Elder in the Baptist Church. The dates of his birth and death are uncertain, but he probably died in 1665. He was the first elder of the oldest church of the denomination in America, and was chosen to succeed Roger Williams as leader in the Providence colony. Many religious and civil controversies arose in the settlement, which, but for Elder Brown’s firmness and judicious rulings, would have been settled by physical force. The good elder earned the name of “Peacemaker,” and to his memory a stone was erected over his grave a century after his death.
