COLONEL WILLIAM BROWNE.
The Brownes of Salem, Mass., are descended from an old respected family of "Browne Hall," Lancashire, England. Simon Browne, Barrister, resided there in 1540, and removed to Brundish, Suffolk. His son Thomas died there in 1608, and his son Francis died there in 1626. His son Hon. William, born 1608, came to Salem in 1635, became a merchant in Salem, and was eminent for his exemplary life, and public charities. He died in 1687. Major William Browne, son of the preceding, was born in 1639. He was a Councillor and Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for Essex County. He was a successful merchant, and a man of great influence in the Colony. He married Hannah, daughter of Captain George Curwin. He died in 1716, at the age of seventy-eight.
Colonel Samuel Browne, son of the aforesaid, was born in 1669. He was the first town Treasurer of Salem, was many years a Representative, Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for Essex County, was also Chief Justice of said Court, also Colonel and Councillor. He was said to be by far the greatest merchant in his day, in the County of Essex. He emulated the beneficence of his father, uncle, and grandfather, in bequeathing large sums to Harvard College, and to schools in Salem. He died in 1731, aged 62. His son Samuel graduated at Harvard College, 1727. He married a daughter of John Winthrop, F. R. S., of New London, Conn., and died in 1742, aged 34. He was concerned in mercantile affairs.
Colonel William Browne, son of the aforesaid Samuel, was born at Salem in 1737, was a grandson of Governor Burnet. He graduated at Harvard College in 1755, the third in his class. He married his cousin, a daughter of Governor Wanton of Rhode Island, and was doubly connected with the Winthrop family, the wives of the elder Browne and Governor Wanton being daughters of John Winthrop, F. R. S., great-grandson of the first governor of Massachusetts. William Browne was Colonel of the Essex regiment, a member of the General Court in 1768, was one of the seventeen Rescinders, Judge of the Supreme Court, one of the ten Mandamus Counsellors who was sworn in. Colonel Browne was esteemed among the most opulent and benevolent individuals of the province before the Revolution, and so great was his popularity that the gubernatorial chair was offered him by the "Committee of Safety" as an inducement for him to remain and join the "Sons of Liberty." But he felt it his duty to remain on the side of the government, which represented law and authority, even at the expense of his great landed estates, both in Massachusetts and Connecticut, in the latter there were fourteen valuable farms, all of which were afterwards confiscated. After the passage of the Boston Port Bill, he was waited upon by a committee of the Essex delegates, which consisted of Jeremiah Lee, Samuel Holton, and Elbridge Gerry. They informed him that "It was with grief that the country had viewed his exertions for carrying into execution certain acts of parliament, calculated to enslave, and ruin his native land, that while the country would continue the respect for several years paid him, it resolved to detach every future connection all such, as shall persist in supporting or in any countenancing the late arbitrary acts of Parliament; that the delegates in the name of the country, request him to excuse them from the painful necessity of considering, and treating him as an enemy to his country, unless he resigned his office as counsellor and judge." Colonel Browne replied as follows: "As a Judge, and in every other capacity, I intend to act with honor, and integrity, and to exert my best abilities, and be assured, that neither persuasion can allure me, nor menaces compel me, to do anything derogatory to the character of a Counsellor of his majesty's province of Massachusetts. I cannot consent to defeat his Majesty's intentions, and disappoint his expectations by abandoning a post to which he has been graciously pleased to appoint me."
He was an Addresser of General Gage, was included in the Banishment Act of 1778, and in the Conspiracy Act of the year following. He was in London as early as May 4, 1776, and gave his fellow exiles some particulars relative to the evacuation of Boston. His wife, who complained of her treatment at Salem, and Boston, after his departure, does not appear to have joined him in England until the spring of 1778. In 1781 he was appointed Governor of the Bermudas, and administered the affairs of these islands in a manner to secure the confidence of the people. Under his judicious management the colony flourished. He found the financial affairs of the islands in a confused and ruinous state, and left them flourishing. In 1788 he left for England, deeply and sincerely regretted by the people. He died in England, February, 1802, aged sixty-five.
William Browne, son of the aforesaid, born at Salem, was an officer in the British Army, and was at the siege of Gibraltar. He was in England in 1784.
Colonel Benjamin Pickman, writing in 1793, said of the Brownes: "I would observe that the family of the Brownes has been the most remarkable family that has ever lived in the Town of Salem, holding places of the highest trust in the Town, County, and State, and possessing great riches. Their donations to the schools have been considerable, and their mercantile engagements have very much contributed to the growth of the Town."
The Browne mansion, erected by William Browne in 1740, upon the summit of Browne's Hill. He named "Browne Hall" after a place in Lancashire, England, that belonged to his ancestors.
The building consisted of two wings, two stories high, connected by a spacious hall, the whole presenting 80 feet front. The dwelling was one of the most magnificent in the Colony, it was finished in a most thorough and costly manner, corresponding with the wealth of the owner. The house was confiscated and later came into the possession of Hon. William Gray, who resided there till 1800. Subsequently it was known as "Sun Tavern," and then taken down.[264]