destroyed during King Philip's war, ten years later, and it can not be verified. Concerning the trans-Atlantic origin of the Rhode Island Browns or Brownes (for the final vowel was in early times used or omitted indiscriminately) little is known. In Burke's “Encyclopædia” more than 150 heraldic escutcheons are described as the property of as many families bearing the name. The difficulty is obvious of identifying the particular one from which sprung the founder of the first American branch. Chad Brown came over in the ship “Martin” in July, 1638. His name appears as a witness to the nuncupative will of a passenger who died on the voyage. About this time occurred the “anabaptist heresy,” and many of the Boston colony removed to the Providence plantations. It is probable that Mr. Brown was among these, for his tombstone, erected by the town, bears record that he was “exiled from Massachusetts for conscience' sake.” The date of his arrival can not be exactly fixed, although some authorities erroneously place it as early as 1636; but the most probable date is the autumn of 1638, when Roger Williams and twelve others executed what is known as the “initial deed,” assigning the lands acquired by purchase from the Indians. Mr. Brown at once became a leader in the affairs of the colony, and when, after a few months, the restless Williams, finding that the church would not implicitly accept his teaching, again seceded, Mr. Brown was chosen as his successor. He was formally ordained elder in England in 1642, assumed the pastoral office on his return, and was in reality the first elder of the oldest Baptist church in America. Prior to his ordination serious dissensions had arisen in the colony, involving a quarrel with Massachusetts, and Mr. Brown was one of a committee appointed to make peace. He served also as town surveyor, and with two others compiled a list of the original divisions or grants of land. The original of this list (1660) is still on file in the clerk's office of Providence. During his pastorate arose the controversy respecting “the laying on of hands,” which resulted in the secession of the “Five-principle Baptists” from the original society, a schism that lasted until long after Elder Brown was laid to rest in his own home lot. His influence in shaping the early tendencies of the colony was marked, and it is probable that, but for his resolute character and judicious management, the daring and refractory spirits that composed the colony would have come to blows on a dozen different questions of civil and religious import. So successful was he in adjusting the quarrels of his flock that the honorable title of “Peacemaker” was popularly accorded him, and more than a century after his death (1792) the town of Providence voted a modest sum of money to erect a stone over his grave in the north burying-ground, whither his remains were moved at that date. He was married before coming to this country, and had five sons. — John, eldest son of Chad, b. in England about 1630. He came to America at the age of eight years and settled with his parents in Providence. He appears to have been a man of influence in the colony, and was appointed, in 1662, with Roger Williams and Thomas Harris, to make up the town council. The date of his death is not known. — James, second son of John, b. in Providence, R. I., in 1666; d. there, 28 Oct., 1732. He became the colleague, and afterward the successor, of the Rev. Pardon Tillinghast, in charge of the Baptist church. He married Mary, the granddaughter of William Harris, who came to Providence with Roger Williams, and had ten children, of whom James was b. in Providence, R. I., 22 March, 1698; d. there, 27 April, 1739. He engaged in active business and became a successful merchant of Providence. In 1723 he married Hope Power, the granddaughter of Rev. Pardon Tillinghast, and had one daughter, Mary, and five sons — James, Nicholas, Joseph, John, and Moses, of whom the last four are known in Providence annals as the “Four Brothers.” — Nicholas, b. in Providence, R. I., 28 July, 1729; d. there, 29 May, 1791. He was left an orphan at the age of ten years, and the early death of his elder brother, James, made him the senior representative of the family. On coming of age he could readily have claimed a double portion of his father's property, as, under the existing colonial laws, he was entitled to the inheritance of his brother James. Setting aside all legal rights in the matter, he divided that portion equally among his brothers and sister. He followed mercantile pursuits, and thereby acquired a very ample fortune. His success was largely due to habits of industry and punctuality which he assiduously observed throughout his career. Mr. Brown was a believer in the Baptist faith, and a careful observer of its forms, although he never made a public profession of that religion. He was liberal with his wealth, and a constant benefactor of the college and other public buildings devoted to religion or science in Providence. He was twice married, and his son of the same name survived him. — Joseph, b. in Providence, R. I., 3 Dec., 1733; d. there, 3 Dec., 1785. He was likewise engaged in business, and in manufacturing, and acquired sufficient wealth to permit him to follow his natural taste for science. He was greatly interested in the science of electricity, and his knowledge of that subject was remarkable for the time. At his death he left an electric machine of his own construction, then unsurpassed by any other in the country. He devoted considerable study to mechanics and was proficient in astronomy. His attention having been directed to the arrangements in course of preparation for the proper observation of the transit of Venus in 1769, he sent to England for suitable instruments, and subsequently an account of the observations made in Providence was published by Prof. Benjamin West, later professor of natural philosophy in the college. Mr. Brown was a warm friend of the college, and was one of its trustees from 1769 till 1785. In 1770 he received the honorary degree of A. M. from the college, and from 1784 until his death held the chair of natural philosophy, giving his services to the institution without compensation. He was a consistent member of the Baptist church, and he was the only one of the four brothers who ever made a public profession of religion. — John, b. in Providence, R. I., 27 Jan., 1736; d. there, 20 Sept., 1803. The most energetic of the four brothers, he became a very
