 Owen was one of the founders of Hudson's school, the Western Reserve College and Preparatory School, which would soon (1832–33) become consumed with and torn apart by the issue of slavery (see Beriah Green and Lane Rebels).Owen also became a supporter of the Oberlin Institute in its early stage, but was ultimately critical of the school's "Perfectionist" leanings, especially renowned in the preaching and teaching of Charles Finney and Asa Mahan.Brown withdrew his membership from the Congregational church in the 1840s and never officially joined another church, but both he and his father were fairly conventional evangelicals for the period with its focus on the pursuit of personal righteousness.