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John Brown | |
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| President pro tempore of the United States Senate | |
| In office October 16, 1803 – February 26, 1804 | |
| Preceded by | Humphrey Marshall |
| Succeeded by | Jesse Franklin |
| 3rdDean of the United States Senate | |
| In office March 4, 1803 – March 3, 1805 | |
| Preceded by | Theodore Foster |
| Succeeded by | James Hillhouse |
| United States Senator fromKentucky | |
| In office June 18, 1792 – March 4, 1805 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Buckner Thruston |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's2nd district | |
| In office March 4, 1789 – June 1, 1792 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Andrew Moore |
| Delegate from Virginia to theCongress of the Confederation | |
| In office November 5, 1787 – October 21, 1788 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1757-09-12)September 12, 1757 |
| Died | August 29, 1837(1837-08-29) (aged 79) |
| Resting place | Frankfort Cemetery |
| Political party | Democratic-Republican |
| Other political affiliations | Anti-Administration |
| Spouse | Margaretta Mason |
| Children | 5 (includingMason andOrlando) |
| Alma mater | Liberty Hall Academy College of William & Mary College of New Jersey |
John Brown (September 12, 1757 – August 29, 1837) was an Americanlawyer andstatesman who participated in the development and formation of the State ofKentucky after theAmerican Revolutionary War.
Brown representedVirginia in theContinental Congress (1777–1778) and theU.S. Congress (1789–1791). While in Congress, he introduced the bill granting Statehood to Kentucky. Once that was accomplished, he was elected by the new state legislature as aU.S. Senator for Kentucky. From 1803 to 1804, Brown served asPresident pro tempore of the United States Senate.
John Brown was born inAugusta County in theColony of Virginia, on September 12, 1757. He was a son of Reverend John Brown and Margaret Preston Brown, immigrants from northernIreland. The son of aPresbyterian minister and schoolmaster, John was well educated, first at his father's Liberty Hall Academy (nowWashington and Lee University), and then at the College of New Jersey (nowPrinceton University). His studies at Princeton were halted, temporarily, as a result of the approach of English troops during theAmerican Revolutionary War.
Brown's role during the Revolutionary War is unclear. The family tradition was that Brown served under GeneralGeorge Washington and theMarquis de Lafayette in theContinental Army; however, no known documentation supports this account. Two years after he left the College of New Jersey (1778), Brown enrolled atThe College of William & Mary where he studied law. In the fall of 1780, his studies were interrupted by the War and the arrival of the British forces to the city. Brown continued to study law by 'reading it' while working in the office ofThomas Jefferson nearCharlottesville, Virginia.
Brown married Margaretta Mason, daughter of a Presbyterian minister ofNew York City, on February 21, 1799. They had five children together, only two of whom lived to adulthood:
In 1810 Margaretta Brown and other women took over the teaching of the first Sunday School west of the Alleghenies (the first was established inPittsburgh a year before) - this was for boys only.[1] In 1816, the Browns helped found Frankfort's First Presbyterian Church; and, three years later, Margaretta Brown became the first superintendent of a Sabbath school for girls.[2] In 1824, Margaretta Brown publishedFood for Lambs or Familiar Explanations of Some Religious Terms for her students to use.[3]
Descendants of John and Margaretta Brown include SenatorBenjamin Gratz Brown, the 20thgovernor of Missouri andvice presidential candidate in the1872 election,[4] and children's authorMargaret Wise Brown.
In May 1783 the young John Brown was commissioned byRobert Morris, Superintendent of Finance and President of the Secret Committee of Foreign Affairs Correspondence of the US government to visitLuis de Unzaga "le Conciliateur", who served him as an intermediary in his secret mission to free the trade with the United States thanks to bills of exchange from the bankers Le Couteulx. Brown's secret mission was a failure because of a "want of confidence" by Spanish officials in Cuba regarding American financial stability.[5]
Brown became politically active after being admitted to the bar. He was elected to theVirginia state Senate, succeeding William Christian, where he served from 1783 to 1788. He was succeeded byWilliam Russell.
The Virginia legislature sent him as a delegate to theContinental Congress in 1787 and 1788. When theU.S. Constitution became effective, Brown was twice elected to theU.S. House of Representatives, serving from 1789 to 1792.
As a Congressman representing Virginia, Brown introduced the petition for Kentucky Statehood. When Kentucky became a state in 1792, he resigned from the House on June 1, 1792. On June 18, the Kentucky legislature elected him to theUnited States Senate (as was the practice then) for a term ending in 1793. He was re-elected twice and served until 1805. He wasPresident pro tem during theEighth Congress. During Brown's Senate service, he moved toFrankfort, Kentucky, the capital of the state.
Brown was one of four senators to opposeauthorizing military force for theQuasi-War.[6]
In 1805, Brown was defeated for re-election to the Senate and retired to Liberty Hall. He remained active in a number of public matters for the remaining thirty years of his life. In 1800, he purchased a ferry that crossed theKentucky River at Frankfort. Brown managed large areas of property in central Kentucky and 20,000 acres (81 km2) nearChillicothe, Ohio. He was a founding member of the Frankfort Water Company and director of the first Bank of Kentucky.
In 1812 Brown was appointed by the legislature to oversee the construction of a public house of worship on the public square of Frankfort. In 1829 Brown was elected as the Sheriff ofFranklin County.
He also served on the board that oversaw the construction of the brick Capitol building and the limestone one that replaced it (now known as the Old Capitol). In 1836, Brown presided over the organizational meeting of theKentucky Historical Society.
John Brown died on August 29, 1837, inLexington, Kentucky, at age 79, and was brought to Frankfort for burial. In 1847, he was re-interred in theFrankfort Cemetery.
The home he occupied in his later years is preserved as Liberty Hall Historic Site located at 202 Wilkinson Street in Frankfort. The site contains two houses:Liberty Hall (1796) built by John Brown, and the Orlando Brown House (1835), designed byGideon Shryock, and owned by Senator Brown's second son. Liberty Hall is operated as a house museum and is open to the public. Liberty Hall Historic Site is a 501(c)3 organization owned and operated by Liberty Hall, Inc., andThe National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by Position established | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's 2nd congressional district 1789–1792 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by None; first in line | U.S. senator (Class 2) from Kentucky 1792–1805 Served alongside:John Edwards,Humphrey Marshall,John Breckinridge | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | President pro tempore of the United States Senate 1803–1804 | Succeeded by |
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