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OHIO GENEALOGY EXPRESS
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Franklin
County,
Ohio
BIOGRAPHIES |
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JOHN W. BROWN
John W. Brown is probably the oldest
business man in Columbus still
actively connected with commercial
and industrial lines for though now
in his eightieth year, he is
president of the Columbus Mill &
Mine Supply Company, the president
of the John W. Brown Manufacturing
Company and a director in the City
National Bank. Honored and respected
by all there is no man who occupies
a. more enviable position in
financial or commercial circles or
more fully merits the esteem of his
associates. not alone by reason of
the success he has achieved but
owing rather to the fact that his
record has at all times been
characterized by the most
straightforward dealing and
honorable business policy.
Mr. Brown was born in Pittsfield. Massachusetts, June
11, 1829. His father, James Brown,
was also a native of Pittsfield.
born in 1800. The family came
originally from Rhode Island while
Abraham C. Brown, grandfather of our
subject, was a farmer of Berkshire
county, Massachusetts. The mother.
Mrs. Mary H. Brown, was a daughter
of Thomas and Anna Green, the former
a cousin of General Nathaniel Green,
of Revolutionary war fame, the two
cousins having been partners in the
foundry business in Rhode Island at
the time of the outbreak of the
Revolutionary war. The house in
which Mrs. Brown was born is still
standing at Dalton, Massachusetts,
and is one of the fine old Colonial
homes of that day. There her
girlhood days were passed and in
early womanhood she gave her hand in
marriage to James Brown, who was an
own cousin of Ossawatamie Brown.
In the public schools of Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
John W. Brown pursued his education
and also spent one year in a private
school but at the age of sixteen
years he put wide his text-books
that he might make a. start in the
bus business world, entering upon an
apprenticeship in a general store at
Pittsfield, where he remained as a
trusted employe until twenty years
of age. He then carne to Columbus in
1849 to enter the store of his
uncle, A. C. Brown, whose
establishment was then at the corner
of high and Friend streets, now Main
street. The store was soon afterward
removed to the present site of the
Neil House. A failure was
predicted because this was "too far
up town." Their neighbor. John
Butler. pioneer grocer of Columbus,
also moved up town and purchased the
site at Gay and High streets. for
which he paid one hundred dollars
per front foot a price that was
considered ruinous by the great
majority. John W. Brown remained
with his uncle until 1852 and the
following year was employed by the
Central Ohio Railway Company, as
superintendent's cleric in charge of
the ticket department. In 1854 he
was made general ticket agent and
remained with the road until the
Central Ohio was sold to the
Baltimore & Ohio system and he
became general passenger agent of
both lines, with headquarters at
Columbus. Subsequently he was
offered the position of general
passenger agent of the Indianapolis.
Bloomington d Western Railroad
Company, with headquarters at
Indianapolis, where he remained for
nine years but in 1880 returned to
Columbus to become identified with
its industrial interests, organizing
the Columbus Rubber Company. which
later became the Columbus Mill &
Mine Supply Company. Mr. Brown was
elected the first president and
still retains that position. The
enterprise was soon placed upon a
paying basis and the business has
been constantly developed along
safe, substantial lines, bringing ii
good financial return and
contributing also to the commercial
prosperity of the city. In 1890 he
organized the Joint W. Brown
Manufacturing Company for the
purpose of manufacturing vehicle
lamps and the enterprise has become
the largest of its kind in the
United States. He has continuously
been its president and remains a
factor in its control. he has never
regarded any detail as too
unimportant to claim his attention,
and his careful supervision and
close application have figured
prominently in the success of the
enterprise, which is today one of
the most important productive
concerns in the city. He is likewise
a promoter of the City National
Bank.
On the 11th of December, 1851, Mr. Brown was married to
Miss Sarah Louisa Wing, a daughter
of William and Electa (Spellman)
Wing. Her mother removed from
Granville, Massachusetts, to
Granville, Ohio, with the first
settlers at the latter place. Her
father came to Ohio from Hartford,
Connecticut in 1818, and settled in
Granville. becoming prominently
connected with building operations
in pioneer times. He was the
contractor of the Ohio canal from
Newark to Baltimore acid also had
the contract for excavating what is
now Buckeye. Lake. He was also for
twenty years secretary and treasurer
of the Central Ohio Railway Company
and his business interests reached
extensive proportions and proved
elements in the growth and
upbuilding of the state. Unto Mr.
and Mrs. Brown have been born the
following named: Carrie Wing. the
wife of Dr. T. C. Hoover. of
Columbus; Frank N., treasurer of the
Columbus Mill & Mine Supply Company:
Will F., secretary of the company;
John B., secretary and treasurer of
the John W. Brown Manufacturing
Company: and Walter T., also
connected with the Columbus Mill &
Mine Supply Company.
In his fraternal relations Mr. Brown is a Mason and his
life has exemplified the beneficent
spirit of the craft. He attends the
Second Presbyterian church and gives
his political support to the
republican party. He has been in
active business life for nearly
sixty-two years, nearly all of which
time has been passed in Columbus and
he owes his success not to any
fortunate combination of
circumstances but to his close
application and unfaltering
industry. For over forty years he
has resided at No. 271 East Town
street. While he has achieved
success, working his way steadily
upward to a prominent position in
business circles, his efforts toward
advancing the material interests of
Columbus are so widely recognized
that they can be considered as being
no secondary part of his career of
signal usefulness. |
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