Owen Brown (abolitionist, born 1771)
Owen Brown | |
---|---|
Born | February 16, 1771 |
Died | May 8, 1856 (aged 85) Hudson, Ohio, U.S. |
Resting place | Old Hudson Township Burying Ground 41°14′43″N 81°26′21″W / 41.24530°N 81.43920°W |
Other names | Squire Brown |
Spouses | Ruth Mills (m. 1793–1808)Sally Root (m. 1809–1840)Lucy Hinsdale (m. 1841–1856) |
Children | 8, including John Brown |
Relatives | Owen Brown, John Brown Junior, Watson Brown (grandsons) |
Owen Brown (February 16, 1771 – May 8, 1856), father of abolitionist
His brother Frederick was the father of Rev. Edward Brown who married
In 1793 he married Ruth Mills, a minister's daughter.[3]: 21
Someone whose father was an intimate friend of Owen remembered him as "a very kind, genial, whole-souled sort of person. He stuttered badly."[4]
Owen wrote two brief autobiographic statements that have survived to the present.[5]: 4–11
"No one mistook Owen's speech impediment for weakness, or his lack of schooling for ignorance."[3]: 100
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. A lifetime admirer of the Founding Fathers, 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.[6]: 22
Career
A wealthy tanner, cattle breeder, and land speculator, Brown was a dedicated civil servant and was integral to the early growth of
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. [7]
Colleges
Owen was a never a trustee of Western Reserve College, but he was involved in it since its founding.[3]: 100 He is credited for securing its location in Hudson as well as overseeing the construction of its first building,[6]: 23, 73 [8]: 13 [9] a venture on which he made money.[3]: 100 During Brown's tenure (1825-1835), Western Reserve College became known as a hotbed of abolitionist ideals.[6]: 73 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.[6]: 73 [8]: 26
In 1835 Brown resigned his position and along with several faculty, staff, and students of Western Reserve College[
Death and burial
Brown died in Hudson, Ohio, on May 8, 1856, and was buried at Old Hudson Township Burying Ground.[11] His death in Hudson was a "public event": "there was never so large a funeral procession."[12]
See also
References
- ISBN 9781442236721.
- ^ "Marker Rotated". Hudson Memory. September 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
- ^ ISBN 081471921X.
- San Francisco, California). p. 355. Archived from the original on August 26, 2021. Retrieved August 26, 2021 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
- ^ Sanborn, Franklin B; Brown, John (1885). The Life and Letters of John Brown, Liberator of Kansas, and Martyr of Virginia. Boston: Roberts Brothers.
- ^ ISBN 0-7432-7136-X.
- ^ "Girls Scouts Underground Railroad Quest". Hudson Heritage Association. March 10, 2024.
- ^ a b Cutler, Carroll (1876). A History of Western Reserve College During its First Half Century 1826-1876. Cleveland, Ohio: Crocker's Publishing House.
- ISBN 0-7178-0375-9.
- ^ Clayton, John Edward (April 26, 1990). "An Antislavery Mission: Oberlin College Evangelicals in 'Bleeding Kansas'". Oberlin College. Retrieved February 17, 2019. [permanent dead link]
- ^ "Biographical Details, Owen Brown". Family of Owen Brown. Hudson, OH: Hudson Library and Historical Society. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
- ISBN 9780521514439.