William W. Brown | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Milwaukee 3rd district | |
| In office June 5, 1848 –January 1, 1849 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Julius White |
| Representative to the Legislative Assembly of the Wisconsin Territory from Milwaukee County | |
| In office January 4,1847 –October 18,1847 ServingwithWilliam Shew and Andrew Sullivan | |
| Preceded by | Samuel H. Barstow, John Crawford ,James Magone, Benjamin H. Mooers , Luther Parker ,and William H. Thomas (Milwaukee &Washington counties) |
| Succeeded by | Isaac P. Walker , James Holliday ,and Asa Kinney |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Albany,New York,U.S. |
| Died | October 3,1871 Milwaukee,Wisconsin,U.S. |
| Cause of death | Tuberculosis |
| Political party | Whig |
| Nickname | "Double-head" |
William Wells Brown or W. W. Brown (died October 3,1871) was an American merchant and pioneer settler of Milwaukee,Wisconsin. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly for the 1st Wisconsin Legislature (1848). [1] [2]
Brown came early to Milwaukee,a contemporary of George H. Walker,Byron Kilbourn,and Don A. J. Upham. [3] The first ship built in Milwaukee,the 30-ton sloop Wenona,was built for Brown by George Barber in 1835. By 1842,Brown also owned the 100-ton schooner Fur Trader,and was an active merchant in Milwaukee (his Wm. Brown and Company was one of the first businesses in Milwaukee). He was sometimes called "Double-Headed Brown" to distinguish him from another William Brown,with whom he was at one time in business partnership.
He served as a contractor building the mile-long canal in Milwaukee for Kilbourn and Increase Lapham's Rock River Canal Company,which was begun in April 1841 and ready for use by December 1842. [4] This was the only portion of the canal which would ever be built;the bed thereof later became Commerce Street in Milwaukee's Beerline B neighborhood. [5]
He served in the House of Representatives of the Wisconsin Territory for one term representing Milwaukee County in the first 1847 session. [6] After statehood,he was elected in 1848 to the 3rd Milwaukee County Assembly district (the 3rd Ward of the City of Milwaukee). He was not a candidate for re-election in the 1848 fall election,and was succeeded by fellow Whig Julius White. [7] Brown ran again for the Assembly in 1849 but was not successful,losing to Democrat Edward McGarry. [8] [9]
In 1851,he came in 7th out of 8 candidates for alderman in the Third Ward. [10] He was successful in 1852,coming in first out of four candidates. [11]
He was elected as a delegate to the 1852 Whig National Convention, [12] and in 1852 was the Whig candidate for Sheriff of Milwaukee County. [13]
In 1851,he was among the incorporators (along with Kilbourn,Upham and others) of the Milwaukee and Humboldt Plank Road Company. [14]
Milwaukee pioneer historian James Smith Buck described Brown's final years as follows:
Few men have ever lived in Milwaukee who were more widely known,or less thought of (when we take into consideration his ability,for he was a very smart man,) than William W. Brown. Had he devoted his talents to a proper use,his memory would have been respected;but he did not,and finally died,deserted and alone. I shall never forget the look of utter despair that sat upon his face as I met him for the last time,in October,1871... wending his weary way to the European Hotel,which he never left again alive;it said plainly enough,"This is the end of a misspent life."... He died a few days later,and I remember the difficulty his few remaining friends (and I could name them all,) had,to get help enough to get his body from his room to the hearse. [15]
At the time of his death (of "quick consumption"),he was described as "well known through the State as a great wag". [1]