Marriage and financial prosperity

For John Brown, the years 1820 through 1831 were successful ones. He wed the pleasant Dianthe Lusk around 1820, and John Jr., their first child, was born about a year later. John Brown, his wife Dianthe, and their son moved to New Richmond, Pennsylvania, five years later. They had a 200-acre homestead.

Another tannery was constructed on John Brown's property, but this one included a house, a barn, and a secret room used by fugitive slaves. As a result, the tannery was a crucial stop on the Underground Railroad, a system of safe homes and undiscovered routes that fleeing slaves used to travel to the Free States. During his stay in Pennsylvania, Brown supposedly assisted 2500 enslaved people; the structure was destroyed in 1907, but the location is now a museum that is open to the public and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1836, Brown relocated his family back to Ohio. The tannery employed 15 people full-time during its first year of operation. Cowboys were also used by Brown to take care of his animals. He was a kind donor who assisted the people of New Richmond in getting a brand-new post office.