William Brown (June 1, 1819 – January 15, 1891) was an English American businessman and politician. He served one term in the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

from 1864 to 1866, then was elected mayor of

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...

for one term. Brown was elected to the

Illinois Circuit Courts The Illinois circuit courts are state courts of the U.S. state of Illinois. They are trial courts of original jurisdiction. There are 24 judicial circuits in the state, each comprising one or more of Illinois' 102 counties. The jurisdiction of s ...

in 1870 and served there until his death in 1891.

Biography

William Brown was born in

Cumberland, England Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 1 ...

on June 1, 1819. He immigrated with his family to

Oneida County, New York Oneida County is a county in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 232,125. The county seat is Utica. The name is in honor of the Oneida, one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois League or ''Haudenos ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1827. Brown studied law in

Rome, New York Rome is a city in Oneida County, New York, United States, located in the Central New York, central part of the state. The population was 32,127 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Rome is one of two principal cities in the Utica–Ro ...

and was admitted to the bar. He moved to

on November 10, 1846. Initially a public school teacher, Brown was soon elected a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. In 1852, Brown was elected

state's attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...

for

Winnebago Winnebago can refer to: * The exonym of the Ho-Chunk tribe of Native North Americans with reservations in Nebraska, Iowa, and Wisconsin ** Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, a federally recognized tribe group in the state ** The Winnebago language of the ...

Stephenson Stephenson is a medieval patronymic surname meaning "son of Stephen". The earliest public record is found in the county of Huntingdonshire in 1279. There are variant spellings including Stevenson. People with the surname include: *Ashley Stephen ...

, and Jo Daviess Counties, serving three years. At the expiration of his term, he was elected mayor of Rockford, serving one year. He was named agent for the

Galena and Chicago Union Railroad The Galena and Chicago Union Railroad (G&CU) was a railroad running west from Chicago to Freeport, Illinois, never reaching Galena, Illinois. A later route went to Clinton, Iowa. Incorporated in 1836, the G&CU became the first railroad built out ...

in 1857. From 1857 to 1860, he practiced law with future

United States 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 ...

William Lathrop. Brown then partnered with H. W. Taylor until 1870. From 1861 to 1865, he served as Rockford School Inspector. In 1864, Brown was elected as a Republican to the

, serving one two-year term from the 55th district. Brown was elected judge in 1870 to fill a vacancy on the

created by the promotion of

Benjamin R. Sheldon Benjamin Robbins Sheldon (April 15, 1811 – April 13, 1897) was an American jurist. Born in New Marlborough, Massachusetts, Sheldon received his bachelor's degree from Williams College in 1831 and his law degree from Yale Law School in 1836. ...

to the

Illinois Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court, the highest court of the State of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the five ap ...

. He was re-elected to this post in every election until his death, serving 20 years. Brown married Caroline H. Miller, the daughter of Horace Miller, on September 19, 1850. Their eldest son, Edward W., was thrice elected mayor of Rockford. They also had a son, Frank R., and a daughter, May. Brown attended the Centennial

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

Church in Haight Village. He was chairman of the board and president for the Rockford Hospital from 1884 to 1886. Brown died on January 15, 1891. The

William Brown Building The William Brown Building is a historic commercial building in Rockford, Illinois, United States. Completed in 1892, it is considered a fine local example of Romanesque Revival architecture. It was one of the last major commercial buildings in R ...

, under construction at the time, was named in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, William 1819 births 1891 deaths Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Mayors of Rockford, Illinois Illinois lawyers Illinois state court judges 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers