James Brown was an American banker. He is famous for starting what is now Brown Brothers Harriman bank, the largest and oldest private bank in the world.
Background
James Brown was born on February 4, 1791 and was the youngest of the four sons of Alexander Brown and Grace (Davison) Brown. He came to America in 1802, with his brothers George and John.
"They landed on a hot Sunday morning in July, dressed in thick woolen Irish suits and heavy plaid stockings and they created quite a sensation among the good people of Baltimore, quietly wending their way to church. Thither their mother took them, with a heart thankful for their safe arrival, after she had borrowed from her neighbors thinner clothing better suited to the American climate" (John Crosby Brown, A Hundred Years of Merchant Banking, 1909, p. 9).
Career
Like his brothers, James Brown became a member of the firm of Alexander Brown & Sons. In 1825 Alexander Brown began to feel that the time had come to establish a branch in New York. This was the year the Erie Canal was opened for service. James Brown was sent up to begin business under the firm name of Brown Brothers & Company. The Boston branch grew out of the New York branch, and was given the same name.
James Brown made his firm one of the most influential houses in the country. Its business, like the business of the other Brown firms in London, Philadelphia, Boston, and Baltimore, grew to such proportions that eventually it became wise to break the ties and let it stand alone. Inheriting his father's rare business ability, as, indeed, had his brothers, he guided the New York house through many financial crises, notably those of 1837 and 1857, and the critical period of the Civil War.
James Brown was the most influential member of the family during that struggle, and spent much of his time in Europe during 1861, in close touch with the American minister in Paris, W. L. Dayton. His many letters on the subject of the war, not only to his elder brother, William, but to the other partners on both sides of the ocean, helped the Brown firms to ride the storm safely.
He was a member of the chamber of commerce of New York State in 1827, and was active in its affairs until his death a half century later. He was one of the earliest trustees of the New York Life Insurance Company; was trustee for the Bank for Savings, and was connected with several railroad companies.
At his death the mayor of New York ordered all flags on public buildings to be placed at halfmast.
Achievements
Connections
James Brown was married twice: in 1817 to Louisa Kirkland Benedict, and in 1831 to Eliza Maria Coe.