Jacob Brouwer and Annatje Bogardus

Jacob Brouwer, the son of Adam Brouwer and Magdalena Verdon, has been estimated to have been born in 1655, probably at Gowanus, Long Island. The estimated date is based upon the fact that he does not appear on the 1675 assessment roll at Brooklyn, but does appear on the 1676 list (with 1 poll). Totten in "Anneke Jans and Her Two Husbands," NYGBR 56 (1925): 231, makes this observation, and makes the assumption that the age of 21 was the cutoff for being taxed. If this estimated birth year of 1655 is accurate, it would make Jacob the fourth son and fifth child of his parents. Jacob was certainly named for his maternal grandfather, Jacob Verdon. Traditionally, the second son was named for the maternal grandfather, and if Adam and Magdalena did follow this tradition then we would expect to find Jacob born sometime in the thirty month period between the baptism of eldest son, Pieter Brouwer (September 1646) and the next recorded son, Matthys Brouwer (May 1649). Perhaps Jacob was born in early 1648. Unfortunately, there is no surviving record that would answer this with certainty.

Jacob Brouwer's wife was Annetje Bogardus, baptized on October 3, 1663 at the New York Reformed Dutch Church, a daughter of Willem Bogardus and Wynnetje Sybrants. Her paternal grandparents were Domine Everardus Bogardus and Anneke Jans. Jacob and Annetje's marriage occurred at Brooklyn on January 29, 1682 and was recorded in both the New York and Flatbush Reformed Dutch Church records. The descendants of Jacob Brouwer and Annetje Bogardus are, of course, also descendants of the "famous" Anneke Jans, and as a result there have been numerous incorrect descendants claimed for Jacob and Annetje by 19th and 20th century pretenders seeking to claim a piece of Anneke Jans supposed fortune. In time I'll cover some of the more egregious claims.

William J. Hoffman devoted five pages to the family of Jacob Brouwer in "Brouwer Beginnings" (TAG vol. 24 [1948], pp. 23-28). It would be useful to review each child again here. Hoffman lists nine children, while William B. Bogardus in Dear "Cousin": A Charted Genealogy of the Descendants of Anneke Jans Bogardus (1605-1663) to the 5th Generation, and of her sister, Marritje Jans (1996) gives ten. There are baptism records for seven of Jacob Brouwer's children. Jacob Brouwer did not leave a will and no recorded settlement of his estate exists. He was likely deceased by December 20, 1706, when his wife, recorded as "Annitie Brouwer," appears as a head of household on an assessment list at Brooklyn with 26 acres. Jacob was certainly deceased by April 30, 1707, When Sybrant Brouwer, "eldest son and heyre to Jacob Brouwer, late of Brooklyn, deceased," sold his interest in the Gowanus Mill property to his uncles (Jacob's brothers), Abram Brouwer and Nicholas Brouwer.

The eldest child of Jacob Brouwer and Annetje Bogardus is the above mentioned Sybrandt Brouwer. He is covered by Hoffman in "Brouwer Beginnings" at TAG 24 (1948):24. No baptism record survives for Sybrandt. He is proved as a son of Jacob Brouwer by the above mentioned deed. Hoffman gives his date of birth as August 29, 1683, and cites Totten at NYGBR 56 (1925): 232. Totten in turn cites the notoriously unreliable "Hill Manuscript." Therefore, we do not know Sybrandt's actual date of birth. The date of August 29, 1683, has been generally accepted and it does fall within the period of his parent's marriage (29 January 1682) and the baptism of their son Jacob (November 30, 1684). It is of note that as Jacob's eldest son, Sybrandt should have been named for Jacob's father, Adam Brouwer. Instead he was named for Annetje Bogardus' maternal grandfather, Sybrandt Jansen. Sybrandt Brouwer married Sara Webber, daughter of Aernout Webber and Jannetje Cornelis, at the New York Reformed Dutch Church on May 12, 1706. They had nine children baptized at New York between 1707 and 1725. It is likely that Sybrandt died on December 3, 1727. Among the incorrect claims for Sybrandt is one in which his son Jacob (b. 1707) married a Lea Studhard in 1724, had a son John Brouwer who married Catharine Verwey, who in turn had a son named Elias Brouwer. This lineage is entirely incorrect (at each generation).

The second child, and second son of Jacob Brouwer and Annetje Bogardus was Jacob, baptized on November 30, 1684 at Brooklyn. The sponsors were Jesaya Drets and Aeltje Brouwer (Jacob's sister and her husband). The baptism was recorded in both the Brooklyn and Flatbush records. He is covered by Hoffman at TAG 24 (1948):24-26. Jacob married Petronella de la Montagne, daughter of Jan de la Montagne and Annetie Waldron, on October 28, 1709 at New York (recorded at both New York and Flatbush). They had eight children, all baptized at New York between 1710 and 1733. Among the incorrect claims here, is the attribution of a son named Cornelis Brouwer who married Mary Archer. This incorrect placement was first published by T. G. Bergen in his Bergen Genealogy, page 367-368 (footnote). This Cornelis Brouwer is not a descendant of Jacob Brouwer and Annetje Bogardus.

The third child and third son is Willem, baptized May 8, 1687 at Brooklyn. Sponsors were Willem Bogardus (child's maternal grandfather) and Helena Verbrugge (Van Brugh, the child's mother's first cousin). Willem married Maritje van Oort, daughter of Goosen van Oort and Maria Peeck, and widow of Pieter Hennion, on May 19, 1709 at New York. The marriage record calls her "Maria Hennion." Her family name has been variously recorded as Van Noordt, Van Nort, Van Note, and other variations. It appears that Willem and Marritje had six known children, and they relocated from New York City to Middletown in Monmouth County, New Jersey by 1720. Willem was still living in June 1746 when he conveyed land to Jacob Brower (his son) of Shrewsbury. Willem is covered at TAG 24 (1948):26, although Hoffman's account is incomplete.

Everardus Brouwer is the fourth child and fourth son of Jacob Brouwer and Annetje Bogardus. He was baptized on December 8, 1689 at Brooklyn, sponsors Cornelis Hoijer and Cornelia Bogardes (the child's aunt and her husband). Everardus (named for his maternal great-grandfather, Dom. Everardus Bogardus) married Mary Petit on December 26, 1723 at the Presbyterian Church at Newtown, Long Island (Newtown is now Elmhurst in Queens County). They had ten children but baptism records are only found for two. Everardus is covered at TAG 24 (1948): 26).

Jacob Brouwer and Annetje Bogardus' fifth child, and eldest daughter, was Anna Elisabet, baptized on November 15, 1694 at Brooklyn (sponsors Lambert Sachariassen and Maritje Jansen, neither of who's relationship to the Brouwer or Bogardus families is known). She was married on September 7, 1716 at Flatbush, to Jacob Quakenbosch, son of Reynier Pietersz Quackenbosch and Claesje Jacobse Stille. They had twelve children, the first six baptized at New York between 1719 and 1729, the last six baptized at the Tappan Reformed Church bwtween 1730 and 1742. Anna Elizabeth, also called Anna, Johanna, and Hannetje, is covered by Hoffman at TAG 24 (1948): 26-27.

Adam, baptized March 29, 1696 at Brooklyn, was the sixth child and fifth son. Sponsors at the baptism were Cornelis Fiele (Viele) and Katrijna Bogardus (the child's aunt and her husband). Hoffman covers Adam Brouwer at TAG 24 (1948): 27-28, and states, "Most authorities consider him the founder of the Monmouth Co., N. J. branch, and I believe he is." Coming from William J. Hoffman, this statement is odd. Hoffman developed a terrific reputation as a critical reviewer of previously published genealogical claims and was adept at correcting them. One of his primary tools was considering naming patterns and known family relationships found among baptismal sponsors. Hoffman spent a good deal of time using these techniques to correct numerous errors in prior accounts of the descendants of Adam Brouwer and Magdalena Verdon (see my earlier post on William J. Hoffman). However, with Jacob Brouwer's son Adam, Hoffman uncharacteristically  takes a pass. His statement above implies that he made no effort to confirm the conclusions drawn by earlier "authorities" (in some of the work of these same "authorities," Hoffman had found other errors). If Hoffman had applied the same standards to Jacob's son Adam, as he did in many other cases, it is very possible that he would have come up with a different conclusion. The claim that Adam Brouwer, baptized March 29, 1696, son of Jacob Brouwer and Annetje Bogardus, is the Adam Brewer of Monmouth County, New Jersey, is not certain.

Pieter, stated to have been born March 29, 1699 at Gowanus, is the seventh child and sixth son of Jacob Brouwer and Annetje Bogardus. No record of baptism has been found. Hoffman covers Pieter Brouwer at TAG 24 (1948): 28. He attributes this birth date to "Ms. notes," without being specific. Totten, in "Anneke Jans and Her Two Husbands," NYGBR 56 (1925): 234, gives this same date and cites the "Hill Manuscript" as the source. Considering the original source cited by Totten, this date of birth has to be taken with a grain of salt. Placement of Pieter in the family of Jacob Brouwer and Annetje Bogardus is based upon cross-sponsorships at the baptisms of grandchildren of Jacob and Annetje. Pieter stands as a sponsor at baptisms for children of Sybrandt Brouwer and Jacob Brouwer (wife Petronella de la Montagne) and for Anna Elisabeth Brouwer (husband Jacob Quackenbosch). In turn, Jacob Brouwer stands as a sponsor at the baptisms for a few of Pieter Brouwer's children. Pieter was married three times, first to Elizabeth Quackenbosch (daughter of Benjamin Quackenbos and Claasje Webber) on November 18, 1721 at New York. His second marriage was to Cathatina Thong on April 14, 1750 at New York. She died within a year of that date, and Pieter married, third, Sara Kip (daughter of Pieter Kip and Immetje van Dyck) on October 17, 1751 at New York. Pieter lived in New York City and died there on August 10, 1780, "in his 81st year," according to the New York Gazette, and Weekly Mercury. All of his children were by his first wife.

Jacob Brouwer and Annetje Bogardus' eighth child and second daughter was Wyntje, baptized on October 1, 1701 at the New York Reformed Dutch Church. Sponsors were Johannes Kip and Rachel Kierstede, wife of Willem Teller (members of Annetje Bogardus' extended family). Wyntje was named for Annetje Bogardus' mother, Wynnetje Sybrants. She is erroneously recorded in a few later records as "Tryntje." Wyntje married Richard Petit on November 26, 1722 at the Newtown Presbyterian Church. They had nine children. She is covered by Hoffman at TAG 24 (1948): 28.

The ninth child, third daughter, and last verifiable child of Jacob Brouwer and Annetje Bogardus was Magdalena, baptized on March 8, 1704 at the New York Reformed Dutch Church, sponsors Dirck Adolf (no known relationship) and Arientje Kierstede (no known relationship). She was certainly named for her grandmother, Magdalena Verdon. Magdalena is covered by Hoffman briefly at TAG 24 (1948): 28, where he states his objection to prior claims that she was the wife of (either) Joost Vredenburg or John Drake. Both of these incorrect claims are elaborated on in the later pages of "Brouwer Beginnings." Hoffman does not suggest a husband for Magdalena. William B. Bogardus, Dear Cousin... (1996), chart 7E, states that she married Willem van Oort, son of Goosen van Oort and Maria Peeck, and brother of Maritje van Oort who was the wife of Magdalena's brother, Willem Brouwer. This marriage is based on circumstantial evidence, and if correct would imply that Magdalena was married at age 15 or 16 to a man who was 14 years her senior. The couple lived in Monmouth County, New Jersey, and no baptism records for any children are found. There are five, "probable" children for Willem van Oort and his wife, Magdalena (whoever she may be) and they will be elaborated on in a future post.

All of the above children will be the subjects of individual write-ups in future posts.

 A tenth child of Jacob Brouwer and Annetje Bogardus is stated to be John Brouwer. No record of baptism is found for a John, son of Jacob Brouwer, and he is not found in Hoffman's "Brouwer Beginnings" account of the family. William B. Bogardus in Dear Cousin: A Charted Genealogy of the Descendants of Anneke Jans Bogardus (1605-1663) to the 5th Generation, and of her sister, Marritje Jans (1996), chart 7A, places John in this family with the "possible" birth date of September 5, 1692 (at Brooklyn). On October 24, 1711, "John Broun" was married to Antje van Oort, daughter of Goosen van Oort and Maria Peeck (and sister to the above mentioned Marritje van Oort, wife of Willem Brouwer) at New York. John and Antje had one child, Maria, baptized at New York on August 24, 1712, at which a sponsor was (the above) Willem Brouwer (the other sponsor, Elsje Witten, was a sister of Antje and Marritje van Oort). This record also gives John's surname as "Brouwn." On August 31, 1712, "John Brouwn," witnessed the baptism of Lucreta Brouwer, daughter of Willem Brouwer. It is therefore assumed that John is a brother of Willem and that his name was consistently mis-recorded as "Brouwn". This, however, may not be a correct assumption. It is observed that the sponsor appearances could be the result of Antje van Oort and Marritje van Oort being sisters rather then Willem and John being brothers. It is also noted that John does not appear in any record with the name "Brouwer." In addition, his daughter, Maria, is recorded as "Maria Brouwn" at her own marriage (October 1, 1732 to William White), and as "Maria Broun" when she appears with her husband as a sponsor for her much younger half-brother, Johannes Cregier. My own opinion is that John's placement in this family is incorrect. He is not likely to have been a son of Jacob Brouwer and Annetje Bogardus, and his correct name may have in fact been, Brouwn (Brown, Braun). John Brouwn was deceased by July 30, 1715, when as "Hanna Browne," Anna Van Oort married Simon Cregier at the New York Reformed Dutch Church. Simon Cregier and his wife, recorded as Anna Van Oort, Anna Van Oost, or Antje Van Oort, had nine children baptized at the New York Reformed Dutch Church between 1716 and 1734.

The Family of Jacob Brouwer and Annatje Bogardus

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