USA > Kansas > A standard history of Kansas and Kansans, Volume I > Part 71
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75
JOIIN BROWN, THE GREAT ANTI-SLAVERY LEADER
[ Photograph by Willard from Portrait Owned by William E. Connelley ]
which were very large; & which some of the company generally managed to kill. After getting to Ohio in 1805), he was for some time rather afraid of the Indians. & of their Rifles; but this soon wore off, & he used to hang about them quite as much as was consistent with good manners; & learned a trifle of their talk. His father learned to dress Deer Skins, & at 6 years old John was installed a young Buek Skin. He was perhaps rather observing as he ever after remembered the entire process of Deer Skin dressing; so that he could at any time dress his own leather, such as Squirel, Raceoon, Cat, Wolf or Dog Skins; and also learned to make Whip Lashes, which brought him some ehange at times; & was of considerable service in many ways. At Six years old John began to be quite a rambler in the wild new country finding birds and Squirrels and sometimes a wild Turkey's nest. But about this period he was placed in the School of adversity; which my young friend was a most necessary part of his early training. You may laugh when you come to read about it, but these were sore trials to John, whose earthly treasures were very few, & small. These were the beginning of a severe
557
KANSAS AND KANSANS
but much needed course of dieipline which he afterwards was to pass through ; & which it is to be hoped has learned him before this time that the Heavenly Father sees it best to take all the little things out of his hands which he has ever placed in them. When John was in his Sixth year a poor Indian boy gave him a Yellow Marble, the first he had ever seen. This he thought a great deal of; & kept it a good while; but at last he lost it beyond recovery. It took years to heal the wound & I think he eried at times about it. About Five months after this he caught a young Squirrel, tearing off his tail in doing it; & getting severely bitten at the same time himself. He however held on to the little bob tuil Squirrel; & finally got him perfectly tamed, so that he almost idolized his pet. This too he lost; by its wandering away; or by getting killed ; & for a year or two John was in mourning; and looking at all the Squirrels he could see to try & discover Bobtail, if possible. I must not negleet to tell you of a verry bad & foolish habbit to which John was somewhat addieted. I mean telling lies; generally to sereen him- self from blame; or from punishment. He could not well endure to be reproached ; & I now think had he been oftener encouraged to be entirely frank; by making frankness a kind of atonement for some of his faults; he would not have been so often guilty in after life of this fault; nor have been obliged to struggle so long with so mean a habit.
John was never quarrelsome; but was excessively fond of the hardest & roughest kind of plays; & could never get enough of them. Indeed when for a short time he was sometimes sent to School the opportunity it afforded to wrestle & Snow ball & run & jump & knock off old seedy Wool hats; offered to him almost the only compensation for the confine- ment, & restraints of school. I need not tell you that with such a feeling & but little chance of going to school at all he did not become much of a sehollar. He would always choose to stay at home & work hard rather than be sent to school; & during the Warm season might generally be seen barefooted & barcheaded, with Buck skin Breeches suspended often with one leather strap over his shoulder but sometimes with Two. To be sent off through the wilderness alone to very con- siderable distances was particularly his delight; & in this he was often indulged so that by the time he was Twelve years old he was sent off more than a Hundred Miles with companies of cattle ; & he would have thought his character much injured had he been obliged to be helped in any such job. This was a boyish kind of feeling but characteristic however. At Eight years old, John was left a Motherless boy, which loss was complete & permanent for notwithstanding his Father again married to a sensible, inteligent, and on many accounts a very estimable woman; yet he never adopted her in feeling; but continued to pine after his own Mother for years. This opperated very unfavorably uppon him ; as he was both naturally fond of females; &. withall, ex- tremely diffident : & deprived him of a suitable connecting link between the different sexes ; the want of which might, under some circumstances, have proved his ruin. When the war broke out with England, his Father soon eommeneed furnishing the troops with beef cattle, the eol- lecting & driving of which afforded him some opportunity for the chase (on foot) of wild steers & other eattle through the woods. During this war he had some chance to form his own boyish judgment of men & measures, & to become somewhat familiarly acquainted with some who have figured before the country since that time. The effect of what he saw during the war was to so far disgust him with Military affairs that he would neither train, or drill: but paid fines; & got along like a Quaker untill his age finally had cleared him of Military duty. During the war with England a circumstance occurred that in the end made
558
KANSAS AND KANSANS
him a most determined Abolitionist, & led him to declare, or swear, Eternal war with Slavery. He was staying for a short time with a very gentlemanly landlord, since a United States Marshall, who held a slave boy near his own age very active, inteligent, and good feeling; & to whom John was under considerable obligation for numerous little acts of kindness. The Master made a great pet of John; brought him to table with his first company; & friends: called their attention to every little smart thing he said or did; & to the fact of his being more than a hundred miles from home with a company of cattle alone; while the negro boy (who was fully if not more than his equal) was badly clothed, poorly fed ; & lodged in cold weather; & beaten before his eyes with Iron Shovels or any other thing that came first to hand. This brought John to reflect on the wretched, hopeless condition, of Fatherless & Motherless slave children; for such children have neither Fathers or Mothers to protect & provide for them. He sometimes would raise the question is God their Father? At the age of Ten years, an old friend induced him to read a little history, & offered him the free use of a good library : by which he acquired some taste for reading, which formed the prin- ciple part of his early education, & diverted him in a great measure from bad company. He by this means grew to be verry fond of the company & conversation of old & inteligent persons. He never attempted to dance in his life ; nor did he ever learn to know one of a pack of Cards from another. He learned nothing of Grammer; nor did he get at school so much knowledge of common Arithmetic as the Four ground rules. This will give you some general idea of the first Fifteen years of his life; during which time he became very strong & large of his age & ambitious to perform the full labour of a man; at almost any kind of hard work. By reading the lives of great, wise & good men, their sayings and writings, he grew to a dislike of vain & frivolous conver- sation & persons; & was often greatly obliged by the kind manner in which older & more inteligent persons treated him at their houses, & in conversation; which was a great relief on account of his extreme bash- fulness. He very early in life became ambitious to excel in doing any- thing he undertook to perform. This kind of feeling I would reeom- ment to all young persons both Male & female; as it will certainly tend to secure admission to the company of the more inteligent; & better portion of every community. By all means endeavour to excel in some laudable pursuit. I had like to have forgotten to tell you of one of John's misfortunes which set rather hard on him while a young boy. Ile had by some means, perhaps by gift of his Father, become the owner of a little Ewe Lamb which did finely till it was about Two Thirds grown; & then sickened and died. This brought another protracted mourning season, not that he felt the pecuniary loss so heavily, for that was never his disposition ; but so strong & earnest were his attach- ments. John had been taught from earliest childhood to "fear God & keep his commandments;" & though quite skeptical he had always by turns felt much serious doubt as to his future well being; & about this time became to some extent a convert to Christianity & ever after a firm believer in the divine authenticity of the Bible. With this book he became very familiar, & possessed a most unusual memory of its entire contents.
Now some of the things I have been telling of were just such as I would recommend to you, & I would like to know that you had selected these out ; & adopted them as part of your own plan of life; & I wish you to have some deffinite plan. Many seem to have none; & others never to stick to any that they do form. This was not the case with John. IIe followed up with tenacity whatever he set about so long as
559
KANSAS AND KANSANS
it answered his general purpose; & hence he rarely failed in some good degree to effect the things he undertook. This was so much the case that he habitually expected to succeed in his undertakings. With this feeling should be coupled the consciousness that our plans are right in themselves.
During the period I have named, John had acquired a kind of ownership to certain animals of some little value, but as he had come to understand that the title of minors might be a little imperfect, he had recourse to various means in order to secure a more independent & perfeet right of property. One of these means was to exchange with his Father for something of far less value. Another was by trading with other persons for something his Father had never owned. Older persons have sometimes found difficulty with titles.
From Fifteen to Twenty years old, he spent most of his time working at the Tanner & Currier's trade keeping Bachelors hall ; & he officiating as Cook; & for most of the time as foreman of the establishment under his Father. During this period he found much trouble with some of the bad habits I have mentioned & with some that I have not told you of : his conscience urging him forward with great power in this matter ; but his close attention to business, & success in its management, to- gether with the way he got along with a company of men, & boys, made him quite a favorite with the serions & more inteligent portion of older persons. This was so much the ease; & secured for him so many little notices from those he esteemed; that his vanity was very much fed by it; & he came forward to manhood quite full of self-conceit ; & self- confident ; notwithstanding his extreme bashfulness. A young brother used sometimes to remind him of this: & to repeat to him this expres- sion which you may somewhere find, "A King against whom there is no rising up." The habit so early formed of being obeyed rendered him in after life too much disposed to speak in an imperions or dictating way. From Fifteen years & upward he felt a good deal of anxiety to learn; but could only read & studdy a little; both for want of time; & on account of inflammation of the eyes. He however managed by the help of books to make himself tolerably well acquainted with common Arithmetic ; & Surveying; which he practiced more or less after he was Twenty years old. At a little past Twenty years, led by his own inclination & prompted also by his Father, he married a remarkably plain, but neat, industrious & economical girl; of excellent character : earnest piety ; & good practical common sense; about one year younger than himself. This woman, by her mild. frank, & more than all else, by her very consistent conduct, acquired & ever while she lived maintained a most powerful & good influence over him. Her plain but kind ad- monitions generally had the right effect ; without arousing his hanghty, obstinate temper. John began early in life to discover a great liking to fine C'attle, Horses, Sheep, & Swine; & as soon as circumstances would enable him, he began to be a practical Shepherd, it being a calling for which in early life he had a kind of enthusiastic longing; together with the idea that as a business it bid fair to afford him the means of carrying out his greatest or principal objeet. I have now given you a kind of general idea of the early life of this boy: & if I believed it would be worth the trouble; or afford much interest to any good feeling person ; I might be tempted to tell yon something of his course in after life, or manhood. I do not say that I will do it.
You will discover that in using up my half sheets to save paper, I have written Two pages. so that one does not follow the other as it should. Ihave no time to write it over : & but for unavoidable hindrances
560
KANSAS AND KANSANS
in traveling I can hardly say when I should have written what I have. With an honest desire for your best good, I subscribe myself, Your Friend,
J. BROWN.
MANHOOD
In 1805, Owen Brown moved to the Western Reserve, in Ohio, set- tling at Hudson. Owen Brown established a tannery. In this, John Brown worked as foreman, in his father's service. He had not attained his majority when he married Dianthe Lusk. Before his marriage he was following the vocations of both tanner and surveyor. He lived in his own house, having employed a housekeeper, a widow named Lusk, who brought her daughter, Dianthe, with her to this service. In 1825 John Brown moved to Pennsylvania, settling near Randolph, now Rich- mond. There he was postmaster for some years, and he had, a large tannery. In 1835 he moved to Franklin Mills, Portage County, Ohio. At that time there was a fever of speculation over the country. John Brown invested in village lots. These proved valueless, and the venture ruined him financially. Later he was an extensive sheep farmer. This led to his becoming a member of the firm of Perkins & Brown, wool merchants, with warehouse at Springfield, Massachusetts, to which city he moved in 1846. He became an expert grader of wool, and might have succeeded in this enterprise but for the attempt to dictate the price of wool to the New England manufacturers. This caused him to take a large cargo of wool to England, in August, 1849, which was finally sold for much less than it would have brought in Springfield. IIe returned, after a travel over portions of Europe, in October, 1849. His partner urged him to remain in the wool business, but he declined. It is related of Brown that an Englishman thought to test his knowl- edge of wool. "He very gravely drew a sample from his pocket, handed it to the Yankee farmer, and asked him what he would do with such wool as that. Brown took it, and had only to roll it between his fingers to know that it had not the minute hooks by which the fibers of wool are attached to each other. 'Gentlemen,' said he, 'if you have any machin- ery in England that will work up dog's hair, I advise you to put this into it.' The jocose Briton had sheared a poodle and brought the fleece with him; but the laugh went against him when Brown handed back his precious sample."
In 1846 Gerrit Smith proposed to donate wild land in the Adiron- dack Mountains of New York, to such free negroes as would accept, clear, and cultivate farms there. These farms were limited to forty acres. In April, 1848, John Brown proposed to take one of the farms on which to build a home and become an example to the few negro families then there and to those who might afterwards come. Mr. Smith was pleased to accept the offer of Brown, who before the final settlement of his wool business, removed a portion of his family to North Elba, New York, where his home always remained and where he is buried.
561
KANSAS AND KANSANS
SONS SETTLE IN KANSAS
In October, 1854, Owen, Frederick and Salmon Brown, sons of John Brown, left Ohio for Kansas. They brought eleven head of cattle and three horses. They eame by water to Chicago. At Meridosia, Illinois, they remained through the winter. Early in April they set out for Kansas, crossing the line into the Territory on the 20th day of April, 1855. On the 7th of May, Jason and John Jr., also sons of John Brown, eame to Osawatomie. They left Ohio after the rivers were clear of ice. The Browns settled in Franklin County, not far west of the line between Miami and Franklin Counties.1
John Brown had early determined to wage war on slavery. His sons were imbued with this same spirit. Salmon Brown had come to Kansas only to fight slavery. Later his brother Oliver came for the same purpose, as did his father and brother-in-law, Henry Thompson. The others came for the purpose of making homes, and living in Kan- sas. The family of John Brown was a peculiar one. The members of it were bound to one another by very elose ties, and their conduet was always the result of religious inclinations. Cholera broke out among the passengers on the boat bringing the Browns up the Missouri River. Jason's son, Austin, four years old, contracted this disease and died of it. At Waverly, Missouri, the boat was tied up to repair a broken rud- der. The child was taken ashore and there buried. The repairs were made before the burial party returned. The captain, without notice to those ashore, continued his way up the Missouri, leaving the Browns to get to Kansas in the best manner they could. When they offered to purchase food at farm houses, they were repulsed, the people knowing from their speech that they were the North.
John Brown, Jr., wrote a long letter to his father on the 20th of May, 1855. Ile deseribed the political conditions in the Territory. He discerned plainly the national character of the conflict in Kansas, saying, "Now Missouri is not alone in the undertaking to make this ยท a Slave State. Every Slave-holding State from Virginia to Texas is furnishing men and money to fasten Slavery upon this glorious land by means no matter how foul." He proposed that the Free-State men should immediately thoroughly arm and organize themselves into militia
1 The Browns settled in Franklin County, on what eame to be known as Brown's Braneh, about one mile south of the point where Mount Vernon, now extinet, was afterwards laid out. The settlement of the Browns fell, when the government survey was made, within section twenty-six (26), township seventeen (17), range twenty (20). Mount Vernon was about the center of seetion twenty-three (23), same town- ship and range. Orson Day, the brother-in-law of John Brown, settled about two miles west of the present town of Rantoul. HIe built his house on seetion thirty (30), township seventeen (17), range twenty-one (21). John Brown helped him to ereet this house, which still exists in a fair state of preservation. Judge James Hanway lived on section four (4), township eighteen (18), range twenty-one (21). It is believed well to loeate these points of interest at this time. Vol. I-36
562
KANSAS AND KANSANS
companies. He affirmed that the Browns were not only anxious to pre- pare themselves, but that they were thoroughly determined to fight. He enumerated the arms they possessed. He also made a list of arms they needed, saying, "Now we want you to get for us these arms. We need them more than we do bread."
JOHN BROWN GOES TO KANSAS
Upon receipt of this letter, John Brown proceeded to raise money to buy arms and ammunition for his sons in Kansas. General Lucius V. Bierce donated a number of broad swords of antique design, which had been left on his hands by a "defunct filibustering company." We shall see that these swords did bloody work later. Taking his son-in- law, Henry Thompson, he set out for Kansas, bearing these arms. At Detroit they were met by Brown's son, Oliver. The three men left Chicago the 23d of August. They drove over the country, crossing the Missouri River at Waverly. John Brown did not like the idea of his grandson remaining buried "amidst the ruffian-like people by whom (for the most part), they were themselves too inhumanely treated in their dis- tress," so he disinterred the body of the child and carried it along to Kansas. An old Missourian meeting Brown's company, inquired from whence they came and whither they were going. Being told that they were from New York, on their way to Kansas, the old man replied, "You won't live to get there." To this warning, John Brown said, "We are prepared not to die alone." He was not further troubled.
On the 7th of October John Brown arrived at the settlement of his children. He found that they were very poorly housed; that the sup- plies of food were very meager; and that they were suffering from chills and fever. John Brown worked with vigor to remedy these ills. It was his intention to follow the vocation of surveyor in Kansas. The compass which he carried with him was purchased at Troy, New York, for use in the Territory. It is now in the Museum of the Kansas State Historical Society. These Browns had declared themselves in favor of a free State from their first arrival. They had also announced that they were Abolitionists. They were early marked by the Border-Ruf- fians as men dangerous to the institution of slavery. They attended the meetings of the Free-State people, and were outspoken against the Missourians in their invasion of Kansas and fraudulent voting.
We have noted the appearance of John Brown and his sons at Law- rence in the Wakarusa War, and the organization of a compnay there with John Brown as Captain. John Brown, Jr., was elected a member of the Free-State Legislature. In the exciting times of the winter of 1855-6, the Browns bore a part. When Lawrence was beleaguered in May, 1854, they were prompt to respond to the call for help, as they had responded the past December. They were now better informed as to the conditions in the Territory. Their participation in the affairs had given them experience and an insight into the Border-Ruffian char- acter and intentions. Early in the spring, Judge Cato, of the Terri-
563
KANSAS AND KANSANS
torial Supreme Court, was at Dutch Henry's Crossing of the Pot- tawatomie, holding a term of court. John Brown, Jr., was the eaptain of a company of Free-State men numbering about one hundred. These men passed a resolution warning Cato not to try any one under the Territorial laws. John Brown and John Brown, Jr., were appointed to serve this warning on Judge Cato. Salmon Brown went along to see what effect the warning would have. Cato paid no attention to it. He issued warrants for the Browns and for the members of the Free- State Legislature in that district, two of whom were John Brown, Jr., and H. H. Williams. On this subject John Brown wrote:
BROWN'S STATION, 22D APRIL, 1856.
Dear Brother Adair: Yesterday we went to Dutch Henrys to see how things were going at Court, my boys turned out to train at a house near by. Many of the volunteer Co. went in without show of arms to hear the charge to Grand Jury. The Court is thoroughly Bogus but the Judge had not the nerve to avow it openly. He was questioned on the bench in writing civilly but plainly whether he intended to enforce the Bogus Laws or not ; but would give no answer. He did not even mention the so ealled Kansas Legislature or name their acts but talked of our laws; it was easy for any one conversant with law matters to discover what code he was charging the jury under. He evidently felt much agitated but talked a good deal about having criminals punished, &c. After hear- ing the charge and witnessing the refusal of the Judge to answer, the volunteers met under arms passed the Osawatomie Preamble & Resolu- tions, every man voting ave. They also appointed a committee of Three to wait on the Judge at once with a coppy in full; which was immedi- ately done. The effect of that I have not yet learned. You will see that matters are in a fair way of comeing to a head.
Yours sincerely in haste,
JOHN BROWN.
To this, Judge Hanway added in after years:
John Brown, Jr. left the court room, and in the yard he ealled out in a loud voice : "The Pottawattomie Rifle Company will meet at the parade ground," and the company consisting of some thirty men, marched off to meet as ordered. There was not a disrespectful word uttered, nor were there deadly weapons displayed on the occasion-there were doubtless a few pocket pistols, but they were hid from sight. Between dark and daylight, Judge Cato and his officials had left ; they journeyed toward Lecompton in Douglas County, which was the Bastile of the proslavery party. This was the first and the last of the pro- slavery court holding their sessions in this section of the country.
A camp of Buford's Georgians had been established some three miles southwest of Dutch Henry's Crossing. In order to determine exactly the attitude of these men toward the Free-State settlers, John Brown took his surveyor's instruments and ran a line through the Georgian eamp. The surveying parties in the Territory were composed of Pro-Slavery men, and the Georgians supposed Brown's party to be Government surveyors and Pro-Slavery in sentiment. Salmon Brown carried one end of the chain. The Georgians talked very freely to the Browns. They said "they had come to help themselves first and the
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.