[2] He was a member of the board of inspectors of the Eastern State Penitentiary from 1851 to 1853, and was collector of customs at the port of Philadelphia from 1853 to 1857.

He served as president of the board of trustees of the Dover public schools from 1871 to 1878.

He died in Dover and was interred at the Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.

[3] He married Elizabeth Shunk (1825–1865) late in life and they had four girls and four boys between 1849 and 1865.

Their third son, William Findlay Brown (1861–1934), was a Philadelphia lawyer and Fairmount Park Commissioner.