John Brown Francis (May 31, 1791August 9, 1864) was a governor and

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

from

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

Early life

John Brown Francis was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, on May 31, 1791, son of John Francis and Abigail Brown. Francis' grandfather,

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

, was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from Rhode Island and a member of the family for whom Brown University was named. He attended the common schools of

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

, and graduated from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

in 1808.

Career

He engaged in mercantile pursuits, attended the

Litchfield Law School The Litchfield Law School of Litchfield, Connecticut, was the first independent law school established in America for reading law. Founded and led by lawyer Tapping Reeve, the proprietary school was unaffiliated with any college or university. (Whi ...

, and was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

but never practiced. Francis was a member of the

Rhode Island House of Representatives The Rhode Island House of Representatives is the lower house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the upper house being the Rhode Island Senate. It is composed of 75 members, elected t ...

from 1821 to 1829 and a member of the board of trustees of Brown University from 1828 to 1857. He was a member of the

Rhode Island Senate The Rhode Island Senate is the upper house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the lower house being the Rhode Island House of Representatives. It is composed of 38 Senators, each of w ...

in 1831 and 1842, and was the 13th

Governor of Rhode Island The governor of Rhode Island is the head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, o ...

from 1833 to 1838. From 1841 to 1854, Francis was

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of Brown University; he was elected as a member of the Law and Order Party to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William Sprague and served from January 25, 1844, to March 3, 1845. He was not a candidate for reelection; while in the Senate, he was chairman of the Committee on Engrossed Bills (Twenty-eighth Congress). Francis was a member of the

from 1845 to 1856, and then retired from public life and engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death at "Spring Green,"

Warwick, Rhode Island Warwick ( or ) is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, the third largest city in the state with a population of 82,823 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is located approximately south of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, sout ...

, in 1864; interment was in

North Burial Ground The North Burial Ground is a cemetery in Providence, Rhode Island dating to 1700, the first public cemetery in Providence. It is located north of downtown Providence, bounded by North Main Street, Branch Avenue, the Moshassuck River, and Ceme ...

, Providence.

Personal life

In 1822, he married Anne Carter Brown (1794–1828), daughter of

Nicholas Brown, Jr. Nicholas Brown Jr. (April 4, 1769 – September 27, 1841) was an American businessman and philanthropist from Providence, Rhode Island, who was the namesake of Brown University. Early life Nicholas Brown Jr. was the son of Rhoda Jenckes (1741– ...

(1769–1841) and granddaughter of

Nicholas Brown, Sr. Nicholas Brown Sr. (July 26, 1729 – May 29, 1791) was a Providence, Rhode Island slave-trader, merchant, civic leader and co-signer of the charter of the College of Rhode Island in 1763. In 1771, Nicholas Brown Sr. was instrumental in convinci ...

(1729–1791). Before her death in 1828, they had: * Abby Francis (1823–1841), who died unmarried * John Francis (1826–1827), who died an infant * Anne Brown Francis (1828–1896), who married Marshall Woods (1824–1899), son of Alva Woods and Almira Marshall, in 1848. In 1832 he married his cousin, Elizabeth Francis (1796–1866), widow of Henry Harrison and daughter of

Thomas Willing Francis Thomas Willing Francis (August 30, 1767 – June 2, 1815) was a prominent American merchant. Early life Francis was born in the Province of Pennsylvania, then a part of British America, on August 30, 1767 and named after his uncle. He was a so ...

and Dorothy Willing. Together, they had: * Elizabeth Francis (1833–1901), who did not have children * Sally Francis (1834–1904), who did not have children * Sophia H. Francis (1836–1860), who married George William Adams (1834–1883), son of Seth Adams and Sarah Bigelow, in 1860, who did not have children * John Brown Francis (1838–1870), who did not have children On August 9, 1864, John Brown Francis, aged 73, died in

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, John B. 1791 births 1864 deaths Members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives Rhode Island state senators Governors of Rhode Island Democratic Party governors of Rhode Island United States senators from Rhode Island Brown University alumni Chancellors of Brown University Rhode Island Whigs 19th-century American politicians Law and Order Party of Rhode Island politicians

John Brown Francis John Brown Francis (May 31, 1791August 9, 1864) was a governor and United States Senator from Rhode Island. Early life John Brown Francis was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 31, 1791, son of John Francis and Abigail Brown. Francis' ...

Politicians from Philadelphia Burials at North Burying Ground (Providence) Litchfield Law School alumni