James junior worked as a gardener under his father at Stowe and at the second annual meeting of the Buckingham Horticultural Society he won a prize for the four largest gooseberries (Jackson's Oxford Journal August 4th 1827). In 1828 he published an article in the Gardener's Magazine on protecting peas from mice and in February 1834 he published an article in Volume 3 of the Horticultural Register ‘Propagation and culture of the common laurel'.
James married Ellen Taylor in 1834 and the couple are known to have had eleven children all born in Aynhoe between 1836 and 1854.
In 1838, James published comments ‘on planting trees', in The Farmer's Magazine Vol 8, p358/359, where he was stated to be gardener to W R Cartwright MP. W R Cartwright died in 1847.
James continued to work for the Cartwrights of Aynhoe, probably until his death in 1859. He is mentioned in Jackson's Oxford Journal Sept 11th 1847 and Sept 15th 1849 as winning prizes at the Deddington Horticultural Show, where it was stated that he was gardener to Sir Thomas Cartwright. Sir Thomas died in 1850. In 1852 he is mentioned as the person to see at Aynhoe regarding sale of trees on the estate of W C Cartwright (Jackson's Oxford Journal Dec 11th 1852). In 1854 plans for alterations to farm buildings in Hinton and Newbottle could be seen at his address in Aynhoe (Jackson's Oxford Journal July 15th 1854). The latter two advertisements suggest James may, by this time, have become more than just a gardener.
James died in 1859. His widow Ellen continued to live on in the Rectory in Aynhoe, home of the Rector of Aynhoe Frederick William Cartwright. Ellen died in 1876.
This branch of the Brown family is believed to have died out as none of James' children appear to have had children of their own.
Biography contributed by Michael Statham, 21/02/2012