Little Britain general store (Pa.).

The account books document a general store situated in Little Britain Township, Lancaster County, Pa. Both internal and external evidence associate the records with Jeremiah Brown. They would have descended to his grandson, Jeremiah Brown Stubbs, from whose descendants they were acquired.

Jeremiah Brown was born in Little Britain, now Fulton Township, in 1749. His great-grandfather, James Brown, was part of the original Quaker emigration to the Delaware Valley. He and his brother were among a group of Quakers who in 1699 established a new settlement in Nottingham, in southern Chester County, in what was then a complete wilderness. His grandson and Jeremiah's father, Joshua Brown, was born in Nottingham in 1717. Joshua purchased 500 acres of land in Little Britain Township in 1758 and moved there, leaving his eldest son, Elisha, on the Nottingham farm. Joshua's new property was located at what later became Little Fulton, P.O. on Conowingo Creek, and he developed it with a grist mill and a sawmill. Joshua Brown was also an eminent preacher in the Society of Friends, who travelled extensively among the various Quaker communities. He was imprisoned for six months during the Revolution for pacifism.

Jeremiah Brown purchased his father's mills, which he enlarged, and they soon became the chief merchant mills in the southern part of Lancaster County. Grain was brought from a wide surrounding area, and the flour was carted to Christiana Bridge, Delaware, from which it was shipped by boat to Philadelphia. Jeremiah was extremely successful in business. Around 1800 he opened slate quarries at Peach Bottom on the Susquehanna River. He joined with others to establish the Farmers' Bank at Lancaster in 1810, and was one of its largest stockholders. He also served in the Pennsylvania legislature. Jeremiah Brown died on July 7, 1831.

From the description of Account books, 1796-1807. (Hagley Museum & Library). WorldCat record id: 86119170