Brown was born in Albemarle County, Virginia, on January 3, 1878, the son of Henry William Brown and Sarah Slade Runyard, who emigrated to the United States from England in 1872.
[1] Brown was ordained deacon in 1901 and priest on May 29, 1902, by Bishop Alfred Magill Randolph of Virginia, during which he served as rector of Christ Church in Blacksburg, Virginia.
[2] His daughter, Mary Brown Channel, would go on to design additions to the latter structure during her architectural career.
[3] Brown was elected Bishop of Southern Virginia 1938 and was consecrated on May 3, 1938, by Presiding Bishop Henry St. George Tucker at St John's Church, Portsmouth, Virginia.
He had two children from his first marriage, including Mary Brown Channel, the first woman licensed to practice architecture in Virginia.