Brown served as a surgeon aboard the American frigate
"Boston" in 1778 when
John Adams traveled on the
"Boston" while American commissioner to France. Along with Commander Tucker, he was captured in 1781 on the American warship Thorne; imprisoned on Prince Edward Island, and escaped in an open boat. A member of the
Massachusetts state house of representatives, Brown served as a state representative in 1809, 1811, 1812 and in 1819. He was elected as a
Federalist to the
Fourteenth Congress, and served as a
United States Representative for the sixteenth district for the state of Massachusetts from March 4, 1815 to March 3, 1817. After leaving office, he resumed the practice of medicine until his death. ==Family life==