The Brown Family Business Records at the JCB

Spanning the better part of two centuries and occupying over 1,300 boxes of material, the records of the Brown family’s various business ventures held at the John Carter Brown Library constitute one of the largest and most complete collections of business papers generated by an American mercantile family.  The papers trace the development of the Brown family’s companies through seven generations, starting with Captain James Brown’s forays into shopkeeping and maritime trade in the early 18th century, and ending in 1914 with the diverse banking, transportation, and manufacturing interests of the firm of Brown & Ives.

This collection of account books, correspondence, bills, receipts, ships’ papers and logbooks provides remarkably complete documentation of the Browns’ engagement in practically every aspect of economic life in New England--maritime commerce, the transatlantic slave trade, whaling and spermaceti candle production, distilling, manufacturing, transportation, and banking. The broad scope and fine detail of the information contained in this collection offer significant opportunities for research in early American business and social history.

Descending from one of the founders of Providence, the Brown family rose to prominence in the mid-18th century, primarily through the business success of the four surviving sons of Captain James Brown: Nicholas, John, Joseph, and Moses. (Captain Brown’s eldest son, also James, died at sea in 1750). Initially in partnership with their uncle Obadiah Brown, the brothers expanded upon their father’s mercantile and maritime endeavors, building a network of family companies that came to dominate local trade, manufacturing, and investment. As eminent members of the community, the Browns also wielded considerable political and social influence, and the collection documents the participation of the family in Revolutionary politics, state agencies, and the establishment and development of Brown University.

The records at the JCB are primarily those of the companies headed by Nicholas Brown (1729-1791). Nicholas Brown & Company (1762-1782) initially operated as a family partnership with all four brothers; John, Joseph, and Moses would eventually leave to pursue other interests and found their own firms. The collection traces the businesses headed by Nicholas Brown through various partnerships including George Benson in 1783 and the addition of Thomas Poynton Ives in 1792. By the mid nineteenth century, the firm of Brown & Ives was operated largely by members of the inter-related Brown, Ives, Goddard and Gammell families.

The collection was placed on deposit with the JCB by the heirs of  John Nicholas Brown (1861-1900) in the early twentieth century. Arriving largely intact from the family’s counting house at 50 South Main Street, the records were initially surveyed and calendared by economic historian James B. Hedges, who published an exhaustive history of the family’s businesses, The Browns of Providence Plantations (Providence, 1968). In 1991, an NEH-funded project to further process the records produced detailed finding aids to assist researchers in accessing the material. 

Finding aids

Separate finding aids exist for each chronological section of the Brown family business records at the JCB. These guides provide detailed historical and content notes for each time period, as well as extensive series descriptions and inventories (box and folder lists). Because several series continue for extended periods of time, there is some duplication of information among the finding aids.

Brown Family Records Collection (James Browne, d. 1739 and James Browne, d. 1750), 1735-1750; bulk 1745-1750
Obadiah Brown Records, [ca. 1746]-1760; bulk 1757-1760
The Records of Nicholas and John Brown, 1746-1763; bulk 1754-1763
The Records of Obadiah Brown and Company, 1760-1762
Nicholas Brown and Company Records, 1762-1783; bulk 1762-1774
Brown and Benson Records, 1783-1792
Brown, Benson and Ives Records, 1792-1796
Brown and Ives Records, 1796-1914

To request material for consultation in the reading room, please create a materials request with the following information:

Title: Brown family business papers
Call number: BFBR Box [add box number provided in the finding aid--preceded by “B” in the inventory]

Materials are generally provided by the box, so folder numbers and titles are not necessary. 
Please create a separate request for each box number.

Questions about the collection or working with the materials can be directed to Kim Nusco, Assistant Librarian for Research and Reference Services.

James Hedges, The Browns of Providence Plantations. Providence, RI: Brown University Press, 1968. Brown University users can access an online version of the first volume (the colonial years) here.

Business papers at the John Carter Brown Library. A brief description of the Brown family business records with other business collections at the JCB, including the Arnold family business records and the Tillinghast family business records.

Report of the Brown University Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice

Voyage of the Slave Ship Sally

Mind Your Business: Records of Early American Commerce at the John Carter Brown Library. 

The collection at the JCB intersects and supplements materials held in other repositories in the state, including those at the Rhode Island Historical Society and the John Hay Library. Most of these collections can be found by searching Rhode Island Archives and Manuscripts Online.