John Bundy Brown (May 31, 1805 – June 10, 1881) was an American
industrialist
A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...
from
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...
, who owned the Portland Sugar Company, which processed molasses imported from the Caribbean into sugar.
Early life
Brown was born on May 31, 1805, in
Lancaster, New Hampshire
Lancaster is a New England town, town located along the Connecticut River in Coös County, New Hampshire, Coös County, New Hampshire, United States. The town is named after the city of Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster in England. As of the 2020 ce ...
, to Titus Olcott Brown and Susannah (Bundy) Brown. He attended public schools and the
Hebron Academy
Hebron Academy, founded in 1804, is a small, independent, college preparatory boarding and day school for boys and girls in grades six through postgraduate in Hebron, Maine.
History
Hebron Academy is one of the nation's oldest endowed preparatory ...
. He began working at a young age and eventually became the partner of a prosperous grocery business.
Business career
Brown entered the sugar business in 1845 when he, his brother-in-law
Philip Greely Jr., and George F. Guild owned a sugar house in Portland. Greely and Guild were heavily involved in the
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
trade and imported a large quantity of molasses. This company was involved in the importation of slave-produced sugar from the Caribbean and the processing of it into rum and molasses. After Greely and Guild's firm company failed, Brown took over the entire business. The business was not successful in its early years because it was unable to produce the required granulation using known processes. However, it became lucrative after Brown's agent, Dependence H. Furbush, developed a process that used steam power to extract a sugar from molasses. In 1855, Brown, Furbush, and Brown's son Philip H. Brown chartered the Portland Sugar Company, formerly located at the corner of York Street and Maple Street.
Brown was Maine's wealthiest resident and Portland's largest landowner. He owned over 400-plus acres in Portland's
West End. The
Western Promenade
The Western Promenade is a historic promenade, an public park and recreation area in the West End neighborhood of Portland, Maine. Developed between 1836 and the early 20th century, it is one Portland's oldest preserved spaces, with landscapin ...
was built on Brown's land. 17 of his properties, including the Portland Sugar House, were destroyed in the
1866 Portland Fire. Brown rebuilt his businesses, including a new sugar house and the
Falmouth Hotel, and constructed a number of mansions, including his own
Bramhall
Bramhall is a suburban area in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. Historically in Cheshire, it had a population of 17,436 at the 2011 Census.Bramhall South and Bramhall North Wards
History
The Anglo-Saxon m ...
. J.B. Brown & Sons, founded by Brown, continues to own, manage and develop commercial properties in Portland.
The
J.B. Brown Memorial Building on Congress Street was constructed by Brown's sons after his death and was named in his honor.
Brown was the president of the
Portland Savings Bank, Portland Board of Trade, and
Maine General Hospital
Maine Medical Center (commonly abbreviated to ''MMC'' or contracted to ''Maine Med'') is a 700-licensed-bed teaching hospital in Portland, Maine, United States. Affiliated with Tufts University School of Medicine, it is located in the Western P ...
, an incorporator of the
St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad
The St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad , known as St-Laurent et Atlantique Quebec in Canada, is a short-line railway operating between Portland, Maine, on the Atlantic Ocean, and Montreal, Quebec, on the St. Lawrence River. It crosses the Can ...
, a trustee of
Bowdoin College
Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...
, and a director of a number of other businesses, including the
Maine Central Railroad Company
The Maine Central Railroad Company was a U. S. Class I railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. By 1884, Maine Central was the longest railroad in New England. Maine Central had expanded to w ...
.
Brown was a member of the
Whig and
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
parties. He was a member of the
Maine Senate
The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, though the Maine Constitution ...
in 1857 and a presidential elector in 1860.
Family
Brown married Ann Matilda Greely, daughter of Portland’s Philip Greely on September 30, 1830. They had five children, Philip, James, Ellen,
John Marshall
John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...
, and Matilda.
Two of Brown's children married children of
Nathan Clifford
Nathan Clifford (August 18, 1803 – July 25, 1881) was an American statesman, diplomat and jurist.
Clifford is one of the few people who have served in all three branches of the U.S. federal government. He represented Maine in the U.S. Ho ...
- Ellen Brown married William H. Clifford and Philip Brown married Fanny Clifford.
Brown's son,
John Marshall Brown, was an officer during the American Civil War and fought in several major battles including the
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...
.
Brown's descendants include
Nathan Clifford Brown and
Howard H. Dana Jr.[The Auk. "In Memoriam: Nathan Clifford Brown." Vol. 59. No. 4., October, 1942.]
Death
Brown died on June 10, 1881, at his home in Portland.
He was 76. Helen Holt Emerson (1909–2003), wife of Charles Plummer Emerson (1908–2007), gave a version of the events leading to Brown's death.
It is believed he wanted to amend his will, because he had not yet provided in it for his sons' wives and his daughters' husbands, but he had trouble conveying his intentions. The lawyers arrived on horseback via Bowdoin Street in the middle of the night and brought Brown's will to his bedside. The lawyers asked him to sign it, but Brown was unable. They said it would be permissible if he just made a cross, witnessed by the party.
References
1805 births
1881 deaths
American industrialists
Hebron Academy alumni
People from Lancaster, New Hampshire
Businesspeople from Portland, Maine
Businesspeople in the sugar industry
Maine state senators
Maine Republicans
Maine Whigs
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