Elisha Brown

Elisha Brown

39th Deputy Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
In office 1765–1767
Governor	Samuel Ward
Preceded by	Joseph Wanton Jr.
Succeeded by	Joseph Wanton Jr.

Personal details
Born	25 May 1717 Providence, Rhode Island
Died	20 April 1802 (aged 84) North Providence, Rhode Island
Spouse(s)	Martha Smith Hannah (Barker) Cushing
Occupation	Deputy Governor

Elisha Brown (25 May 1717 – 20 April 1802)^[1] was a deputy governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. He was the son of James and Mary (Harris) Brown, and the great grandson of early Rhode Island settler and Baptist minister Chad Brown.^[2] Brown was a member of the General Assembly, and possessed a large property, which was lost during the financial difficulties of the mid-18th century. During the Ward-Hopkins controversy, he sided with Samuel Ward, and during Ward's term as governor from 1765 to 1767, Brown was selected as his deputy governor.^[2]

Later in life, Brown moved to Wenscutt, located in North Providence, Rhode Island, and became a member of the Society of Friends.^[2] He had first married Martha, the daughter of John and Deborah (Angell) Smith, and a great granddaughter of both colonial president Gregory Dexter as well as Roger Williams' associate Thomas Angell. Following her death, he married Hannah Cushing, the widow of Elijah Cushing, and the daughter of James Barker.^[2]

He was the uncle of wealthy businessman John Brown and anti-slavery activist Moses Brown.

Ancestry

Most of Brown's known ancestry is found in Austin's Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island.^[3]

Ancestors of Elisha Brown

8. Chad Brown (died before 1650)

4. John Brown (1630 - c. 1706)

9. Elizabeth Sharparowe (died after 1650)

2. James Brown (1666–1732)

20. Robert Hulme

10. Obadiah Holmes (1607–1682)

21. Katherine Johnson

5. Mary Holmes (died after 1690)

11. Catharine Hyde (died after 1682)

1. Elisha Brown (1717–1802)

12. William Harris (1610–1681)

6. Andrew Harris (1635–1686)

13. Susannah (died after 1682)

3. Mary Harris (1671–1736)

28. Henry Tew

14. Richard Tew (died c. 1673)

7. Mary Tew (1647 - after 1688)

30. William Clarke

15. Mary Clarke (died after 1687)

References

^ Cutter 1908, pp. 1053–4.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Cutter 1908, p. 1054.
^ Austin 1887, pp. 103, 258–9, 312–13, 394.

Bibliography

Austin, John Osborne (1887). Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island. Albany, New York: J. Munsell's Sons. ISBN 978-0-8063-0006-1.
Cutter, William Richard (1908). Historic Homes and Places and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Lewis historical publishing Company. p. 1054.