What is known of this couple comes solely from two records. Willem, son of (J)eremia Brouwer and Margarita Hedickie, born 11,7br (September), was baptized in October of (presumably) 1766. This record is published in the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, volume 60, no. 2, page 127. The year for this baptism, as printed in the NYGBR is given as October 1776 which consists of a group of seventeen baptisms (nos. 664 to 680). However, the preceding group of baptisms were dated June 1766, while the group of baptisms following are dated June 1767. In looking over the collection of baptism records from the Schaghticoke church, it is apparent that baptisms were conducted twice a year, in the months of June and October (there are exceptions but this is the general pattern). Other then this instance where the year is recorded as 1776, all other records are in sequential order by date. Although I have not had the opportunity to check this against the original records, I believe that it is apparent that in this situation the year 1776 was a typographical error for 1766, and my assessment is that Willem was born 11 September 1766 and baptized in October 1766. The sponsors at the baptism were William Penier and Elisabeth Hooper (neither of whom have been researched further).
Abraham, son of Jeremia Brower and Marget Hegger (Hidickie), born 1 February 1774, was baptized in that year, the exact date not given. Abraham's record is one of the few in which no sponsors are recorded. (NYGBR vol. 60, no. 4, p. 360).
No other records have been found or identified as pertaining to this couple, Jeremia Brouwer/Brower and Margarita/Marget Hedickie/Hegger/Hidickie. Margaret, in fact, is not even included in the extensive index of names to the NYGBR that was compiled and published by Jean Worden in the 1990s.
Of interest is the appearance of a William Brewer and an Abraham Brewer on the 1798 assessment list at Plattsburgh, Clinton Co., New York. Plattsburgh, New York is on the western shore of Lake Champlain, directly across the lake from Alburgh, Vermont where Jeremiah Brower was enumerated on the 1790 (1791) U. S. census (in 1800 he was at Highgate, Vermont). William Brewer (Bruwer?) can be found on the 1800 U. S. census at Plattsburgh (Platts Borough), New York, with a household of 1 male under 10, 1 male 26-44, 2 females under 10 and 1 female 26-44.
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| William Brewer, 1800 US census, Platts Borough (Plattsburgh), New York |
In an indenture dated 1 February 1800, Rachel DeLong of Amsterdam, Montgomery Co., New York, widow and Lawrence Delong and Elizabeth his wife, Isaac Delong and Julia his wife, Abraham Delong and Electa his wife, Jacob Delong and Eunice his wife, all of Plattsburg in the County of Clinton and State aforesaid, also William Brewer and Hannah his wife, and James Delong all of Amsterdam aforesaid on the first part, and John Pierce of Plattsburg aforesaid on the second part...for consideration of the sum of fifteen hundred dollars...have conveyed...a certain Trace or parcel Land lying and being situate in the Town of Plattsburgh aforesaid being the west half of Lot number thirty nine in the allotments of Beeckman Patent...
The William Brewer in this deed has not been placed among the known Brouwer, Brower or Brewer families. His wife, Hannah (or Annatje) DeLong, was baptized on 29 August 1773 at the Reformed Dutch Church at Hopewell, Dutchess County, New York, the daughter of Peter DeLong and Rachel Lewis. William Brewer and Hannah DeLong had eight children born between 1793 and 1812, and Hannah died in 1813. By 1815, William was married to Asenath Hatch and they had five children born between 1815 and 1823. William Brewer is found on the 1810 U. S. census at Amsterdam, New York. In 1820, there are two men named William Brower found in Amsterdam, New York, both over the age of 45, and both with large households (one with nine persons, the other with eleven). In 1830 there are no men named William Brewer or Brower found at Amsterdam, New York. In 1840, William is enumerated at Copley, Summit Co., Ohio, with a household of nine persons. In 1850, William Brewer, age 80, born in New York, is at Copley, Ohio, with his wife, Asenath Brewer, age 68, and two daughters, Electa and Sarah, both born in New York. William Brewer died on 18 March 1856, age 86 and his buried at the Copley Cemetery.
All that is mentioned above is simply a group of facts that can be documented (see the profiles for each, with source citations, at the Brouwer Genealogy Database). We can add to this collection the mentions in previous posts of Isaac Brower (February 2, 2013), and Jacob Brewer, husband of Hannah Brandigo/Brandige (February 13, 2013), and with all of this, we have a list of questions still to be answered:
1- Is the Jeremiah Brower who married Margaret Hedickie (last known child in 1774, baptized at Schaghticoke), and the Jeremiah Brower who married Hannah Thomas (first known child in 1776, baptized at Schaghticoke) the same person? Common name, and same location at roughly the same time, coupled with the fact that no other known men named Jeremiah Brower have left evidence that they were in the area of Schaghticoke in the 1760s or 1770s, might lead us to conclude that they are. However, we still need that elusive piece of evidence that could link these two families with certainty.
2- Are the brothers William Brower and Abraham Brower, baptized in 1766 and 1774 at Schaghticoke, the same William Brewer and Abraham Brewer who appear on the same assessment list at Plattsburgh, New York in 1798?
3- There is an eight year gap between the baptism records of William (1766) and Abraham (1774). Were other children, unrecorded, born to Jeremiah Brower and Margaret Hedickie? Could the Isaac Brower/Brewer who appears with Jeremiah Brower on the 1795 roll of those who took the oath of allegiance, be an unrecorded son of Jeremiah Brower and Margaret Hedickie born between the years of 1766 and 1774?
4- Who is the Jacob Brewer who was married to Hannah Brandigo/Brandige, as mentioned in the will of Hannah's father, William Brandige? We believe that Jacob Brewer, born in 1782, son of Jeremiah Brower and Hannah Thomas, was married at Highgate to Elizabeth Stickney in 1802. Did Elizabeth die early on, and did her widower husband, Jacob Brewer, then marry Hannah Brandigo? Or, is this Jacob Brewer some other relation to Jeremiah Brower (a brother, nephew, or cousin)? Where did Jacob Brewer and Hannah Brandigo live, and what became of them after 1808?
5- Who are the members of Jacob Brewers household as recorded on the 1810 U. S. census at Highgate, Vermont? There was one male under 10, one male 10-15, one male 15-26 (presumed to be the head of household, Jacob Brewer, age possibly understated), two females under 10, one female 10-15, and one female 15-26. Could some of these persons (presumably children of Jacob) actually be children that have since been attributed to the family of Jeremiah Brower and Hannah Thomas?
6- Is the William Brewer who married Hannah DeLong, whose family had property in Plattsburgh, New York, the same William who was assessed there in 1798?
7- And finally, what did become of all those mentioned above? What actually became of Jeremiah Brouwer and Margaret Hedickie's sons William and Abraham? What became of Isaac Brower/Brewer? Did any of them leave descendants who are searching for their ancestral Brower or Brewer connection today?
BGB 250
Hi! Fascinating research! And well written! I'd like to make a comment about the Willem Brouwer baptism record of Oct 23, 1766. I know a little about the sponsors, William Penier (Penoyer) and Elizabeth Hooper. Elizabeth Hooper, who was married to Penoyer, seems to have been the daughter of loyalist Stephen Hooper, also of Newtown (specifically Round Lake). "Wm Penoyer" appears as a witness to Stephen Hooper's will.
ReplyDeleteStephen's other sister, appears to have been my gggg-grandmother, Jeanette Hooper. Jeanette's husband was Francis Waggoner, also a Newtown loyalist whose property was confiscated. They settled early in Alburgh, VT and their eldest child, John Waggoner, (my ancestor) later lived in Dunham, QC--and if I remember correctly is on the Potton list you mentioned.
However, he is not the same John Waggoner (also a loyalist) who lived in Highgate. The Highgate Waggoner, who had three daughters, died in 1798. He is often confused with my ancestor (who may have been a nephew) and died in 1819 in Queenston, Canada, soon after he left Dunham.
This John Waggoner and a few of his siblings also appear in the Schaghitcoke Reformed Church baptismal records as well. MyJohn was the first baptized in 1770, and his sponsor were John and Mary Hooper (likely Stephen's brother). In fact, all the other Hoopers (all shown as "Hopper") who appear in the 1752-1855 Schaghticoke records are related to Elizabeth the sponsor of your Willem Brouwer. The last Waggoner-Hooper baptism occurred in 1778.
From your research I learned that Stephen Hooper, who was likely born in New Jersey, may have migrated for the same reasons as your Jeremiah Brouwer--military service in the French Indian War. Hooper also had a son named Jeremiah. I have no idea where that name comes from either.
Anyway, thanks for your great work! I really enjoyed reading all of it.
Linda Waggoner
Linda, thanks for the comments. The Stephen Hooper you mentioned is someone who I looked into some years ago, and he has been put on the back-burner for some time. Eventually, I hope to get back to him. I don't doubt that Stephen Hooper and Jeremiah Brower knew each other during the time they both lived in the area of Half Moon. And it may be that the Hooper and Brower/Brewer families linked up again in the early twentieth century in Rochester, New York.
ReplyDeleteOn June 8, 1910, at Rochester, Walter E. Brewer married Edna Hooper. They were the parents of Ruth Catherine Brewer (see the post of August 3, 2012). Walter E. Brewer is a great-great grandson of Jeremiah Brower. Edna Hooper's ancestry can be traced to her great-grandfather James Hooper who was born between 1790 and 1800. In 1830 James Hooper is on the census at Fayette, Seneca Co., New York, aged 30-40. You mention Stephen Hooper's will which was written in 1808. It went to probate in 1810 at the Seneca County Surrogate's Court and Stephen Hooper is referred to as "late of the town of Junius." The town of Junius was set off from Fayette (originally called Washington) in 1803. I suspect, but have not found evidence to the effect, that James Hooper is grandson of Stephen Hooper.
Hi Chris,
ReplyDeleteI think it's very possible James was the son of William Hooper who died in 1814. He also had a son, William, didn't he? Note that Pontius Hooper, Stephen Hooper's son, was "granted administration" for a William Hooper's estate who died in 1814. The excerpt below the first one may also refer to him:
HOOPER Wm., deceased. Petition dated 6 Sept. 1814 Pontius Hooper, tn Junius granted administration. Page 80. [ttp://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nyseneca/booka.htm]
On June 25, 1814, a command known as "Colonel Dobbin's Regiment" was organized at Batavia, and proceeded to the frontier. Among the officers were Colonel Hugh W. Dobbin, Majors Lee and Madison, and Adjutant Lodowick Dobbin. Two companies went from Seneca; one from Ovid commanded by Captain Hathaway; the other from Junius, officered by Captain William Hooper and Lieutenant Thomas W. Roosevelt. . . . This regiment enlisted for six months, and were called New York Volunteers; they marched from Batavia to Black Rock, where they were joined by a regiment of Pennsylvania volunteers and a body of Seneca warriors placed under the command of General P. Porter. The battle of Chippewa was fought shortly after their arrival . . . Scott's brigade crossed the Niagara River on July 3, and captured Fort Erie; then advanced upon the British, who were encamped behind the Chippewa, a deep, still stream which runs at eight angles to the Niagara . . . The enemy, elated by the success, received the attack by Scott with coolness, and the combat became furious. Major Jessup was seat, with the Twenty-fifth regulars, to turn the enemy's right wing; . . . The battle of Bridgewater or the Cataract soon followed. A number of days passed, and the British, falling back, manuevered their force to deceive in regard to their ultimate designs, and . . . began to land troops at Lewiston . . . To prevent this General Scott, with a part of the army, was sent to menace the forces at Queenstown. About sundown, July 25, Scott encountered and hotly engaged the entire British army. . . . Stimualated by the voices and example of Colonel Dobbin, Major Wood, of the Pennsylvania volunteers, and other officers, those now but courageous troops precipitated themselves upon the British line and made all the prisoners taken ath this poin of the action. Captain Hooper was killed during the engagement, which lasted far into the night, and a romantic asssociation is given to the battle fought by moonlight--the roar of the cannon answered by the solemn sound of Niagara's falling masses. . . . The present sole survivor of Captain Hooper's company is Jason Smith, a veteran of over eighty years, a life-resident of the town of Tyre . . . His discharge, printed upon plain paper, is headed "Honor to the Brave," it certifies that his duty was faithfully and honorably discharged, and is signed by H. W. Dobbin, colonel commanding. [History of Secenca Co., googlebooks.com, page 35]
Linda
Linda, You may very well be correct. Stephen Hooper had sons named John, William, Pontious, Stephen, Jeremiah, and Lawrence. We know that James Hooper is not a son of Pontious or Lawrence, but none of the other four can yet be ruled out. Although the Seneca County Surrogate's office has Stephen (the elder) Hooper's will and the administration letter for William Hooper, there are no probate documents for any of the others (Lawrence did not live in Seneca Co., and Jeremiah (Jerry) is found in nearby Cayuga Co. as an adult. There are a number of land records (deeds) involving members of the Hooper family in Seneca Co., pre 1850, and these will have to be looked at with the hope that there may be some genealogical info within them. In his will, Stephen Hooper left three of his sons (William, Stephen and Jeremiah) thirty acres of his land (each) in the town of Junius. The other sons (John, Pontious and Lawrence) and the daughters (Jane, Mary and Martha) each received two dollars (I'm left with the impression that this second group of three sons had already established themselves).
DeleteThanks for the links, and especially for pointing out the account of Capt. William Hooper in History of Seneca County, New York. Which can also be found online at Internet Archives (https://archive.org/details/historyofsenecac00phil, see page 35). William was apparently killed in 1814, during the War of 1812, at Black Rock (which was the name of the village at that time that later became Buffalo, NY). Hopefully, we can find more to determine whether or not he had children, and if one of them was James Hooper. If not, we also have the sons, Stephen and Jeremiah to consider.
Thanks again.