Moses Brown
Encyclopedia
Moses Brown was a co-founder of Brown University
and a New England
abolitionist
and industrialist, who funded the design and construction of some of the first factory
houses for spinning machines
during the American industrial revolution
, including Slater Mill
.
. He was the grandson of Baptist minister James Brown (1666-1732), and his father was a prosperous merchant. His father died in 1739, and Moses was raised in the family of his uncle Obadiah Brown (1712-1762). From age 13 to 22, he was an apprentice in his uncle’s firm, Obadiah Brown & Co. In 1760, he became a full partner, and was primarily responsible for running the firm’s spermaceti works. The firm was also active in distilling rum, owned an iron furnace, and took part in a wide variety of merchant activities including at least one slave voyage in 1759. Following Obadiah Brown's death in 1762, Moses Brown served as executor of his estate. Shares in the farming and shipping business were divided between Moses Brown and his three brothers, Nicholas, Joseph, and John
; it was renamed as Nicholas Brown & Co. The brothers were co-founders of the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations to Providence
. They were active in the Baptist community of Providence and were descendants of Chad Brown
, a Baptist minister who co-founded Providence with Roger Williams
.
Brown's brother-in-law and business partner, Jabez Bowen
was a notable Rhode Island political figure. Moses Brown eventually differentiated himself from his family by converting to Quakerism
.
Moses Brown married his cousin Anna Brown (daughter of his uncle Obadiah) in 1764. They had two surviving children: Sarah (1764-1794, married William Almy) and Obadiah (1771-1822), as well as a daughter who died young. Moses also served as a deputy to the Rhode Island General Assembly
from 1764 to 1771, and he served on a committee to oppose the Stamp Act
in 1765. In 1769, he participated in efforts to move the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations to Providence from Warren, Rhode Island. The four Brown brothers donated family land passed down from Chad Brown for the new campus.
Brown’s wife Anna died in 1773. He gradually retired from the family business and began his involvement with Quaker meetings. The following year he formally became a member of the Society of Friends.
's arrest in connection with the Gaspée affair
that helped trigger the American Revolutionary War
, Moses and Joseph Brown delivered to the English in Boston a proposal that Rhode Island's preparations to resist royal authority be stopped if John Brown was released.http://www.gaspee.info/GaspeeRaiders/Brown_John.htm
In 1788, Brown returned briefly to the business world, embarking on a textile venture in partnership with his cousin Smith Brown and his future son-in-law William Almy. Moses Brown became interested in recent British attempts to use water power in their textile mills, and hired English emigrant Samuel Slater
to help build a similar mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island
. In 1790, the factory became the first water-powered spinning mill in America, a seminal event generally considered the birth of the American Industrial Revolution
. Moses’ son Obadiah Brown soon replaced Smith Brown as a partner, and Samuel Slater was taken in as well, to create the new firm of Almy, Brown & Slater. Moses Brown soon withdrew from active involvement in the firm, but remained a partner.
After getting Almy, Brown & Slater off the ground, Moses Brown moved on to a variety of new activities. He played a role in Rhode Island’s ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1790. He also became interested in agricultural experiments on his Providence farm, and helped found the Rhode Island Agricultural Society in 1800. He served on the first board of directors of the Providence Bank, and was treasurer of the Central Bridge Company. Along with his son Obadiah, he was a founder of the Rhode Island Bible Society. During the yellow fever epidemic of 1797, he was a strong advocate of sanitation practices. He later introduced smallpox vaccination to Rhode Island.
Brown’s second wife Mary died in 1798, and he married his third and final wife, the widow Phebe (Waterman) Lockwood, in 1799. She had several grown children of her own: Sarah (1773-1832, married E. Bates Harris), Avis (1774-1831, never married), Benoni (1777-1852) and Phebe (1778-1800). After the death of his third wife in 1809, Moses remained unmarried for the last 27 years of his life.
Brown was inspired by the War of 1812 to work on behalf of peace, and was instrumental in the founding of the Rhode Island Peace Society in 1818. He adhered to and promoted the orthodox Quaker position that Quakers should resist war taxes
.
Another one of his interests was local history. Moses Brown played an important role in collecting documents relating to colonial Rhode Island, many of them inherited through his own family. He was a founding member of the Rhode Island Historical Society
, served as its chairman, and had most of his papers left there after his death.
Moses Brown left few family members, having outlived three wives, all three of his children, and three of his four step-children. At his death, his only descendants were his granddaughter Sarah (Almy) Jenkins (1790-1849) and her children. He also left much of his estate to the children of his stepdaughter Sarah (Lockwood) Harris (1773-1832), and to the Society of Friends. His son Obadiah had married, but left no children.
, he eventually refused to continue his association with it. As a Quaker, he began a lifelong crusade against slavery, and soon became the leading opponent of the slave trade in Rhode Island. He freed his own slaves in 1773. At the close of the war, Brown renewed his efforts against the slave trade. He unsuccessfully petitioned the General Assembly in 1783, wrote frequently in the local press, and helped distribute antislavery pamphlets throughout New England. He was instrumental in the 1787 passage of a law banning the participation of Rhode Islanders in the slave trade. In 1789, he helped found the Providence Society for Abolishing the Slave Trade with both Quaker and non-Quaker associates to help enforce recently passed anti-slave trade legislation. He later helped engineer passage of a law in the U.S. Congress to forbid foreign slave ships from being equipped in American ports. He also became known for his willingness to help slaves and free blacks on an individual basis, through financial and legal assistance.
In contrast, his brother John
was one of the state’s leading slave traders and the first person prosecuted under the federal laws prohibiting slave importation
, Moses Brown became an active abolitionist, an advocate for African Americans both slave and free.
, one of the oldest preparatory schools in the country. One of his last great contributions to Rhode Island life was his role in the revival of the New England Yearly Meeting School. It had existed intermittently in the 1770s and 1780s, but died out through lack of interest. In 1814, Brown presented the Yearly Meeting with 43 acres of land in Providence, and worked diligently toward the creation of a school on this land. He provided important financial assistance, and also donated his impressive book collection to the school library. His son Obadiah was a major supporter of this effort until his untimely death in 1822. Moses Brown served as the school’s treasurer until shortly before his own death in 1836, at the age of 98. The school was renamed in his honor as the Moses Brown School, and remains a leading preparatory school in the state.
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
and a New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
abolitionist
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
and industrialist, who funded the design and construction of some of the first factory
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
houses for spinning machines
Spinning (textiles)
Spinning is a major industry. It is part of the textile manufacturing process where three types of fibre are converted into yarn, then fabric, then textiles. The textiles are then fabricated into clothes or other artifacts. There are three industrial processes available to spin yarn, and a...
during the American industrial revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
, including Slater Mill
Slater Mill
A National Historic Landmark, the Slater Mill is located next to the Blackstone River in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Modeled after cotton spinning mills first established in England, the Slater Mill is the first water-powered cotton spinning mill in North America to utilize the Arkwright system of...
.
Early life
Brown was the son of James Brown II and Hope Power Brown and grew up in Providence, Rhode IslandProvidence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
. He was the grandson of Baptist minister James Brown (1666-1732), and his father was a prosperous merchant. His father died in 1739, and Moses was raised in the family of his uncle Obadiah Brown (1712-1762). From age 13 to 22, he was an apprentice in his uncle’s firm, Obadiah Brown & Co. In 1760, he became a full partner, and was primarily responsible for running the firm’s spermaceti works. The firm was also active in distilling rum, owned an iron furnace, and took part in a wide variety of merchant activities including at least one slave voyage in 1759. Following Obadiah Brown's death in 1762, Moses Brown served as executor of his estate. Shares in the farming and shipping business were divided between Moses Brown and his three brothers, Nicholas, Joseph, and John
John Brown (Rhode Island)
John Brown I was an American merchant, slave trader, and statesman from Providence, Rhode Island. In 1764, John Brown joined his brothers Nicholas Brown and Moses Brown as well as William Ellery, the Baptist Reverend James Manning, the Baptist Reverend Isaac Backus, the Congregationalist Reverend...
; it was renamed as Nicholas Brown & Co. The brothers were co-founders of the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations to Providence
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
. They were active in the Baptist community of Providence and were descendants of Chad Brown
Chad Brown (minister)
Reverend Chad Brown I was one of the first ministers of the First Baptist Church in America and a co-founder of Providence, Rhode Island...
, a Baptist minister who co-founded Providence with Roger Williams
Roger Williams (theologian)
Roger Williams was an English Protestant theologian who was an early proponent of religious freedom and the separation of church and state. In 1636, he began the colony of Providence Plantation, which provided a refuge for religious minorities. Williams started the first Baptist church in America,...
.
Brown's brother-in-law and business partner, Jabez Bowen
Jabez Bowen
Jabez Bowen, Jr. was a deputy governor of Rhode Island, militia colonel during the American Revolutionary War and Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court.-Biography:...
was a notable Rhode Island political figure. Moses Brown eventually differentiated himself from his family by converting to Quakerism
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
.
Moses Brown married his cousin Anna Brown (daughter of his uncle Obadiah) in 1764. They had two surviving children: Sarah (1764-1794, married William Almy) and Obadiah (1771-1822), as well as a daughter who died young. Moses also served as a deputy to the Rhode Island General Assembly
Rhode Island General Assembly
The State of Rhode Island General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. A bicameral body, it is composed of the lower Rhode Island House of Representatives with 75 representatives, and the upper Rhode Island Senate with 38 senators...
from 1764 to 1771, and he served on a committee to oppose the Stamp Act
Stamp Act
A stamp act is any legislation that requires a tax to be paid on the transfer of certain documents. Those that pay the tax receive an official stamp on their documents, making them legal documents. The taxes raised under a stamp act are called stamp duty. This system of taxation was first devised...
in 1765. In 1769, he participated in efforts to move the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations to Providence from Warren, Rhode Island. The four Brown brothers donated family land passed down from Chad Brown for the new campus.
Brown’s wife Anna died in 1773. He gradually retired from the family business and began his involvement with Quaker meetings. The following year he formally became a member of the Society of Friends.
American Revolution
Following John BrownJohn Brown (Rhode Island)
John Brown I was an American merchant, slave trader, and statesman from Providence, Rhode Island. In 1764, John Brown joined his brothers Nicholas Brown and Moses Brown as well as William Ellery, the Baptist Reverend James Manning, the Baptist Reverend Isaac Backus, the Congregationalist Reverend...
's arrest in connection with the Gaspée affair
Gaspée Affair
The Gaspée Affair was a significant event in the lead-up to the American Revolution. The HMS Gaspée, a British customs schooner that had been enforcing unpopular trade regulations, ran aground in shallow water on June 9, 1772, near what is now known as Gaspee Point in the city of Warwick, Rhode...
that helped trigger the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, Moses and Joseph Brown delivered to the English in Boston a proposal that Rhode Island's preparations to resist royal authority be stopped if John Brown was released.http://www.gaspee.info/GaspeeRaiders/Brown_John.htm
Later Life
In 1779, Brown married his second wife, Mary Olney, a fellow Quaker. They were married for 18 years, and they had no children.In 1788, Brown returned briefly to the business world, embarking on a textile venture in partnership with his cousin Smith Brown and his future son-in-law William Almy. Moses Brown became interested in recent British attempts to use water power in their textile mills, and hired English emigrant Samuel Slater
Samuel Slater
Samuel Slater was an early English-American industrialist known as the "Father of the American Industrial Revolution", or the "Father of the American Factory System" because he brought British textile technology to America. He learned textile machinery as an apprentice to a pioneer in the British...
to help build a similar mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 71,148 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth largest city in the state.-History:...
. In 1790, the factory became the first water-powered spinning mill in America, a seminal event generally considered the birth of the American Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
. Moses’ son Obadiah Brown soon replaced Smith Brown as a partner, and Samuel Slater was taken in as well, to create the new firm of Almy, Brown & Slater. Moses Brown soon withdrew from active involvement in the firm, but remained a partner.
After getting Almy, Brown & Slater off the ground, Moses Brown moved on to a variety of new activities. He played a role in Rhode Island’s ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1790. He also became interested in agricultural experiments on his Providence farm, and helped found the Rhode Island Agricultural Society in 1800. He served on the first board of directors of the Providence Bank, and was treasurer of the Central Bridge Company. Along with his son Obadiah, he was a founder of the Rhode Island Bible Society. During the yellow fever epidemic of 1797, he was a strong advocate of sanitation practices. He later introduced smallpox vaccination to Rhode Island.
Brown’s second wife Mary died in 1798, and he married his third and final wife, the widow Phebe (Waterman) Lockwood, in 1799. She had several grown children of her own: Sarah (1773-1832, married E. Bates Harris), Avis (1774-1831, never married), Benoni (1777-1852) and Phebe (1778-1800). After the death of his third wife in 1809, Moses remained unmarried for the last 27 years of his life.
Brown was inspired by the War of 1812 to work on behalf of peace, and was instrumental in the founding of the Rhode Island Peace Society in 1818. He adhered to and promoted the orthodox Quaker position that Quakers should resist war taxes
Tax resistance
Tax resistance is the refusal to pay tax because of opposition to the government that is imposing the tax or to government policy.Tax resistance is a form of civil disobedience and direct action...
.
Another one of his interests was local history. Moses Brown played an important role in collecting documents relating to colonial Rhode Island, many of them inherited through his own family. He was a founding member of the Rhode Island Historical Society
Rhode Island Historical Society
The Rhode Island Historical Society is a privately endowed membership organization, founded in 1822, dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing the history of Rhode Island...
, served as its chairman, and had most of his papers left there after his death.
Moses Brown left few family members, having outlived three wives, all three of his children, and three of his four step-children. At his death, his only descendants were his granddaughter Sarah (Almy) Jenkins (1790-1849) and her children. He also left much of his estate to the children of his stepdaughter Sarah (Lockwood) Harris (1773-1832), and to the Society of Friends. His son Obadiah had married, but left no children.
Abolitionist activity
Despite his major role in the slave tradeAtlantic slave trade
The Atlantic slave trade, also known as the trans-atlantic slave trade, refers to the trade in slaves that took place across the Atlantic ocean from the sixteenth through to the nineteenth centuries...
, he eventually refused to continue his association with it. As a Quaker, he began a lifelong crusade against slavery, and soon became the leading opponent of the slave trade in Rhode Island. He freed his own slaves in 1773. At the close of the war, Brown renewed his efforts against the slave trade. He unsuccessfully petitioned the General Assembly in 1783, wrote frequently in the local press, and helped distribute antislavery pamphlets throughout New England. He was instrumental in the 1787 passage of a law banning the participation of Rhode Islanders in the slave trade. In 1789, he helped found the Providence Society for Abolishing the Slave Trade with both Quaker and non-Quaker associates to help enforce recently passed anti-slave trade legislation. He later helped engineer passage of a law in the U.S. Congress to forbid foreign slave ships from being equipped in American ports. He also became known for his willingness to help slaves and free blacks on an individual basis, through financial and legal assistance.
In contrast, his brother John
John Brown (Rhode Island)
John Brown I was an American merchant, slave trader, and statesman from Providence, Rhode Island. In 1764, John Brown joined his brothers Nicholas Brown and Moses Brown as well as William Ellery, the Baptist Reverend James Manning, the Baptist Reverend Isaac Backus, the Congregationalist Reverend...
was one of the state’s leading slave traders and the first person prosecuted under the federal laws prohibiting slave importation
Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves
The Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves of 1807 is a United States federal law that stated, in accordance with the Constitution of the United States, that no new slaves were permitted to be imported into the United States. This act ended the legality of the U.S.-based transatlantic slave trade...
, Moses Brown became an active abolitionist, an advocate for African Americans both slave and free.
Moses Brown School
In 1784 Moses Brown founded what would later be named the Moses Brown SchoolMoses Brown School
Moses Brown School is a Quaker school located in Providence, Rhode Island, founded by Moses Brown, a Quaker abolitionist, in 1784. It is one of the oldest preparatory schools in the country.-Founder:...
, one of the oldest preparatory schools in the country. One of his last great contributions to Rhode Island life was his role in the revival of the New England Yearly Meeting School. It had existed intermittently in the 1770s and 1780s, but died out through lack of interest. In 1814, Brown presented the Yearly Meeting with 43 acres of land in Providence, and worked diligently toward the creation of a school on this land. He provided important financial assistance, and also donated his impressive book collection to the school library. His son Obadiah was a major supporter of this effort until his untimely death in 1822. Moses Brown served as the school’s treasurer until shortly before his own death in 1836, at the age of 98. The school was renamed in his honor as the Moses Brown School, and remains a leading preparatory school in the state.
Further reading
- Rhode Island Historical Society Moses Brown Papers
- Moses Brown School History
- Charles Rappleye, Sons of Providence: The Brown Brothers, the Slave Trade, and the American Revolution (Simon& Shuster, New York: 2006)
- Encyclopedia Brunoniana
- Brown University Charter
- John and Moses Brown reviewed in the Providence Journal with portraits of both
- John Brown's involvement in the Gaspee affair, with portrait
- Hidden in Plain Sight: Slavery and Justice in Rhode Island - an address by Brown President Ruth J. Simmons at St. John's College, Cambridge University on the occasion of the bicentenary of the Act of Parliament abolishing the British slave trade
- Report of the Brown University Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice
See also
- Brown SquareBrown SquareBrown Square is a small green space in downtown Newburyport, Massachusetts.It is named for New England merchant, Moses Brown , who lived in Brown Square House adjacent to the square. There were several anti-slavery gatherings in the square....
- Brown Square HouseBrown Square HouseBrown Square House is a historic house at 11 Brown Square in Newburyport, Massachusetts.It was built in 1801 by Moses Brown, a Newburyport landowner, shipbuilder, and shipping merchant. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.It currently houses the Garrison Inn,...
- Moses Brown SchoolMoses Brown SchoolMoses Brown School is a Quaker school located in Providence, Rhode Island, founded by Moses Brown, a Quaker abolitionist, in 1784. It is one of the oldest preparatory schools in the country.-Founder:...