Individual Details

Married 27 Nov 1760 Sarah Smith. John was one of the famous "four brothers - John, Joseph, Moses & Nicholas" merchants in Providence and founders and patrons of Brown University. He and his vessel were seized by the British while delivering a cargo of flour to George Washington's troops, but John was released from prison through the interposition of his brother Moses.

There is an SAR application on Ancestry that shows this John Brown as a son of Chad Browne - totally skipping two generations. The application was accepted, even though it showed Chad Browne as having died in 1665 and this John, born 1736.

John Brown was born January 27, 1736 in Providence, Rhode Island. Although a partner with his three brothers in the firm of Nicholas Brown & Co., he was involved in a great many enterprises on his own. He was the primary owner of several slave ships and was a co-owner or financier on many other slave trading ventures. He owned a large plantation in Surinam, (South America). He was also engaged in the smelting of iron and in several other local businesses. John continued to be active in the slave trade long after his brothers had given it up. John Brown was an active participant in the Gaspee Affair, in fact actually supplying the boats used to board the British revenue vessel. There is some evidence that he actually participated in the raid. John remained in the slave trade until his death in 1803. In 1794 one of his ships was seized by the government for illegally engaging in the slave trade. The court case held in 1797 pitted his brother Moses Brown, a member of the "Providence Abolition Society" against John. Although the ship was condemned, the court awarded John damages for the loss of his ship; a bitter pill for Moses and the abolitionists to swallow. John also played a part in the kidnapping of Samuel Bosworth in the case of the DeWolf slaver "Lucy's" condemnation.
John Brown was the first Rhode Islander to become engaged in the "China Trade." His ship "General Washington" departed from Rhode Island bound for the "Far East" on December 27, 1787 arriving in Whampoa, China on October 27, 1788. The firm of Brown, Benson and Ives had helped finance John's Far Eastern ventures and after noting the vast profits to be made, entered the China trade on their own in 1792 with their ship "Rising Sun." John married Sarah Smith on November 27, 1760 and died in Providence on September 20, 1803.

Birth

27 Jan 1736

Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island

Father	James Brown (1698 - 1739)
Mother	Hope Power (1702 - 1792)
Sibling	James Brown (1724 - 1750)
Sibling	Nicholas Brown (1729 - 1791)
Sibling	Mary Brown (1731 - )
Sibling	Joseph Brown (1733 - 1785)
Sibling	Moses Brown (1738 - )