Thomas Storrow Brown
Encyclopedia
Thomas Storrow Brown was a journalist, writer, orator, and revolutionary in Lower Canada
(present-day Quebec
).
, New Brunswick
, the son of Henry Barlow Brown and Rebecca Appleton, as a young man he moved to Montreal
, Lower Canada. Once there, he found noperk and with his savings eventually went into the hardware business. His operation encountered financial difficulties and closed leaving Brown to find other employment.
A member of the Unitarian Church
, Thomas Brown was an advocate for both social and political reform, supporting the concept of responsible government in which the members of the Legislative Council of Quebec
would be appointed by the Legislative Assembly's
majority party. Brown also worked to improve social conditions through aid to the poor. Influenced by the republic
form of government
in the United States
, over time his frustrations with the government of Great Britain
saw him join the Montreal Vindicator newspaper in 1832 at the invitation of his friend Edmund Bailey O'Callaghan
. Following the death of founder Daniel Tracey
, O'Callaghan had been appointed the paper's new editor and with Brown, they continued to espouse the former owner's radical views. Their attacks were especially harsh against the Governor of the Colony, Lord Gosford
despite the fact that he had ordered the dissolution of the British Rifle Corps in January 1836.
In 1833, Brown's wife, Jane Hughes, died. By this time, Brown had moved firmly from a moderate who sought to reform the political system, to a radical wanting to fundamentally alter Canadian society. In 1837 he participated in the Lower Canada Rebellion
and was head of the military faction of the rebel group, the Société des Fils de la Liberté
, that openly advocating revolution. In November, Brown was wounded and partially blinded in one eye during the street fight between the Société des Fils de la Liberté and the Doric Club
but nevertheless in December he still fought against the British Army
at the Battle of Saint-Charles
. Defeated, he escaped to the United States where he worked as a journalist in Florida
. In 1844, he was granted an amnesty
and returned to Montréal where Charles Wilson gave him a job in his hardware store. Brown married Hester Livingston in 1860 and a little more than a year later was given administrative posts in the government. Thomas Storrow Brown died at his home in Montreal in 1888 at the age of eighty-five.
Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
(present-day Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
).
Biography
Born in St. AndrewsSt. Andrews, New Brunswick
St. Andrews is a Canadian town in Charlotte County, New Brunswick.It is sometimes referred to in tourism marketing by its unofficial nickname "St. Andrews-by-the-sea".-Geography:St...
, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, the son of Henry Barlow Brown and Rebecca Appleton, as a young man he moved to Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Lower Canada. Once there, he found noperk and with his savings eventually went into the hardware business. His operation encountered financial difficulties and closed leaving Brown to find other employment.
A member of the Unitarian Church
American Unitarian Association
The American Unitarian Association was a religious denomination in the United States and Canada, formed by associated Unitarian congregations in 1825. In 1961, it merged with the Universalist Church of America to form the Unitarian Universalist Association.According to Mortimer Rowe, the Secretary...
, Thomas Brown was an advocate for both social and political reform, supporting the concept of responsible government in which the members of the Legislative Council of Quebec
Legislative Council of Quebec
From 1867 until 1968, the Legislative Council of Quebec was the unelected upper house of the bicameral legislature in the Canadian province of Quebec...
would be appointed by the Legislative Assembly's
Legislative Assembly of Quebec
The Legislative Assembly of Quebec was the name of the lower house of Quebec's legislature until 1968, when it was renamed the National Assembly of Quebec. At the same time, the upper house of the legislature, the Legislative Council, was abolished...
majority party. Brown also worked to improve social conditions through aid to the poor. Influenced by the republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
form of government
Form of government
A form of government, or form of state governance, refers to the set of political institutions by which a government of a state is organized. Synonyms include "regime type" and "system of government".-Empirical and conceptual problems:...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, over time his frustrations with the government of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
saw him join the Montreal Vindicator newspaper in 1832 at the invitation of his friend Edmund Bailey O'Callaghan
Edmund Bailey O'Callaghan
Edmund Bailey O'Callaghan, was a doctor and journalist.Born in Mallow, County Cork, Ireland, he studied medicine in Paris and immigrated to Lower Canada in 1823 where he became involved in the political reform movement of the Parti patriote...
. Following the death of founder Daniel Tracey
Daniel Tracey
Daniel Tracey born in Roscrea, Tipperary County, Ireland, was a doctor, journalist and Canadian politician.He arrived in the Province of Lower Canada with his younger siblings in 1825.-The Vindicator:...
, O'Callaghan had been appointed the paper's new editor and with Brown, they continued to espouse the former owner's radical views. Their attacks were especially harsh against the Governor of the Colony, Lord Gosford
Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford
Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford GCB , styled The Honourable Archibald Acheson from 1790 to 1806 and Lord Acheson from 1806 to 1807, was a British politician who served as Lieutenant-Governor of Lower Canada and Governor General of British North America in the 19th century.-Background:Born at...
despite the fact that he had ordered the dissolution of the British Rifle Corps in January 1836.
In 1833, Brown's wife, Jane Hughes, died. By this time, Brown had moved firmly from a moderate who sought to reform the political system, to a radical wanting to fundamentally alter Canadian society. In 1837 he participated in the Lower Canada Rebellion
Lower Canada Rebellion
The Lower Canada Rebellion , commonly referred to as the Patriots' War by Quebeckers, is the name given to the armed conflict between the rebels of Lower Canada and the British colonial power of that province...
and was head of the military faction of the rebel group, the Société des Fils de la Liberté
Société des Fils de la Liberté
The Société des Fils de la Liberté was a paramilitary organization founded in August of 1837 in Lower Canada by young supporters of the Parti patriote who became impatient with the pace of progress of the movement for constitutional and parliamentary reforms...
, that openly advocating revolution. In November, Brown was wounded and partially blinded in one eye during the street fight between the Société des Fils de la Liberté and the Doric Club
Doric Club
The Doric Club was an association of Loyals set up in Lower Canada by Adam Thom, a lawyer and journalist, in March 1836. A noted opponent of the Patriotes, the group was both a social club and a paramilitary organization...
but nevertheless in December he still fought against the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
at the Battle of Saint-Charles
Battle of Saint-Charles
The Battle of Saint-Charles was fought on November 25, 1837 between Great Britain and Lower Canada rebels. The British were victorious.On the morning of 25 November 1837, 2 days after Charles Gore's defeat at the Battle of Saint-Denis and the retreat to Sorel the troops of Colonel George Wetherall...
. Defeated, he escaped to the United States where he worked as a journalist in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. In 1844, he was granted an amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
and returned to Montréal where Charles Wilson gave him a job in his hardware store. Brown married Hester Livingston in 1860 and a little more than a year later was given administrative posts in the government. Thomas Storrow Brown died at his home in Montreal in 1888 at the age of eighty-five.
Works
- Address of the Fils de la liberté of Montreal to the young people of the colonies of North America, 1837 (online)
- A History of the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada compiled from public documents, 1864 online
- "My Escape in 1837", in New Dominion Monthly, 1869 or (online)
- "Brief Sketch of the Life and Times of the late Hon. Louis Joseph Papineau", in New Dominion Monthly, 1872 (online)
- The Rebellion of 1837; Interesting reminiscences; Progress of events; The Ministers sent out from England, 1873
- Strong drink: what it is, and what it does, 1884. Humna was here