John T. Browne
| John Thomas Browne | |
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Portrait of John Thomas Browne, mayor of Houston, Texas
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| Mayor of Houston | |
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In office 1892–1896 |
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| Preceded by | Henry Scherffius |
| Succeeded by | Horace Baldwin Rice |
| Texas House of Representatives | |
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In office 1897-1899, 1907 – 1907 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | March 23, 1845 Ballylanders, County Limerick, Ireland |
| Died | August 19, 1941 (96 years, 149 days) Houston, Texas |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Jane "Mollie" (Bergin) Browne |
| Residence | Houston, Texas |
| Profession | Businessman |
John Thomas Browne (1845–1941) was an Irish-born merchant and politician. He served on the Houston City Council, served two terms as Mayor of Houston, and served three terms in the Texas House of Representatives.
John Thomas Browne was born March 23, 1845 in Ballylanders, County Limerick, Ireland to Michael and Winifred (Hennessy) Browne. His family emigrated to the United States in October 1851. Not long after arriving in New Orleans, his father died. In 1852, Winifred relocated with her five children to Houston, Texas to be closer to family of her mother. Winifred's Irish uncle, Patrick Hayes, was an herbal medicine doctor and farmer in Madison County, Texas.
Browne spent much of the 1850s on Spann Plantation in Washington County, Texas at the behest of Father Gunnard, where he also received an education. At age fourteen in 1859, he left the plantation, and found work hauling bricks in Madison County, Texas. He returned to Houston to first work as a baggage hauler, then performed messenger duties for Commercial and Southwestern Express Company before settling in at the Houston and Texas Central Railroad. The 1860 Census listed John residing with his mother in Houston's Fourth Ward.
Correction: The tombstone of Mayor John T. Browne in the City of Houston actually states that he served in Company A, 36 Texas Cavalry. Family history passed down that he was seriously wounded in a major battle of the Civil War, but recovered fully. Browne joined the Confederacy, officially serving in Company B of the Second Texas Infantry. He served in Houston, detached from his unit, maintaining employment with the Houston and Texas Central Railroad, but in a new capacity as a fireman. He was briefly dispatched to the defense of Galveston, Texas. He was officially released from military duty in Houston on June 27, 1865.
Browne returned to messenger service in Houston after the Civil War. He worked for Adams Express Company, then for Southern Express Company. He transitioned into the grocery business first as a bookkeeper and clerk for H.P. Levy.
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