Page "John Brown (abolitionist)" Paragraph 8

In 1805, the family moved to Hudson, Ohio, where Owen Brown opened a tannery.

Brown's father became a supporter of the Oberlin Institute ( original name of Oberlin College ) in its early stage, although he was ultimately critical of the school's " Perfectionist " leanings, especially renowned in the preaching and teaching of Charles Finney and Asa Mahan.

Brown withdrew his membership from the Congregational church in the 1840s and never officially joined another church, but both he and his father Owen were fairly conventional evangelicals for the period with its focus on the pursuit of personal righteousness.

Brown's personal religion is fairly well documented in the papers of the Rev Clarence Gee, a Brown family expert, now held in the Hudson Library and Historical Society.