William Davis Brown (c. 1813 – February 3, 1868) was the first pioneer to envision building a city where Omaha, Nebraska sits today.Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration. (1970) Nebraska: A Guide to the Cornhusker State. Nebraska State Historical Society. p. 241. Many historians attribute Brown to be the founder of Omaha, although this has been disputed since the late nineteenth century.Douglas County. Andreas' history of Nebraska. Retrieved 8/11/07. Alfred D. Jones, the first postmaster of Omaha, laid strong claims to the title himself, suggesting that he told Brown about the potential for a town. Nebraska State Historical Society. Retrieved 8/14/07. Brown was also a member of the Second Territorial Legislature for the Nebraska Territory.Morton, J.S. and Watkins, A. Annexation to Kansas, History of Nebraska; From the Earliest Explorations of the Trans-Mississippi Region. Lincoln, NE: Western Publishing and Engraving Company. p. 278.
About Brown lived in Mount Pleasant, Iowa where he was the sheriff of Henry County starting in January, 1837. After leaving for the California Gold Rush in 1850, he stopped in Council Bluffs after seeing that there was an opportunity to earn money ferrying settlers across the Missouri River. After obtaining a charter from the Pottawatomie County Commissioners, Brown called his enterprise the Lone Tree Ferry after the single tree which marked his landing on the Nebraska Territory side of the Missouri River. He later sold the company, which became the Council Bluffs and Nebraska Ferry Company.
Family Brown, on March 10, 1839 – in Mount Pleasant, Iowa – Henry Co., married Martha Ann Patterson (1819–1888). One their daughters, Mary Rebecca Brown (maiden; 1854–1940), married Alfred Rasmus Sorenson (1850–1939), who became an influential politician in Omaha.Reeves, W. (1916) . p. 145. Retrieved 8/13/07.
Death According to a period obituary, Brown's death was caused by a "ruffian" in Council Bluffs, Iowa who mugged him for his money. Brown died shortly after struggling back to his home in Omaha."Chapter XXIX: Old Settlers", Early History of Omaha. p. 214.
Dr. George L. Miller, an early editor of the Omaha Herald, wrote an obituary for Brown. Among other things, he wrote,
See also Founding figures of Omaha, Nebraska History of Omaha
References
External links Photo of Brown