Jump to Navigation

Frederick Brown

Born: December 21, 1830, New Richmond, Crawford County, Pennsylvania.  Died: August 30, 1856, Osawatomie, Miami County, Kansas.

Frederick Brown was born in New Richmond, Crawford County, Pennsylvania, on December 21, 1830,  to John Brown and Dianthe (Lusk) Brown. 

The younger Brown, along with four of his brothers, arrived in Kansas Territory in spring 1855. They settled on small tracts of land, and named it Brown Station, in Franklin County.  Their father and other family members joined them that fall.

Brown was known to experience periodic mental troubles throughout his life.

He was present during the Pottawatomie Massacre in Franklin County, the brutal murder of five proslavery men, on May 24, 1856.  He experienced deep regret afterwards, despite not personally having committed the murders. He later  adamantly told a Kansas correspondent for the New York Tribune that his family had nothing to do with the murders.

During the Battle of Black Jack in Douglas County on June 2, 1856, he appeared out of nowhere on horseback yelling “Hurrah! Come on, boys! We’ve got ‘em surrounded; we’ve cut off all communication.”   Proslavery leader Henry Pate, frightened, ordered the surrender of his forces.  John Brown and his followers were the victors of the battle. 

Brown met with U.S. Senator James Lane, a free-state leader, in Lawrence, on August 29, 1856. He later met with his uncle, the Reverend Samuel Adair, in Osawatomie that night. The following day Brown was shot by the Reverend Martin White, a proslavery supporter, the first victim in the Battle of Osawatomie in Miami County.  He is buried in Brown Cemetery in Miami County, Kansas.

Entry: Brown, Frederick

Author: Kansas Historical Society

Author information: The Kansas Historical Society is a state agency charged with actively safeguarding and sharing the state's history.

Date Created: June 2016

Date Modified: July 2016

The author of this article is solely responsible for its content.