Sunset at Gowanus Bay

Sunset at Gowanus Bay
Sunset at Gowanus Bay, Henry Gritten, 1851

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Dutch Congregations of Freehold and Middletown, GMNJ vol. 37

Records of the Dutch Congregations of Freehold and Middletown (Monmouth Co.) New Jersey, continue in volume 37 of the Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey. The records begin with Church Officers in 1765, 1766, 1767, 1787, 1789 to 1799, 1801 to 1806, 1808 to 1817. This is followed by a short description of the Pastorate of Samuel A. Van Vranken, 1818-1834. Baptism records are then included for 2 May 1818 and 28 June 1818 which are comprised of twelve baptisms that include birth dates. This is followed by Marriages 1818 to 1824. There is then a brief description of the Pastorate of James Otterson, 1834-1838. Baptisms then pick up with the year 1835 and run to 1839. We then have marriages from 1834 to 1838, followed by a list of members recorded December 1834. A "Statement of the Congregation of Freehold in Novr. 1836," at 37:22 includes the number of children in each member's family. This list also includes the location at which each member lived. A description of the Pastorate of Aaron A. Marcellus, 1839-1851 follows at 37:138, then baptisms continue with 29 June 1839 and end with 28 May 1843 (dates of birth are included). All and all, a lot of different records for the community for a period of time in which records from Monmouth County are otherwise scarce.

Reformed Dutch Congregations of Freehold and Middltown, GMNJ vol. 37 (1962)

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Saturday, April 20, 2013

Children of Peter Brewer and Hannah Sanborn: Sylvester Brewer

Sylvester Brewer, born 12 August 1804 at Highgate, Vermont, is believed to be a son of Peter Brewer and Hannah Sanborn. The date and place is from the History of Jefferson County, Wisconsin, page 639, which does not state the names of his parents. Sylvester Brewer's death certificate in Wisconsin gives his date of death as 18 or 19 December 1879, age 75, but then records his date of birth as 12 August 1819, the year clearly being incorrect and inconsistent with his age at death. The place of his birth and names of parents is not stated. He died in Jefferson County, Wisconsin. It is possible that Sylvester is a son of one of Peter Brewer's brothers, such as Jacob Brewer. But since few records can be found to substantiate Jacob Brewer's family, and since Sylvester did name a son, Peter, we place Sylvester as a probable son of Peter Brewer and Hannah Sanborn pending the appearance of any evidence to the contrary.

Sylvester Brewer was married twice and may have had as many as thirteen children between his two wives. He lived at Highgate, Vermont, in Pennsylvania, in Trumbull Co., Ohio, and finally at Jefferson, Jefferson Co., Wisconsin. He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Jefferson, Wisconsin.

Sylvester Brewer is found on the 1830 census at Highgate, Vermont, with a household of 1 male under age 5, 1 male age 10-15, 1 male 20-30 (himself), 1 female 10-15, 1 female 20-30, and 1 female 60-70. The two children aged 10-15 illustrate the difficultly in working with the earlier census records in which only the head of household is named. The ages given tell us that these two children were born between 1815 and 1820. Sylvester himself, born in 1804, was only sixteen in 1820, and therefore these two children cannot be his.

Sylvester's first wife was Elizabeth Armstrong, and according to the above mentioned History of Jefferson County, Wisconsin, which was published in 1879, the year of Sylvester's death, they had four children: Alphonso, Franklin, Horatio and Elizabeth, with Alphonso and Horatio deceased prior to 1879. Sylvester probably provided this information to the publisher himself, although some of it has been difficult to confirm through other records. Missing from this biography is Sylvester and Elizabeth's first child, a son named Sidney Howard Brewer who is buried in Highgate, Vermont with the inscription: "This Lonley Babe so Young & Fair / Cut Off By Early Doom / Just Come to Shew, How Sweet a Flower / In Paradise Would Bloom" son of Sylvester and Elizabeth Brewer, "who departed this life August 10th 1831 aged 17 months and 4 days." (McLellan Cemetery Records  for Franklin Co.. Vermont Historical Society, Barre, Vermont).

Of the four children mentioned, Franklin and Horatio Brewer can be traced. Neither Alphonso or Elizabeth are recorded with Sylvester's family on the 1850 census (at Jefferson, Jefferson Co., Wisconsin), nor has any other record, that can be attributed to either one, been identified. We accept their existence based upon the account found in the History of Jefferson County, Wisconsin (1879) and have to assume that they were born some time between 1832 and 1842, and either died at a young age, or left home as teenagers.

The son Franklin, is found almost exclusively in later records as Frank B. Brewer, with one source stating his name as Frank Bradley Brewer. As mentioned in the biography of Sylvester Brewer, he was a physician, apparently the first of many among the descendants of Sylvester Brewer. Frank B. Brewer was born on 6 August 1831, most probably at Highgate, Vermont. In 1850 he is found as a single man in Fountain Prairie, Columbia Co., Wisconsin, enumerated in the household of Marvin Sturges, a farmer. No occupation is recorded for Frank. Probably in 1860, he married Josephine Miner, who was only sixteen at the time. She was born in New York, probably in Cayuga County (central New York, Finger Lakes region), a daughter of James and Arminda Miner. Frank and Josephine lived at Hebron, Jefferson Co., Wisconsin; Chicago, Illinois; Fairbury, Livingston Co., Illinois; and Evanston, Illinois. They had two sons, Frank Miner Brewer (1864-1911) and Clyde S. Brewer (1874-1925), both of who were physicians, were married and have descendants. Numerous members of the these families are buried at Hebron Cemetery in Hebron, Wisconsin. Frank B. Brewer died 12 May 1908, and Josephine died 25 January 1925.

Horatio Brewer, according to census records, was born about 1836 in Pennsylvania. He served during the Civil War as a private in Company E, Wisconsin 28th Infantry, from 15 August 1862 to 8 June 1865. He was married to Submit Lockwood, lived in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, had two children, and died 8 April 1869. His children were Irene M. Brewer, born Nov 1859, married John H. Wait and relocated to Portland, Oregon, and Robert C. Brewer, born about 1862, married Carrie Quick and lived at Fort Atkinson, Jefferson Co., Wisconsin. Horatio's wife, Submit Lockwood, later married Charles J. Collier in Wisconsin and was living in 1900 in Portland, Oregon.

Sylvester Brewer has not yet been located on the 1840 U. S. census. However, he did marry his second wife, Sarah Hake, on 7 May 1840 in Trumbull County, Ohio. There are a number of Hake heads of households found in Trumbull Co. in 1840, and perhaps Sylvester and his new wife are included within one of those families. Sylvester and Sarah (Hake) Brewer had eight children, and the dates of their birth are given in the History of Jefferson County, Wisconsin (1879), page 639. From at least 1850 onward, Sylvester and Sarah lived at Jefferson, Jefferson Co., Wisconsin.

Of the eight children of Sylvester and Sarah, only daughter Leah did not marry. She was born in 1841 and died in 1868.

Of the remaining seven children, son Daniel (1843-1933) married first Rosetta C. Smith, from whom he was divorced. He married second, Lottie Jean Rogers, and they had one daughter, Bethel R. Brewer who married Andrew Bertrum Claudon. Daniel was a physician and lived at Fairbury, Livingston Co., Illinois.

Margetta Brewer, who's name also is recorded as Maryette and Marietta, was born in 1843, according to her Wisconsin death certificate, or in 1845, according to the biography in History of Jefferson County, Wisconsin. She died in 1907. Margetta was first married to Fredrick Gustave Weber (or Webber) and they had four or five children. In 1870, the couple is enumerated in the household of her father, Sylvester Brewer, at Jefferson, Wisconsin. With them are two sons, William, age 2, and Arthur, age 1. Their surname is spelled WEBBER, and her husband is recorded as Gustavus Webber. In 1880, Fredrick G. Weber and Margett Weber are found in Chicago, Illinois with daughters Edith and Mary Weber, ages 8 and 4 respectively. In the same year, the sons William and Arthur are recorded as William BREWER and Orlow BREWER, and are enumerated in the household of the widow Sarah (Hake) Brewer in Jefferson, Wisconsin. Fredrick G. Weber may have died during the decade of the 1880s, and in 1891 she married, as Mariett Weber, Thomas Spry, who was a widower and about 20 years her senior. In 1900 they are found at Koshkonong, Jefferson Co., Wisconsin and in the household are her daughters, Edith Barton, called a widow, and Mary Webber, single, age given as 17. In 1905, as Maryetta Spry, divorced, she is the head of household at Fort Atkinson, Jefferson Co., Wisconsin, with daughters Edith BREWER, age 34, and Mary W. BREWER, age 22. The sisters, Edith and Mary, apparently lived together for the remainder of their lives and are found together on the census records of 1910, 1920, 1930 and 1940 in either Fort Atkinson or Koshonong, Wisconsin. Curriously, Edith is always called Edith BREWER, while Mary is Mary WEBBER. Mary died in 1940 and Edith in 1946. As mentioned, the sonWilliam Webber, died in 1923 at San Antonio, Texas. He is buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. Whether or not he married has not yet been discovered. The son Arthur, or Orlow, Webber, was married to Mary Alice McLean, usually referred to as simply, Alice, on the census. They were at Chicago, Illinois in 1900, at Goldfield, Esmeralda Co., Nevada in 1910, and back in Chicago in 1920. One daughter, Hester Lilly Webber, was born on 18 March 1902 in Cook Co., Illinois. There is a badly worn gravemarker in Evergreen Cemetery, for which a submitter to Find-A-Grave posted the deceased as "Orion O. Brewer, 1869-1903." This may be Arthur/Orlow's grave, though he was clearly alive in 1920. A bit more research, and a look at the records of the cemetery, is needed here. I suspect that Margetta had two daughters named Mary. One appears on the 1880 census age 4, and she probably died young, as all records pertaining found later pertaining to Mary Webber, point to her being born in 1883.

Peter Brewer (1846-1938) was born in Ohio, lived at Jefferson, Wisconsin, and is buried in Evergreen Cemetery. He married Louise Pfiefer (1855-1934) in 1883. They had one daughter, Hazel Lulu Brewer, born 12 June 1889 at Jefferson, Wisconsin. She was married to John Paul Shultis (Schultis, Shultes, etc.) about 1912, and they had five daughters born between 1913 and 1924 (Viola, Mabel, Bernice, Ruth and June). Hazel Lulu and John Paul were divorced by 1930. She lived at Jefferson, Wisconsin and died there in 1976. John Paul Shultis registered for the draft in 1942, while living at Josephine, Oregon.

Sylvester H. Brewer (1852-1937) also lived his entire life at Jefferson, Wisconsin. He married Margarith Pfiefer (1858-1937) in 1879. Their one child, a daughter, Mary Brewer, was born 26 July 1886 at Jefferson. She married Raymond Jung (also spelled YOUNG) in 1905. He was born in 1884 and died in 1960. Mary died in 1983 and they lived at Jefferson, and had four children, Malvin/Melvin, Floyd, Wesley and Josephine.

Sarah Brewer, born 10 January 1853, was married to Elias J. Hayner on 13 October 1885 in Jefferson County. He died on 1 May 1896 in Rock Co., Wisconsin. I have been unable to locate Sarah after her marriage, and I have not found any children.

Cynthia Brewer (1855-1944) was married in 1879 to James W. Roe. They lived at Koshkonong, Wisconsin and had eight children, Arminda, Roy, Elias, Leonard, Jessie, Charles, Sidney, and James B. Marriages have been found for Arminda (to Bert Cunitz) and Leonard (to Christine Lemke), and there appear to be marriages for a few of the others.

Jay B. Brewer, born 13 January 1859, was married twice. First to Mary E. Koss in 1881, and they had two children. She died in 1906, and about 1908, Jay Brewer married Cora Ludemann. Jay B. Brewer was a physician and surgeon, and lived at Jefferson, Wisconsin. Further info on his daughter, Maude E. Brewer, born in 1884, has not been found after the 1900 census. His son Jay Claude Brewer (1889-1966) was also a physician and was married to Beulah Clark about 1924 (no children found). Jay B. Brewer died on 13 April 1932 from injuries sustained in a automobile crash in 1931. His second wife died in 1955. Jay Claude Brewer and his wife Beulah, were both killed in a car crash on 11 September 1966.

A good deal of the records and information gathered on the descendants of Sylvester Brewer and his two wives was gathered through the use of Ancestry.com. You are welcome to toggle through his descendants there (Sylvester Brewer). Additional info has been added to the Brouwer Genealogy Database which was updated yesterday.

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Friday, April 19, 2013

Brouwer Genealogy Database Update

The Brouwer Genealogy Database has been updated.

This update includes the addition of a new participant in the Brewer DNA Project who is a descendant of Jan Brouwer of Flatlands, Long Island. The participant's earliest known ancestor is Isaac Brewer/Brower of Monmouth County, New Jersey who was married to Styntje Van Brunt. Isaac Brewer's ancestry back to Jan Brouwer has not been determined, however, the particpants Y-DNA test results confirm, without a doubt, that Jan Brouwer of Flatlands is their ancestor. The participant is most closely related (genetically) to those descended from Jan Brouwer and Aegje Sprong. The test results and a link to a chart can be found on the Jan Brouwer DNA Results page.

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Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Names of Dutch Settlers in Esopus

"Names of Dutch Settlers in Esopus" was published in the Yearbook of the Holland Society of New York, 1897. It is a list compiled from old court records of Wildwijck, later known as Kingston, New York. It was created from the work of Dingman Versteeg who at the time was translating the original records from Dutch for the "Ulster County authorities," according to the Holland Society's introduction to the list.

The list begins with a few marriage records, then is followed a list of early settlers arranged alphabetically by surname or patronymic. There is a year in which each settler first appeared, and for some, a few more specifics. It is sixteen pages long. The copy below is a PDF of scanned pages that were photocopied and provided to me by William B. Bogardus.

Names of Dutch Settlers in Esopus

Some of the old Holland Society Yearbooks are available online in digital format either at Google Books or at Internet Archive. I have not been able to find the 1897 edition, except for this one listing at Google Books which does not have the full text.

Yearbook of the Holland Society of New York, 1897 at Google Books

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Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Children of Peter Brewer and Hannah Sanborn: Schuyler Brewer

Schuyler Brewer was the sixth child and fifth son of Peter Brewer and Hannah Sanborn. He was born on 9 February 1813 at Highgate, Vermont. The date is from his gravestone. There is no civil or church record of Schuyler's birth. In January of 1844 he was married to Cynthia Perlina Stevens, daughter of Nathan Stevens and Wealthy Basford. She was born 25 April 1821 in Lower Canada, most certainly in the Eastern Townships just north of Highgate. Schuyler Brewer and Cynthia Stevens are the great-grandparents of Ruth Catherine Brewer.

This photo of Schuyler Brewer and Cynthia Perlina Stevens is courtesy of Patrick Brewer, a descendant of Schuyler.

Schuyler and Cynthia (Stevens) Brewer of Highgate, VT


Schuyler Brewer lived his entire life in Highgate, Vermont, and is the only son of Peter Brewer to do so. He occupied the property previously owned by his father. Schuyler and Cynthia had ten children, all born at Highgate.
- Elwin Schuyler Brewer, born in 1844, married Martha P. Richardson and lived at Shefford, Quebec, Canada. They had four children.
- Cynthia Jane Brewer, born in 1846, lived her entire life at Highgate and died in 1924, unmarried. She is buried with her parents in the Highgate Cemetery on Rt. 78 in Highgate.
- Wealthy M. Brewer, born about 1850, was married to Arnold K. Stinehour, and appears to have had one son, Ralph Stinehour. She was deceased by 1897 when her husband remarried.
- Ethan Allen Brewer, born in 1852, left Highgate as a young man and went south. His wife's name was Laurine (Lorine), who's surname I believe is Reid (or Reed). She was born in Alabama and they lived in Arkansas and Texas and had eight children. In 1925, an E. A. Brewer, aged 73, born in Vermont, widower, is found in Burrton, Harvey Co., Kansas. It appears that Ethan Allen Brewer died in 1926 in Arkansas, but is buried in Bowie Co., Texas.
- Joseph Schuyler Brewer was born in 1855 and died prior to 1930. His wife was Letitia Singleton who was born in Ireland. They lived at Wakefield, Massachusetts and had three daughters.
- Josiah Brigham Brewer was born in 1858 and married Elizabeth Cook alias Mudiman. They first lived at Highgate but soon moved to Rochester, New York. They are the grandparents of Ruth Catherine Brewer.
- Lillie Summers Brewer was born in March 1861 and died less then a year later in February 1862. She is buried by her parents in the Highgate cemetery.
- Mary Brewer was born about 1864 and is found with the family on the 1870 and 1880 census at Highgate but not afterwards. She may well have married during the sixteen years between the 1880 and 1900 census takings, but to whom has not yet been discovered.
- Emery J. Brewer was born in 1864. He never married an lived for most of his life at Highgate, although in 1900 he is enumerated in the household of his brother Joseph Brewer at Wakefield, Massachusetts. Emery died in 1932 and is buried in the Highgate cemetery.
-  Leon S. Brewer was born about 1871 and was living as late as 1940 when he is found on the census at Barre, Worcester Co., Massachusetts. He was married to Mary E. Courser in 1901 at Highgate, and they had seven children.

This photo of five (of the six) sons of Schuyler Brewer and Cynthia P. Stevens is courtesy of Tom Todisco. Standing, left to right, are Josiah, Elwin and Emory. Sitting, left to right, are Joseph and Ethan Allen. Leon is missing from the photo.

Sons of Schuyler Brewer (courtesy Tom Todisco)
A rough genealogical summery for the Family of Schuyler Brewer and Cynthia Stevens is now online. The family, along with some additional details found at Ancestry.com can also be seen at the Family Tree that I maintain at Ancestry.com.

Placing this family online at Ancestry.com was worthwhile in that it not only helped me locate knew facts regarding the children of Schuyler and Cynthia, but it also led to a breakthrough in identifying Cynthia's maternal ancestry (through the discovery of her mother, Wealthy Basford, who's family name was previously unknown to me) and has provided some leads (that need to be researched further) for the possible ancestry of her father, Nathan Stevens. Hopefully, more regarding Cynthia's ancestry will be able to be discovered and published here in the future.

Update, April 20, 2013: Correction to Wealthy M. Brewer. She did not die prior to 1897 as stated above. Apparently Wealthy and her first husband, Arnold Stinehour, separated. Wealthy was married to Allan Macfarlane prior to 1901 when they appear on the Canadian census at Potten, Quebec. In 1919 the couple entered the U. S. through northern Vermont and settled at Lowell, Orleans County, Vermont, where in 1920 they are enumerated in the household of her sister Mary (Minnie) and brother-in-law Charles Stewart. Wealthy died on 23 February 1929 at Lowell and her death is registed in Vermont (parents stated as Schuyler Brewer and Cynthia Stevens). Allan Macfarlane is living as a widower in 1930 at Lowell. He was born 8 August 1865 at Knowlton, Quebec. His parents were from Scotland. On the 1901 Canadian census, the couple has a daughter, Jenie Macfarlane, born 19 August 1891 in England. Assuming that the place is not in error, she may have been adopted by Allan and Wealthy. (See Wealthy M. Brewer for source citations).

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Thursday, April 4, 2013

Baptisms, Reformed Dutch Church of Harlingen, New Jersey, 1777-1802

The baptism register of the Reformed Dutch Church at Harlingen, Somerset Co., New Jersey, covering the years 1777 through 1802, was published in the Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey, volume 20 (1945). The first baptism in this set, that of Poules, child of Hendrik Stryker and Catrina, would be dated 16 February 1777.

Baptisms, RDC Harlingen, New Jersey, GMNJ v. 20

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Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Harlingen Reformed Dutch Church Baptisms, 1762-1777

The baptism register of the Reformed Dutch Church at Harlingen, Somerset County, New Jersey continues in The Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey volumes 18 and 19 (1943-1944). The previously posted PDF of the Harlingen records ended with vol. 18, no. 3. This posting begins with vol. 18, no. 4 and continues with all of vol. 19. Sorry, for the split in vol. 18. The first date found in vol. 18, no. 4, would be May 2, 1762.

Baptisms, RDC Harlingen, New Jersey, GMNJ vols. 18 & 19

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