JOHN P. BROWN, M. D.,
formerly of Slatington, where he had the largest practice of any
physician in the city, located in Bethlehem in May, 1894, as he
desired to have a wider field of work. He was born in Winchester,
Va., August 6, 1856, and there passed his boyhood attending the
common schools. He was next to the youngest of eight children.
His grandfather, William Brown, was also a native of the Old
Dominion, and died in Virginia. His calling in life was that of a
carpenter, while his son, William D., our subject's father, was a
glove manufacturer. The latter was born in Winchester, and that
city was his home until his death. His wife, Ann M., was the
daughter of William Diffenderfer, of German descent and a
carpenter by trade. Mr. and Mrs. William D. Brown were members of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the mother, who is still
living, is a resident of Maryland.
After completing his
common-school studies, Dr. Brown entered the Shenandoah Valley
Academy, taking the prescribed course. Then for a period of time
he studied medicine with Dr. W. S. Love, of Winchester, and in
1875 became a student in the College of Physicians and Surgeons in
Baltimore. At the end of a year he engaged as a clerk in a drug
store in Harrisonburg, Va., and later occupied a similar position
in Columbia, Pa. In 1884 he entered the University of
Pennsylvania, and two years later graduated from the medical
department with the degree of Doctor of Medicine.
On commencing his
practice the Doctor located in Columbia, where he was stationed
for a year, and afterward engaged in the drug business at that
point. In 1888 he went to Allentown, being associated with Dr. T.
T. Martin for a year. His next field of operations was in
Slatington, where he continued to practice until May, 1894. Then,
as previously stated, he became a resident of Bethlehem, and is
rapidly making his way into the confidence of his fellow-citizens,
being well received by the members of his profession. While a
resident of Slatington he was local physician for the Lehigh
Valley Railroad. His office is situated at No.83 Broad Street, a
central location in Bethlehem.
In 1887 Dr. Brown was
married, in Lehigh County, to Miss Mary Maxwell, who was born near
Laurens, in that county, and there has been born to them one
child, Roy by name. Dr. Brown and his wife are both members of
the First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem, and, though recent
comers, are received in the best social circles of the place,
their pleasant and friendly manners rapidly winning them a place
in the esteem of all.
Source: Portrait and Biographical Record of Lehigh,
Northampton and Carbon Counties, Pennsylvania. Containing
Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of
the Counties, Together with Biographies and Portraits of all the
Presidents of the United States. Chicago, Chapman Publishing Co.,
1894
