Series 9 - Brown brothers' letters

89pp

Kerby A. Miller created these transcripts of the Brown Brothers letters from letters held in PRONI (T3525 and D3688/F/1-14).

Transcripts of 19 letters written by brothers Thomas, Samuel, and David Brown, and their nephew James, between 1793 and 1834, along with notes and land valuation data pertaining to the Browns and other Ulster families who emigrated to Philadelphia.
The Browns were natives of Belfast. The family's time in America began in 1793 when Samuel Brown left Belfast for Philadelphia. After a hazardous voyage marked by storms, damage to his vessel, and shortages of provisions, he arrived during the devastating yellow fever epidemic. Trained as a painter and glazier, Samuel built a successful business and later expanded into the tea trade.
By 1810, Samuel had achieved considerable prosperity. His nephew James Brown, newly arrived from Ireland, reported that his uncle owned a thriving painting and glazing concern, a large tea store, and was raising four children. James himself found immediate employment thanks to the demand for skilled textile workers. Samuel later took him into partnership and gradually transferred the painting business to him.
Thomas Brown also settled in Philadelphia, operating a large dry-goods store. Although successful, Thomas frequently lamented the lack of correspondence from relatives in Belfast; Kerby A. Miller suggests he may have been estranged at times. The family's letters reveal continuing commercial and emotional ties across the Atlantic, with regular discussions of trade, emigration, politics, and family affairs.