William Montgomery Brown (September 4, 1855 – October 31, 1937), sometimes called "Bad Bishop" Brown, was an Episcopal clergyman and author. Brown, of Galion, Ohio, was consecrated a bishop of the Episcopal Church, but is best remembered as the first Episcopal bishop to be tried for heresy since the Reformation, and the first of any creed in America to be deposed for heretical teachings. He later became a bishop in an Independent Old Catholic body.
Biography
William Montgomery Brown was born on September 4, 1855, on a farm west of Orrville, Ohio, the son of a Joseph Morrison and Lucina Elzina Cary Brown. His father was a tenant farmer who moved the family to Michigan in 1858, and later enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War. Joseph Brown served in Tennessee before becoming ill, and was sent home to recuperate. He died on August 1, 1862. His mother moved the family back to Ohio, and "Willy" was "hired out" to a farmer who did not treat the boy well and neglected to provide for his education.
When Willy was 15, the county placed him with a farmer named Jacob Gardner, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Gardner's piety greatly influenced young Brown. During this time he became seriously ill with typhoid fever. Years later Brown recalled making a bargain with God to devote his life to the ministry if his life would be spared. His health improved and he saved enough from the money his foster parents paid him to leave Ohio just after his 21st birthday. In 1876, Brown traveled to Omaha, Nebraska and got a job driving a carriage for a judge, who arranged for Brown to enter public school. After graduating, Brown returned to Ohio and worked in a tannery.
