Brown, John
Descendants of :
John BROWN
Generation 1
1. John BROWN was born ABT 1801 in England and died 18 Aug 1879 in Adelaide, SA. He married Charlotte Augusta OHEA 22 Apr 1852 in Adelaide, SA. She was born ABT 1816 and died 24 Oct 1860 in Adelaide, SA.
Other events in the life of John BROWN
Immigration: 06 Nov 1836 in Africaine
Name of first wife (who accompanied him on the Africaine, not known
No known issue.
About BROWN, John
Biography
See biography at http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/brown-john-1834
See THE LAND FUND. (1850, January 3). Adelaide Times (SA : 1848 - 1858), p. 2. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article207114675
See THE LAND FUND. No. II. (1850, January 7). Adelaide Times (SA : 1848 - 1858), p. 3. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article207114696
See extracts from his diary
http://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/webdata/resources/samemory/PRG_1002_2_Extracts_of_Diary_of_John_Brown.pdfSee letter WHO FIRST LANDED IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA?. (1858, December 21). The South Australian Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1858 - 1889), p. 2.http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article786796
Married twice with no children.
Biography
John Brown (c.1801 – 1879) was born in England. He attended Mill Hill School from 1812 to 1815 and at the age of 30 was a registered voter in the city of London. In 1833 he was an importer of wines and spirits at St Mary at Hill. After the decline of his business in 1834, Brown joined the South Australian colonization movement and fraternised with men including George Fife Angas, Robert Gouger and Edward Gibbon Wakefield. He contributed £250 to the South Australian Association and was an avid republican and chartist. During his time with the association Brown sought appointment as official emigration agent to the new colony. He found strong supporters in George Fife Angas and Sir Moses Montefiore and was eventually appointed to the position by Colonel Torrens, chairman of the South Australian Colonization Commission. Gouger and Brown chartered the Africaine to transport colonization commission emigrants to the new colony in 1836. Brown sailed on the Africaine in June of that year with his wife and sister Maria Josepha.
In 1837 Brown become embroiled in the disputes over separation of powers in the South Australia Act, arguing that as his position was appointed by the colonization commissioners he was not subject to the authority of the Governor. This led to the Governor suspending Brown from office, however this decision was rejected by James Fisher. After Governor Hindmarsh appointed Y. B. Hutchinson to the position, the matter was then referred back to London, with Brown reappointed to the position of immigration agent after the arrival of Governor George Gawler. Brown went on to become the editor of South Australia’s second newspaper the Southern Australian, as well as being elected to Adelaide’s first Municipal Council. A number of other positions followed including director of the South Australian Mining Association, secretary of the League for the Preservation of Religious Freedom. he ended his working life at the Adelaide Life Association and Guarantee Co. He died on the 17 August 1879.
http://boundforsouthaustralia.net.au/journey-content/john-brown.htmlObituary
Death of Mr. John Brown.— 'We regret to have to announce the death of the well-known old colonist Mr. John Brown. About three weeks ago he was so unfortunate as to slip down in King William-street and break his collar bone, and although at first he was apparently progressing towards recovery, still the shock sustained by him was so great that it is not surprising that the accident should have resulted fatally to a gentleman of such advanced years, his age at the time of his death being 78. Mr. Brown's connection with the colony dates from its foundation. Having been appointed Immigration Agent in England, he sailed thence in the ship Africaine, and landed at Kangaroo Island on November 6, 1836. In the general disagreements which took place during the following year between Governor Hindmarsh and several of the officials of the State, Mr. Brown did not escape the vice regal censure, and owing to a difference of opinion between His Excellency and himself with regard to the interment of a destitute immigrant, he was on September 11, 1837, suspended from office. To this he was reinstated by Governor Gawler on October 24 of the following year ; but he was again sus pended on August 10, 1839. and it does not appear that he ever afterwards acted in the capacity of Immigration Agent. He, however, took an active part in public affairs for many years, and especially in the movement against State aid to religious denominations, which re sulted in the abolition of that form of grant. He acted first of all in the capacity of member of the Provisional Committee of the Society to secure religious freedom, and afterwards as Hon. Secretary to the League formed in opposition to State aid to religion. In 1840 Mr. Brown sat on the directory of the South Australian Insurance Company ; in 1841 he was appointed Secretary to the Statistical Society, who were entrusted with the duty of obtaining a full and authentic account of the financial condition of the colony ; and he also became a member of the first City Council, in which body he remained until the end of 1843. In addition to fulfilling these various duties Mr. Brown found time to devote to literary matters, the South Australian newspaper numbering him among its constant contributors, and he was subsequently for some years Editor of the Adelaide Times. Immediately on the establishment of the Adelaide Life Assurance and Guarantee Company Mr. Brown was appointed its Manager, and it was only in January of the present year that his failing health necessitated his retirement, on which occasion the Directors agreed to allow him a pension during his life time in consideration of his long and valuable services. Mr. Brown was twice married, but has left no family. He will be long remembered as a man of high mental culture, of the strictest integrity, and inflexibly attached to the principles of civil and religious liberty. Kindly in disposition and genial in temperament, his death will be most deeply felt by colonists who have been associated with him in the earlier days of South Australia. (1879, August 18).
South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900), p. 4. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article43090416