In 1996 the sale of the portrait of Maxey Fisher of Franklin, Massachusetts, at Skinner's auction gallery in Bolton, Massachusetts,' gave new hope to those still looking for the elusive Brown. The painting—stylistically very similar to three other known portraits of young men by Brown—was signed with the full name "James Brown" and the inscription includes the same block-print letters that appear on all the other signed paintings. Furthermore, for the first time the artist also gave what was presumably his location—"Brimfield"—as well as that of his sitter. It seemed logical, therefore, to renew the search for Brown in Brimfield, Massachusetts, a town located in the south central portion of the state and not far from the towns of Franklin and Medway, where he painted at least four portraits. But even with this important new information, finding the James Brown—the one who created the seven signed and seven firmly attributed portraits—continues to be frustrating. Only one James Brown of Brimfield could be found in the Massachusetts census records, and he first appears in the 1820 census, twelve years after the painting of Maxcy Fisher. This is probably the same James Brown who is mentioned in a history of the town as a saddle and harness maker. He was born in Brimfield in 1790 and settled there permanently in 1813, after an apprenticeship in Canajoharie, New York. He died in Brimfield in 1859.2 No other James Brown of the right age could be located in either town or census records. However, the Genealogical Record of John Brown (1755-1809)and His Descendants, which details the family history of one Jonathan Brown, who moved from Salem or Beverly, Massachusetts, to Brimfield in about 1739, does mention that James, the youngest child of Jonathan Brown Jr., was born in 1786.3 Unfortunately, no further mention is made of that James Brown. Yet the renewed search for Brown has not been entirely fruitless. In reviewing the data on Brown's subjects, some new information about his sitters' lives and their paintings has come to light, some previously published errors have been corrected, and new avenues of research have been identified. It is hoped that by disseminating this information, more portraits by this obviously talented artist will be found and new leads to the ultimate whereabouts of the mysterious Mr. Brown will be uncovered. Brown's subjects were located in an area that stretches from Williamstown, in the far northwest corner of Massachusetts, to Plymouth, in the far eastern portion of the state. This is not only a very wide range for an artist to travel during this era, but based on the inscriptions Brown included on the backs of a number of the paintings, he apparently made the journey from one end of the state to the other in the first few months of 1808. The dated portraits also show that he worked very quickly, finishing at least three portraits—Maxcy Fisher, Williams Emmons,4
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and Erastus Emmons—between February 27 and some time in March 1808. The earliest identified portraits, and the only ones dated 1806, are those of General Samuel and Hannah Douglas Sloan' of Williamstown. Sloan was a prominent man in the town, and is mentioned often in histories of the area. A blacksmith, farmer, tavernkeeper, and officer in the local militia, he was also a very successful land speculator and the builder of "the finest house in Berkshire County."6 In the mid-nineteenth century, the house, which Sloan had built in 1801 directly across the road from West College, the first Williams College building, was purchased by the school; it still stands, and is used today as the home of the president of the college. Samuel Sloan was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, in 1740, and then moved to Canaan, Connecticut,just south of the Massachusetts border. About 1765, he moved with his family to South Williamstown, where they were among the earliest settlers. An intriguing entry in the Gazeteer of Berkshire County, Massachusetts 1725-1885 states that three lots of the first settlement in Williamstown were
HANNAH DOUGLAS SLOAN (1748-1829) Williamstown, Massachusetts 1806 Oil on canvas 30 25" Private collection Signed verso: I. Brown