Children of Peter Brewer and Hannah Sanborn: Peter Earl Brewer

Peter Earl Brewer is a presumed son of Peter Brewer and Hannah Sanborn of Highgate, Vermont. As with his siblings, no record of birth has been found for Peter. He was born about 1810. The U. S. census records for the years 1850 and onward consistently record his age as 40 in 1850, 50 in 1860, 59 in 1870 and 70 in 1880. All of the records state his place of birth as Vermont.  Peter E. Brewer died on 17 February 1894 in Richland Co., Wisconsin. His death is registered with the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services and can be found in the Wisconsin Death Index.

Peter Earl Brewer married prior to 1843, Lucy Edson. She was born about 1815 in Vermont. I have not made an attempt to trace her ancestry. In 1850 Peter and Lucy are found on the census at Highgate, Vermont, with their surname recorded as Bruer, and in the household are sons (although not specified as such on the census) Henry, age 6, Peter, age 4, and Lowren (Loren) age 1. Also in the household is Eliza Edson, age 17.

By 1855, Peter had moved his family to Richland County, Wisconsin, where he is found on the state census of that year. He remained at Richland Center, Richland County, Wisconsin for the remainder of his life and as mentioned above, can be located on the U. S. census there in each of the years 1860, 1870, and 1880. Peter is buried in the Richland Center Cemetery. Lucy Edson, who died 6 April 1884, is buried there as well.

Peter and Lucy had seven known children, all of who appear with them on various census records. They were born between 1843 and 1861, and all but the youngest two were born in Vermont. All seven married and children and descendants have been found for five of Peter and Lucy's children.

The eldest child, Henry Brewer, was born about 1843, presumably at Highgate, Vermont, and was married to Matilda Davis on 9 March 1874 at Sylvan Twp., Richland Co., Wisconsin. Henry and Matilda had two children, William Seth Brewer (married Lillie B. Conkle and had four children), and Nina Jane Brewer (married Ransom L. Johnston and had five children). Henry Brewer died at a relatively young age in 1885. His wife, Matilda, outlived him by fifty years (died in 1935) but never remarried and remained in Richland County.

The second child, Peter Sylvester Brewer, was born in Vermont on 28 January 1847 and died at Freeport, Stephenson Co., Illinois on 9 March 1929. He was married to Anna Rebecca Rodefer (1847-1928) on 12 August 1869 in Richland County, Wisconsin. The couple is found in Richland County through 1905, and in 1910 are at Monroe, Green Co., Wisconsin and in 1920 are living in Dubuque, Iowa. The couple had five sons born between 1870 and 1884. A descendant has recently joined the Brewer DNA Project and we are awaiting the results of his Y-DNA test.

Loren Edson Brewer was born 16 April 1849 in Vermont. He was married to Hannah Dorgan on 2 June 1874 in Richland County, Wisconsin. Loren E. Brewer died 20 November 1932 in Richland County. Hannah Dorgan, who was born in 1857, died on 1 August 1941 in Richland County. The couple is believed to have had three children, two of who are known by name. Daughter Katherine, born about 1877, was married to John Eugene Wallace. Son Francis Leo, born 7 April 1888, was married to Mary Margaret Kelly. On the 1900 U. S. census, Hannah is stated to have had three children with two of them currently living. Both Katherine and Francis Leo had children.

Heber Brewer, also recorded as Heber R. Brewer and as Michael H. Brewer, was born 8 August 1851 in Vermont and died 17 March 1934. He is buried at Richland Center, Wisconsin. Heber was married to Maria Dorgan (1851-1938) on 30 October 1875. Maria was a sister of Hannah Dorgan, the wife of Heber's brother Loren. Heber and Maria had four children, two daughters (Josephine and Lucy) and two sons (Jeremiah Gregory and William Jennings Bryan) and lived most of their life in Richland Center, Wisconsin. The 1910 census, however, finds them at Black Earth, Dane Co., Wisconsin, and although they are back at Richland in 1920, in 1930 they are in Madison, Wisconsin. All four children were married and descendants have been found for all except son William J. B. Brewer.

Eliza Lillie Brewer was born about 1854 in Vermont. She was married to Lewis Richardson on 5 April 1874 in Richland County, Wisconsin. The couple had three known children and are found on the 1880 census in Richland County. The family has not yet been found on the 1900 U. S. census, and dates or places of death have not been discovered for either Eliza or her husband.

Lydia H. Brewer was born in November 1858 in Wisconsin (1900 census). She was married to David H. Blakeman on 11 January 1880 at Richland Center, Wisconsin. The couple had two daughters, Ida M. Blakeman (b. Dec 1880, m. Thomas Peterson) and Idonia Blakeman (b. 6 June 1884, m. William J. Stewart/Steward). Lydia can be found in Richland Center through 1920, and in 1930 is in Lyle, Mower Co., Minnesota in the household of her daughter, Ida Peterson. Both are widows. David Blakeman had died in 1926 in Mower County, Minnesota. A date of death has not been found for Lydia.

Ellen S. Brewer was born 5 February 1861 at Richland Center, Wisconsin. She died 15 October 1923 at Richland Center and is believed to have been married twice. Her first husband was David Davis who was deceased by 1891. No marriage record has been located. Ellen was married in September 1901 to Hans H. Lien who was born in Norway in 1864, and lived until 1945. No children have been found by either husband.

Some details and source citations for Peter Earl Brewer and Lucy Edson, and their descendants can be found on the Brouwer Genealogy Database website. I have, however, recently researched the descendants further using Ancestry.com, and much more info on descendants can be found below Peter E. Brewer at the tree created at Ancestry.com (See Peter E. Brewer).

BGB 278