Microfilm of typescript. Native of Tennessee who migrated to Arkansas; lawyer, landowner, insurance company executive, and planter. The diary, which contains daily entries of various lengths, covers the period of September 1821-March 1822, with a summary for the remainder of 1822, and the period July 1852-July 1865. The 1821-1822 entries deal chiefly with Brown's residence in Louisville, Ky., and his study of law with John Rowan of that place. They tell of his trip from home in Tennessee to Louisville, his course of study, his daily activities, and his trip home by steamboat. The diary ends with a summary for the remainder of 1822, chiefly discussing his settlement in Memphis, Tenn., where he practiced law. Interspersed in the diary are copies of letters to friends and relatives telling of his activities in Louisville, and several compositions. The diary for 1852-1865 contains a record of Brown's daily activities connected with farming, legal business, payment and collection of debts, purchases of supplies for the family, and work with an insurance company in Camden, Ark. It gives a full account of occurrences in the family circle, including illnesses, marriages, births, deaths, schooling, and participation in community activities. Brown discussed the weather frequently and noted its effect on the crops and on the river, which was the chief means of communication with the markets where crops were sold and supplies purchased. Also, he recorded names of books he read, his views on religion, and his political views as a Whig and later a member of the American Party. He was strongly opposed to secession and the diary contains many criticisms of the civil and military policies of the Confederacy throughout the Civil War. The entries for 1861-1865 indicate that he continued his legal and business activities until June 1864, when he accepted a position as funding agent for the Treasurer of the Trans-Mississippi Department of the Confederate Army. Brown wrote much about monetary inflation, the difficulty of getting enough food and clothing, and the thefts and destruction by soldiers of both armies who were stationed in the vicinity of Camden. The last entries of the diary record the break-up of the Confederate armies in Arkansas, the arrival of Federal troops, and the beginning of Reconstruction.
