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William Gay Brown Jr.
William Gay Brown Jr, in 1911.
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia's 2nd district district
In office March 4, 1911 – March 9, 1916
Preceded by	George Cookman Sturgiss
Succeeded by	George Meade Bowers
Personal details
Born	(1856-04-07)April 7, 1856 Kingwood, Virginia (now West Virginia), U.S.
Died	March 9, 1916(1916-03-09) (aged 59) Washington, D.C.
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	West Virginia University
Profession	Lawyer

William Gay Brown Jr. (April 7, 1856 – March 9, 1916) was a lawyer, and Democratic politician from West Virginia who served as a United States representative. Congressman Brown was born in Kingwood, West Virginia in Preston County (then in Virginia) on April 7, 1856. He served as a member of the 62nd, 63rd, and 64th United States Congresses. He died in office on March 9, 1916.

Early life

Brown was the only child born to lawyer and former Congressman William G. Brown Sr., and his second wife, Margaret Gay Brown (d. 1913), who survived her husband by nearly two decades and was close to her son. This father was a leading Unionist during the American Civil War, sometimes called the "Father of West Virginia", and would be the first Congressman elected to West Virginia's 2nd Congressional district when the state was formed.

Career

William Jr. graduated from West Virginia University at Morgantown in 1877, where he was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity. The same year, he was admitted to the bar and opened his law practice in Preston County. Like his father, he also worked in banking. His father died in 1884, leaving a substantial estate. In 1896, young Brown lost his first bid to become a congressman. In 1910, voters elected Brown as a Democrat to the Sixty-second Congress. He was re-elected to the Sixty-third and Sixty-fourth Congresses. He served from March 4, 1911, until his death in Washington, D.C. on March 9, 1916. Congressman Brown was buried in the family plot at Kingwood Cemetery in Kingwood, West Virginia.

Personal life

Brown married three times. His first marriage was in 1883 to Jessie Thomas, of Tyrone, Pennsylvania, who died three years later near the birth of their daughter Jessie. His second wife, Flora B. Martin, a West Virginia native, fell victim to pneumonia in 1912 afters about ten years of marriage. His third wife, actress and women's rights activist Izetta Jewel Kenney, whom he married in December 1914, gave birth to their daughter Izetta Jewel Gay Brown just a few weeks before Brown died in office in March, 1916.

See also

• United States congressional delegations from West Virginia
• List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–49)

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

References

1. United States Congress. "William G. Brown Jr. (id: B000949)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
2. Lawrence Kestenbaum. "The Political Graveyard". Retrieved 2008-11-20.
3. United States. 64th Congress, 2d session (1 November 2018). "William Gay Brown, jr. (late a representative from West Virginia) Memorial addresses delivered in the House of representatives and the Senate of the United States, Sixty-fourth Congress. Proceedings in the House, April 16, 1916". Washington – via Internet Archive.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
4. 1900-1910 US Census; William G. Brown, Kingwood, W.V.; Ancestry.com
5. text of "William Gay Brown Jr. (late a representative from West Virginia) Memorial addresses delivered in the House of Representatives and the Senate of the United States, Sixty-fourth Congress. Proceedings in the House, April 16, 1916" accessed August 30, 2012

External links

• William G. Brown Jr. at Find a Grave

v t e Members of the U.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia
1st district	Blair C. Hubbard Duval J. J. Davis B. Wilson Goff Pendleton Atkinson Pendleton Dovener W. Hubbard J. W. Davis Neely Rosenbloom Bachmann Ramsay Schiffler Ramsay Schiffler Neely Love Ramsay R. Mollohan Moore R. Mollohan A. Mollohan McKinley C. Miller
2nd district	Brown Sr. Latham Kitchen McGrew Hagans Faulkner Martin Hoge W. Wilson Dayton T. Davis Sturgiss Brown Jr. Bowers Allen Bowman Randolph M. Snyder Staggers Sr. Benedict Staggers Jr. Wise Capito Mooney Moore (elect)
3rd district	Whaley Polsley Witcher Hereford Kenna C. Snyder Alderson Huling Dorr Johnston Gaines Littlepage Avis Littlepage Reed Wolverton O'Brien Wolverton Hornor Edmiston Rohrbough Bailey Rohrbough Bailey Slack Hutchinson Staton Wise Rahall Jenkins C. Miller
4th district	Gibson C. Hogg Jackson C. Smith Capehart W. Miller Freer Hughes Woodyard Hamilton Moss Woodyard Johnson Woodyard Hughes R. Hogg Johnson Ellis Burnside Neal Burnside Neal Hechler Rahall
5th district	Hughes Cooper Goodykoontz Lilly Strother Shott John Kee E. Kee James Kee
6th district	Littlepage Echols Taylor England J. Smith Hedrick Byrd Slack
At-large	Sutherland

• 1856 births
• 1916 deaths
• People from Kingwood, West Virginia
• American people of Scottish descent
• Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from West Virginia
• West Virginia lawyers
• 19th-century American legislators
• 19th-century American lawyers
• 20th-century American lawyers
• West Virginia University alumni
• 19th-century West Virginia politicians
• 20th-century West Virginia politicians
• 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives