Alex. Brown & Sons: The Oldest Firm in the Ford Motor Company Syndicate
Alexander Brown, 1827 Born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Ireland, Alexander Brown (1764-1834) was the son of William and Margaretta Davison Brown. Alex Brown became a linen auctioneer in Belfast. (Linen manufacture was a major industry in Northern Ireland in the late 18 th century). His older brother, Patrick, changed his name to John and became an insurance broker in London. His younger brother, Stewart, moved to the United States after the American Revolution and founded a Philadelphia merchant firm called Falls & Brown. Alexander Brown sent linen consignments to Stewart’s firm, which moved to Baltimore in 1797. Alexander Brown and his wife, the former Grace Davison, had seven children. Four of the sons survived to adulthood: William Brown (1784-1864), George Brown (1787-1859), John A. Brown (1788-1872), and James Brown (1791-1877). In 1800, Alex Brown decided to leave Ireland for Baltimore with his wife and oldest son. (The other sons joined them in 1802). Alexander Br...