Biography - George W. Brown
GEORGE W. BROWN. He is the inventor of "Brown's Corn-Planter" and proprietor of the extensive corn-planter works located at Galesburg, and was born in Saratoga County, NY on 29 Oct 1815. He remained upon the farm where he was born until he was 14 years old, when he learned the carpenter's trade in which he worked many years. In July 1836, he came to Galesburg being one of the earliest settlers in this section. Previous to coming west, he was married on 1 Sept 1835 to Maria Terpening. They did not live in the lap of luxury but were hardworking pioneers and he earned a living by farming and working at his trade. Many houses in the county were erected by him. On his arrival in Warren County, he traded his team for a piece of land and went to farming, he had a log house to build for himself, and his neighbors needed his mechanical services. In 1848, Mr. B. conceived the idea of turning a cultivator into a corn-planter. He saw the great need for a machine that would plant the grain which was so universally cultivated in Illinois. Nature had gifted him with faculties of genius of superior quality and with untiring energy and perseverance he labored on until he gave to the civilized world one of the most useful implements ever invented. [There is a lengthy sketch about the Brown's Corn-Planter in the book.] He was a member of the M. E. Church in Galesburg. He is the father of three children, one son and two daughters: James E., born 12 Apr 1837 who is associated with his father in the corn-planter business; Elizabeth A. born 21 Mar 1839, the wife of Mr. T. L. Perrin, a banker in Creston, Iowa; and Sarah J., b. 12 Jun 1844, the wife of W. S. Cowan, a merchant in Galesburg.
Contributed by Joan Achille, extracted from the 1878 History of Knox County, Illinois, published by Charles C. Chapman
