Louisiana code. Later he was appointed secretary of the territory, and in 1804 became U. S. Judge for that territory. In 1812 he was elected to the U. S. senate from Louisiana, serving from 5 Feb., 1813, till 3 March, 1819. He was again elected, and served from 6 Dec, 1819, till 10 Dec, 1823, when he was appointed minister to France, where he remained until 1 July, 1829. On his return to the United States he settled in Philadelphia.—Another brother, Samuel, physician, b. in Rockbridge co., Va., 30 Jan., 1769; d. in Alabama, 12 Jan., 1830, graduated at Dickinson college. Pa., in 1789, studied medicine under Dr. Rush in Philadelphia, and took the degree of M. D. at Aberdeen, Scotland. He practised a while near the present site of Washington city, settled in Lexington, Ky., in 1797, and in 1806 in New Orleans, whence he removed to Natchez, where he married Miss Catharine Percy in 1808, after which he resided on a plantation in the vicinity of that place, and after her death settled on a plantation near Huntsville, Ala. From 1819 till 1825 he was professor of the theory and practice of medicine at Transylvania university, Lexington, Ky. He had intended to found a medical school in Cincinnati, Ohio, in association with Dr. Drake; but at the solicitation of the trustees of the university in Lexington he began the enterprise in that city, where he was joined by Dr. Drake, who in 1825 succeeded him as head of the school. Besides attending to an extensive practice and devoting himself to medical and scientific instruction. Dr. Brown introduced various improvements in agricultural and industrial processes. He first suggested the method that came into general use for clarifying ginseng for the Chinese market. The process of using steam instead of the direct heat of the fire in the distillation of spirits was invented by him. He united with his brothers John and James Brown and Henry Clay, in 1799, when an election for a constitutional convention was pending in Kentucky, in advocating the abolition of slavery in that state and the gradual emancipation of the slaves; but the majority of the delegates were opposed to the project. In medical practice Dr. Brown was instrumental in introducing in the United States the process of lithotrity shortly after its first successful application by French surgeons. He established a medical society in Lexington, and framed for it a code of medical ethics. This body, at first a secret society, was the original of the medical associations of Philadelphia, New York, and Baltimore. He contributed to the "Transactions" of the philosophical society a paper entitled "A Description of a Cave on Crooked Creek, with Observations on Nitre and Gunpowder," and was also a contributor to the New York "Medical Repository."—John's son. Mason, jurist, b. in Philadelphia, Pa., 10 Nov., 1799; d. in Frankfort, Ky., 27 Jan., 1867, was graduated at Yale in 1820, and entered the law office of John J. Crittenden, of Frankfort, Ky., completing his studies in the Lexington law-school. Entering upon the practice of his profession in Frankfort he became, after a few years, a partner of Gov. Charles S. Morehead, with whom he compiled the valuable digest of the state laws, known as "Morehead and Brown's Digest." He was judge of the circuit court of his district for many years, and from 1855 till 1859, during the administration of Gov. Morehead, he was secretary of state. To his public spirit Frankfort was largely indebted for works of public utility and ornament.—Mason's son, Benjamin Gratz, lawyer, b. in Lexington, Ky., 28 May, 1826; d. in St. Louis, Mo., 13 Dec, 1885, was graduated at Transylvania university, Lexington, Ky., in 1845, and at Yale in 1847, was admitted to the bar in Louisville, Ky., and soon afterward settled in St. Louis. He was a member of the Missouri legislature from 1852 till 1859, and in 1857 made there a remarkable anti-slavery speech, which is said to have been the beginning of the free-soil movement in that state. He edited the "Missouri Democrat," a journal of radical republican principles, which had for its most violent political opponent "The Missouri Republican," a democratic sheet of the most uncompromising character. For five years (1854-'9) he constantly opposed the pro-slavery party, and was often threatened with personal violence, on one occasion being wounded by a pistol-shot. In 1857 he was the free-soil candidate for governor, and came within 500 votes of election. At the beginning of the civil war, in 1861, he gave all his influence to the support of the union, and was in close consultation with Gen. Lyon when he planned the capture of Camp Jackson and broke up the first secession movement in St. Louis. Brown commanded a regiment of militia on that occasion, and afterward, during the invasion of the state by Price and Van Dorn, commanded a brigade. He was a member of the U. S. senate from 1863 till 1867, and lent his powerful influence in 1864 to favor the passage of the ordinance of emancipation by the Missouri state convention. In 1871 he was elected governor of Missouri, on the liberal republican ticket, by a majority of 40,000. In 1872 he was the candidate for vice-president on the democratic ticket with Horace Greeley, and after the election, which resulted in the defeat of the democrats and the election of the republican candidate. Gen. Grant, he resumed his law practice.
BROWN, John, clergyman, b. in county Antrim, Ireland, 15 June, 1763 ; d. in Fort Gaines,
Ga., 11 Dec, 1842. His parents emigrated to this
country and secured a title to 160 acres of land in
Chester District, S. C. The son was compelled to
aid his parents on the farm, and his early education consisted of a short course in a grammar school in the Waxhaw settlement. In 1779 he joined the revolutionary army as a volunteer and
fought under Gen. Sumter. After the war he studied theology under the Rev. Dr. McCorkle near Salisbury, N. C, and was licensed to preach
in 1788. Shortly afterward he became pastor of
the Waxhaw church, where he remained until 1809,
when he was elected professor of logic and moral
philosophy in the University of South Carolina.
In 1811 he became president of the University of
Georgia, where he remained for many years, and,
on retiring from teaching, resumed his pastoral
duties at Mount Zion church, in Hancock co., Ga.
His last years were spent in Fort Gaines, Ga.
BROWN, John, clergyman, b. near Bremen, Germany, 21 July, 1771; d. in Virginia, 26 Jan.,
1850. He came to this country in 1797 and studied
theology under the Rev. Philip Stoeck. Pie was
licensed by the synod of the German Reformed
church in 1800, and ordained in 1803. He was
given charge of scattered congregations in Virginia, and his labors extended over six counties. During the early part of his ministry he was compelled to make his appointments by travelling on foot. For nearly half a century he labored in the
same field, refusing all offers from elsewhere. He preached in German only, and in 1818 published in
that language a volume of 400 pages, which was a
pastoral address to the Germans in Virginia.
BROWN, John, clergyman, b. in New York city, 19 May, 1791 ; d. in Newburg, N. Y., 15 Aug.,
