John A. Brown

John A. Brown, about 1837-1883
Union Veteran, Miner and Stockman

Buried in City/Loosley Cemetery, exact location unknown

(Silhouette courtesy of Pixabay.com)

---

John A. Brown was born in Troy, Rensselaer County, New York State, around 1837. He was the oldest of five sons born to Royal Horace Brown and Alida Potter. The Browns were farmers, but perhaps young John had other ambitions. By 1864, he was in California, eking out a living as a prospector or miner.

On March 26, 1864, he enlisted in the Union Army at Sacramento, California, and was assigned to Company D, 2nd California Cavalry. He was 5 feet 7 inches tall, with brown hair and a florid complexion. He served for two years and mustered out on May 29, 1866 at Camp Union, California.

Since Brown enlisted well after the famous California Column had departed for Arizona, his military service may have taken place entirely in California. Nevertheless, he must have heard tales about the mineral wealth that had been discovered near Wickenburg and Prescott.

By 1880, John had joined his younger brother Sidney, who was running a saloon in Prescott, Arizona, and had filed on a homestead near Gillett, in Yavapai County. However, when the mines near Gillett closed down, the brothers decided to sell, and John’s brother departed for Nebraska.

In early summer, 1883, Brown came to Phoenix to spend his share of the proceeds from the sale of his ranch. Evidently he had a problem with drink, for he remained more or less in a state of inebriation until he was found dead in a corral on July 12th. He was quickly buried in the first Phoenix cemetery, near the downtown area.
          
When the Phoenix City Council decided a year later to close the first cemetery, Brown’s remains were presumably removed to a common grave in one of the new cemeteries at 13th Avenue and Jefferson. He has a commemorative marker in the memorial garden of the Pioneer & Military Memorial Cemetery.

© 2026 by Donna L. Carr. Last revised 13 May 2026.

​If you would like assistance researching our interred, you can find more information on our website. You can contact us at [email protected] at any time. Thank you for your interest to preserve the history of Arizona's pioneers!