Background
Joseph Brown was born on December 3/14, 1733 and was a son of James and Hope (Power) Brown, was the second of the "Four Brothers, " of whom Nicholas, John, and Moses were the others.
Joseph Brown was born on December 3/14, 1733 and was a son of James and Hope (Power) Brown, was the second of the "Four Brothers, " of whom Nicholas, John, and Moses were the others.
Brown received an honorary degree of Master of Arts from the Rhode Island College in 1770.
Following the precedent of the elder brother, Nicholas, Joseph Brown entered the paternal store which, in the next generation, was to become a mercantile establishment of international standing. He remained in business with his three brothers, trading as Nicholas Brown & Company, only until he had acquired a competency.
His influence on the conduct of this industry did not cease when he withdrew from the firm, for he remained until his death a partner in the venture and its technical adviser in important undertakings.
He was associated with James Sumner in the building of the beautiful First Baptist Church of Providence, constructed after a design by James Gibbs. It is said that he was the architect of his own residence on South Main St. in Providence, of the notably fine Power St. house of his brother John, of the Market House, all of which are still standing.
West's pamphlet, published in Providence in 1769 by John Carter, recorded this early American astronomical observation and his paper on the subject in the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, I, gave the event wider importance.
In 1769 Brown became a trustee of Rhode Island College, which was brought to Providence chiefly through the enterprise of himself and his brother Nicholas.
In 1770 this institution conferred upon him the honorary degree of Master of Arts, and in 1784 invited him to fill its chair of natural philosophy. One-half of his first subscription to the college in 1769 had been allocated by the donor to the purchase of "philosophical apparatus. "
Brown's interest in physical science was stronger than his mercantile instinct, and soon after the middle of the century Brown was living in Providence the life of an investigator and student, while the brothers continued their successful careers in commerce. It was perhaps because of his interest in physical science that he was given charge at its beginning of the iron manufactory controlled by the firm, the "Furnace Hope" at Scituate, Rhode Island.
His interest in physics led him in the direction of electrical experimentation, while his study of mechanics bore fruit in the mastery of the practical problems of house building and architecture.
Brown was married on September 30, 1759, to Elizabeth Power.