Thanks Chris, that's very interesting. I didn't realise that there were broader William Brown family connections in Baltimore also, including William's earlier career.
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"Sir William Brown was born on the 30th May,1784 at Ballymena, County Antrim. He was the eldest son of a Belfast Linen merchant, Alexander. In 1796 young William spent 4 years in a boarding school in Yorkshire. In 1801 he left Ireland to join his father in business in Baltimore USA.His connection with Liverpool began in the year 1810. Brown realised that Liverpool, as the port of entry for American Exports, was the 'place to be.' Gradually he moved out of linen and in to cotton and eventually out of merchandising altogether and into merchant banking, where his fortune was to be made. The hazards of the trans-Atlantic trade, especially during the war of 1812 with the U.S.A induced him to relinquish his ties with the Baltimore connection."
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