Next to John McMillan, Brown was the most important figure to education in Western Pennsylvania.

His paternal grandfather, a native of Ireland even though he was of Scottish descent, emigrated to America in 1720 and settled in eastern Pennsylvania.

[2] His father, also named Matthew Brown, was born in 1732 and was an early settler of White Deer Valley and a soldier in the American Revolutionary War.

[2] Brown graduated from Dickinson College in 1794 and taught in a classical school in Northumberland County.

[2] On September 25, 1822, Brown was elected the fifth president of Jefferson College, largely due to the support and influence of Rev.