Spencer Kellogg Brown was born August 17, 1842 in Kansas. His family moved to Missouri. In retaliation for what was known as the Pottawatomie Massacre, pro-slavery forces sacked Osawatomie on August 30, 1856 August. Spencer's family house was burned to the ground during the raid, and Spencer was captured and taken to Lafayette County, Missouri, for several weeks. Brown was a soldier in the Union Army, and served as a spy for the Union. Brown was executed by the Confederate States of America on September 25, 1863.