John Brown Biography This biography appears on page 1846-1847 in "History of South Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. II (1904) and was scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net. This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit organizations for their private use. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. JOHN BROWN, of Springfield, Bon Homme county, was born in Quebec, Canada, and was reared in the land of his birth and educated in the public schools of the same. When but a youth he left home and went to St. Lawrence county, New York, where he spent the two years following at various kinds of manual labor, and then accepted a position with the Fairbanks Scale Company, at St. Johnsbury, Vermont, and devoted the ensuing three years to mechanical work in their factory at that place, after which he went to Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, where he was engaged in the lumber business. Disposing of his business in the latter state, Mr. Brown moved to Iowa, where he purchased a farm and turned his attention to agriculture, and continued to reside there until he sold his possessions and changed his residence to Bon Homme county, South Dakota. On coming to this state he took up land in the vicinity of Springfield and from that time to the present has devoted his attention chiefly to farming and stock raising, in both of which his success has been most encouraging. For a number of years Mr. Brown has had a contract with the government to furnish beef to the Indians and in addition to this and his agricultural and live-stock interests he does a flourishing business as a coal dealer. Politically he is a Democrat, in religion a Catholic and his fraternal relations are with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.