent acts of defiance to the authority of the British Crown which eventually led up to theAmerican Revolution.
In 1775, during theAmerican Revolution, John Brown sold the United States Navy its first ship, theUSSProvidence (previously, theKaty). Brown was named as a delegate forRhode Island to theContinental Congress in 1784–1785 but did not attend.
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John Brown was also a slave trader and personally ownedslaves as well.[10] On March 22, 1794, Congress passed theSlave Trade Act of 1794, which prohibited the making, loading, outfitting, equipping, or dispatching of any ship to be used in human trafficking.[11] Subsequently, on August 5, 1797, John Brown was ordered to forfeit his shipHope. He was tried in federal court as the first American to be tried under the 1794 law. Brown was acquitted, but did not have his ship returned.[12][13]
Brown's involvement in the slave trade andslavery in Rhode Island are addressed in the officialResponse of Brown University to the Report of the Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice.[14]
Brown's business interests were varied. In addition to the slave trade he was involved in shipbuilding and real estate speculation. He was also a partner (along with his brotherMoses Brown and Rhode Island GovernorStephen Hopkins) in theHope Furnace (located in Hope Village on the border of towns of Scituate and Coventry, RI) which made cannons during the American Revolution and through the War of 1812.
In 1791 Brown founded Providence Bank - the first bank in Rhode Island, and organizer of the ProvidenceSouth Bridge Company.[15] After various acquisitions over the next 160 years Providence Bank evolved intoFleetBoston Financial which, in turn, was absorbed byBank of America in 2004. Providence Bank is one of the oldest "branches" in Bank of America's "family tree" and is, at least arguably, still a "living" corporate entity.
The original Providence Bank building (built in 1774) still stands at50 South Main Street in Providence and is the corporate office of theBrown & Ives Land Company which is another business which can trace its roots to John Brown.
Brown played a leading role in theGaspée Affair of 1772 that increased hostilities between theThirteen Colonies and theKingdom of Great Britain andhelped catalyze events leading up to theAmerican Revolutionary War.[16] He was an active Federalist and pushed against Rhode Island'sAnti-Federalist, "Country Party" in getting Rhode Island to become part of federal union.
Providence, the first warship to sail for America's Continental Navy, was built in 1768 by John Brown. It was purchased by the colony of Rhode Island after theRoyal Navy began attacking Rhode Island's shipping lanes. The General Assembly ordered its committee of safety to fit out two ships to defend the lanes, one of which became theProvidence. The ship, at one time under the command ofContinental Navy officerJohn Paul Jones, went on to participate in 60 engagements and capture 40 British ships before it was dismantled in 1779 to prevent it from falling into British hands.[17]
Brown was elected to theUnited States House of Representatives in 1798 and served one two-year term from March 4, 1799, to March 3, 1801. The carriage he travelled to Washington in is referred to as "John Brown's chariot" and is preserved at theJohn Brown House in Providence.
John Brown died inProvidence,Rhode Island on September 20, 1803, and interred in the Brown family plot in theNorth Burial Ground in Providence.
He was married to Sarah (Smith) Brown (1738–1825). Together, they had:
Brown's grandsonJohn Brown Francis was later aU.S. Senator andGovernor of Rhode Island. His grandson, Charles Frederick Herreshoff (1809–1888), and his sons, James Brown Herreshoff (1834–1930),John Brown Herreshoff (1841–1915), andNathanael Greene Herreshoff (1848–1938) founded theHerreshoff Manufacturing Company, a boatbuilding establishment in Bristol, Rhode Island.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromRhode Island's at-large congressional district 1799–1801 | Succeeded by |
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