William Phineas Browne (July 9, 1804 – January 13, 1869), a lawyer by profession, was a leading pioneer in the coal mining business in
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
, credited with operating that state's first systematic underground coal mines prior to, and during, the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
.
Browne's coal mines, located near
Montevallo, Alabama
Montevallo is a city in Shelby County, Alabama, United States. A college town, it is the home of the University of Montevallo, a public liberal arts university with approximately 3,000 students. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city o ...
, were under contract to the
Confederate Navy during the Civil War. The Confederate war effort was also supplied by Browne's iron furnace located on the Little Cahaba River until it was destroyed by Union forces led by General
James H. Wilson
James Harrison Wilson (September 2, 1837 – February 23, 1925) was a United States Army topographic engineer and a Union Army Major General in the American Civil War. He served as an aide to Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan during the Maryland Camp ...
in April 1865 .
Browne was born in
Waltham, Massachusetts
Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, th ...
in 1804. He was the son of
Phineas Browne, a veteran of the
Revolutionary War, and a descendant of
William Bradford, the first governor of the
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony (sometimes Plimouth) was, from 1620 to 1691, the British America, first permanent English colony in New England and the second permanent English colony in North America, after the Jamestown Colony. It was first settled by the pa ...
. Browne emigrated to Alabama in 1831 to join his cousin to work on a construction contract for the Tennessee Canal at
Muscle Shoals
Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located along the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the populati ...
. Browne soon sold his shares in this contract and moved on to New Orleans to work on a canal from the new American Quarter to
Lake Pontchartrain
Lake Pontchartrain ( ) is an estuary located in southeastern Louisiana in the United States. It covers an area of with an average depth of . Some shipping channels are kept deeper through dredging. It is roughly oval in shape, about from west ...
. Browne was involved in subsequent business ventures including a steamship company operating between
and
Mobile, general merchandise stores, corn mills, lumber, coal, and iron.
Browne also invested heavily in real estate in Mobile, Alabama, along with
Henry Hitchcock
Henry Hitchcock (September 11, 1792 – August 11, 1839) was the first Attorney General of Alabama, having been elected by the Alabama General Assembly in December 1819 in its initial session. He was also the Secretary of the Alabama Territor ...
, Alabama's first Attorney General and later Chief Justice of the
Alabama Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Alabama is the highest court in the state of Alabama. The court consists of a chief justice and eight associate justices. Each justice is elected in partisan elections for staggered six-year terms. The Supreme Court is house ...
. In addition to his business adventures, Browne was involved in Alabama politics, serving in the
Alabama Legislature
The Alabama Legislature is the legislative branch of the state government of Alabama. It is a bicameral body composed of the House of Representatives and Senate. It is one of the few state legislatures in which members of both chambers serv ...
in 1845, representing the Mobile district, and attended the 1860 Democratic National Convention as a delegate.
References
*William Phineas Browne Papers, 1822–1869, ALA V91-A343, Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery.
*Ethel Armes, The Story of Coal and Iron in Alabama (Birmingham, Ala. 1910), 70, 75, 154-155, 169.
*Virginia Estella Knapp, "William Phineas Browne, Business Man and Pioneer Mine Operator of Alabama ," Parts 1 and 2, Alabama Review 3 (April and July 1950).
External links
William P. Brown article, Encyclopedia of Alabama
{{DEFAULTSORT:Browne, William Phineas
1804 births
1869 deaths
People from Waltham, Massachusetts
Politicians from Florence, Alabama
People of Alabama in the American Civil War