Sunset at Gowanus Bay

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

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Update on the Jonathan Brewers of New England

In the September 20, 2011 post I brought up the discovery that Col. Jonathan Brewer (1725/26-1784) did not marry as his second wife, Dorothy Fowle. She, instead, was married to another man named Jonathan Brewer, who had not yet been placed among the New England Brewer families. I now believe that the Jonathan Brewer, who married Dorothy Fowle, was a son of Moses Brewer (1728-1760), and a nephew of the above mentioned Col. Jonathan Brewer.
Jonathan Brewer died before 23 August 1793, when proceedings on estate began in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Images of the documents from his estate file (no. 2557) can be found online. The papers mention only two children, both minors, and both daughters, Polly and Betsey. Birth records for the two have not been found in the Massachusetts vital records. His wife is not mentioned by name, however, the "widow Brewer," is mentioned in one document. The piece of evidence that would connect Jonathan Brewer to Moses Brewer is a line in the inventory of the estate refering to "money paid Ebenezer Colburn by William Baldwin, executor of the estate of Moses Brewer, deceased." There is also an entry for money paid by John Fowle to Ebenezer Colburn for Jonathan Brewer's house in Watertown. See image no. 6.
Previous editions of the Brewer Families of New England Database, had shown Moses Brewer with a son, Jonathan Brewer, who resided in Tinmouth, Vermont, and died there in 1817. Placing the Jonathan Brewer, who married Dorothy Fowle and who died in 1793, as a new found son of Moses Brewer, now forces us to find a new family for the Jonathan Brewer of Tinmouth, Vermont. An educated guess might be that he is a son of Col. David Brewer (b. 24 Dec 1731), but further research is required.
The Brewer Families of New England database has been updated.

BGB 55

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