David Arthur Brown, Manager and Treasurer of the Concord Axle Company of Penacook, an ex-member of the New Hampshire legislature, and a veteran of the Civil War, was born in Attleboro, Mass., May 14, 1839, son of Henry H. and Mary Ann (Daggett) Brown. His parents were natives of Attleboro. On the father’s side he is descended from an Englishman who settled in Massachusetts in the year 1624. His great-grandfather was John Brown, and his grandfather was David Brown. On the mother’s side his genealogy is traced through her father, Otis Daggett, of the seventh generation, Joab of the sixth, John of the fifth, Ebenezer of the fourth, John of the third, and Thomas of the second, to the first John, of Martha’s Vineyard, who, born in England, came to this country in 1630 with Governor Winthrop, of whom he is said to have been a relation.
David Arthur Brown was educated in the public schools of Penacook and at the academy in New London, N.H., completing his studies at the age of nineteen. At intervals in the period of his school life he worked with his father in the cotton-mill at Penacook. Later he entered the repair shops, where he remained until the outbreak of the Civil War. In August, 1861, being a proficient band musician, he enlisted as a leader of the band connected with the Third Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteers. After leaving this State, the regiment was quartered for a time on Long Island, New York. Then it was ordered to Washington, D.C., and later to Annapolis, Md. From Annapolis it was sent by sea to Port Royal, S.C., where it was attached to the Tenth Army Corps, Department of the South, and served at different times under Generals Sherman, Gilmore, and Hunter. Mr. Brown was present at several important battles and skirmishes, and on several occasions he voluntarily laid aside his musical instruments to shoulder a musket. Good service was also rendered by him in removing the wounded from the field and caring for them in the hospital. He was honorably discharged at Port Royal, August 31, 1862. Upon his return from the army he fitted up a repair shop for the Contoocook mill, and conducted it for two years. In 1864 he formed a partnership with A. B. Winn, under the firm name of A. B. Winn & Co., for the purpose of engaging in the manufacturing of wagon axles and machinery. The firm name was changed to D. Arthur Brown & Co. in the following year; and under that style business was carried on until 1880, when the enterprise was incorporated as the Concord Axle Company. Since the formation of the firm Mr. Brown has been its Manager, and he is the Treasurer and a Director of the present corporation. Some time after his discharge from the Federal service Mr. Brown reorganized the Fisherville Band, of which he had formerly been the leader, and as Brown’s Cornet Band it became one of the best organizations of its kind in the State. It furnished music on New Hampshire Day, at the Centennial Exposition of 1876 in Philadelphia; and it accompanied the New Hampshire legislature upon their visit to the Bennington Centennial held in 1877. He had been identified with this organization twenty-one years in all, when in 1878, on account of business cares, he retired from its leadership, and it was disbanded.
On December 23, 1865, Mr. Brown was united in marriage with Susan M. Follansbee, a native of Grafton. His only child is Henry A. Brown. In politics he is an active supporter of the Republican party, and he was a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 1873. Well advanced in Masonry, he is a member of Horace Chase Lodge, No. 72; of Trinity Chapter, No. 2; and of Mount Horeb Commandery, of which he is Chief Bugler. He is at the present time serving as Quartermaster of W. I. Brown Post, No. 31, G. A. R., of Penacook. He has been several times elected Commander of the post, but declined to serve, as he believed his deafness would not admit of his properly filling the position. He served as an Aidede-camp upon the staff of Commander-in-chief Rea in 1895, was Assistant Inspector General upon the national staff under General Walker in 1896, and an Aide-de-camp on the staff of Commander-in-chief Clarkson in 1897. He Weirs, N.H., and has acted as its Secretary and Treasurer for the past ten years. Mr. Brown is a member of the First Baptist Church, and has for twelve years been officially connected with that society as its clerk.