William Wells Brown or W. W. Brown (died October 3, 1871) was an American merchant and pioneer settler of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly for the 1st Wisconsin Legislature (1848).

Early Years in Wisconsin Territory

Brown came early to Milwaukee, a contemporary of George H. Walker, Byron Kilbourn, and Don A. J. Upham.Childs, Ebenezer "Recollections of Wisconsin Since 1820", p. 186; in Draper, Lyman C., et al. "Document M: Fourth and Fifth Annual Reports and Collections of State Historical Society, in, Annual message of Alexander W. Randall, governor of the state of Wisconsin, and accompanying documents Madison: James Ross, State Printer, 1860 (Covers 1858/1859) The first ship built in Milwaukee, the 30-ton sloop Wenona, was built for Brown by George Barber in 1835. By 1842, Brown also owned the 100-ton schooner Fur Trader, and was an active merchant in Milwaukee (his Wm. Brown and Company was one of the first businesses in Milwaukee). He was sometimes called "Double-Headed Brown" to distinguish him from another William Brown, with whom he was at one time in business partnership.

He served as a contractor building the mile-long canal in Milwaukee for Kilbourn and Increase Lapham's Rock River Canal Company, which was begun in April 1841 and ready for use by December 1842.Holton, Edward W. "Commercial History of Milwaukee", pp. 256, 263, 265, 281; in Draper, Lyman C., et al. "Document M: Fourth and Fifth Annual Reports and Collections of State Historical Society, in, Annual message of Alexander W. Randall, governor of the state of Wisconsin, and accompanying documents Madison: James Ross, State Printer, 1860 (Covers 1858/1859) This was the only portion of the canal which would ever be built; the bed thereof later became Commerce Street in Milwaukee's Beerline B neighborhood.Lorenzsonn, Axel. Steam & Cinders: The Advent of Railroads in Wisconsin Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society, 2010; pp. 50-51

Legislative service and political activism He served in the House of Representatives of the Wisconsin Territory for one term representing Milwaukee County in the first 1847 session.Watrous, Jerome A. Memoirs of Milwaukee County, from the Earliest Historical Times Down to the Present, Including a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families in Milwaukee County Madison: Western Historical Association, 1909. Vol. 1, pp. 91-92 After statehood, he was elected in 1848 to the 3rd Milwaukee County Assembly district (the 3rd Ward of the City of Milwaukee). He was not a candidate for re-election in the 1848 fall election, and was succeeded by fellow Whig Julius White. Brown ran again for the Assembly in 1849 but was not successful, losing to Democrat Edward McGarry.

In 1851, he came in 7th out of 8 candidates for alderman in the Third Ward."Local Matters:Charter Election Returns". Daily Free Democrat May 21, 1851; p. 3, col. 1 He was successful in 1852, coming in first out of four candidates."Milwaukee Charter Election: Ward Officers." Weekly Wisconsin March 10, 1852; p. 1, col. 7

He was elected as a delegate to the 1852 Whig National Convention,"Whig State Convention" Oshkosh Democrat October 10, 1851; p. 2, cols. 5-6 and in 1852 was the Whig candidate for Sheriff of Milwaukee County."Whig Nominations: Scott County Ticket" Milwaukee Daily Sentinel October 28, 1852; p. 2, col. 2

Private life In 1851, he was among the incorporators (along with Kilbourn, Upham and others) of the Milwaukee and Humboldt Plank Road Company.Odell, R. H., compiler. Official Directory of Corporations of Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee: Odell & Owen, 1904; p. 236

Milwaukee pioneer historian James Smith Buck described Brown's final years as follows:Few men have ever lived in Milwaukee who were more widely known, or less thought of (when we take into consideration his ability, for he was a very smart man,) than William W. Brown. Had he devoted his talents to a proper use, his memory would have been respected; but he did not, and finally died, deserted and alone. I shall never forget the look of utter despair that sat upon his face as I met him for the last time, in October, 1871... wending his weary way to the European Hotel, which he never left again alive; it said plainly enough, "This is the end of a misspent life."... He died a few days later, and I remember the difficulty his few remaining friends (and I could name them all,) had, to get help enough to get his body from his room to the hearse.

At the time of his death (of "quick consumption"), he was described as "well known through the State as a great wag".

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