256 THE PORTRAIT GALLERY 
A BUILDER OF CORNBELT AGRICULTURE 
99. The beginnings of Illinois cattle breeding were laid in 
the days when early Kentuckians crossed over the Ohio to con- 
quer the fertile prairies of Illinois. Typical of this pioneer type 
both as to influence for the future on the state’s farm practice 
and as to the heritage in worthy descendants who carried for- 
ward the pioneer ideal was Caprain James NicHoLas Brown 
of Grove Park in Sangamon County. 
Captain Brown was born October 3, 1806, in Fayette Co., 
Kentucky, amid the pastoral greens of fields early famous for 
their contribution to American livestock. He was Captain of 
militia in his native state but early acquired the taste for Short- 
horn cattle under the inspiration of his maternal uncles, of the 
famous Kentucky WarFiELD family. In 1834 with his father 
he drove his herd from Kentucky to Illinois. So successful was 
he on his better animals, even prior to this date, that he had 
received numerous prizes, treasured heirlooms in the family to 
the present time. CapTaIn Brown was the first apostle of the 
truth that the most profit in a permanent agriculture comes 
from marketing good grass and good corn in the form of good 
cattle. He was essentially a farmer and gradually extended 
his interests to Berkshire swine and Southdown sheep. He was 
a member of the State Legislatures of 1840, 1842, 1846 and 
1853, a colleague and friend of ABRAHAM LINCOLN. From this 
position he lent notable assistance in organizing the Illinois 
State Agricultural Society, and was elected its first president. 
So interested was he in the welfare of agriculture, that in present- 
ing the case for state appropriations for this purpose before the 
legislature, he said: “So you will know I stand for this heart and 
soul, I will duplicate dollar for dollar any appropriation you 
may make.” His earnestness carried the day, and the initial 
appropriation of $3,000 was matched by Capt. Brown. 
