Sir William Richmond Brown, 2nd Baronet


Sir William Richmond Brown, 2nd Baronet DL was an English landowner.

Early life

William Richmond Brown was born on 16 January 1840. He was the eldest of four sons and one daughter born to Alexander Brown and Sarah Benedict Brown. His two surviving brothers were James Clifton Brown, a Member of Parliament for Newbury and Sir Alexander Hargreaves Brown, 1st Baronet, the Liberal Party, and later Liberal Unionist, politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1868 to 1906. His sister was Louisa Brown, the wife of Alexander William Cobham.
His parents were first cousins as his grandfathers, Sir William Brown, 1st Baronet and James Brown, both prominent merchants and bankers, were brothers. His great-grandfather was Alexander Brown, the founder of Alex. Brown & Sons, the first investment bank in the United States. Among his extended family was grand-uncle George Brown, founder of Brown Bros. & Co. and Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and uncle John Crosby Brown, who became the senior partner in Brown Bros. & Co.
As his father predeceased his paternal grandfather, Sir William Brown, 1st Baronet, of Richmond Hill, William succeeded to the Brown baronetcy in 1864.

Career

Brown gained the rank of Colonel in the 1st Brigade, Lancashire Artillery Volunteers and held the office of Deputy Lieutenant. In 1873, he succeeded Henry Osmond Nethercote as the High Sheriff of Northamptonshire.

Personal life

On 28 May 1862, Sir William was married to Emily Mountsteven, daughter of General William Thomas Blewett Mountsteven and Emily Mountsteven. Together, they lived at Chesham Place in Belgravia, London, and Astrop Park, and were the parents of seven children:
Sir William died on 10 May 1906.

Descendants

As his eldest son did not marry, upon the 3rd Baronet's death in 1944, Charles Frederick Richmond Brown, the eldest son of Sir William's second son Frederick became the 4th Baronet.