George Brown (January 10, 1746 – June 19, 1836) was a Rhode Island politician and judge who served as a justice of the

Rhode Island Supreme Court The Rhode Island Supreme Court is the Supreme court, court of last resort in the U.S. State of Rhode Island. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices, all selected by the Governor of Rhode Island from candidates vetted by ...

from May 1796 to June 1799, and as the first Lieutenant governor of Rhode Island from 1799 to 1800.

Early life

Brown was born in

South Kingstown, Rhode Island South Kingstown is a town in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 31,931 at the 2020 census. South Kingstown is the second largest town in Rhode Island by total geographic area, behind New ...

,Samuel H. Allen, "Rhode Island Judiciary", in James N. Arnold, ed., ''The Narragansett Historical Register'' (1889), Volume 7, p. 62. on January 10, 1746. He was the eldest of four sons born to Robert Brown, Esq. and his first wife, Sarah ( née Franklin) Brown, who married in 1745. His younger brothers were William, John and Franklin Brown. Some sources indicate Brown's mother, Sarah Franklin was a relative of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

Career

Like his father Robert, George was an attorney at law in Rhode Island. He served as a representative in the

Rhode Island General Assembly The State of Rhode Island General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. A bicameral body, it is composed of the lower Rhode Island House of Representatives with 75 representatives, and the upper Rhode Island Se ...

and in 1796 was elected by the Legislature as the second justice of the state supreme court, holding that office until 1799. From 1799 to 1800, Brown served as the Lieutenant governor of Rhode Island under Governor Arthur Fenner. Brown defeated the incumbent Lt. Gov. Samuel J. Potter, served his term and was in turn defeated by Potter who succeeded him. Brown owned a nearly four hundred acre farm in South Kingstown, which "formerly constituted one of the most eligible tracts of the Hazards'

Boston Neck The Boston Neck or Roxbury Neck was an isthmus, a narrow strip of land connecting the then-peninsular city of Boston to the mainland city of Roxbury (now a neighborhood of Boston). The surrounding area was gradually filled in as the city of Bos ...

estates." The head farmer on his estate was John Perry, father of Robinson Perry, and a cousin of Commodore

Oliver Hazard Perry Oliver Hazard Perry (August 23, 1785 – August 23, 1819) was an American naval commander, born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. The best-known and most prominent member of the Perry family naval dynasty, he was the son of Sarah Wallace A ...

Personal life

On April 24, 1768, Brown was married to Hannah Robinson (1751–1822) in

Narragansett, Rhode Island Narragansett is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 14,532 at the 2020 census. However, during the summer months the town's population more than doubles to near 34,000. The town of Narragansett occupie ...

. Hannah was the daughter of William Robinson and Hannah (née Brown) Robinson and the granddaughter of William Robinson who served as the 28th and 30th Deputy Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. George and Hannah were the parents of nine children together, including: * Elizabeth Brown (1769–1855), who married Benjamin Robinson in 1791. * George Brown (d. 1864), who married Mary Brown (d. 1842). * Abby Brown (d. 1852) * William Brown (1776–1824), who married Ann Dockray (1779–1845). * Sarah Brown (1778–1804), who married John J. Watson (1774–1852) in 1798. * Ann Brown (1783–1872) * Hannah Brown (1785–1872), who married Rowse Babcock (1773–1841) in 1801. * John Brown (1792–1833), who married Mary Elizabeth Robinson (1794–1866). Brown died on June 19, 1836, and was buried in River Bend Cemetery in

Westerly, Rhode Island Westerly is a town on the southwestern shoreline of Washington County, Rhode Island, first settled by English colonists in 1661 and incorporated as a municipality in 1669. It is a beachfront community on the south shore of the state with a popula ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, George 1746 births 1836 deaths People from South Kingstown, Rhode Island Members of the Rhode Island General Assembly Justices of the Rhode Island Supreme Court Lieutenant Governors of Rhode Island