On 16 February 1875, Brown married Amy Frances Howard, with whom he would have three sons and four daughters. In January 1876, Maitland Brown's brother Kenneth murdered his wife in a drunken argument. Maitland was prominent in the family's unsuccessful attempt to mount a defence of diminished responsibility, sparing neither his personal privacy nor his standing in the community in the failed attempt to save his brother from execution. Perceiving that his standing in the community had been damaged by the trial, Brown resigned his seat in the Council in March. He was persuaded to renominate, however, and was re-elected unopposed on 22 July.