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Below is a family biography included in the History of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania published in 1889 by A. Warner & Co.   These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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ADAM MERCER BROWN, attorney, is a grandson of Adam Brown, of Cumberland county, Pa., a soldier in Washington’s army in the revolutionary war. About the beginning of the century his grandfather removed to Butler county, Pa., where he built the first gristmill, in the vicinity of what has since been known as Brownsdale. His progenitors were among the early residents of Eastern Pennsylvania.

Joseph Brown, the third son of Adam Brown, married Mary, a daughter of James Marshall, who, with his family, had come from Londonderry, Ireland, to Pittsburgh, in 1822, whence he soon removed to Butler county. James Marshall was also the father of Judge Marshall, of Butler county; Hon. Thomas M. Marshall, and A. M. Marshall, of Pittsburgh. Joseph Brown spent most of his life on a farm near Brownsdale, where he died, in 1883. Mary Marshall, his wife, died in 1877, at the age of seventy-nine years. Of their children, Adam Mercer (the subject of this sketch), Jane, Esther, William and Sarah are yet living.

Adam Mercer Brown, their second child, was born Aug. 3, 1830. He received the most liberal training afforded by the schools of his native county, and finished his education at private schools in Pittsburgh. He read law with his uncle, Thomas M. Marshall, being admitted to the bar in 1853. For twelve years he was a member of the firm of Marshall & Brown, but since 1865 he has practiced for himself. He is recognized as a leading member of the Allegheny county bar, and has achieved many forensic triumphs. Although his practice is almost entirely in the civil courts, he occasionally, and for special causes, consents to appear in important criminal cases, in the trial of which he exhibits the same conspicuous energy and ability which have invariably characterized his professional work in all other courts and cases. Among his many celebrated cases his successful defense and acquittal of James Nutt, in the famous trial for the murder of Capt. Dukes, in 1884, added no little to his professional reputation, and won popular favor. Mr. Brown has been a lifelong supporter of the republican party. He was a member of the select council of Pittsburgh for three years; a delegate to the national convention that nominated Abraham Lincoln for president, in 1864, and to that which nominated Grant and Colfax, in 1868. He has never sought or desired public office, although often urged to become a candidate for high official positions. Energetic and efficient upon all occasions of public emergency; patriotic and public-spirited, he enjoys the thorough respect and confidence of all who know him. He is an active member of the First U. P. Church, of Pittsburgh. He was prominent in the organization of the Anchor Savings Bank in 1873, of which he has ever since been president. He is also a director in the Cash Insurance company and Odd Fellows’ Savings Bank.

In 1851 Mr. Brown was married to Lucette, the daughter of Adam Turney, of Greensburg, Westmoreland county, Pa. Mr. Turney was of Scotch-Irish lineage, and his wife, Hannah, was a daughter of Rev. John William Weber, founder of the G. R. U. E. Church, at the corner of Sixth avenue and Smithfield street, the earliest church in Pittsburgh. The following are the children of Mr. Brown, in the order of birth: Marshall (a Pittsburgh attorney), Sarah M. (wife of Dr. T. G. Herron, of Allegheny), Carrie A. (Mrs. John H. Herron), William John, Thomas M. and John Dean.

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This family biography is one of 2,156 biographies included in the History of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania published in 1889 by A. Warner & Co.

View additional Allegheny County, Pennsylvania family biographies here: Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Biographies

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