Moses Brown

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Not to be confused with Moses Brown School.

Moses Brown (1738–1836), was a New England abolitionist and industrialist, who designed and built the first factory houses for spinning machines during the American industrial revolution (Slater Mill).

Brown grew up in Providence, Rhode Island and owned a farming and shipping business with his brothers, Nicholas, Joseph, and John Brown. The brothers were co-founders of Brown University. They were active in the Baptist community of Providence. Moses Brown eventually broke from his family after converting to Quakerism, primarily because of his family's refusal to end its association with the slave trade and because of guilt over his first wife's death. Ironically, Moses' brother, John Brown was the first person prosecuted under the federal laws prohibiting slave importation. Moses Brown became an active abolitionist, an advocate for African Americans, both slave and free, and founded the Moses Brown School in 1784. Located in Providence, RI it is one of the oldest prep schools in the country. In 1790 Moses Brown co-designed and built the first water-powered cotton mill in the United States with Samuel Slater in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

Brown's brother-in-law and business partner, Jabez Bowen was a notable Rhode Island political figure.

[edit] References and external links

• Charles Rappleye, Sons of Providence: The Brown Brothers, the Slave Trade, and the American Revolution (Simon& Shuster, New York: 2006)