William Compton Brown Papers, 1830-1963

William Compton Brown was born and raised in Minnesota. He received a law degree in 1891 from the University of Minnesota. His law practice began in Minnesota. Through a "freak fusion" of the local government, Brown was elected county attorney of Marshall County in 1893. He was 22 years old at the time of this appointment. Mr. Brown came out to the Pacific Coast in 1897, traveled extensively in the area, and after being granted the right to practice law in Washington he set up a practice in Republic, Washington. While in Republic he went on several mining excursions. In 1901 he married Caroline Sidney Burleigh. After his marriage, Brown moved to Okanogan County. He became the County Attorney in Ferry County, Washington in 1903. This was followed with the position of a Judge of the Superior Court of Ferry County in 1904. Nearly 26 years later he became a Judge of the Superior Court of Okanogan County. He retired in 1946, and passed away in 1963 at the age of 94.