He was born in Sydney to merchant John Brown and Frances Helen Watson.
In 1860 he married Emma Booth Jones; a second marriage on 20 August 1870 was to Jane Garrett.
[1] In 1864 he was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Newtown, holding the seat without any serious challenges until 1881.
[2] On 14 November 1881 he accepted as Postmaster-General in the third Parkes ministry and the following day resigned from the assembly to be appointed to the Legislative Council.
[3] He became embroiled in a dispute with the Sydney newspapers about how much they were charged for telegrams and resigned as Postmaster-General on 22 August 1882.