Joseph Renshaw Brown (1805–1870) was an American politician, pioneer, fur trader, newspaper editor, businessman, inventor, speculator, and

Indian agent In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with American Indian tribes on behalf of the government. Background The federal regulation of Indian affairs in the United States first included development of t ...

who was prominent in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

territorial and state politics for over 50 years.

Early life and family

Brown was born in

Harford County, Maryland Harford County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 260,924. Its county seat is Bel Air. Harford County is included in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is al ...

, on January 5, 1805. His third wife, Susan Frenier (1819-1904), was a member of the

Sisseton Sisseton is a city in Roberts County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 2,479 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Roberts County. Sisseton is the home to a number of tourist attractions, including the Nicollet Tower, and ...

tribe of

Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota, a ...

and the half-sister of

Gabriel Renville Gabriel Renville (April 1825 – August 26, 1892), also known as Ti'wakan (Sacred Lodge), was Chief of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Sioux Tribe from 1866 until his death in 1892. He opposed conflict with the United States during the Dakota War o ...

, who became his legal ward. At the age of 15, he left his apprenticeship as a printer to join the army, and was sent to Cantonment New Hope to work on the construction of

Fort Snelling Fort Snelling is a former military fortification and National Historic Landmark in the U.S. state of Minnesota on the bluffs overlooking the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. The military site was initially named Fort Saint Anth ...

. He was discharged from the army in 1828.

Public service

Brown first came to

in 1820 when the land was

Michigan Territory The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit w ...

, traveling throughout what became Minnesota and Wisconsin during this time. In 1857, he was appointed Indian Agent to the

Dakota Sioux The Dakota (pronounced , Dakota language: ''Dakȟóta/Dakhóta'') are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government in North America. They compose two of the three main subcultures of the Sioux people, and are typically divided into ...

. Brown served in the House of Representatives of the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature from 1840-1842. He also served in the Territorial Council of the

Minnesota Territorial Legislature The Minnesota Territorial Legislature was a Bicameralism, bicameral legislative body created by the United States Congress in 1849 as the legislative branch of the government of the Minnesota Territory, Territory of Minnesota. The upper chamber, t ...

from 1854-1855, representing District 6, and in the Minnesota Territorial House of Representatives in 1857, representing District 10. He also represented District 10 at the Minnesota Constitutional Convention in 1857.

Role in Dakota War of 1862

When the

Dakota War of 1862 The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several ban ...

broke out, his mixed-blood family and the whites fleeing with them were captured but not killed due to his wife's bravery in standing up to Dakota leaders Stands on Clouds, also known as "Cut Nose," Little Six, Dowanniye and hostile warriors who surrounded their wagon and threatened them. Their son Samuel J. Brown later wrote, "So she stood up in the wagon, and waving her shawl she cried in a loud voice that she was a Sisseton –– a relative of Waanatan, Scarlet Plume, Sweetcorn, Akipa and friend of Standing Buffalo, that she had come down this way for protection and hoped to get it." One of the men in their party recognized Susan Brown and argued in favor of sparing her life, because she had taken him in one winter and saved his life. When the men said they would kill the whites in their party regardless, she declared, "Remember what I say, if you harm any of these friends of mine, you will have to answer to Scarlet Plume, Akipa, Standing Buffalo, and the whole Sisseton and Wahpeton tribe!" Susan Brown and her children were rescued on August 23 by her stepfather Akipa, a full-blood Wahpeton, and her half-brother Charles Renville Crawford, who demanded their release. She spent the rest of the war under the protection of the "friendly" Dakota camp of Akipa,

and the Dakota Peace Party, which opposed conflict with the United States. In the final days of the war,

Little Crow Little Crow III (Dakota: ''Thaóyate Dúta''; 1810 – July 3, 1863) was a Mdewakanton Dakota chief who led a faction of the Dakota in a five-week war against the United States in 1862. In 1846, after surviving a violent leadership contest ...

confided in Susan Brown as he grew increasingly despondent about his options. Joseph Brown was away at the outbreak of the war. Upon his return, desperate to find out what happened to his wife and family, he asked to join the burial expedition which left

Fort Ridgely Fort Ridgely was a frontier United States Army outpost from 1851 to 1867, built 1853–1854 in Minnesota Territory. The Sioux called it Esa Tonka. It was located overlooking the Minnesota river southwest of Fairfax, Minnesota. Half of the ...

on August 31, 1862, and ended up wounded by a ball in his neck on September 2 during the

Battle of Birch Coulee The Battle of Birch Coulee occurred September 2–3, 1862 and resulted in the heaviest casualties suffered by U.S. forces during the Dakota War of 1862. The battle occurred after a group of Dakota warriors followed a U.S. burial expedition, incl ...

. He was finally reunited with his family at

Camp Release The Surrender at Camp Release was the final act in the Dakota War of 1862. After the Battle of Wood Lake, Colonel Henry Hastings Sibley had considered pursuing the retreating Sioux, but he realized he did not have the resources for a vigorous p ...

. He died on November 9, 1870, in New York City and was buried in Brown Cemetery,

Henderson, Minnesota Henderson is a city in Sibley County, Minnesota, United States. The population in was 886 at the 2010 census. History Henderson was founded in August 1852 by Joseph R. Brown, and was named for his mother's maiden name. By 1855, Henderson ha ...

House and legacy

The Joseph R. Brown State Wayside Rest is located on Renville County Highway 15, south of

Sacred Heart, Minnesota Sacred Heart is a city in Renville County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 548 at the 2010 census. History Sacred Heart was platted in 1878. The 1914 Hotel Sacred Heart is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Geogr ...

. The site displays the granite ruins of Brown's home, which was destroyed on August 19, 1862 during the

. The three story home was a considered a mansion when compared with many other pioneer homes of the day. Minnesota's Brown County, Browns Valley in Traverse County, and Brown's Creek near Stillwater in Washington County are named after him.

Personal life

Brown was married three times. His first wife, Margaret, was considered a

Mixed-blood The term mixed-blood in the United States and Canada has historically been described as people of multiracial backgrounds, in particular mixed European and Native American ancestry. Today, the term is often seen as pejorative. Northern Woodla ...

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

, whom he divorced in December 1839.

References

External links

Joseph Renshaw Brown in MNopedia, the Minnesota Encyclopedia

Joseph R. Brown House Interpretive Sign and BrochureForgotten Minnesota: Joseph R. Brown’s Little Castle on the PrairiePetition of Joseph R. Brown asking for a divorce
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Joseph R. 1805 births 1870 deaths People from Harford County, Maryland Members of the Minnesota Territorial Legislature Members of the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature United States Indian agents American fur traders 19th-century American politicians People from Renville County, Minnesota People from Henderson, Minnesota