Guide to the James Brown II (1698-1739) Papers , 1719-1739


Rhode Island Historical Society
121 Hope Street
Providence, RI 02906
Tel: 401-273-8107
Fax: 401-751-7930
email: reference@rihs.org

Published in 2009

Collection Overview

Title: James Brown II (1698-1739) Papers
Date range: 1719-1739
Creator: Brown, James, 1698-1739
Extent: 2 linear feet
Abstract: James Brown II (1698-1739) was born in Providence. His father was Elder James Brown (1666-1716), a pastor on the First Baptist Church; his mother was Mary (Harris) Brown. James II established himself early in the mercantile business, trading in rum, molasses, slaves and less controversial wares.
Language of materials: English
Repository: Rhode Island Historical Society
Collection number: MSS 309

Scope & content

The collection includes business correspondence between Brown and other merchants and letters received from the captain of his ship in the West Indies reporting on cargo sales and receipts; a letter book of copies of Brown’s outgoing correspondence; accounting ledgers and an account book. The collection also contains a small amount of miscellaneous legal documents, such as land deeds; an agreement to build a ship with building specifications; and James Brown’s estate papers.

Also included is a cyphering book, which is a series of mathematical and navigation problems designed to teach young men mathematical concepts and 18th century navigation skills. The end of the volume has a day-to-day journal of a voyage taken in 1727 by James Brown aboard the sloop Truth & Delight.

Access Points

Subject Names Subject Organizations Subject Topics Geographical Names Subject Topics

Arrangement

  • Box 1
  • Box 2
  • Box 3

Historical note

James Brown II (1698-1739) was born in Providence. His father was Elder James Brown (1666-1716), a pastor on the First Baptist Church; his mother was Mary (Harris) Brown. James II established himself early in the mercantile business, trading in rum, molasses, slaves and less controversial wares. He seems to have been the owner of only one slave ship, the Mary, which sailed for Africa in 1736, sold its cargo in the West Indies and then returned to Providence. It was apparently the first slave ship ever to sail from Providence, but did not yield much profit. No other slave ships sailed from the town until 1749, and the Brown family remained out of the trade until 1759.

The remainder of James Brown's business was extremely successful. Upon his death, he left a considerable fortune to his sons, who followed him in business under the tutelage of their uncle Obadiah Brown (1712-1762).

James II married Hope Power (1702-1792), daughter of Nicholas, in 1723. They had six children. Mary (1731-1795), the one daughter, married Dr. David Vanderlight. James III (1724-1750), the eldest son, was a sea captain who died young. The other four were Nicholas (1729-1791), Joseph (1733-1785), John (1736-1803) and Moses (1738-1836).

Access & Use

Access to the collection: Use restricted to the microfilm version published as Papers of the American Slave Trade, Series A: Selections from the Rhode Island Historical Society, Part 1: Brown Family Collections by University Publications of America, 1998. A copy of the microfilm set is available in the Reading Room at the RIHS Library, Call No. E445 .R4 pt.1. It is also available at the Rockefeller Library at Brown University and many other libraries around the country.
Use of the materials: Researchers are advised that express written permission to reproduce, quote, or otherwise publish any portion or extract from this collection must be obtained from the Rhode Island Historical Society.
Preferred citation: James Brown II (1698-1739) Papers, MSS 309, Rhode Island Historical Society.
Contact information: Rhode Island Historical Society
121 Hope Street
Providence, RI 02906
Tel: 401-273-8107
Fax: 401-751-7930
email: reference@rihs.org

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION  
Acquisition: The provenance of these papers is unknown. The 1736-1738 letter book was originally cataloged as part of the miscellaneous Rhode Island Manuscripts collection, in volume 8, page 13; it can be assumed that this volume at least arrived before 1880 or so. The other letter book was at the R.I.H.S. in 1929, upon its publication as The Letter Book of James Browne of Providence, Merchant 1735-1738. In the introduction to that volume, John Carter Brown Woods writes that we owe the preservation of James Brown’s papers “to the wise forethought of his youngest son, Moses Brown”. This suggests that this collection arrived as part of the Moses Brown Papers, in 1851, 1914 or 1919. Most, if not all, of this collection was at the R.I.H.S. by 1952, when Hedges published The Browns of Providence Plantations.
Processing information: The John Nicholas Brown Center for the Study of American Civilization at Brown University, in partnership with the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University and the Rhode Island Historical Society, conducted a two year collaborative project starting in1995 to arrange, describe and catalog records relating to the Brown family of Providence, Rhode Island. The Brown Family Papers Project was made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID  
Author: Finding aid prepared by Rick Stattler.
Encoding: Finding aid encoded by Mark Chepkwony 2009 June 23
Descriptive rules: Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Bibliography:
  • The Chad Brown Workbook; A Continuing Family Genealogy of the Descendants of Chad Brown. 2nd edition. Providence: Rhode Island Historical Society, 1987.
  • Hedges, James B. The Browns of Providence Plantations: Colonial Years. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1952.
  • Rogers, L.E., ed. The Biographical Cyclopedia of the Representative Men of Rhode Island. Providence: National Biographical Publishing Co., 1881. 42.
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    Inventory

    Box 1, Folder 1 Deed, James Browne Senior (1666-1732) to James Browne Junior (1698-1739); signed 1724/5, recorded 1731/2
    		 May 1724
    Box 1, Folder 2 Cyphering and navigation book
    		1719
    Box 1, Folder 2 Journal of a voyage on sloop Truth and Delight
    		1727
    Box 1, Folder 3 Agreement to build sloops
    		1720 Jan, 1735
    Box 1, Folder 4 Obadiah Browne to James Browne regarding sales of cargo from St. Eustatius
    		 1735 Mar 30
    Box 1, Folder 4 John Field to James Browne from Surinam reporting loss of 39 hogsheads of molasses
    		 1736 May 25
    Box 1, Folder 4 James Browne to his wife Hope, advise on business operations in case he does not return
    		 1737 Aug 23
    Box 1, Folder 4 Obadiah Browne to James Browne on cargo sales on St. Eustashe (St. Eustatius)
    		1738 Mar 05
    Box 1, Folder 4 Copy of public statement made by James Browne giving permission to examine his body after his death to determine cause of death, and a complaint about ministers (copy written by Moses Brown)
    		 1738 May 26
    Box 1, Folder 4 Obadiah Browne to James Browne regarding cargo sales at Surinam
    		1739 Jun 15
    Box 1, Folder 5 Letter book, outgoing business correspondence
    		 1735-1739
    Box 1, Folder 5 Letter book, outgoing business correspondence
    		 1736-1738
    Box 2, Folder 1 Ledger, James Brown's first
    		1723-1737
    Box 2, Folder 2 Receipts
    		1734-1735
    Box 2, Folder 3 Receipts
    		1735-1739
    Box 2, Folder 4 Will, estate papers and receipts written to Hope Browne for payment of debts owed by James’ estate
    		 1737, 1739-1741
    Box 2, Folder 5 Receipts removed from ledger
    		 1735-1748
    Box 3, Folder 1 Ledger with a few entries by James' brother Obadiah after 1739, includes a name index (bulk 1735-1739)
    		 1735-1748
    Box 3, Folder 2 Account book with the births of James’ children recorded inside the front cover
    		 1731-1734