By 1814 Jesse found employment at a tannery 15 miles away in Ravenna, Ohio, owned by the wealthy Owen Brown (father of the famous John Brown who led the raid at Harpers Ferry). Owen was a cattle breeder and land speculator who operated a successful tannery in Hudson, Ohio. Owen was a stout and outspoken abolitionist and Jesse often listened to his public orations against slavery, where he became familiar with and supportive of the cause. During this time Jesse lived under the same roof as John Brown, became friends and came to know his abolitionist philosophy. Later in life Jesse would describe John Brown as "a man of great purity of character, of high moral and physical courage, but a fanatic and extremist in whatever he advocated."