Brown, Henry, 1770-1823.

Henry Brown

Henry Brown was born about 1770 in Lexington, Virginia, where he lived until coming to the Northwest Territory in 1793 as a military secretary. He was involved in the pack-horse brigades that transported supplies to the army at forts including Forts Hamilton, Greenville, and Wayne, until 1795.

In the spring of 1795, shortly after the Treaty of Greenville, Brown became business partners with John Sutherland. The business of the firm Sutherland & Brown was to trade with the Native Americans. Sutherland & Brown was based just outside the stockade at Fort Hamilton; however, as more white settlers came to the area, the Indians began to move further north.

Consequently, Sutherland & Brown sent their agents into northwestern Ohio to trade with the Indians at places such as Greenville, Fort Wayne, and Wapakoneta. Brown set up a branch store at Fort Loramie in 1799.

In 1804, Brown moved his branch store to Dayton, on the east side of Main Street, just south of Water Street (now Monument Avenue). His was the first store in Dayton at that time. In addition to Indian trading, Sutherland & Brown also conducted business by shipping goods New Orleans on flatboats.

Between approximately 1797 and 1808, Henry Brown appears to have had another business partnership with a man named John Mathews. Less is known about this partnership, however.

In 1808, Henry Brown built the first brick residence in Dayton, on the west side of Main Street, between Second and Third Streets, north of the Old Courthouse.

By 1810, relations between the Native Americans and the United States began to deteriorate, and trade with the Indians had become especially dangerous. As a result, Sutherland & Brown recalled their agents and dissolved their partnership in June 1812. Shortly thereafter, Brown became a government agent in charge of Indian supplies, which were distributed by Indian Agent Col. John Johnston, at Piqua. Brown remained active in this business until his death in 1823.

Henry Brown married Catharine 'Kitty' Patterson, daughter of Col. Robert Patterson, on February 19, 1811, at Rubicon Farm. Kitty, born in 1793, was much younger than Henry.

Henry and Kitty Brown had three children: 1. Robert Patterson (1811-1879), who married Sarah Galloway; he was a lawyer and judge and eventually moved to Kansas City, Missouri. 2. Henry L. (1814-1878), who married Sarah Belle Browning, and engaged in the merchant business in Dayton. 3. Eliza Jane (1816-1901), who married Col. Charles Anderson, a Dayton lawyer who later served one year as Governor of Ohio from 1865-1866; both died in Kentucky.

Henry Brown became ill and was bedridden near the end of the year 1822; he died on May 19, 1823, and was buried at the old graveyard on Fifth Street. His remains were later moved to Woodland Cemetery.

Henry's widow, Catharine Patterson Brown, remarried to Andrew Irwin and had a son, A. Barr Irwin, who married Jane F. Schenck (daughter of Admiral James F. Schenck), and became a judge; he also engaged in the merchant business in partnership with his half-brother Henry for many years. Andrew Irwin died about 1827. In 1836, Catharine married Horatio Gates Phillips, another local merchant, who died in 1859. Catharine Patterson Brown Irwin Phillips died August 12, 1864, in Dayton.

Colonel Robert Patterson

Robert Patterson was born March 15, 1753, in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, a son of Francis and Jane Patterson.

Col. Patterson, one of the earliest settlers of Dayton, Ohio, was well-known as a pioneer of the Northwest Territory and officer in the American Revolution. He was one of the founders of Georgetown and Lexington, Kentucky, in 1776, as well as Cincinnati in 1787, before coming to Dayton.

Col. Patterson purchased some land in Clifton (Greene County), Ohio, in 1803, but later decided to move to Dayton instead. He purchased a farm just south of Dayton and moved his family there in 1804; he named the homestead 'Rubicon Farm.' He later purchased more land adjacent to the original tract, and his farm eventually occupied 700 acres.

Col. Patterson was a participant in several expeditions against Native Americans on the western frontier. He fought with the Pennsylvania Rangers in 1774. During the American Revolution, Patterson was with General George Rogers Clark on the Illinois Expedition in 1778, and he was a captain under Clark when he fought the Shawnee on the Little Miami and Mad Rivers in 1780.

He was second in command at the Battle of Blue Licks (Kentucky) in 1782 and, now a colonel, subsequently accompanied Clark on his second expedition into the Miami Valley. Patterson also served as a colonel under Col. Benjamin Logan against the Shawnees in 1786. He also participated in the Battle of the Wabash, also known as St. Clair's Defeat, in 1791.

Robert Patterson received the commission of colonel from Virginia Governor Patrick Henry in 1787. Robert Patterson served as a delegate to the Virginia legislature in 1790; after the state of Kentucky was formed, he served as a representative to its first state legislature, in 1792.

During the War of 1812, Robert Patterson served as a quartermaster, transporting supplies from Camp Meigs (located near Dayton on the Mad River) to troops located north of Dayton.

Robert Patterson married Elizabeth Lindsay on March 29, 1780, in Pennsylvania. They had 11 children, all born in Lexington, Kentucky: 1. William, who died as an infant. 2. William, who died as an infant. 3. Rebecca (1784-1858), who married Dr. John Goodlet and died in Kentucky. 4. Margaret (1786-1861), who married three times, to Dr. Samuel Venable, Rev. James Welsh, and Samuel Caldwell, and died in Iowa. 5. Elizabeth (1788-1827), who married James I. Nisbet. 6. Francis (1791-1854), who moved to Missouri. 7. Catharine (1793-1864), often called Kitty, who married Henry Brown, then after his death married Andrew Irwin and later Horatio Gates Phillips. 8. Jane (1795-1876), who married John Steele. 9. Harriet (1797-1822), who married Henry Stoddard. 10. Robert Lindsay (1799-1833), who died of cholera during the epidemic of 1833. 11. Jefferson (1801-1863), who married Julia Johnston, daughter of the Indian agent John Johnston of Piqua, and inherited

Rubicon Farm. Two of Jefferson and Julia's children, John H. Patterson and Frank J. Patterson, founded National Cash Register Company in Dayton.

Col. Robert Patterson died August 5, 1827, in Dayton. He was originally buried at the old graveyard on Fifth Street, as was his wife Elizabeth, who died October 22, 1833. Both were later moved to Woodland Cemetery, which is adjacent to land previously owned by Patterson.

From the guide to the Brown-Patterson Papers, 1797-1902, 1800-1835, (Dayton Metro Library)