Warren Brown (politician)

The Hon. Warren Brown (August 11, 1836-September 19, 1919) was a writer, historian, farmer, and politician from Hampton Falls, New Hampshire.

Biography

Early life

Warren was born in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire, to John Berry Brown and Sarah M. (Leavitt) Brown. John was the youngest son of Jacob Brown and Abagail (Berry) Brown. His other siblings were Thomas, Nathan W., and Joseph C. His brother Thomas married Elizabeth Drake on February 27, 1817. He attended one of the town schools, then went off to the Rockingham and Phillips-Andover academies.

Later life

Warren Brown married Sarah Gertrude Norris on January 1, 1867. Sarah was a native of Dover, New Hampshire, New Hampshire and a daughter of Daniel L. Norris and Sophia (Osgood) Norris. They had five children;

*Unnamed (August 4, 1868-August 4, 1868)
*Harry Benson (June 8, 1870-June 18, 1903)
*Arthur Warren (July 20, 1873-1960) married Frances Wadleigh (1881-1966) on October 11, 1906 Arthur built a house right across the street that is still there.
**Charles Warren (July 16, 1909-)
**Lois Wadleigh (May 2, 1911-)
**Harold Arthur (July 1913-)
**Elinor Frances (December 12, 1915-)
**Ernest
**Winthrop M.
*Gertrude Norris (May 17, 1878-May 17, 1896)
*Mildred Leavitt (April 3, 1880-1965) married Roscoe Franklin Swain (1881-1946) on June 11, 1908
**Marjorie Morrill (July 9, 1909-July 16, 1909)
**Pearl Elizabeth (Candlemas Day, 1911-1986) married ___ Marston
**Kenneth Warren (August 9, 1913-September 6, 2003 [http://www.seacoastonline.com/2003news/09102003/obituari/49454.htm] ) married Ruth Cameron (d. 1990)
***Richard Owen (d. 1977)
***John C.
***Judith K. married ___ Huss
**Dorothy G.

A cold unpleasant month. There is snow enough for sleighing most of the time. Not much thawing. The necessities of living have advanced in price. Mrs. Sarah G. Brown, wife of Warren Brown, died. There has been an unusual amount of sickness.

- From the journal of Warren Brown, January 1917.

But Warren's wife died on January 24, 1917, shortly before the publication of her husband's second book.

Warren had a life-long interest in agricultural matters. He was president of the New Hampshire State Agricultural Society for eleven years, treasurer of the New England Agricultural Society for twenty-five years, trustee of the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts for twenty-four years.

In addition to agriculture, Warren was a very well-educated man. He was a president of a board for four years, a state senator from 1872-1873, a member of the Governor's Council from 1879 to 1881, a delegate to the Republican National Convention at Chicago, Illinois in 1884, a representative in 1887, and a presidential elector in 1908. He received 53,144 votes from around the country; most of the were likely from New England.

Warren Brown was very interested in his town's history. Eventually, he had written two books on Hampton Falls; "History of Hampton Falls, N.H. Volume I" and "History of Hampton Falls, N.H. Volume II". Volume I spans from 1640 to 1900, while Volume II spans from 1900 to 1917.

Warren also was an active promoter of the electric railways in southern New Hampshire.

Death

It was originally thought that his and his other family members' graves are on what was once his property out of sight in some bushes. This was disproven on May 6, 2006. His grave and all of his other family members' graves were found in Westview Cemetery in Hampton Falls. Pictures of the graves will be released soon.

Legends

It's said that when Warren decided to run for Governor of New Hampshire he was so confident of winning that he built a huge Victorian Mansion, "Sunnyside", for himself in Hampton Falls . Unfortunately, Warren lost the election and was stuck with it. As said before, his grave is said to be on his former property. But some new evidence supports the possibility of the graves not even being on the property, but in a public cemetery. The house still stands to this day.

It has also been said by the current owners that a woman named Sarah had died in this house and haunts it. Sarah is most likely Warren's wife.

Memorials and Legacy

The road Warren's house is on is named Brown Road, in his memory.

On April 17, 2006, a group of Hampton Falls people formed the Warren Brown Foundation. It was dedicated to discovering the Brown family's past and improving what is left. The group has since been discontinued.

Trivia

* Warren became a Shriner and a Knight Templar, 32° Mason.
* He and Fred P. Sanborn were the first people in Hampton Falls to install electric lighting in their house. That was in October 1905.
* His "History of Hampton Falls Series" will be continued by Richard Sanborn, as he is working on Volume III. Volume III will cover 1917-present, and it will also have new information from earlier years. It has been reported that one chapter will be on the Lincoln Akerman School.

ee also

* Wesley Powell
* Meshech Weare

External links

* [http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/nh/rockingham/bios/brownw.txt]
* [http://www.freewebs.com/wfbpres WBF Official website]

Resources

*Brown, Warren. "History of Hampton Falls N.H. Vol. II". 1918. Rumford Press. Concord, New Hampshire.
* Crowell, Suzanne Perfect. "Sunnyside Files". 1976. Offset House, South Burlington, Vermont.