Biography of Captain Josiah Brown
From The history of New Ipswich, New Hampshire, 1735-1914
by Charles H. Chandler, Sentinel Print. Co., Fitchburg MA, 1914
JOSIAH BROWN, b. Jan. 30, 1742; d. Mar. 18, 1831; m. Oct. 31, 1765, Sarah, dau. of Joseph and Rebecca (Heywood) Wright [b. Nov. 27, 1744; d. 1821]. He came to New Ipswich immediately after his marriage, and settled upon Flat Mountain, half a mile eastward from his brother, and soon became a prominent man in military and religious matters. His name is borne upon the Concord roll as that of a sergeant, he was first lieutenant in Capt. Towne's company at Bunker Hill, and claimed to have fired the last gun before the retreat; and he afterward was captain in command of a company largely composed of his fellow townsmen which responded with great promptness to the calls for immediate aid related in the earlier part of this volume. He was one of the foremost in the organization of the Baptist church, in which he was made the first deacon. Like many men of intense vision and prompt action, he may have lacked something in breadth of view, but conscientious and faithful, he was one of those men whose work in the evolution of a new society can hardly be overvalued.
from Genealogical and family history of northern New York
Anonymous author, Lewis Historical Pub. Co., New York, 1910
Captain Josiah, son of John Brown, was born at Concord, January 30, 1742. He settled in New Ipswich, New Hampshire, and lived there more than fifty years. He settled in what was then a wilderness near Flat Mountain. The family had not only to struggle with nature in clearing the land, but against wolves and other wild beasts, then numerous in the forest. He was a sergeant in Captain Thomas Heald's company from New Ipswich and marched April 20, 1775, on the Lexington Alarm and served thirteen days. He was also first lieutenant of Captain Ezra Towne's company (fourth), Colonel James Reed's regiment of New Hampshire, serving two months and twenty-seven days from May 10, 1775. This regiment was engaged at the battle of Bunker Hill, where the company of Captain Towne, says history, "did sharp execution, being good marksmen and having the wind in their favor. They were the last company to leave the field, and Lieutenant Brown believed that he fired the final shot before the retreat." Brown was also captain of a company detached from Colonel Enoch Hale's regiment of New Hampshire militia, and marched to reinforce the Continental army at Ticonderoga, May 6, 1777, and June 29, 1777. (See New Hampshire State Papers vol. xiv, p. 34, p. 38, and vol. xv, p. 1, 20-22, 92-94). In the life of Rev. Nathan Brown, the missionary, one learns that Captain Josiah Brown's "resolute right hand wore the blue mitten once famous in New Ipswich town meetings. It became a common saying in regard to undecided voters that they always waited till they saw the blue mitten go up". Nathan Brown, the Baptist missionary to Tokio, Japan, and William Goldsmith Brown, author of the famous war lyrics, "A Hundred Years to Come", "Roanoke", "Before Petersburt", etc. were grandsons of Captain Josiah Brown.
A century ago Captain Josiah Brown bought land in what is now the town of Lewis, Essex County, New York, and there his son, Deacon Levi Brown, and two of his daughters, Rebecca, who married Nathan Perry, and Abigail, who married Deacon Asa Farnsworth, settled. The history of New Ipswich says of him: "He was a robust, energetic, persevering man' was impulsive and had a very strong will. He was a religious and benevolent man, always ready to do his share for the support of religious institutions and for the relief of the poor and suffering. His experiences, which were written down by his grandson, are quite curious. His mind seems to have been deeply affected by reading "Bunyan's Pilgrim, and it no doubt had a great influence in forming his opinions and character. For a few years previous to his death he was lame and nearly blind". He was first deacon of the Baptist church at New Ipswich. He died in 1831 at the advanced age of eighty-seven.
From History of Whitingham : from its organization to the present time
by Leonard Brown, F.E. Housh, Brattleboro VT, 1886
BROWN FAMILY.
There is no family name, that fills a more conspicuous place in the town's history for the first half of the current century, than the Brown. Not that anything peculiar marked their course of life, or that they were the most active leaders of that age, but they were men of stern integrity, industious and enterprising farmers, and wielded an influence both in the Church, and in business matters in the town, more salutary in effect, than any other one family ever did. The five brothers, and one sister (whose husband's name was Brown), that settled in Whitingham, were from a family of twelve chilren, nine brothers and three sisters, all natives of New Ipswich, N.H. Their paternal ancestor, Josiah Brown, was a stout built, robust man, a direct descendant of the sturdy stock of English yeomanry, and he and his chilren, inherited the persevering energy of our Pilgrim Fathers. He was a man of marked ability and influence in the town where he lived - a true patriot, a devoted Christian, an active participator in the revolutionary struggle; fought in the battle of Bunker Hill, and his company was the last to retreat before the British Regulars. And he often related an incident of that battle, when visiting his children at Whitingham. He said, "After we had orders to retreat, a brave youth of seventeen, who had fought by my side all day, had just loaded his musket and was returning his ramrod to its place, when a British Officer rode up flourishing his sword, not ten feet distant, exclaimed, 'My boy, lay down your arms, we've won the day.' The young brave, nothing terrified, drew up his gun and shot the officer down, and retorted, "There G-- d--- you you've lost it, and turned and run amidst a shower of bullets, and escaped unharmed."
The names of the five brothers that settled in Whitingham from 1795 to 1807, was Josiah, Joseph, Jonas, Amos and Nathan; and the sister's name was Sarah; she married a man by the name of Reuben Brown. The five brothers were all members of the Baptist Church; three of them became members at the time of its organization in 1808. They were all farmers, and wielded an influence in the formation of the institutions of civilized society, in this new and sparsely settled township, upon a permanent basis, second to none others in this section of the State.
Josiah Brown, married Milicent Wright, and came to Whitingham about 1795, settled on the farm now owned by Joseph W. Morse, where he lived till he went to Bennington with his son Edmund, and lived there with him the rest of his days. He had a family of nine children; four of them only, lived to maturity; the rest died in infancy or quite young. The names of the four that lived to be men, were, Rufus, Clement, Edmund, and George W. Rufus was the most prominent man of the four; was often elected to important offices of trust in the town, was Clerk of the Baptist Church five years, and once represented the town in the General Assembly. He was a thrifty, well-to-do farmer,-owned and lived on the same farm for fifty-five years, and died at his home, August 9, 1875, at the age of 7S.