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35 letters, 119 pp., 3 envelopes, dated 7 June 1869 to February 1914. Two of the letters are typed, the remaining handwritten, several letters written after James S. brown¿s death; plus 12 pieces of related ephemeral items. James Sproat Brown (1824-1878) James Sproat Brown was an American lawyer and Democratic politician from Wisconsin who served in the United States Congress. Brown was born on 1 February 1824 in Hampden, Penobscot County, Maine, the son of Judge Enoch Brown and his wife, the daughter of Judge Padelford of Taunton, Massachusetts. He attended public schools before moving to Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1840. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1843 and commenced practice in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1844. He was elected prosecuting attorney for Milwaukee County in 1846, and from 1848 to 1850 served as the first attorney general of Wisconsin. In 1861 Brown served as mayor of Milwaukee. From 1863 to 1865, Brown served one term in the United States House of Representatives during the 38th Congress representing Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District from March 4, 1863 to March 3, 1865. He ran for re-election in 1864 but was defeated by Halbert Eleazer Paine, a Civil War General from Wisconsin who served in congress from 1865 to 1871 before retiring. After his term in Congress, Brown moved to Europe in 1865 to recuperate his health. He returned to the United States in 1873, where he practiced law once again in Milwaukee. Brown died on 14 April 1878 in Chicago, Illinois, at age 54. He was buried at Milwaukee's Forest Home Cemetery. Brown was married first to Elizabeth Shephard (1835-1862). Elizabeth was the daughter of Clarence Shephard (1810-1892) and Mary Fowler (1816-1888). Brown and his wife Elizabeth had two sons, Clarence S. Brown (1856-1925) and James Padelford Brown (1859-1913). Clarence S. Brown became a lawyer and a member of the Wisconsin State Bar. He was a partner in the firm of Brazee & Brown, later with Hathaway, Brown, & Walker. He also had ties to the firm of Van Wyck, Brown and Schley. Clarence remained in Milwaukee until his death. He became District Attorney for Milwaukee for two years in 1890-1892. Clarence lived at 542 Van Buren Street in Milwaukee, Clarence's brother James P. Brown was one of the directors of the Milwaukee Associated Charities organization. He made a living as an insurance and real estate broker. James lived a couple of doors away from his brother Clarence at 571 Van Buren. James married Nora Lee (1859-1932) and they had at least one daughter named Dorothy. James also remained in Milwaukee. After the death of his first wife Elizabeth in 1862, James Sproat Brown married in 1865, a second time to Emily J. Stetson (1836-1918), of Bangor, Maine. All of the Browns (except the second wife) are buried at their family plot at Forest Home Cemetery in Milwaukee. Description of Collection: In 1862 James Sproat Brown's wife died. By 1865, he had completed his term in Congress and remarried. He was also experiencing poor health and for these reasons, he traveled to Europe for a couple of years. The correspondence offered here written by Brown, his wife and younger son James, is from the time (1872-1873) that they spent in Europe, and also includes several letters after they returned to America. James P. Brown and his step mother also wrote from Europe, with letters to Clarence S. Brown, who is studying at school in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Correspondence: 21 letters, 74 pp., of James Sproat Brown written to his son Clarence S. Brown, dated 7 June 1869 to 6 November 1873, two letters not dated, a couple of letters have tears at folds, or margins, one letter is in two pieces. The first letter written to Clarence is from Bangor, Maine, then one from New York City, followed by a letter on the steamer to Europe. Once in Europe he writes from Stuttgart, Dresden, Florence, Pisa, Milan, Frankfort, Hamburg, Gottingen, and London, as well as a couple of letters fr. Seller Inventory # 030329
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