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The love and reverence of his friends and the implicit, unquestioning trust and assurance of all who knew him were but the spontaneous tribute to great ability and courteous sympathy.

He has been the inspiration of not a few persons, and the love and gratitude of many people follow him to the hereafter.

-From the Barre Gazette, May 13, 1892.-

George Brown was born in Wilton, N. H., October 11, 1823. His parents were Ephraim and Sarah (King) Brown, who belonged to that hardy New Hampshire farming stock which has furnished so many able men and women to the country.

He fitted at Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., then entered Burlington College, Vermont. Upon graduating from College, he chose the profession of medicine, and studied with Dr. Norman Smith, of Groton Mass., also attending lectures on medical topics at Jefferson College, Philadelphia, and the University of New York. Previous to entering upon the duties of his profession he also spent a year at Bellevue Hospital.

He came to Barre in 1850, and soon became a prominent young physician. Had he remained in the direct practice of medicine he would undoubtedly have ranked high in his chosen profession, but another and greater work was ready for his guiding hand and mind, the work that has given him prominence the world over. In June, 1848, Dr. Hervey B. Wilbur had started an Institution for Feeble Minded Youth, which was located in the building now known as the Jenkins' house, on Pleasant street. It was the first institution of the kind founded in this country, if not in the world, and was wholly a new experiment. In three years Dr. Wilbur had secured fourteen pupils, and had seen one or two other institutions of the kind founded in the country. In September, 1851, Dr. Brown became successor of Dr. Wilbur, who went to Albany, N. Y., at a call from that state to take charge of a public institution. From this small beginning in the heart of the old Commonwealth of Massachusetts, these institutions, doing so much good for mankind, have increased until there are numerous private ones, and eighteen states have public asylums accommodating between 6000 and 7000 pupils.

Dr. Brown entered upon his new work with that energy and pluck which has so characterized the man, and in two years his success had outgrown his accommodations; he was obliged to remove to a larger building, which was, accordingly, done in 1853. The house to which the Institution was moved was built by Willard Broad, and was the nucleus of the main building, as it stands at present. Almost constant additions have been made, and to-day the Institution is the largest private one in the country, with applications for admission from other countries, although the number has been kept within the limits of 100, that better facilities could be granted those in attendance.

Dr. Brown married, November 28, 1850, Catharine Wood, of Groton, Mass., who has been his constant aid and support through all these years.

Their son. Dr. Geo. A. Brown, has also been connected with the Institution since 1884.

Dr. Brown was not content with carrying out his own ideas, exclusive of what knowledge could be obtained by contact, comparison, and an interchange of opinions, thus he became a traveler of considerable extent. He visited nearly every State and Territory in the Union, and in 1873 made a four months' tour of Europe, visiting many public, and the most noted private Institutions for Feeble Minded. His reputation had preceded him, and his welcome was such as a pioneer in a great work should receive from his fellow-laborers for good. In the year 1884 he visited the Pacific coast, and spent three months in travel through the west and northwest. In January, 1889, he again went to Europe, making a circuit of the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, including a considerable stay in Palestine and Egypt.

He was an original member of the New England Psychological Society, for many years a councillor of the Massachusetts Medical Society, in 1889 president of the Worcester County Medical Society, also a member of the National Association of Superintendents of Asylums for the Insane, and a member and former president of the Association of American Superintendents of Institutions for Feeble Minded Youth, contributing valuable papers at different meetings. In his profession he was pre-eminently at the front. His life was substantially devoted to a study of how best to provide comfort and permanent help for the unfortunate ones committed to his charge. His was a pioneer work, for, at the time he became proprietor of the Institution here, nothing had been written in this country on the subject with which he was to deal, and there was but one authority in the world, -- Dr. Seguin, of France, whose book was not then known outside of his own language.

In the affairs of his adopted town he took an especial interest, and was always a leader in any local enterprise which should be for the benefit or beauty of the town. He was not an office-seeker, but, on the other hand, always refused to accept any office that his fellow-townsmen would have elected him to. He frequently served as moderator in the town meeting, and was a member of the school board for a few years; but beyond that no local office was accepted. In matters connected with the upbuilding of the town, he was ever active and ready to stand the burden in the accomplishment of any enterprise. Largely through his personal efforts and influence Barre secured her railroad advantages through the Massachusetts Central railroad. He was the prime mover in establishing and locating the Glen Valley Cemetery, which to-day owes its existence to his energy. He was the efficient President of that Association from the day of its birth. The beautiful soldiers' monument in the north park is another of the results of his efforts, and, as chairman of the Monument Commission, he served the people in an important measure. In educational progress he was ever on the alert, and lent his influence on the side of popular education, thus the people of Barre found no more efficient trustee of the Public Library than Dr. Brown. "When, in 1874, the town celebrated its 100th anniversary, his fellow townsmen could find no more prominent citizen to honor, and they chose him President of the day. In religion, he was a Congregationalist, and for forty years has served on the Parish Committee of the church of that denomination here. Where will he not be missed? In the Institution he did so much for, there his genial face will be missed; on the streets his kindly greeting will not be heard again; in the homes of hundreds who relied on his judgment, and entrusted their unfortunate to his care, his welcome assurance and advice will not be forthcoming; in the church, schools, everywhere, in fact, there is a vacant place; but the memory of a man who did so much, and was so much to everybody, is here, and will remain for generations. The funeral occurred Monday afternoon. All places of business were closed, and the Congregational Church was crowded. Rev. A. F. Bailey read appropriate selections, and Rev. J. F. Gaylord and Rev. Edwin Smith spoke on the character and works of the deceased. We cannot better close this sketch of a great life, than by giving tributes to the departed from two of his fellow townsmen.