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==Biography==
==Biography==
Brown was born on August 16, 1838, on a farm in [[Kennebec County, Maine]], near [[Augusta, Maine|Augusta]], the son of Captain Enoch and Sarah S. (née Reed) Brown, the former supposedly a descendent of Mayflower passenger [[Peter Browne (Mayflower passenger)|Peter Browne]]. He grew up in Maine before heading West at eighteen, settling in [[Oroville, California]], before moving to [[Florence, Idaho|Florence]], [[Idaho Territory]], in 1862. The following year, he moved to [[Centerville, Idaho|Centerville]], where he studied law under a Judge Kelley, and was elected as a Republican to represent [[Boise County, Idaho|Boise County]] in the Idaho Territorial House of Representatives. Brown was then appointed by President Lincoln as assistant assessor of internal revenue for the territory, and became assessor when his superior, [[Calvin Bodfish]], died.<ref name=wyo>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6aA-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA102|title=History of Wyoming|volume=3|year=1918|publisher=The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company}}</ref><ref>{{cite chapter|chapter-url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b4049385&view=1up&seq=65|chapter=The Political Founders of Idaho|title=Twenty-Seventh Biennial Report of the Secretary of State of Idaho|year=1944|last1=Curtis|first1=George H.|last2=Wells|first2=Merle|page=59-77}}</ref>
Brown was born on August 16, 1838, on a farm in [[Kennebec County, Maine]], near [[Augusta, Maine|Augusta]], the son of Captain Enoch and Sarah S. (née Reed) Brown, the former supposedly a descendent of Mayflower passenger [[Peter Browne (Mayflower passenger)|Peter Browne]]. He grew up in Maine before heading West at eighteen, settling in [[Oroville, California]], before moving to [[Florence, Idaho|Florence]], [[Idaho Territory]], in 1862. The following year, he moved to [[Centerville, Idaho|Centerville]], where he studied law under a Judge Kelley, and was elected as a Republican to represent [[Boise County, Idaho|Boise County]] in the Idaho Territorial House of Representatives. Brown was then appointed by President Lincoln as assistant assessor of internal revenue for the territory, and became assessor when his superior, [[Calvin Bodfish]], died.<ref name=wyo>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6aA-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA102|title=History of Wyoming|volume=3|year=1918|publisher=The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b4049385&view=1up&seq=65|chapter=The Political Founders of Idaho|title=Twenty-Seventh Biennial Report of the Secretary of State of Idaho|year=1944|last1=Curtis|first1=George H.|last2=Wells|first2=Merle|pages=59–77}}</ref>


After having success as a mining investor, Brown relocated to [[Cheyenne, Wyoming|Cheyenne]], [[Dakota Territory]], in 1867, to practice law. The following year, he moved his practice to [[Laramie, Wyoming|Laramie]], [[Wyoming Territory]], which would remain his home for most of the following sixty years. He married Nancy W. Fillmore in Laramie on May 20, 1870, and they would have three daughters. That same year, he was elected as chairman of the [[Wyoming Republican Party|Wyoming Territorial Republican Party]], and in 1871, he was elected to the Wyoming Territorial House of Representatives. He would later serve as the first mayor of Laramie and district attorney for [[Albany County, Wyoming|Albany County]]. In 1880, he was appointed as [[U.S. Attorney]] for the [[United States District Court for the District of Wyoming|Territorial District of Wyoming]], which he would serve as for four years. In 1889, he was chosen as a delegate to the [[Wyoming Constitutional Convention]], which elected him as its president.<ref name=wyo/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-democratic-leader/127262379/|title=Republican Territorial Convention|work=The Democratic Leader|date=August 26, 1870}}</ref><ref name=hist>{{cite web|url=https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/wyoming-lawyer-melville-c-brown-man-his-time|title=Wyoming Lawyer Melville C. Brown: A Man for his Time|last=Viner|first=Kim|publisher=Wyoming Historical Society|date=May 31, 2015}}</ref><ref name=obit>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-journal-obituary-for-melville-c-bro/127262822/|title=Prominent Wyoming Citizen Is Dead|work=The Logan Journal|date=April 10, 1928|page=3}}</ref>
After having success as a mining investor, Brown relocated to [[Cheyenne, Wyoming|Cheyenne]], [[Dakota Territory]], in 1867, to practice law. The following year, he moved his practice to [[Laramie, Wyoming|Laramie]], [[Wyoming Territory]], which would remain his home for most of the following sixty years. He married Nancy W. Fillmore in Laramie on May 20, 1870, and they would have three daughters. That same year, he was elected as chairman of the [[Wyoming Republican Party|Wyoming Territorial Republican Party]], and in 1871, he was elected to the Wyoming Territorial House of Representatives. He would later serve as the first mayor of Laramie and district attorney for [[Albany County, Wyoming|Albany County]]. In 1880, he was appointed as [[U.S. Attorney]] for the [[United States District Court for the District of Wyoming|Territorial District of Wyoming]], which he would serve as for four years. In 1889, he was chosen as a delegate to the [[Wyoming Constitutional Convention]], which elected him as its president.<ref name=wyo/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-democratic-leader/127262379/|title=Republican Territorial Convention|work=The Democratic Leader|date=August 26, 1870}}</ref><ref name=hist>{{cite web|url=https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/wyoming-lawyer-melville-c-brown-man-his-time|title=Wyoming Lawyer Melville C. Brown: A Man for his Time|last=Viner|first=Kim|publisher=Wyoming Historical Society|date=May 31, 2015}}</ref><ref name=obit>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-journal-obituary-for-melville-c-bro/127262822/|title=Prominent Wyoming Citizen Is Dead|work=The Logan Journal|date=April 10, 1928|page=3}}</ref>


Brown practiced law throughout the West, and on March 6, 1900, President [[William McKinley]] nominated him as the [[United States District Court for the District of Alaska|U.S. Territorial District Judge for the District of Alaska]], where he heard cases in [[Sitka, Alaska|Sitka]] and [[Wrangell, Alaska|Wrangell]]. He term expired in 1904 and he practiced law in [[Seattle]] until 1907, returning the following year to Laramie, where he practiced law until his retirement. While he was successful in his law practice, his business ventures were generally unsuccessful, and upon his death due to heart failure in Laramie on April 9, 1928, he left an estate valued at $2,500.<ref name=wyo/><ref name=hist/><ref name=obit/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kansas-city-star-the-president-names/127263243/|title=The President Names Officers for the Native Batallion|work=The Kansas City Star|date=March 6, 1900|page=2}}</ref>
Brown practiced law throughout the West, and on March 6, 1900, President [[William McKinley]] nominated him as the [[United States District Court for the District of Alaska|U.S. Territorial District Judge for the District of Alaska]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kansas-city-star-the-president-names/127263243/|title=The President Names Officers for the Native Batallion|work=The Kansas City Star|date=March 6, 1900|page=2}}</ref> to which he was confirmed by the [[United States Senate]] on the 13th.<ref>"[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-baltimore-sun-confirmed-by-the-senat/127267874/ Confirmed By The Senate]", ''The Baltimore Sun'' (March 14, 1900), p. 6.</ref> Once there, he heard cases in [[Sitka, Alaska|Sitka]] and [[Wrangell, Alaska|Wrangell]]. He term expired in 1904 and he practiced law in [[Seattle]] until 1907, returning the following year to Laramie, where he practiced law until his retirement. While he was successful in his law practice, his business ventures were generally unsuccessful, and upon his death due to heart failure in Laramie on April 9, 1928, he left an estate valued at $2,500.<ref name=wyo/><ref name=hist/><ref name=obit/>


==References==
==References==
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[[Category:United States Attorneys for the District of Wyoming]]
[[Category:United States Attorneys for the District of Wyoming]]



{{US-state-judge-stub}}
{{Alaska-state-judge-stub}}

Latest revision as of 21:10, 4 March 2024

Melville C. Brown
Judge of the United States Territorial District Court for the District of Alaska
In office
1900–1904
Appointed byWilliam McKinley
Preceded byCharles S. Johnson
Succeeded byRoyal Arch Gunnison
U.S. Attorney for the Territorial District of Wyoming
In office
1880–1884
Member of the Wyoming Territorial House of Representatives
In office
1871–1872
Member of the Idaho Territorial House of Representatives
In office
1863–1864
ConstituencyBoise County
Personal details
Born(1838-08-16)August 16, 1838
Kennebec County, Maine, U.S.
DiedApril 9, 1928(1928-04-09) (aged 89)
Laramie, Wyoming, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Nancy W. Fillmore
​
(m. 1874)​
Children3
ProfessionAttorney

Melville Cox Brown (August 16, 1838 – April 9, 1928) was an American politician and jurist.

Biography

[edit]

Brown was born on August 16, 1838, on a farm in Kennebec County, Maine, near Augusta, the son of Captain Enoch and Sarah S. (née Reed) Brown, the former supposedly a descendent of Mayflower passenger Peter Browne. He grew up in Maine before heading West at eighteen, settling in Oroville, California, before moving to Florence, Idaho Territory, in 1862. The following year, he moved to Centerville, where he studied law under a Judge Kelley, and was elected as a Republican to represent Boise County in the Idaho Territorial House of Representatives. Brown was then appointed by President Lincoln as assistant assessor of internal revenue for the territory, and became assessor when his superior, Calvin Bodfish, died.[1][2]

After having success as a mining investor, Brown relocated to Cheyenne, Dakota Territory, in 1867, to practice law. The following year, he moved his practice to Laramie, Wyoming Territory, which would remain his home for most of the following sixty years. He married Nancy W. Fillmore in Laramie on May 20, 1870, and they would have three daughters. That same year, he was elected as chairman of the Wyoming Territorial Republican Party, and in 1871, he was elected to the Wyoming Territorial House of Representatives. He would later serve as the first mayor of Laramie and district attorney for Albany County. In 1880, he was appointed as U.S. Attorney for the Territorial District of Wyoming, which he would serve as for four years. In 1889, he was chosen as a delegate to the Wyoming Constitutional Convention, which elected him as its president.[1][3][4][5]

Brown practiced law throughout the West, and on March 6, 1900, President William McKinley nominated him as the U.S. Territorial District Judge for the District of Alaska,[6] to which he was confirmed by the United States Senate on the 13th.[7] Once there, he heard cases in Sitka and Wrangell. He term expired in 1904 and he practiced law in Seattle until 1907, returning the following year to Laramie, where he practiced law until his retirement. While he was successful in his law practice, his business ventures were generally unsuccessful, and upon his death due to heart failure in Laramie on April 9, 1928, he left an estate valued at $2,500.[1][4][5]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c History of Wyoming. Vol. 3. The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. 1918.
  2. ^ Curtis, George H.; Wells, Merle (1944). "The Political Founders of Idaho". Twenty-Seventh Biennial Report of the Secretary of State of Idaho. pp. 59–77.
  3. ^ "Republican Territorial Convention". The Democratic Leader. August 26, 1870.
  4. ^ a b Viner, Kim (May 31, 2015). "Wyoming Lawyer Melville C. Brown: A Man for his Time". Wyoming Historical Society.
  5. ^ a b "Prominent Wyoming Citizen Is Dead". The Logan Journal. April 10, 1928. p. 3.
  6. ^ "The President Names Officers for the Native Batallion". The Kansas City Star. March 6, 1900. p. 2.
  7. ^ "Confirmed By The Senate", The Baltimore Sun (March 14, 1900), p. 6.
Political offices
Preceded by Justice of the Alaska Territorial Supreme Court
1900–1904 		Succeeded by


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