It was upon the invitation of Dr. John Dunwody that Dr. Brownson became a resident of St. John's Parish in the Province of Georgia, and there entered upon the practice of his profession. We are told that he graduated at Yale College in 1761, and that he received his degree of Doctor of Medicine from some Northern institution; but we are not informed of what colony he was a native. Arriving in St. John's Parish, he purchased a small plantation scarcely two miles distant from the present village of Riceboro, in Liberty County, where he builded a home, and with a few slaves began the cultivation of rice. His reputation in the community as a man of intelligence, of sterling qualities, and of excellent professional attainments, was quickly established. At an early date he manifested a lively interest in public affairs, espousing the patriot cause.

Of the Provincial Congress which assembled in Savannah on the 4th of July, 1775, he was a member accredited from the parish of St. John. Twice was he honored by Georgia with a seat in the Continental Congress; and on the 16th of August, 1781, he was elected governor of that commonwealth. The political skies were then brightening. Augusta had been rescued from the possession of the enemy, and renewed efforts were being made for the recovery of other portions of the State.

Eight days after his induction into office, Governor Brownson, with the intention of strengthening the manhood of Georgia, issued a proclamation requiring all persons who considered themselves citizens of the commonwealth to return to their homes within specified periods, under penalty of being subjected to the payment of a treble tax to be levied upon all lands owned by them within the limits of the State. Many wanderers were thus recalled, who, having forsaken their plantations in Georgia, had sought refuge in the Carolinas and in Virginia. The salary then allowed the governor was at the rate of £500 per annum. On the 6th of June, 1782, he was appointed Deputy Purveyor for the Southern Hospitals, and at one time during the war he served in the capacity of surgeon in the Continental army.

In the establishment of the state university he took a lively interest. He was named among the grantees to whom Georgia made cession of forty thousand acres of land for educational purposes, and he was one of the original trustees appointed, in 1785, to promote the establishment of an institution of learning. He was twice Speaker of the House of Representatives, and in 1791 presided over the State Senate. Of the convention which, in 1788, ratified the Constitution of the United States, and of the convention which, in 1789, amended the Constitution of Georgia, he was a member. He was also a commissioner on behalf of the State to superintend the erection of the public buildings at Louisville, in Jefferson County, preparatory to the removal of the seat of government from Augusta to that place.

It will thus be perceived that Dr. Brownson was honored with many public trusts. In the discharge of them all he was capable and most conscientious. There was scarcely any time when his attention was not directed to the performance of some important duty confided to him by his fellow-citizens.

He died upon his plantation in Liberty County, on the 6th of November, 1796. Among the purest patriots and most useful citizens of this region will he always be numbered. The venerable Major Andrew Maybank, who was personally acquainted with Dr. Brownson, related this anecdote: Mrs. Brownson, while a good and faithful wife, was not always pliable, or prompt in responding to the requests of her husband. On occasions the Doctor has been known, in a playful way, to say to her: "Have a care; if you do not acquiesce in my wish, when I am dead I will come back and plague you." Years after the Doctor's demise, the old lady, -- his widow, -- as she would brush from her nose some vexatious fly or annoying insect, has been heard to exclaim: "Go away, Doctor Brownson;" and as the persistent fly or pertinacious gnat would return, she would, with emphatic gesture and in decided tone, repeat the injunction: "Go away, I tell you, Doctor Brownson, and stop bothering me."

Source:
Jones, Charles C., Jr., Biographical Sketches of the Delegates From Georgia to the Continental Congress, Houghton, Mifflin and Company, New York, 1891, pp. 11-13

Submitted by Bob Franks