MEMBERS OF THE STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. Ex-officio. D. RUSSELL BROWN, Governor. MELVILLE BULL, Lieutenant Governor. (Appointed by the Governor pursuant to Chapter 507 of the Public Laws.) By the Woonsocket Agricultural, Horticultural and Industrial Society. By the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanics, and Agricultural Experiment Station. CHARLES O. FLAGG, of Cumberland.. .. Terms expires March, 1894. By the Rhode Island State Grange. ANDREW M. BELCHER, of Cumberland................... Term expires March, 1894. SECRETARY OF THE BOARD. GEORGE A. STOCKWELL, of Providence. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD. OBADIAH BROWN, of Providence. CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. (Appointed by the Board.) BENJAMIN W. BURLINGAME, of Warwick. WILLIAM F. SISSON, of Portsmouth. WILLIAM WILLIAMS, of Bristol. CATTLE APPRAISER. (Appointed by the Board.) OBADIAH BROWN, of Providence. VETERINARY SURGEON. WALTER L. BURT, D. V. S., of Providence. Place of meeting of the Board,-State House, Providence. Office of the Secretary, Board of Trade building, Providence. OBADIAH BROWN. Obadiah Brown, a well-known farmer throughout New England, and a member of the State Board of Agriculture, was born in the town of North Providence, November 30th, 1823. He is a descendant of Chad Brown, who came from Salem to Providence in 1637 (the year after Roger Williams), with his wife Elizabeth and his son John. Chad Brown was contemporary with Roger Williams, and whether he was the first pastor of the church, as Moses Brown says, or the first after Roger Williams, has been a disputed point. He was a man of excellent character, and held various appointments in the community. On May 14th, 1770, John Brown, great-great-grandson of Chad Brown, laid the corner-stone of University Hall, the name of which was changed to Brown University in 1804. Governor Elisha Brown, son of James, was a great-grandson of Chad Brown. James Brown, grandson of Chad Brown, was one of the founders of the commercial house of the Browns, and his son, Joseph Brown, the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch (born May 5th, 1701), lived in North Providence on lands now owned by Obadiah Brown. The lineal descent is as follows: Chad, John, James, Joseph, Andrew, Richard, Obadiah. Andrew Brown had three wives, but there was issue only by the first, Dorcas Knight, whom he married June 27th, 1773. His son, Richard, was born June 17th, 1789. Richard married Penelope, daughter of Joseph and Hannah Faruum, February 23rd, 1812. Their children were Sarah Ann, Martha Ann, Dorcas K., Mary Jane, Obadiah and Joseph Farnum. Richard Brown was a well-to-do farmer, and a man of force and character. He held various offices of honor and trust, among which was that of representa tive of his town to the General Assembly of Rhode Island. He died in 1840, at the age of fifty-one, leaving Obadiah, then a youth of seventeen years, in charge of the farm. Penelope was born April 12th, 1793, and died July 24th, 1869. Her father was a Quaker. He owned the grist mill and forge at Georgia ville; also extensive tracts of land in that vicinity. Obadiah Brown was raised a farmer. His educational advantages were limited to the common district school, and even those were terminated in early life by the death of his father. From necessity he has been in management of the interests of the homestead from his youth, and to his share of this property he has added other possessions, comprising the beautiful site upon which he built his handsome residence in 1849. This house stands on Chalkstone avenue, on an elevated piece of land, commanding in extent one of the most delightful views in the county. Mr. Brown is distinctively a farmer in the best and broadest sense of that term, and as a leader in agricultural pursuits, his career emphasizes the greater possibilities of those more intelligent husbandment who supply the world with the substantial products of life. As a farmer he has secured prominence throughout New England because of his eminent services rendered to stock raisers, and to the producing class; and also because of the high positions held in both state and county agricultural societies. Almost from his youth he has been identified prominently with the Rhode Island Society for the Encouragement of Domestic Industry, as also was his brother, Joseph F. Brown, who succeeded him in the vice-presidency and in the presidency of the society, both of which offices were held by each of the brothers for several years. In 1863, Joseph F. Brown entered into copartnership with Mr. Andrew Winsor, under the style of Winsor & Brown, well known and extensive lumber dealers of Providence. In 1884, Mr. Obadiah Brown became a member of the State Board of Agriculture, and still holds that position, his efficiency being recog He has devoted much time to raising and His barn, a model of convenience, built in 1851 nized by everyone. improving fine stock. and adapted for housing cattle, is at the present time full of some of the finest Ayrshires, of his own breeding, found in New England; and the many gold medals and first premiums received in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and other states, bear testimony to his good judgment. in this matter. At the Dairy Show, Madison Square Gardens, New York, in 1888, first prizes were awarded him on some stock now in his barn. Politically Mr. Brown is a republican, and socially he is a very popular man, and has held his share of the public offices. In 1855, 1856, and again in 1857, he was representative from the town of North Providence to the General Assembly of Rhode Island, under the gubernatorial administration of Governors W. W. Hoppin and Elisha Dyer. In 1873, before the town was divided, he was elected state senator from North Providence, and reëlected in 1874, being the last senator of the old town before his part of the town was annexed to the city. In 1884 the city elected him representative to the General Assembly again, and he served on some of the most important committees of the House. During his official career, the public spirit of the man was manifest when the city of Providence made him Commissioner of Public Highways. Subsequently he was appointed a member of the public board, and in these capacities his broad views have crystalized and become a part of our magnificent institutions, and are monuments in themselves of his fitness for holding offices of trust and responsibility. September 18th, 1849, he married Amey R. Angell, daughter of Nathaniel and Asha (Smith) Angell, who is a descendant of Thomas Angell, the ancestor of one of the most influential families in the state. She was born August 18th, 1827. They have had six children, of whom the following are living,-Anna M., Mabel, Adelaide V., and Florence. In 1891 Mr. Brown was elected to the General Assembly, serving in the House of Representatives. He is now president, elected in 1892, of the Ayrshire Breeders Association.* *This biography is taken from Boyle's History of Providence County. |