John Nicholas Brown I

John Nicholas Brown I (December 17, 1861 – May 1, 1900) was a book collector who donated his father's collection to Brown University.[1]

John Nicholas Brown
Born(1861-12-17)December 17, 1861
Providence, Rhode Island
DiedMay 1, 1900(1900-05-01) (aged 38)
Alma materBrown University
EmployerBrown & Ives
Spouse(s)
Natalie Bayard Dresser
​
​
(m. 1897; his death 1900)​
ChildrenJohn Nicholas Brown II
Parent(s)John Carter Brown I
Sophia Augusta Browne
RelativesNicholas Brown Jr. (grandfather)
John Carter Brown III (grandson)

Early life

John Nicholas Brown was born on December 17, 1861 to John Carter Brown II (1797–1874) and Sophia Augusta Brown (1825–1909).[2][3] His father was a collector of American books in the mid-19th century and was the first American to join the Hakluyt Society as a charter member in 1846, and in 1855, he was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society.[4] His brother was Harold Brown (1863–1900) and his sister was Sophia Augusta Brown (1867–1947), who married William Watts Sherman (1842–1912).[5]

In 1881, Brown entered Brown University, however, he left school two years, citing poor health and a weak constitution. He continued his studies of his own accord, traveling extensively and studying history, architecture, languages and the classics. In 1895, the faculty of Brown University voted to confer a degree upon him as a member of the class of 1885.[6]

Family

His paternal grandfather was Nicholas Brown Jr. (1769–1841), the namesake patron of Brown University (in 1804). His great-grandfather was Nicholas Brown Sr. (1729–1791), brother of John Brown, Moses Brown, and Joseph Brown, who was a merchant and slave trader who co-founded the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.[7]

Career

After receiving his degree from Brown University, Brown began to work for the family business, Brown & Ives, with the assistance of his cousin William Goddard.[6] He also served as President of the Lonsdale Company, and in 1888, Brown and his brother, Harold, formed a partnership, "J.N. & H. Brown." The brother's business was similar to the activities of the family business where they lent funds for mortgages and invested in buildings and lands out west. In their business dealings, John and Harold relied upon George W. R. Matteson, the trustee of their father's estate for advice and assistance.[6]

Personal life

On September 8, 1897, he married Natalie Bayard Dresser (1869–1950) at Trinity Church in Newport, Rhode Island. Natalie was the daughter of Brevet Major George Warren Dresser (1837–1883), a West Point graduate and an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War,[8] and Susan Fish Le Roy (1834–1883).

Natalie was the great-niece of Hamilton Fish (1808–1893), a U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Senator, and New York Governor. Through the Fish family, she was a descendant of Peter Stuyvesant, the first governor of Dutch colonial New York through Hamilton Fish's mother, Elizabeth Stuyvesant, Peter Stuyvesant's 2x great-granddaughter.[9] Her siblings included D. LeRoy Dresser (1862–1915), and Edith Stuyvesant Dresser (1873–1958), the wife of George Washington Vanderbilt II (builder of the Biltmore Estate) and later Sen. Peter Goelet Gerry.[10]

Together, they had their only son:

Brown died on May 1, 1900, when his son was only three months old. His brother Harold Brown died a few days later after returning to the United States from Europe after hearing of his brother's death.[14][15] John Nicholas Brown II was referred to as the richest child in the world at the time.[16] In 1901, his widow donated the funds to build Emmanual Episcopal Church in Newport, RI in his memory. She died at her home, Harbor Court (now the Newport station of the New York Yacht Club), in 1950.[17]

Organizations and philanthropy

Brown was a member of the Rhode Island Society of the Cincinnati and the New York Society of Colonial Wars. He was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1888.[4]

On February 1, 1890 Brown became a charter member of the Rhode Island Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. He was elected as the Society's second president and served May 29, 1890 until May 29, 1891. Ironically, according to the Rhode Island Society's manual published in 1900, Brown "never qualified as a member of the Society, nor officiated as president." (pg. 27.) This was because he never completed a formal membership application to join the Society despite having ancestors who supported the cause of American independence.

Brown was the donor of the Providence Public Library building in Providence, RI.

References
  1. "History of the John Carter Brown library". Retrieved 2011-04-21. Although the Brown family had been acquiring books since early in the eighteenth century, the present collection was not fully launched until the mid-nineteenth century when John Carter Brown (1797–1874) began avid pursuit of Americana, an area of interest he termed “the Great Subject.” His son, John Nicholas Brown (1861–1900), actively continued this tradition and before his untimely death had conceived the idea of giving the Library to the world of historical research as a memorial to his father.
  2. Times, Special To The New York (1 March 1909). "Mrs. John Carter Brown". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  3. "$30,000,000 TO MRS. SHERMAN; Reported Bulk of Mrs. John Carter Brown's Estate Goes to Daughter". The New York Times. March 4, 1909. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  4. American Antiquarian Society Members Directory
  5. "Wm. Watts Sherman Dead. Prominent in New York Society and Father of Lady Camoys". New York Times. January 23, 1912. Retrieved 2011-03-14.
  6. "Brown, John Nicholas". socialarchive.iath.virginia.edu. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  7. Miyoshi, Masao (January 1, 2009). Trespasses: Selected Writings. Duke University Press. ISBN 0822392488. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  8. New York Times. August 29, 1897.
  9. Corning (1918), pp. 12-15.
  10. "Edith Vanderbilt Wed to P.G. Gerry. Marriage by London Registrar Is Followed by Service at the Savoy Chapel". New York Times. October 23, 1925.
  11. "ANNE SEDDON BROWN". The New York Times. 23 November 1985. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  12. "Socialite Anne Brown dies". UPI. November 21, 1985. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  13. "Lee Kinsolving, 36, Actor, Son of Ex-St. James' Rector". New York Times. 1974-12-08. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
  14. "John Nicholas Brown II". Brown University. Archived from the original on 2007-12-18. Retrieved 2011-04-22. John Nicholas Brown II (1900-1979) was born February 21, 1900. Two months later, his father John Nicholas Brown I died of typhoid fever, followed shortly by the unexpected death of his uncle Harold Brown. Thus, as an infant JNB became heir of his family's fortune and was dubbed by the public the "richest baby in America." John Nicholas Brown traveled the world in his youth and would continue to do so throughout his life. ...
  15. Romy Wyllie. Bertram Goodhue: his life and residential architecture. ISBN 0-393-73219-3. When John Nicholas Brown I and his brother both died in 1900, they left their fortune to John's three-month- old son, who became the richest baby in the world.
  16. Times, Special To The New York (13 March 1909). "WILLED HEIRLOOMS TO WEALTHIEST BOY; Mrs. John Carter Brown Left No Money to Master John Nicholas Brown. BIG ESTATE TO DAUGHTER Mrs. William Watts Sherman and Her Daughters the Principal Beneficiaries -- Gifts to Churches". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  17. Times, Special To The New York (29 March 1950). "MRS. J.N. BROWN, 80, SUCCUMBS IN HOME; Newport Resident, Noted for Civic Leadership and Help to Needy, Was Political Figure Exhibited Own Paintings". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
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