The Molly Brown House Museum
1340 Pennsylvania Street
Denver, Colorado 80203
303.832.4092
Fax: 303.832.2340

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J.J., like Maggie, was Irish-Catholic. He was born September 27, 1854, in Waymart, Pennsylvania. His father, James Brown, was an Irish immigrant. His mother, Cecilia Palmer, was a schoolteacher. Shortly after J.J.'s birth his family moved to Pittston Pennsylvania. J.J.'s mother taught him at home and then sent him to St. John's Academy. He left home at the age of 23 lured by the riches in the West. His first stop was a farm in Nebraska. From Nebraska he moved to the placer mines in the Dakotas. He spent two years learning his trade and occasionally skirmishing with Indians before moving to Colorado where he tried his luck in Georgetown, Aspen and Ashcroft. He spent another two years in the Aspen and Ashcroft area before moving to Alma, Fairplay, Red Cliff, and, finally, Leadville. He began studying geology, ore deposits and mining techniques to become a better miner.

J.J. Brown was not rich, but he was ambitious, smart and charismatic. He quickly rose through the mining ranks to shift-boss and timberman. He was foreman of the Louisville Mine by the time he and Maggie met a year later. By 1887 he was superintendent of the Louisville Mine, and in 1888 he was superintendent of the Henriette & Maid Consolidated Mining Company, at the time one of the most productive mines in the area.