Christine Mathews
A LOOK INTO THE LIFE OF
JOHN BROWN
EARLY LIFE
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John Brown was born on May 9, 1800 to Owen Brown and Ruth Mills, in Torrington, Connecticut.
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He was raised in a devoted Christian household and was taught that slavery was evil, at a very young age.
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Brown was brought up in Hudson, Ohio. Hudson was a town known for its power in the abolitionist movement and its great support for antislavery.
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Like his father, Brown was well disciplined and was going to take after his fathers expertise in business.
MARRIAGE AND FAMILY LIFE
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Brown married Dianthe Lusk in 1820 and had seven children.
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Dianthe Lusk died in 1831. Brown went off and married young Mary Ann Day, who was only 16 years old. They had thirteen children together.
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John Brown moved his family to the New York Adoniracks and settled in the black community of North Elba, in 1849.
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In 1855, Brown moved to Kansas, which has just became a new territory.
CAREER
ACTS AGAINST SLAVERY
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Brown opened a tannery (place where animal skins are turned into leather), tried farming, tried raising cattle and sheep, invested money into profitable canals etc. Unlike his father, he failed at all the business opportunities he took on.
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Brown used up all his money making poor decisions and looking after his many children.
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Although he was unsuitable for business ventures, he flourished in the abolitionist movement. He believed he was called from God to end slavery and "was an instrument of the Lord's will."
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Brown was a "riveting speaker who used rich biblical imagery to make his points." He influenced great crowds of people who heard his lectures and sermons. With this new fame, he developed antislavery support.
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Brown helped to maintain a black farming community that was free in North Elba. He worked as a conductor in the Undergroud Railroad there.
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In 1856, he led two followers and four of his sons from Ottawa Creek on May 23 into the proslavery territory. They brought revolvers, rifles and swords with them. There were six proslavery settlers at Pottawatomie Creek. They captured 4 men from their familes and killed them all.
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In 1857, Brown led a raid into Missouri from Kansas and attacked two proslavery villages. They captured eleven slaves and brought them to freedom in Canada.
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Brown rented a fort close to Harper's Ferry and gathered men to raid. In 1859, they raided Harper's Ferry.
This is a picture of the father of John Brown, Owen Brown.
This is a picture of the mother of John Brown, Ruth Mills Brown.
This is the trail in which Brown traveled to get those eleven slaves to freedom
This is a picture of the father of John Brown, Owen Brown.