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 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 ...
. 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 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 ...
, 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."
See also
*Abolitionism
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world.
The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. ...
*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 ...
References
External links
*
Owen and Ruth Brown, from the West Virginia Archives and History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Owen
1771 births
1856 deaths
University and college founders
Case Western Reserve University people
People from Torrington, Connecticut
Family of John Brown (abolitionist)
People from Hudson, Ohio
Underground Railroad people
People from colonial Connecticut