Sunset at Gowanus Bay

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

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Nicholas Brouwer's Will, 1778

Nicholas Brouwer (1714-1778) was a great grandson of Adam Brouwer. He lived the majority of his life at Wappinger's Falls in Dutchess County, New York. He also had large land holdings in other parts of New York State, including land at which is now Ballston Spa, New York, land at Chenango Point (now Binghamton, New York) and held a patent on over 70,000 acres in what is now New York State's Adirondack Park (this was lost as a result of the Revolutionary War).
Nicholas Brouwer was married twice. By his first wife, Mary Dutcher (b.1726, d.1761-65), he had six children: Jannteje (Jane), Adolphus, Nicholas, David, Elizabeth and Maria (Mary). By his second wife, Sarah Drake (1746-1795/96), a cousin and a younger woman than his oldest daughter, he had seven children: William, Jeremiah, Sara, Helena (Lena), Jacob, Cornelia and Rachel. Contention over the will and the settlement of Nicholas Brouwer's estate would pit descendants against one another for decades to come.
Available online are digital images of the will, as well as a transcript. Links for both can also be found at the right of this page under "Notes, Research, Reports."

First page of Nicholas Brouwer's will

PDF version of this post

BGB 4

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