| Notes |
- References: Beer's 1882 History of Montgomery County Pgs 381-384,, H .L.B. 1851 Family Bible,, Centenary Souvenir of First Presbyterian Church, 1900,--( Ashley Brown's handwritten memo is inside front cover. Henry Brown's ancestors were Scotch-Irish Covenanters (Presbyterians), who emigrated to this country from the North of Ireland about the year 1735 and settled on south-east border of "Borden's Grant," by 1736, which included some 118,491 acres of land on the Shenandoah and James Rivers, in Orange County, in the Colony of Virginia. (Mostly Rockbridge County today) Theirs was about 482 Acres. Henry Brown was born near Wood's Creek , now Lexington, Virginia, the son of Abraham Brown and Margaret Kirkham, both of whom were born on adjacent farms. Henry was born 8 May 1772, was Christened in "the old stone church", on Whistle Creek, which is next to the graveyard in which his immigrant grandparents were probably buried. His parents, Abraham and Margaret sold their 482 acres in this area on Oct. 30, 1773 to Matthew Elder and then the family moved down onto the west bank of the New River where later they and their sons owned as much as 2400 acres in w hat today is Belspring, Virginia., extending downstream to the Giles County line. Henry eventually owned several hundred acres of land up to and over into Giles County Locally it is said that "The Old Sifford" house was built by Henry from bricks he and his brothers made on the place. He lived there until 1793, at which time he came to the Northwestern Territory as Military Secretary for Col. Preston, who was in command of a regiment in Wayne's army, then organizing at Cincinnati f or the advance against the Indian tribes. Henry Brown was afterward interested with others in forwarding supplies to the army, and to the Ohio garrisons at Fort Hamilton, Ft. St. Clair, Ft. Greenville, Ft. Jefferson, Ft. Recovery, Ft. Defiance, and also Ft. Wayne, in Indiana. From the nature of the roads and the difficulties and dangers of the service, all supplies were forwarded by pack-horse trains. This department was in charge of an officer who was designated as "Pack-Horse Master General." The trains were divided into "pack-horse brigades," of sixty to seventy-five horses each, with a Captain in charge, and men to load and unload, to drive, and to care for the horses. Armed scouts necessarily accompanied these pack-horse brigades as guard against Indian attacks. Mr. Brown was thus employed with the army until, in the spring of 1795, he entered into partnership with John Sutherland, at Hamilton, where, in a double log cabin that stood south of the stockade, they opened their first stock of goods. Their business was trading with the Indians. They were also proprietors of the land on the western side of Hamilton, Ohio. (See book: "The Making of Hamilton") Friendly tribes at that time occupied most of the country west of Wayne's road, to the Maumee as their hunting-grounds. Their camps were to be found along all of the streams from Fort Hamilton north to the Wabash and Maumee. Their firm traded goods to the Indians for furs and peltries, and when white settlers began to locate their claims on lands west of the Miami, the Indians gradually withdrew to the north, but Sutherland & Brown followed them up with agents, who carried the goods from point to point on pack-horses. For several years, before any settlers arrived to form Dayton, Henry Brown had a "trading leanto" at the confluence of the Mad River and the Miami River, just downstream from its junction with the Stillwater River, for the convenience of Indian trades. (This location now under the west end of the route #75 bridge.) In 1799, Henry Brown, took a large stock of goods to Fort Laramie, Ohio and opened a branch store there, from which he sent traders to the Indian villages along the Wabash and Maumee Rivers. In 1804, business had so increased that he changed his branch store to Dayton as his base. The partnership continued until 1810 when they dissolved the partnership after it became too dangerous for their agents in the territory because of the Indians.
The first brick home in Dayton was built by Henry Brown in 1808, on Lot Number 110, west side of Main Street, north of the court house. The site of the house is now Courthouse Plaza in Dayton.
After the dissolution of his partnership with John Sutherland, Henry went into business for himself from a room in his new house. He soon was made Government Agent in charge of Indian supplies. The supplies were distributed by the Indian Agent. Soon after that he also went into business with his father-in-law. When prosperity came to Dayton during the War of 1812, he was a prominent and influential man in the community. He was held in high esteem throughout his life. He urged the opening of roads to all neighboring settlements. He was also active in promoting public improvements and other affairs of the public good.
Towards the end of 1822 his health was so poor that was confined to bed. After a lingering and painful illness he died in the afternoon of 19 May 1823. He was buried the next day in the old graveyard on Fifth Street. His body was later removed to its current location. [Beer. History of Montgomery County, Ohio, pages 381-384; Henry Lindsay Brown 1851 Family Bible; Centenary Souvenir of First Presbyterian Church, 1900, Ashley Brown's memo inside the front cover.].
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1772 - 1823 (51 years)
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