Sacramento County
Biographies
JOHN QUINCY BROWN
A career of more than ordinary usefulness
marked the busy life of John Quincy Brown, Sr., who served the city of
Sacramento as mayor from 1881 to 1887, and had also filled the position of
county recorder, public administrator, levee commissioner and other official
positions which demanded the time and attention of a conscientious, painstaking
citizen such as he. His birth occurred in Breckenridge, Ky., in 1829 and in
1850 he made his way to California, dying in the year 1892, at which time he
was serving as member of the board of trustees of the Napa State Hospital. His
father, William B. C. Brown, grandfather of our subject, was a large planter in
the Blue Grass State, extensively interested in tobacco growing. When John Quincy Brown, Sr., first came to this state from
Kentucky, crossing the plains, he remained at Placerville for a time, but
seeking a broader field for his activities he found it in Sacramento.
His first employment here was in the wholesale store of Senator Stanford's
brother. Shortly after coming here he married Miss Anna Mary Williams, the
daughter of Joel P. Williams, a prominent mining man of that period. They had
two children, John Quincy and a girl who died at the age of six years.
John Q. Brown was born in Sacramento. Much
of his boyhood was taken up studying in the city schools, and he also attended
the St. Augustine Episcopal Military Academy at Benicia and the Golden Gate
Academy at Oakland. After graduating from the University of California with the
degree of Ph. B., he joined his father who was then general manager of the
Capital Gas Company, and acted as assistant manager. During the years he was
with the company he served in different positions. From 1892 to 1897 he was
assistant clerk of the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco. He graduated from
the Hastings College of the Law in 1901, with the LL. B. degree, and went to
Kansas City, where he remained five years. November 28, 1888, he married Miss
Jessie Brown, daughter of Dr. J. T. Brown of that city. Their two children are
Harry Edgar, born December 24, 1889, a graduate of Stanford University,
and John Quincy Brown, Jr., born March 17, 1897, and not attending Hastings
College of the Law. In 1896 Mr. Brown returned with his family to Sacramento.
He joined Eugene Wachhorst, the present District
Attorney of Sacramento county, and at this date is
deputy district attorney.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Brown are popular club
people in their home city. He is a member and is president of the University
Club, and is also a member of the Sutter Club. Mrs. Brown holds memberships in
the Tuesday and Saturday Clubs.
Transcribed by Sally Kaleta.
Source: Willis,
William L., History of Sacramento County,
California, Pages 863-864. Historic
Record Company,
© 2006 Sally Kaleta.