Background
James Brown was born on September 11, 1766 near Staunton, Virginia, the son of John and Margaret (Preston) Brown and brother of John (1757-1837), Samuel, and Preston W. Brown.
James Brown was born on September 11, 1766 near Staunton, Virginia, the son of John and Margaret (Preston) Brown and brother of John (1757-1837), Samuel, and Preston W. Brown.
James attended an academy at Lexington, Virginia, which later developed into Washington College (now Washington and Lee University), and available evidence seems to warrant the conclusion that he attended and graduated from William and Mary College. He later studied law, was admitted to the bar, and began practise in Kentucky.
In 1789 James Brown settled in Lexington, Kentucky, and two years later commanded a company of Lexington riflemen in a war against the Northwest Indians. With the formation of a state government and the admission of Kentucky to the Union, in 1792, he became secretary of state under Governor Shelby, which necessitated his removal to Frankfort, the capital.
Soon after the purchase of Louisiana, Brown settled in New Orleans, and during his residence in the Southwest accumulated a comfortable fortune in the practise of his profession. He was appointed secretary of the Territory of Orleans, October 1, 1804, and subsequently became district attorney. The Legislative Council of the Territory at its first session passed an act, approved April 19, 1805, for the establishment of a university, and James Brown was named one of its regents. This institution did not materialize.
In 1806 he and Moreau Lislet were appointed a commission to prepare a civil code for the use of the Territory. Their work, entitled, A Digest of the Civil Laws Now in Force in the Territory of Orleans with Alterations and Amendments Adapted to the Present System of Government, published in both English and French, was adopted in 1808, and became known as the code of that year.
It required amendment after a few years, and was replaced by the Livingston code. Brown was a member of the convention which framed the first constitution of Louisiana, in 1812, and the next year was elected to the United States Senate to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of J. N. Detrehan.
He served from February 5, 1813, to March 3, 1817. He was defeated for reelection, but with the death of his successor, W. C. C. Claiborne, he was again elected to the United States Senate, and served from December 6, 1819, until his resignation, December 10, 1823, to accept an appointment from President Monroe as minister to France.
Here he succeeded Albert Gallatin, and remained through the remainder of Monroe's second term and through the administration of John Quincy Adams. He died of apoplexy at Philadelphia.
In 1812, he was elected as a Democratic Republican to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of John N. Destrehan, serving until 1817. He was again elected as an Adams-Clay Republican to the United States Senate, serving (1819-23).
Quotes from others about the person
John Quincy Adams described him as "a man of large fortune, respectable talents, handsome person, polished manners, and elegant deportment. "
While living at Lexington James Brown married a Miss Hart, sister of Mrs. Henry Clay and daughter of Colonel Thomas Hart.