Owen Brown (February 16, 1771 – May 8, 1856), father of abolitionist John Brown, was a wealthy cattle breeder and land speculator who operated a successful tannery in

Hudson, Ohio Hudson is a city in northern Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,110 at the 2020 census. It is a suburban community in the Akron metropolitan area. John Brown made his first public vow to destroy slavery here and the ci ...

. He was also a civil servant and a fervent, outspoken abolitionist. Brown was a founder of multiple institutions including the Western Reserve Anti-Slavery Society, Western Reserve College, and the Free Congressional Church. Brown gave speeches advocating the immediate abolition of

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

, and organized the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

(and served as Stationmaster) in the town of Hudson, Ohio. His brother Frederick was the father of Rev. Edward Brown who married Laura Ingalls and Almanzo Wilder and adopted Laura's good friend Ida Brown (birth name Wright). In 1793, he married Ruth Mills, a minister's daughter. Someone whose father was an intimate friend of Owen remembered him as "a very kind, genial, whole-souled sort of person. He stuttered badly." Owen wrote two brief autobiographic statements that have survived to the present. "No one mistook Owen's speech impediment for weakness, or his lack of schooling for ignorance."

Early life and education

One of 10 children, Owen Brown was born on February 16, 1771, to Revolutionary War Capt. John Brown (1728–1776) and Hanna Owen Brown, in

Torrington, Connecticut Torrington is the most populated municipality and largest city in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States, and the Northwest Hills Planning Region, Connecticut, Northwest Hills Planning Region. It is also the core city of Greater Torringto ...

. A lifetime admirer of the

Founding Fathers The Founding Fathers of the United States, often simply referred to as the Founding Fathers or the Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the War of Independence ...

, Owen's first memory was of the departure of his father's militia company to engage the British in New York during the summer of 1776.

Career

A wealthy tanner, cattle breeder, and land speculator, Brown was a dedicated civil servant and was integral to the early growth of

. Famed for his resourcefulness and energy, he was known locally as Squire Brown. He was the third wealthiest man in Hudson in the 1830s. Brown served in a multitude of positions in the community including

County Commissioner A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the County (United States)#County government, county government in some U.S. state, states of ...

and Justice of the Peace. Brown was deeply rooted in the abolitionist movement. He was personal friends with leaders such as

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was the most impor ...

, who often stayed with the Brown family when he was lecturing in the area. Owen, in collaboration with David Hudson, was integral in establishing one of the earliest way stations along the Underground Railroad, and personally arranged passage into Canada for many escaped slaves. Brown left the only church in Hudson over racial issues to form the Free Congregational Church or “Oberlin Church.” An oath against slavery was required for admission to this church.

Colleges

Owen was a never a trustee of Western Reserve College, but he was involved in it since its founding. He is credited for securing its location in Hudson as well as overseeing the construction of its first building, a venture on which he made money. During Brown's tenure (1825-1835), Western Reserve College became known as a hotbed of abolitionist ideals. After the death of the institution's first president, Charles Backus Storrs, in 1833 the university elected a more conservative president, George E. Pierce, in an attempt to distance itself from the politics of slavery. In 1835 Brown resigned his position and along with several faculty, staff, and students of Western Reserve College, and a trustee, a professor, and a large number of students from Lane Theological Seminary in Cincinnati, moved to Oberlin Collegiate Institute (since 1850,

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

) in

Oberlin, Ohio Oberlin () is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. It is located about southwest of Cleveland within the Cleveland metropolitan area. The population was 8,555 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Oberlin is the home of Oberlin ...

. Owen served as trustee there from 1835 to 1844. Brown and others were successful in making Oberlin the first institution of higher learning to admit women and one of the first to admit black students. Owen's daughter, Florella Brown, studied at Oberlin from 1835 to 1839, where she met her husband, Samuel Lyle Adair.

Death and burial

Brown died in

, on May 8, 1856, and was buried at Old Hudson Township Burying Ground. His death in Hudson was a "public event": "there was never so large a funeral procession."

References

External links