In 1805, the family moved to Hudson, Ohio. Owen Brown opened a tannery here. Hudson had a lot of anti-slavery activity. Owen was a part of it. Owen provided a safe house to Underground Railroad fugitives. There was not a high school in Hudson at that time, so John studied at the school of the abolitionist Elizur Wright. Elizur Wright was the father of Elizur Wright, in nearby Tallmadge.