John Calvin Brown was born in the same house as his brother Neill on June 1, 1827. After enlisting for the Confederacy in 1861, he was twice wounded and commanded a division at the end of the war. He served in the 1869 Legislature and as president of the 1870 Constitutional Convention, then was elected Governor that year and again in 1872. He died on Aug. 17, 1889, and was buried in Pulaski.