Cemetery: Old Hill Burying Ground, Newburyport Massachusetts

BROWN, Moses, naval officer, was born at Newburyport, Mass., Jan. 20, 1742. He took part in the revolutionary war as commander of New England privateers, including the Diligent and Intrepid. The Merrimac, built by New-buryport merchants, when the United States navy was first organized, was commanded by him, and formed one of the squadron of Commodore Barry. In 1799 and 1800 he captured Le Phenix, Le Bonaparte, and Le Magicienne, of the French navy. He served with distinction, and when the navy was reduced at the close of the war he was dismissed, and afterwards engaged in the merchant-marine service. He died at sea, Jan. 1, 1804. 5

Brown, Moses. Petition dated Newburyport, April 15, 1778, signed by Samuel Newhall in behalf of himself and others of Newburyport, asking that said Brown be commissioned as commander of the ship “General Arnold” (Privateer); ordered in Council, April 16, 1778, that a commission be issued. 2

Moses Brown was commander of the defense force of Privateers to protect the seacoast.In 1776, they were protecting the coast of Beverly, Mass. from attack from foreign ships. That same year they were reassigned to the Fourteenth Foot in Continental service. They built a sand bank battery on Tuck's Point at the mouth of the Beverly Harbor. 18

Apparently there was another Moses Brown in Newburyport at the time, who was born the same year of 1742. The following statements apply to him and not to the above Capt. Moses Brown.

"Moses Brown rose to financial prominence by a similar route, having begun as a chaisemaker. Tradition claims that when Brown was repairing one of Tristram Dalton's several carriages before the Revolution, the merchant showed the chaisemaker around his estate. Carried away by enthusiasm, Brown forgot his place enough to assert that he would one day own the property himself, a prophesy made good in 1791 when he purchased the Dalton mansion for £1700. Brown made his fortune primarily in the importation of sugar and molasses, which he in turn sold to several of the town's ten distilleries. By 1793 he ranked close behind William Bartlet in wealth, with real estate worth £204 annually and a personal property assessed at £ 1080, having redoubled his holdings in the seven years since 1786." 12

"While the younger men of Newburyport devoted themselves to learning the military art, their fathers embarked on a more concrete project. A committee of local merchants, headed by William Bartlet and Moses Brown, was apparently the first such group in the country to suggest the private construction of ships-of-war to be turned over to the government for enhancement of the nation's navy." 12

"Moses Brown was born in 1742 and was at first a chaisemaker by trade. In the years just before the Revolution he invested some of his earnings in molasses and sugary cargoes, which he sold at a good profit. Following the war he turned full time to mercantile activities and by 1790 he ranked second in wealth to William Bartlet. During the period of neutral trade Brown's holdings increased fourfold to $272,500 in 1807, but after 1812, like most of his colleagues, he suffered heavy losses. Brown carried on an extensive trade between the West Indies and northern Europe, transferring the cargoes at his wharf at the foot of Green Street. In 1810 his ship Nancy cleared for Sumatra, returning with pepper the following year. Brown invested his profits in local real estate and in such undertakings as the Newburyport Woolen Manufactory, the Merrimack Bank, the Newburyport Marine Insurance Company and the Plum Island Turnpike. In 1791 Brown bought Tristram Dalton's mansion at 94 State Street, which he occupied until his death in 1827 at the age of eighty-four. He was a loyal Federalist, although he took little part in political activities." 12