Brown, David S. & Co.

David S. Brown entered into his brothers' Philadelphia firm, J. and M. Brown, in 1817. In 1821 he became a member of the firm of Hacker, Brown and Co., which existed until 1830 when its name was changed to David S. Brown & Co. David S. Brown & Co. were Philadelphia commission merchants dealing in dry goods.

Brown served as Director of Girard Bank, 1840-1843. In 1844 he built and was president and manager of the Washington Manufacturing Company in Gloucester, N.J., which manufactured cotton. Washington Mills, owned by the Washington Manufacturing Company, contained both mills and boarding houses for single workers. Following this he established the Gloucester Manufacturing Company for the production of printed calicoes. In 1859 Brown built the Gloucester Gingham Mills, incorporated in 1872. In 1864 he established and was president of the Gloucester Iron Works, which was incorporated in 1871.

Other companies David S. Brown established include the Gloucester Print Works and the Gloucester Land Company. He founded the Ancona Printing Company in 1871, which successfully introduced new methods of applying colors which had been successful in Europe but previously untried in the United States.