Scottish immigrant John Brown (1842-1903) moved west after theological studies in New York, married Mary Jane Matthews Larn near Fort Griffin, and in 1884 became minister of Albany Presbyterian Church as West Texas farmers and ranchers struggled through a prolonged drought. Chosen by local leaders to seek money to buy seed wheat for small farmers, he left in August 1886 to appeal to financial institutions in eastern cities. As newspaper editors publicized his mission, some Texas editors and land and railroad promoters attacked it, fearing harm to the state's economic development, but his efforts helped secure several railroad cars of seed wheat for Texas and several thousand dollars from eastern Presbyterian churches. Arguing that drought relief was as appropriate as aid after hurricanes, Brown also appealed to Clara Barton and the American Red Cross. After returning home, he addressed the Texas legislature at the request of twenty-one counties, and a bill authorizing relief funds passed and was signed into law by Gov. L.S. (Sul) Ross. Meanwhile, the Red Cross sent clothing, household goods, and tools to Albany. In January 1887, Clara Barton toured Shackelford, Stephens, Young, and Callahan counties, and on her way home visited the Dallas Morning News and left a personal check for $20 to encourage the editor to raise more money for drought-stricken farmers. In 1887 Brown moved from Albany to Massachusetts, where he served in the state legislature, and he later wrote Twenty-Five Years a Parson in the Wild West.