Peter Brown (1784 - 1863)

Born 29 Jun 1784 in Edinburgh, Scotland

Husband of Marianne (Mackenzie) Brown — married 26 Jun 1813 in Scotland

Descendants

Died 30 Jun 1863 at age 79 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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Biography

BROWN, PETER, journalist and author; b. 29 June 1784 at Edinburgh, Scotland, was the son of James Brown and Jean Lyon/

Peter Brown married Marianne Mackenzie in 1813. She was the daughter of a Stornoway gentleman. They had six children and were comfortably middle-class.

Children of Peter and Marianne Brown:

1. Jane b. 1814;

2. Catherine b. 1817;

3. GEORGE BROWN b. 1818 in Alloa, Scotland; Marianne b. 1826;

GEORGE BROWN went to America with his father, Peter, in 1837. In 1843 the family moved to Toronto, Ontario where they established a paper called "The Globe" which is now the "Globe & Mail". In 1862, George returned to Edinburgh and married Anne Nelson d/o Thomas Nelson a prominent publisher in Edinburgh. Anne was born ca 1827. The marriage took place Nov. 27, 1862 in Edinburgh Parish, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland.

4. Isabella b. 1823;

5. John Gordon b. 1827 in Alloa;

6. James, Peter, unknown son who all died in infancy.

Aside from his prosperous wholesale business in Edinburgh, Peter spent stretches of time in Alloa, Clackmannan, up the Firth of Forth to direct a local glassworks.

A staunch Whig-Liberal and evangelical Presbyterian, Peter Brown passed his fervent advocacy in civil and religious liberty, his belief in free market economics, and his abhorrence of Tory aristocratic privilege on to George. Peter also set an example of public service by fighting for borough reform in Edinburgh and the larger parliamentary reform in the early 1830s. But while he was serving as collector of assessments in Edinburgh in 1836, he lost £2,800 worth of municipal funds which were somehow mixed up with his private accounts. Luckily, no charges were brought against him, and he scrambled to redeem the monetary loss and his good name. But when depression sank in during the next year, Peter saw no other option than to start afresh in America. So on 30 April 1837, Peter and George, aged eighteen, set out from Liverpool for New York City.

Within weeks of landing there in June, Peter and George opened a small, two-person dry goods shop that thrived sufficiently well. Peter, however, was becoming interested in matters more pressing than commercial trade. He became a regular contributor to the weekly British emigrant newspaper and published a book in 1842 that espoused the British parliamentary system over the American republican model of government. The book's favourable reception turned Peter's full attention to journalism: in June 1842, Peter began publication of the weekly British Chronicle, again supported by the eager and passionate son training to inherit his father's modest mantle.

As the paper started taking notice of Canadian affairs, George took over the role of Canadian correspondent. After he concluded his apprenticeship in journalism in 1843, his name appeared in the Chronicle as Publisher, with his father serving as Editor.

Peter died 30 June 1863 at Toronto, Canada West.

Sources

• J. M. S. Careless, “BROWN, GEORGE,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Volume 10, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003
• Find A Grave: Memorial #63781884, Toronto Necropolis Cemetery and Crematorium, Toronto, Toronto Municipality, Ontario, Canada