John W. Brown (1796-1875)

He was born at Dundee in Scotland and came to America with his parents in 1802 where they settled at Newburgh, Orange County, New York. He studied law and was admitted to the bar of New York in 1818. Two years later (1820), he was appointed Justice of the Peace at Newburgh. He represented New York at Congress as a Jacksonian between 1833 and 1837. Returning to Newburgh, he was a Member of the Constitutional Convention of 1846 and of the committee that framed the Judiciary Article. In 1849, he was elected as a Justice of the New York Supreme Court, serving until 1865 when he was defeated as a candidate for Judge of the Court of Appeals. He practiced law until his death at Newburgh in 1875. In 1826, "Colonel John W. Brown," married Eliza Reeve and they had at least four children including Mrs Elliot and Mrs Higginson.