Church Records (Part VI): "Downstate New York"

I define "Downstate New York," as all of Long Island, and the counties of Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland and Orange. Counties located north and west of Orange and Dutchess Counties will be considered separately as "Upstate New York." Churches located in New York City were covered in an earlier post. The files below are from the William B. Bogardus Collection, that are found in "Downstate New York," and are not found in the "Vosburgh Collection" which was also covered in an earlier post.

First Reformed Church, Fishkill, Dutchess County, New York; First Reformed Church, Hopewell, Dutchess County, New York. This is a six page file with marriages and baptisms from a few different sources which are spelled out on the first two pages of the file.

Dutch Reformed Church, Fishkill, Dutchess, New York; computer printout: marriages, 1731-1834. The extracts are from FHL film #1002751, item 5. A preferred source for these records would the the Reformed Dutch Church, Fishkill, Marriages, as published in the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, beginning with volume 83, no. 2 (1952).

Marriages taken from the Session Records Book, 1842-1877, The First Presbyterian Church of Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Extracted from "Miscellaneous Family Records," by Helen Wilkinson Reynolds, FHL film #0940234, item 2. One BROUER marriage and three Bogardus marriages.

Records of Pleasant Valley Presbyterian Church, Dutchess Co., New York, 1793-1820. From the manuscript by Gertrude A. Barber, found on FHL film #0860290, item 7. This particular item has been digitized and can be accessed directly online (click on the link for this item). The download is slow, even with high-speed internet, but give it a try. Just one Brower entry. Here is a second file of the same source but it includes a photocopy of the page with the Brower entry.

Johnsville Methodist Church, Johnsville (now Wiccopee), Dutchess County, New York. We are given for a source, film #931485. This is a FHL film, one of fourteen items on this roll. There are two marriages here from the mid 1800s.

Records of the Reformed Dutch Church of Kakiat, Rockland Co., New York, 1774-1864. Oops, this is a "Vosburgh Collection" file that slipped by and should have been grouped with Part III. Four baptisms and five marriages here.

Dutch Reformed Church, Tappan, Rockland, New York, computer printout: marriages, 1753-1824. This is FHL film #1002751, item 7. Extracted marriages. The first one is in error (John Brower-Tryntie Jersey) the date should be 4-24-1790, not 4-24-1700. I am not a fan of these "computer printout" films by the FHL.  The Tappan marriages and betrothals were published in the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, vols. 84, 85, 86 (1953-55), and that is the source you should use.

Peekskill, Westchester Co., New York Cemetery Inscriptions. Typed DAR manuscripts, FHL film #0860290, item 5. (Same roll as the Pleasant Valley records above, but this item has not been digitized). Two Brewer/Brower extracts.

Quaker Meeting Records, State of New York, Westchester County.  The file states that the author is Josephine S. C. Frost, but I have been unable to locate this exact source online. There is a certificate of removal and a burial record for Mary, wife of Jacob Brouwer/Brower, at Chappaqua.

First Record Book of the "Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow." Four pages of Brouwer records in this file. The historic "Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow" is now known as the First Reformed Church of Tarrytown, in Westchester Co., New York. This transcription, by Rev. David Cole, was published by the Yonkers Historical and Library Association in 1901. The full book is available on Heritage Quest, although access is allowed only through the account of a subscribing institution. Google books now has an e-book copy online, free, but a Google account is needed.

Flatbush Dutch Church Records. The majority of the baptisms and marriages here are from the period of 1678 to 1692, with a few post-1700 records. The extracts are taken from the records that were published in the Holland Society Yearbook for the year 1898 (vol. 2). The preferred source for records of the Reformed Dutch Church at Flatbush is: Voorhees, David William. Records of The Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Flatbush, Kings County, New York, Vol.1, 1677-1720. New York: Holland Society of New York, 1998. If you are seriously researching Kings County families of the late 1600s and early 1700s, I would strongly recommend using the 1998 version by David W. Voorhees.

Births, Marriages, Deaths - From the Original Records of St. Ann's (Episcopal) Church at Brooklyn, New York.  This file of handwritten extracts is from a manuscript by Josephine C. Frost, and is on FHL film #0017533, item 1. The records are from the early 1800s and there are a number of records relating to the family of Adolphus Brouwer and Elizabeth Baker.

A History of St. George's Church of Hempstead, N. Y. The complete title of the book from which the extracts are taken is Adventures for God: A History of St. George's Episcopal Church, Hempstead, Long Island, by Rev. John Sylvanus Haight (1932). Queens County, Long Island was predominantly English during the colonial period and many of the descendants of the early Dutch families who settled in Queens County can be found in the records of the English churches. (Hempstead was within Queens County until the year 1900 when Nassau County was created). There is one marriage and one baptism in this file. The Records of St. George's Church, Hempstead, were published in the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record beginning with volume 12 in 1881.

History and Vital Records of Christ's First Presbyterian Church of Hempstead, Long Island, New York. The source for this file is the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, vol. 53, no. 3 (July 1922). As with St. George's Church, the descendants of many early Dutch families can be found in the records of Christ's Church, Hempstead. There are a good number of marriages and baptisms in this file. Most, if not all, are descendants of Jan Brouwer of Flatlands.

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Mathew Brower of Greene Co., Pennsylvania (Part III)

Part I of Mathew Brower of Greene Co., Pennsylvania provided some background on Mathew Brower, and made the point that through Y-DNA testing of a direct descendant it is clear that Mathew Brower is, somehow, a descendant of Adam Brouwer of Gowanus, Long Island. Part II covered the probable family of Mathew's wife, who still has not yet been satisfactorily identified. In Part III we can take a crack at reconstructing the family of Mathew Brower using the "diary" of his grandson, James A. Brewer, as a start. A rough, and incomplete, genealogical summery of Mathew Brower, covering what has been found of his children and grandchildren is now online.

As was mentioned in the earlier posts, James A. Brewer was born July 1, 1837, wrote his account of his family in 1898 at age 61, and died in 1918, at age 81. He was a son of Mathew Brower's son, Conrad Brewer, born in 1798 and died in 1854, when James was only age 17. James' mother, Rachel Anderson, lived until 1894. It is apparent from James A. Brewer's account that he did not know all of his father's siblings, all that well. He did know some of the later descendants, his cousins, and there are enough leads in his account to piece together what I think is a very probable picture of Mathew Brower's family.

James A. Brewer recalls seven children of his grandfather, "Mattavis Brower," as James calls him, however, he does not mention another, who is placed in Mathew's family another source. It has to be made clear that the reconstruction of Mathew Brower's family is based upon the recollection of descendants, none of who knew Mathew Brower first hand. Some supporting evidence has been found, but more would be welcomed.

James A. Brewer starts with his recollection of Mathew Brower's children by stating, "I understand that Charity was the oldest. She married a man by the name of Lake. They also lived near Siding Hill." From this it is likely that Charity would be the Charity Lake found on the 1850 U. S. Census at Belfast, Fulton Co., Pennsylvania. She is age 73, was born in New Jersey, and is the head of the household. This Charity Lake would very likely be the daughter, Charity, that James A. Brewer was referring to. Further research finds that her husband was James Hubbard Lake, born 30 September 1775, died 30 September 1824 and buried in the Tonoloway Primitive Baptist Cemetery (please see the rough descendant report for Mathew Brower and the Brouwer Genealogy Database for all source citations). Some online family trees (at Ancestry.com) have placed this John Hubbard Lake as a son of Jacobus Lake and his second wife, Arreantie Hubbard, of Monmouth Co., New Jersey. I am not so sure about this claim as a Bible record of Jacobus Lake's family, published in New Netherland Connections, vol. 4 (1999), page 19, makes no mention of a son named John Hubbard Lake. The record does mention Jacobus Lake's son, John Striker Lake, born in 1747, a son of his first wife, Styntje Strycker. At any rate, the Lake family in general, has it's origins in New Jersey and in Kings County, Long Island. The descendants of the Lake family progenitors who first settled at Gravesend in Kings County, followed a trail that many descendants of the first Kings County families did, that is, westward into New Jersey, and then into Pennsylvania. Charity died on 20 August 1857 in Fulton Co., Pennsylvania, and is buried in the same cemetery as her husband. Her birth date is stated as 8 September 1778, and assuming this is correct, we now know that Mathew Brower and his wife were married by 1778, which would be in agreement with their approximated birth years suggested in Parts I and II. As many families from this time still named children in honor of grandparents, it is possible that the name Charity could be a clue to the name of Mathew Brower's mother. The name, Charity, while English, is often found as a variation on the Dutch name, Grietje, which is a diminutive of Margrieta (Margaret). The association of the name Charity with Grietje has to do with pronunciation. The Dutch name Grietje, when pronounced in Dutch during the 1700s, would sound similar to the English name, Charity. Perhaps Mathew Brower's mother's name was Grietje, or Margrieta. Eleven children have been found for Charity Brewer and John Hubbard Lake, but their descendants have not been traced further.

"I believe that Elizabeth was next oldest. She married Abraham Hendershott." Researching this lead yielded nothing, but the additional statement by James A. Brewer, "Isaac B. Hendershott of Otley, Iowa, is a grandson, and Dr. John Thomas Hendershott of Monroe is also their grandson," provided the breakthrough. Elizabeth was not married to an Abraham Hendershott, but instead married a Peter Hendershot. Isaac Brice Hendershot was born in 1834, and his brother, John Thomas Hendershot, was born in 1842. They were contemporaries of James A. Brewer, and he knew them personally. They were sons of Thomas Hendershot, born 2 February 1803, who administered the estate of his father, Peter Hendershot, on 24 October 1827. The Hendershot family traces its origins in America to Michael Hennechutt (Henneshit, Hinnschutt, Hinneshid, etc.) an immigrant from the Palatinate who came to New York in 1710 and then settled on the Millstone River in Hunterdon Co., New Jersey, as did other German Palatinates, including, Conrad Emery.
Elizabeth's husband, Peter Hendershot's place among the descendants of Michael Hendershot has not been determined. There is a Genealogy of the Hendershot Family in America, by Alfred E. Hendershot, self-published in 1961. It is, however, incomplete and contains errors, one of which combines the Peter Hendershot of Greene Co., Pennsylvania (husband of Elizabeth Brewer) with a Peter Hendershot who lived and died (1837) in Sussex Co., New Jersey. This second Peter Hendershot had a wife named Sophia Elizabeth, who is incorrectly identified as "Sophia Elizabeth Brewer." Sophia Elizabeth's family name is not known. No evidence has been found to verify that she is a Brewer.
In 1830, three years after her husband's death, Elizabeth Hendershot is enumerated as a head of household on the U. S. Census at Center, Greene Co., Pennsylvania. As the female, aged 40-50, she would be born between 1780 and 1790, and probably closer to 1780 as her son Thomas was born in 1803. She has not been found post 1830, but her son Isaac Henderhot, in his household at Center, Greene Co., Pennsylvania in 1840, includes a female aged 50-60, which could be his mother, Elizabeth. Five sons have been identified for Elizabeth, but there may also be daughters as the 1830 census includes three younger females in Elizabeth's household. A date or place of death has not been found for Elizabeth.

"I believe John was the next child, he was married to a girl by the name of Batholomew. He was a blacksmith by trade. He moved in an early day, sometime about 1830, to Val Pariso, Porter County, Indiana. He had several children four of whom were called John, Jacob, Isaac and Elizabeth. I knew John and Elizabeth." James A. Brewer goes on to tell us that Elizabeth was married to a man named Ault and lived at Winterset, Iowa. The older John Brewer relocated there as well and James A. Brewer saw them in the spring of 1858. Census records finds Mathew Brower's son John B. Brewer at Richhill, Greene Co., Pennsylvania in 1820. In 1840 he is in Porter Co., Indiana (no township specified on the census). In 1850 he is in Dallas Co., Iowa, age 57, born in New Jersey, blacksmith, in the household of John Brewer, age 24, born in Pennsylvania, who I would assume to be his son. On the 1856 State census of Iowa he is at Union, Madison Co., Iowa, age given as 61, born in New Jersey, blacksmith. Finally in 1860, John B. Brewer is in Winterset, Madison Co., Iowa, age 66, birthplace recorded as New York, farmer. James A. Brewer states that John died "in the early sixties" (1860s), and he is not found on the 1870 census. The daughter, Elizabeth, has been found in Winterset, in 1860. She was married to Washington Ault and in 1880 they were at Victoria, Rice Co., Kansas. She had at least eight children, and died 26 Apr 1890 at Westmoreland, Pottawotomie Co., Kansas, and is buried in the Westmoreland Cemetery. The son John was in Madison Co., Iowa in 1860 and 1870, and in 1880 is at Doniphan, Hall Co., Nebraska, which is in step with James A. Brewer's account. John's wife's name was Esther and they had at least six children. James A. Brewer also mentions sons Isaac and Jacob for the elder John Brewer and states that they went to Winterset as well. I have not yet attempted to trace them. The given name of John Brewer's wife has not been found. James A. Brewer gives her surname as Bartholomew. It appears that John was married twice and his second wife was named Rebecca, who first appears with him on the 1856 census. She had previously been married to a man named Allison and probably had daughters Delinda, Tilda and Phebe by her first husband, who are enumerated in the 1856 census with the Brewer surname. A bit more research is needed to sort out the details of John Brewer's extended family.

James A. Brewer continues with, "William, I believe was the next (fourth) child of my grandfather. I understand that he lived at one time near Koshocton, Ohio." I have not been able to identify a William Brewer near Coshocton, Ohio, who belongs in this family with certainty, but here is where it gets interesting. James A. Brewer did not include in his account, a son named Jacob Brewer. Jacob Brewer is stated to have been a son of Mathew Brower in the published account found in History of Vigo and Parke Counties. Jacob Brewer, who was born 22 September 1790, died in Coshocton Co., Ohio in 1866. His son, also named Jacob, was living in Coshocton with a family in 1860. I'm left wondering if James A. Brewer simply mis-remembered Jacob Brewer as William Brewer. Jacob Brewer was married to Cassandra McDonald in 1812 and had ten children, many of who have been traced by descendants including Kevin Hildebrant who had contacted me with info on them a few years ago. Answering the question as to whether or not Jacob Brewer (1790-1866) is in fact a son of Mathew Brower could be answered if a direct male descendant can be found to participate in the Brewer DNA Project.

James A. Brewer's account of Mathew Brower's son, Mathew, is also brief. "Mathew was probably next. I think he was a farmer. I saw him once when he returned to Pennsylvania to see my father. I was at that time a small boy. He lived near Worster, Ohio." It was probably in the 1840s when James A. Brewer saw his uncle Mathew. A Mathew Brewer is found on the 1820, 1830, 1840 and 1850 census records at Congress, Wayne Co., Ohio. Congress is a village in Wayne Co., Ohio, north of the township of Wooster in the same county. The 1850 census records Mathew as age 64 (b. ca. 1786), born in Pennsylvania. He has a wife, Rebecca, and (probably) three children, Amos, Abigail and Socrates. I don't doubt that there were others and additional research is needed on his descendants.

"Conrad Brewer was the next (sixth) child. He was my father..." James A. Brewer relates plenty of details regarding his father, mother and siblings, and it all can be corroborated with other research and records. Conrad Brewer, the first of that given name among the descendants of Adam Brouwer, lived his entire adult life in Greene Co., Pennsylvania. He was born in 1798 and died in 1854 and is buried in the South Ten Mile Baptist Church Cemetery. His wife was Rachel Anderson and they had four children born between 1830 and 1837. All married and the three sons, John, Mathew and James A., left descendants.

The last child of Mathew Brower was daughter, Mary, who by later census records was born about 1801 in Maryland. Sideling Hill, also called Side Long Hill, referred to by James A. Brewer as "Siding Hill," is a narrow mountain ridge in the Appalachian Mountains, located in Washington Co., Maryland, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Washington Co., Maryland is adjacent to present day Fulton Co., Pennsylvania which in Mathew's time was Bedford County. Bethel Twp. is in the southern portion of Fulton Co., and borders Maryland. Taking into account Mary's belief that she was born in Maryland, would lead us to conclude that the Mathew Brower family lived right on the Pennsylvania-Maryland line in what is now Belfast, Fulton Co., Pennsylvania.
James A. Brewer writes about Mary, "She never married but had one child who was called David H. Brewer. Willam Sam Harvey was his father." From cursory research it appears that the Harvey family was prominent in the early affairs in the area of Greene County and were leaders in the Baptist church. Mary is found in census records right through to, and including, 1880 at Richhill, Greene Co., Pennsylvania. Her son David H. Brewer was born in 1827, was married twice, first to Martha Burns and later to Mary Jane Cathers. He lived in Greene Co. at Richhill and was a wheelwright, cabinet maker and farmer. He had nine children, eight by his first wife and one by his second. Although his descendants carry the Brewer surname, any males who might take a Y-DNA test will find that they do not carry the Brouwer Y gene. If James A. Brewer's claim that William Sam Harvey was David's father is correct, then descendants of David H. Brewer would find close matches with males with the surname, Harvey.

This concludes what has been found and is known regarding Mathew Brower of Greene County, Pennsylvania. The participation of a direct male descendant in the Brewer DNA Project has been absolutely valuable, and is the only evidence that we have that tells us that Mathew was a descendant of Adam Brouwer of Gowanus. The descendant's participation is greatly appreciated. It could be helpful if other descendants of Adam Brouwer's son Nicholas Brouwer, who have already joined the Brewer DNA Project, would upgrade their tests to the 67 marker level. This might help us narrow down possible lines of ancestry for Mathew (and other unplaced Brouwer ancestors) back to Nicholas and Adam. And, of course, new participants are always welcomed. Accumulating more data on known descendants, will help us to sort out the numerous lines of descent from Adam Brouwer with a higher degree of certainty, and hopefully will help us close the missing links.

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Church Records (Part V): New Jersey

This next set of files from the William B. Bogardus Collection represent church records from locations in New Jersey. As always, it is suggested that users of these files consult the original source cited.

Hamilton Square Baptist Church Marriages, 1837-1854. Extracted from the Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey, volume 6, no. 3 (January 1931). There are two marriages here. Andrew Brewer to Ann Tindall in 1841, and Ezekiel R. Ridgeway to Sarah Brower in 1849.

Burial Records of the Old First United Methodist Church, West Long Branch, New Jersey. The page here is from the book of the same name by George Castor Martin, published in 1974. Page 2 has a list of thirteen Browers. West Long Branch is a borough in Monmouth County. Prior to the Civil War it was known as Mechanicsville, and then in the 1870s was called Branchburg. Prior to 1908 it was a section of Eatontown.

Lutheran Church in New York and New Jersey, 1722-1760. The complete title is Lutheran Church in New York and New Jersey, 1722-1760: Lutheran Records in the Ministerial Archives of the Staatsarchiv, Hamburg, Germany, by Simon Hart and Harry J. Kreider (1962). Page 81 is photocopied and there is just one curious entry right at the top that reads, "P. S. Concerning [Hendrik] Brauer, the members in Rareton wanted to bring information about him but no one knew much about him." The letter this is followed by a letter from 1735, so it may be from that time as well.
Unfortunately, page 80, which I imagine carries the full letter and date was not copied. I can't help but wonder if this snippet of info pertains to the Hendrick Brouwer, who with wife Rachel de Bon, had a daughter, Sara, baptized at the Harlingen Reformed Dutch Church in Somerset Co., New Jersey in 1727. The footnote attached to [Hendrik] Brauer's name in this entry says, "See Protocol, Lutheran Church in Albany County, protocol pp. 73-76.

Middlesex County Marriages: Cheesequakes Baptist Church, Marriages Performed by Rev. John Fountain. The extracts of three marriages are taken from the Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey, volume 44, no. 3 (September 1969) and volume 45, no. 1 (January 1970).

Baptist Marriage Records of Reverend Thomas Barrass, 1831-1868. One extract from the Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey, volume 38, no. 1 (January 1963). Samuel B. Snyder to Matilda Brewer, 1850.

Saddle River Reformed Dutch Church, 1811-1925. The source of the extracts in this file is not stated, although page numbers are referenced. There are memberships, marriages, baptisms and cemetery inscriptions (a few of each). Some of these are online at "Dutch Door Genealogy." But here too, the original source is not cited. Saddle River is in Bergen County, New Jersey, and most (if not all) of the names and families found here are found in the earlier records of the Hackensack and Schraalenburgh Dutch Reformed Churches.

Washington Presbyterian Church Records: Marriages, 1817-1849. From the Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey, volume 30, nos. 3/4 (July/October 1955). One marriage: William Lisk to Susan Brewer, both of Franklin, 1839. Franklin is in Sussex County, New Jersey. Washington is in Warren County, New Jersey.

There are seven new files above. The mention of Hendrik Brauer of Rareton, with a possible connection to Albany needs to be pursued further.

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Mention of Aaron Brewer in a Monmouth County Deed, 1801

Item no. 16 of Abstracts of Early Monmouth County Papers, Part I, is a deed of land in Monmouth County bounded (in part) by land of the late Aaron Brewer, deceased.

The deed is for a parcel of land being conveyed by James Johnson and his wife, Ann. This couple would be the same James Johnson and Antje Van Dyk, who was first married to Pieter Brouwer/Peter Brewer, and who are the same three focused on in the post of September 17, 2013. In this deed, James Johnson and his wife, Ann, are conveying the property to Joseph Morris, Ephraim Buck, Nathaniel Dickinson (Wilkinson?), Job Throckmorton, Garret Morford (Monford?), Jonathan Heldrith, Hendrick Cock, William West, and James Reynolds. This group of individuals were trustees for the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the small plot of land was for use as a cemetery. The property is described as lying between the land of James Johnson and the land of Aaron Brewer, deceased.

16. Deed Mentioning Aaron Brewer

The file provided consists of an abstract of the deed, followed by photocopies of the complete deed made off of a microfilm reader. Unfortunately, the microfilm is a negative and is difficult to read. In addition, there is an error in the abstract. The person abstracting this deed added, in parenthesis, "(daughter of Aaron Brewer, dec'd)" implying that Ann, the wife of James Johnson, was a daughter of Aaron Brewer. She was not. That statement ("daughter of Aaron Brewer") does not appear in the deed. I, in turn, duplicated the error when I created the Abstracts of Early Monmouth County Papers, Part I, last year. I will reiterate here, that this is an error.

The Aaron Brewer in this deed, also known as Arie/Aris Brouwer/Brower, was a son of Jan Brouwer and Helena Van Cleef. He was probably born about 1724 to 1726 and is likely one of the two children that Jan and Helena had baptized on 21 June 1724 and 11 April 1726, who's names were not recorded in the register of baptisms at Freehold and Middletown. Aaron Brewer died just prior to 22 April 1800 when inventory on his estate was taken by James Johnston and Thomas Cooper. Aaron Brewer was married twice, his first wife, Neeltje/Ellen Cooper was the mother of all of his children. Among his children, was a daughter named Ann (Anna/Annie, Antje) who was born in January 1760 and married Samuel Johnson (not James Johnson). To complicate things just a bit more, Aaron Brewer's daughter Helena (or Lena), baptized in February 1756, married as her second husband, a James Johnston (Johnson). Helena's husband, James Johnston (Johnson) and the James Johnson who with wife, Ann (Van Dyk) are two different men. I don't doubt that the two James Johnsons are related, but just how has not yet been researched (possibly the former is a nephew of the later).

The deed, dated 14 February 1801, recorded 23 February 1801, is found in Monmouth County Deeds, Book M, page 257. (FHL film #592651).

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Church Records (Part IV), New York City

This set of files from the William B. Bogardus Collection consists of extracted entries from records of churches found in New York City or its predecessor, New Amsterdam.

Records of the Bloomingdale Reformed Church, New York City, N.Y., 1805-1913. The source for this file is stated as "Film #0961884." A check of the online catalog confirms that this is a Family History Library film. Just one Brower marriage, William Holden to Jane Brower.

Records of the Madison Avenue Reformed Church in the City of New York. Transcribed by the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, edited by Royden Woodward Vosburgh ("Vosburgh Collection"), March 1921, on FHL film #0961905. There are a lot of names on the five pages that comprise this file. Marriages and baptisms, all from the 1800s.

New York Reformed Dutch Church, 1801-1811. Here are five pages of hand written notes, apparently transcribed by and received from a correspondent of William B. Bogardus. Not all are Browers, there are other names as well. The source is not stated but I imagine that they were taken from the New York Reformed Dutch Church Records found in the "Vosburgh Collection."

Records of the Protestant Episcopal Church in New York City. From the "Vosburgh Collection." Two Brower marriages and two Bogardus marriages.

Records of the First and Second Presbyterian Churches of the City of New York. The source is the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record which published the records of the New York City Presbyterian Churches over numerous volumes spanning many years. The numbers given to the right of each baptism or marriages would be the volume and page number of the NYGB Record where each entry can be found. (Example: 10-127 is volume 10, page 127).

Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New Amsterdam and New York. Ok, this is the big one. There are 22 pages in this file. It was too large to be uploaded to RootsWeb FreePages so it is being made available on Google Drive. Download it. The file will be easier to work with and it won't be available forever. The file is very nice. It is typed, very clear and easy to use. The entries are taken from the Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New Amsterdam and New York as they were published in the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record beginning with volume 5 in 1874. Baptisms, marriages and member lists were published pretty much continuously in the NYGB Record beginning with volume 5 through, at least, volume 70 in 1939. This file includes baptisms and marriages (member lists are not here) and it is very likely that every person named Brouwer, Brower, etc. who is recorded either as a parent, child, or witness to a baptism, or found in a marriage record in the New Amsterdam and New York Reformed Dutch Church Records is included (although I have not confirmed this so don't hold me to it). The volume and page from where each entry was taken is also included.
The baptism records of the New Amsterdam and New York Reformed Dutch Church were also published in two volumes by the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society in 1901 and 1902 as volumes 2 and 3 of Collections of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, edited by Thomas Grier Evans (vol. 2) and Tobias Alexander Wright (vol. 3). The two volumes include an index and therefore are much easier to use when compared to the records as published in the individual issues of the NYGB Record. The marriages from 1639 to 1801 were originally published in one volume, in 1890, titled, Records of the Reformed Dutch Church in New Amsterdam and New York; Marriages from 11 December 1639 to 26 August 1801, edited by Samuel S. Purple. To my knowledge, the membership lists have not been separately published. Digital versions of the baptism records are available online at the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society's website (membership required). There is both a searchable and browse-able option. Both the baptisms and marriages are also available as searchable databases at American Ancestors, the website of the New England Historic and Genealogical Society (membership required). They are organized in three databases, "New York, NY: Marriages in the Reformed Dutch Church, 1639-1801"; "New York, NY: Parents & Witnesses, Dutch Reformed Church, 1629-1730"; and "New  York, NY: Parents & Witnesses, Dutch Reformed Church, 1731-1800."

13th Street Presbyterian Church, New York City, NY. The source is not stated here. There are only two persons named Brower among eighteen records noted. The others may be Brouwer or Bogardus descendants. I have not made an effort to confirm who they might be.

Records of the South Reformed Dutch Church in Garden Street, in the City of New York. Another file from the "Vosburgh Collection," this one published in October 1921. FHL film #0961914.

Records of St. Mark's Church in the Bowery, New York City. From the 1939 typescript by Gertrude A. Barber. Here are some marriages, although there are only a few Browers. St. Mark's Church in the Bowery is the oldest continuous site of religious practice in New York City. It was originally built by Dir. Gov. Petrus Stuyvesant as a family chapel and he is buried in a vault beneath the church.

Baptism, Marriage and Burial Index cards of the Parish of Trinity Church in the City of New York. This file is a copy of index cards received from the archivist/parish recorder of Trinity Church in 1991 by a correspondent of Bill Bogardus. There is not much use in them except to inform us of the names of those named BROWER found in the church baptism and marriage records. The Trinity Church Parish records were published in the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, beginning with volume 67, number 3 (1936) at page 201. They begin in the mid 1700s, and many of the baptisms took place at Albany or at "Mohawks," meaning the area of the Mohawk River. You will therefore find a number of Albany and Schenectady area Dutch families in the Trinity Church Parish records. This is the same issue of the NYGB Record that contains John Reynolds Totten's, "Brouwer (Brower-Brewer) Family Notes." This file is also too large for RootsWeb and so in online using Google Drive.

Above are ten more files, I think that with the next post we'll take care of the the files that deal with New Jersey church records. As always, you are advised to confirm what is found here with the original source.

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Mathew Brower of Greene Co., Pennsylvania (Part II): Emery Family

As stated at the end of "Mathew Brower of Greene Co., Pennsylvania (Part I)," in June of 1793, a Mathias Brewer was recorded on the assessment list at Lebanon, New Jersey. It is probable that this was the Mathew Brower/Brewer who is later found in Greene County, Pennsylvania. The reason behind this assumption is that is fits hand in hand with the fact that Mathew Brower's wife's maiden name was Emery.

James A. Brewer, in his diary of 1898, with regards to the name of the wife of his grandfather, "Mattavis Brower," writes: "I do not know for a certainty the name of his wife but believe it was Elizabeth Emery." James A. Brewer also states, "I knew one of her brothers. He was called Jim Emery and for a time he lived near Wheeling, West Virginia." A search for this "Jim Emery" has thus far come up empty. A few issues have to be considered here. First, his name, Jim, would of course be a nickname for James, which in turn could be a variation on Jacob or Jacobus. Secondly, and more critical, we have to ask, if in fact James A. Brewer did know his grandmother's brother, why would he not, at least, know her given name? We also have to recognize that James A. Brewer was born in 1837 and did not become a teenager until 1850. If he did "know" one of his grandmother's brothers, that brother (great-uncle to James A. Brewer) would have been a very old man, likely in his 80s or 90s, at a time when James A. Brewer was a teenager. Perhaps, Jim Emery was actually a nephew of James A. Brewer's grandmother, and an older cousin of James A. Brewer. In any event, we are left here with the possibility that Mathew Brower's wife could have been named, Elizabeth Emery, and she may have had a brother Jim (James, Jacob) but we have nothing conclusive to that fact.

The History of Vigo and Parke Counties account of Jacob H. Brewer (a great-grandson of Mathew Brower) does not mention the name of Mathew Brower's wife. Correspondence with descendants of Mathew Brower through his son Jacob Brewer (who's wife was Cassandra McDonald) are of the belief that Mathew Brower's wife was named Mary Magdalena Emery. However, this too has not been confirmed, and presently, with regards to the identity of Mathew Brower's wife, we have that her surname was Emery, and that she may have been named either Elizabeth, or Mary Magdalena.

The best clue as to the identity of the family of Mathew Brower's wife lies with the name of one of his sons, Conrad Brewer, who was James A. Brewer's father. The given name, Conrad, is extremely rare among the Brouwer, Brower and Brewer families descended from Adam Brouwer of Gowanus. In fact, at the time of his birth in 1798, Mathew Brower's son, Conrad, would have been the first descendant of Adam Brouwer to have been given that name. We have to remember that at the time Conrad Brewer was born, there was still a tendency to name children for family members such as parents and siblings of the parents of the new born child. For example, the second known Conrad Brewer, born in 1838, the son of George Brewer and Charlotte Barr of Highgate, Vermont, was named for his maternal grandfather, Conrad Barr. We know of no other previous Conrad Brower or Brewer who is descended from Adam Brouwer, so in the case of Mathew Brower's son, it is likely that the name Conrad was taken from the family of Mathew Brower's wife. We know that a Mathias Brewer was living at Lebanon, New Jersey in 1793. Also found in the area of Lebanon, New Jersey at that time are descendants of an earlier inhabitant of that town who died in 1756 or 1757, named Conrad Emery. It is very probable that Mathew Brower's wife, assuming the belief that she was at least an Emery is correct, was either a daughter or granddaughter (probably the later) of Conrad Emery, of Lebanon, Hunterdon County, New Jersey.

In 1970, Frederic B. Emery produced "Conrad Emery and His Descendants," a self-published, 306 page (including index) account of the descendants of Conrad Emery and his sons. A copy can be found on the Heritage Quest website (access through a subscribing institution is required). Descendants of Conrad Emery's daughters are not covered, and his youngest son, William, is mentioned only very briefly. There is no mention of a daughter or granddaughter of Conrad Emery who married Mathew Brower in Frederic B. Emery's account. What we do learn from this work is that Conrad Emery lived at Lebanon, Hunterdon Co., New Jersey from 1730 until his death. He was an immigrant from the Palatinate and Emery is apparently an English adaptation of his German name which was recorded variously as Hümmerich, Himmrich, Hennerich and Himry. Other variations found among descendants include Hemry, Henrigh, Henry, Emerich,and Emry.
According to Frederic B. Emery, some baptisms of Conrad's grandchildren are found in the records of the "German Reformed Churches" that "were established at German Valley, Foxhill, New Germantown, Stillwater, Newton and Lebanon." I have found online, "Parish Register of the German Reformed Church of Alexandria, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, 1763-1802," which includes baptism records, and is referred to by Frederic B. Emery as the "Mt. Pleasant Church." A search in this register did find the baptism record of Joh. Adam, son of Jacob Hummerich and Eva Gertraud (page 8). "Joh. Adam," or simply, Adam, would be a grandson of Conrad Emery.
The Early Germans of New Jersey, by Theodore Frelinghuysen Chambers (1895), includes in Appendix VI, a description of the German Churches of this area. In addition, in Appendix VII, "Lists of Names," has on page 633, "Persons Naturalized by Act of Assembly, 1714-1772," in 1730 is found the name of "Koenraet Henerigh (Henry)." This would be our Conrad Emery.
The Family History Library has filmed the Lebanon Reformed Dutch Church records, which begin in 1768. I have not found a published account of the records of this church, but a search of them for not only Emerys, but also Browers (Bruers?) should be undertaken.

In 1800, "Mathew Brewer" is enumerated on the U. S. Federal census at Bethel and Belfast, Bedford County, Pennsylvania. The household includes one male age 26-44, who we would assume to be Mathew Brower, in which case tells us that he was born between 1756 and 1774. Assuming that the claim that Mathew served during the Revolutionary War, which began in 1775, we have to believe that Mathew's year of birth was much closer to 1756 than 1774. For now, I have settled on stating that Mathew Brower was probably born between 1755 and 1760. In this same census, the oldest female is also aged 26-44, so again, born between 1756 and 1774. In the 1810 U. S. census at Morris, Greene County, Pennsylvania, both the oldest male and oldest female are stated as over age 45. This census places their year of birth as before 1765. Therefore, for Mathew's wife, simply known for now as (___) Emery, I would place her birth as probably between 1755 and 1765.

Conrad Emery wrote his will on 1 June 1756. It was proved 13 June 1757, and inventory of his estate had been taken on 4 May 1757, which would lead us to believe that he most likely died shortly before that last date (4 May 1757). In his will his is styled as Conrad Himmrich, or Conrad Himry, of Lebanon, Hunterdon County. His will names his wife, Margreth, and children, Jacob, Petter, John, Henry, Catharina, William, and two married daughters who's given names and names of their husbands, are not stated specifically. [Calendar of New Jersey Wills, 3 (1751-1761), in New Jersey Archives, First Series, 32:158; abstracting Lib. 8, p. 485]. Unfortunately the will does not give us any clues as to the identity of Mathew Brower's wife, but it does set the stage for confirming the makeup of Conrad's family.

Starting with Frederic B. Emery's genealogy of the Emery family, making an effort to confirm his account of at least the first two generations of descendants of Conrad Emery using other records, and adding a bit that Frederic B. Emery overlooked or did not include, I was able to create a chart of Conrad Emery's descendants and it is now online as a reference. As can be seen, Conrad Emery's children are all believed to have been born between 1733 and 1749. We do not have records of their births (with the exception of son John Emery, with the date taken from his gravestone), and we do not have records of baptisms (at least none that have been found as of now). Assuming that (___) Emery, the wife of Mathew Brower, was born between 1755 and 1765, we can see that she cannot be a daughter of Conrad Emery. Mathew Brower's wife has to be a daughter of one of his sons. Conrad's youngest two sons, Henry and William, both left wills, neither of which mentions a daughter who was the wife of Mathew Brower (details and sources for both can be found on the Brouwer Genealogy Database website). Both Henry and William were probably born too late to have been the father of Mathew Brower's wife anyway.
Son, Peter Emery, is estimated to have been born about 1739, and he left a will dated 13 January 1798 (Calendar of New Jersey Wills, 9 (1796-1800), in New Jersey Archives, First Series, 38:178, abstracting Lib. 37, p. 442, File 1840J). He is styled as "Peter Himry of Lebanon, Hunterdon, Co., blacksmith. He does name his married daughters and their husbands, but there is no mention of a daughter married to a Mathew Brower. Peter Emery is not likely to be the father of Mathew Brower's wife.
Son, John Emery was born 1 January 1742 and died 13 May 1814 in Plain Grove, Lawrence Co., Pennsylvania, which is in western Pennsylvania, north of Pittsburgh and bordering Ohio. I have not located a will for John, and none is mentioned by Frederic B. Emery, but he is probably the most extensively covered son of Conrad Emery in Frederic B. Emery's account and no mention is made of a daughter who married Mathew Brower. He does account for the marriages of John's daughters Mary and Catharine, and no daughter named Elizabeth is given. Unless something comes to light that would change the account presented by Frederic B. Emery, we probably have to go with it and work with the assumption that Mathew Brower's wife was not a daughter of John Emery.

This leaves us with only Jacob Emery, the oldest son of Conrad Emery. It is estimated that Jacob Emery was born about 1737 at Lebanon, New Jersey. His wife was named Eva, or Eva Gertruda, and Frederic B. Emery includes nine children with birth dates from 5 March 1759 through 21 July 1782. He states that the last two children were baptized at the "Evangelical Reformed Church of Lebanon." As mentioned above, the baptism of Joh. Adam (or Adam) is found in the records of the German Reformed Church at Alexandria (called Mt. Pleasant). Of Jacob Emery's daughters, a marriage is stated by Frederic B. Emery for only Elizabeth (b. 21 January 1766) who married John Apgar. Daughters, Anna and Sarah, born in 1777 and 1782 respectively, are likely too young to be Mathew Brower's wife. This leaves the two oldest daughters. Mary Emery was born 5 March 1759, and Catharine Emery was born 2 May 1763. One of them is very probably the wife of Mathew Brower. At present I would lean towards Mary Emery as Mathew's wife, simply because some descendants have referred to her as Mary Magdalena Emery, however, we still have to locate evidence to support this. I have not found a will or probate file for Jacob Emery, and so land records at Lebanon and Hunterdon County, should be searched for any deeds regarding Jacob and his children in the hope that some genealogical clues can be found.

In Part III we will take a look at the children of Mathew Brower, expand and correct what was stated in James A. Brewer's diary, and see if there are clues that could link Mathew's wife to the family of Jacob Emery of Lebanon, New Jersey.

February 3, 2017: I have placed online, in seven sections, PDFs of Frederic B. Emery's, "Conrad Emery," 1970, mentioned above. The names BREWER and BROWER are NOT found in the index. The index begins towards the end of part 5 and comprises all of parts 6 and 7.

Conrad Emery, part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7

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Pieter Brouwer and Antje Van Dyk

In the previous post of September 15, 2013, mention was made of the couple, Pieter Brouwer and Antje Van Dyk. It was stated that it was most likely this Pieter Brouwer, who recorded as Peter Brewer, of Shrewsbury, was the man who died intestate and had administration on his estate granted to his widow Anne on 22 September 1759. After a bit more research it does appear that this placement is correct and that Antje Van Dyk married, in 1761, James Johnson, a.k.a. Jacobus Jansen/Janse/Janze. This would confirm that her first husband, Pieter Brouwer/Peter Brewer, was deceased by at least 1761.

What follows is a timeline of events for Pieter Brouwer, Antje Van Dyk and James Johnson. The set of records are an excellent example, and a terrific way to illustrate, just what researchers can expect with regards to the recording of names in a location such as Monmouth County, where the provincial and county government was English, but the some of the churches were Dutch. How a persons name appears in a particular record is dependent upon who recorded the event. In the English controlled government records, such as probate and conveyances, we find names written in an English variation, while in Dutch churches, with Dutch ministers, etc., we see names written in the Dutch variation. The deceased Pieter Brouwer/Peter Brewer was a son of Jan Brouwer/John Brewer and Helena/Lena/Hilletie/Mardelena Van Cleef/Van Cleve.

26 December 1737 - Baptism at the Harlingen Reformed Dutch Church of Peetres, parents: Yan Brouwer, Lena, no witnesses recorded. ("Harlingen," Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey 17:80).

21 March 1756 - Baptism, Reformed Dutch Congregations of Freehold and Middletown, of Joannes, parents: Pieter Brouwer, Antje Van Dyk, witness: Antje Brouwer. ("Freehold-Middletown," GMNJ 25:91). [The witness is likely Annatje Brouwer, paternal aunt of the father Pieter Brouwer, and wife of Abraham Lane/Laan.]

22 September 1759 - Administration on the estate of Peter Brewer, of Shrewsbury, died intestate, granted. Bond of widow Anne, James Harkinson and Thunis Amack as Adm’rs. John Hans, Jr. fellowbondsman. (Calendar of New Jersey Wills, 3 (1751-1760) in New Jersey Archives, First Series, 32:40).

23 September 1759 -  Baptism (Freehold-Middletown) of Petrus; parents: Pieter Brower, Antye Van Dyk, witness: Hendrick Brower. ("Freehold-Middletown," GMNJ 26:22). [The witness would be a brother of the father Pieter Brower. Although the record is not specific to the effect, the baptism would have been posthumous and the child was certainly named for his recently deceased father.]

24 March 1761 - Marriage License, New Jersey, issued to Anney Brewer, Monmouth, and James Johnson, Monmouth. (Marriage Records, 1665-1800, in New Jersey Archives, First Series, 22:54). [Note here the tendency of English clerks to record a woman's married name rather than her own surname.]

24 April 1763 - Baptism (Freehold-Middletown) of Mayke; parents: Jacobus Janze, Antje van Dyk, no witnesses recorded. (GMNJ 26:62).

7 July 1765 - Baptism (Freehold-Middletown) of Johannis, parents: Jacobus Janson, Antje Van Dyk, no witnesses recorded. (GMNJ 26:94).

26 July 1767 - Baptism (Freehold-Middletown) of Joseph, parents: Jacobus Janson, Antje Van Dyke, no witnesses recorded. (GMNJ 31:23).

10 May 1772 - Baptism (Freehold-Middletown) of Antje, parents: Jacobus Janson, Antje Van Dyk, no witnesses recorded. (GMNJ 31:64).

29 May 1774 - Baptism (Freehold-Middletown) of Jacobus, parents: Jacobus Janse, Antje van Dyk, no witnesses recorded. (GMNJ 31:68).

1 June 1803 - Will of James Johnson, Sr., of Howell Twp., Monmouth Co. Wife Anna to be supported by son James during her life. Names children, John, Joseph, Mary. Executors: sons John and James, friend Benjamin Brewer. Inventory dated 18 June 1804 was taken by Thomas Cooper and John A. Brewer. (Calendar of New Jersey Wills, 10 (1801-1805) in New Jersey Archives, First Series, 39:245). [Benjamin Brewer is likely the brother of Pieter Brouwer, the first husband of Antje Van Dyk, while John A. Brewer was a son of Aris Brouwer and Neeltje Cooper, a nephew of Pieter and Benjamin.]

A will or probate file for Antje/Anne Van Dyk, who would have been recorded as Anne or Anna Johnson in the probate records, has not been found. Church records other than those of Freehold-Middletown have not been check for other baptisms. Howell Township was incorporated in 1801 from portions of Shrewsbury Twp., Monmouth Co., New Jersey.

The above helps us conclude that the estate administration of 22 September 1759, of Peter Brewer, of Shrewsbury, is a record that almost certainly should be applied to Pieter Brouwer, the first husband of Antje Van Dyk, and not to the Pieter Brouwer who's widow, Antje Berge, was a member of the Reformed Dutch Congregation at Middletown in 1731.

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Correction to the Family of Pieter Jansz Brouwer and Annetje Jans

The post of September 10, 2013 makes mention of a change to the descendants of Jan Brouwer of Flatlands. A description of the family of Pieter Jansz Brouwer and Annetje Jans, the family that is directly effected, was originally posted on October 10, 2012. A careful review of some records used to construct this family leads me to believe that a change must be made to this family. There is no longer any evidence, either direct or circumstantial, that would allow us to conclude that Pieter Jansz Brouwer and Annetje Jans had a son named Pieter Brouwer (or Peter Brower, or Brewer).

Pieter Jansz Brouwer is a son of Jan Brouwer of Flatlands. A genealogical summery titled, "Jan Brouwer of Flatlands and Descendants," was published in the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, vol. 138, no. 4 (2007), beginning with page 250. The article is not authored, but footnote 2 explains that is was compiled by the editor using records identified by John Reynolds Totten and Teunis G. Bergen, and what I assume, was the input of five others mentioned in the footnote. The same footnote is also careful to make the statement that "Direct evidence does not exist for every placement presented here, but this construction is most consistent with the evidence." The first part of this statement is certainly true. One of the most frustrating aspects of researching the descendants of Jan Brouwer is a lack of the basic records, meaning baptisms, marriages and probate records, for the first few generations. This of course means that attempting to reconstruct the first few generations requires the interpretation of indirect or circumstantial evidence, which naturally can be interpreted differently by different researchers. The second half of the cautionary statement, "that the construction of the genealogy is most consistent with the evidence," of course requires that the evidence collected and considered has to be accurate. This is where the problem starts for the family of Pieter Jansz Brouwer. At least one piece of evidence was not related correctly, and a second piece was then misinterpreted, and assigned to the supposed son Pieter, in error.

The family of Pieter Jansz Brouwer (no. 2 in the genealogy) is covered on pages 252 to 255. A problem is found with the facts given under his son, Pieter Brouwer (no. vii on page 255, described as tentative in footnote 34 on page 253). In the second record attributed to Pieter Brouwer it is stated that he married "by 1731" Antie/Anne Berge. While this is correct (the couple was married by 1731, and may well have been married long before that year) what is left out is that Pieter Brouwer was in fact deceased by 1731. The record cited is the church membership of Antie Berge found in the Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey vol. 24, no. 1 (1949), page 22, which reads, "Antie Berge, widow of Pieter Brouwer." What is not mentioned, and apparently overlooked in the 2007 compiled genealogy, is the fact that Pieter Brouwer's wife was a widow in 1731, and therefore Pieter was deceased by this date. This overlooked (and important) fact directly impacts the first record that was attributed to Pieter Brouwer in this same account.

That first record mentioned (in the 2007 NYG&B Record genealogy) was the record of the administration of the estate of a Peter Brewer, of Shrewsbury, Monmouth Co., granted to his wife Anne on 22 September 1759. This record is found in Honeyman, A. Van Doren. Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, First Series Vol. 32; Calender of New Jersey Wills, Administrations, Etc. Vol. 3 1751-1760. (Somerville, N.J.: The Unionist-Gazette Association, Printers, 1924), page 40 (which abstracts New Jersey Wills, Lib. G, p. 99). As per footnote 34, on page 253 of the compiled NYGB Record genealogy, it is stated that it is this 1759 administration, in which one of the bondsmen was Thunis Amack, is the evidence behind the "tentative" placement of Pieter Brouwer as a son of Pieter Jansz Brouwer and Annetje Jans. This record, however, cannot pertain to the Pieter Brouwer who's wife, Antie Berge, was described as a widow in 1731. The administration of an estate takes place soon after a person's decease. Pieter Brouwer, who was deceased by 1731, would not have had administration granted on his estate 28 years later in 1759. This first mentioned record, the administration of the estate of Peter Brewer of Shrewsbury, belongs to a different Peter Brewer than the Pieter Brouwer who left a widow, Antie Berge, by 1731. Lacking this record, there is no other record, set of circumstantial records, or reason to suppose that Pieter Jansz Brouwer and Annatje Jans had a son named Pieter. It is therefore necessary to remove Pieter Brouwer from the record of the family of Pieter Jansz Brouwer.

To expand upon what was last just stated a bit more: Absent the incorrectly reasoned analysis of the two records mentioned above, we are left with the fact there is no other record found that would indicate that Pieter Jansz Brouwer and Annetje Jans had a son named Pieter. There is no baptism record of such son. There is no record of marriage for a Pieter Brouwer and Antie Berge. There is no record, baptism or otherwise, for children of a couple named Pieter Brouwer and Antie Berge. There is no probate or estate file either for Pieter Jansz Brouwer, Annetje Jans or any potential siblings of the tentative son Pieter Brouwer that could be cited as proof of his existence. There are no records of sponsors or witnesses at baptisms of the other children of Pieter Jansz Brouwer and Annetje Jans in which a sibling named Pieter Brouwer is named as a sponsor or witness. Thus far, no land records have been found that found that would identify a son named Pieter Brouwer. When we cannot find so much as one record that can confidently be identified as belonging to a person described as "tentative," we have to come to the conclusion that in fact, this "tentative" person probably did not exist to begin with.

To re-cap the above in two sentences: The misreading of the 1731 church membership record, in which Antie Berge is called a widow, resulted in the incorrect assignment of the record of the administration of the estate of Peter Brewer to his wife Anne in 1759, to a "tentative" son named Pieter of Pieter Jansz Brouwer. Since no other record that could point to this "tentative" Pieter as being a son of Pieter Jansz Brouwer exists, it is necessary to remove the "tentative" son Pieter from the family of Pieter Jansz Brouwer and Annetje Jans.

We can add to this that there is a known Peter Brewer (Pieter Brouwer) with a wife named Anne, to whom this 1759 administration more likely applies. The Records of the Reformed Dutch Congregations at Freehold and Middletown (serialized in the Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey, include the baptism record of "Joannes; parents: Pieter Brouwer, Antje Van Dyk; witness: Antje Brouwer" on 21 March 1756 (GMNJ 25:91), and of "Petrus; parents: Pieter Brower, Antye Van Dyk; witness: Hendrick Brower" on 23 September 1759 (GMNJ 26:22). This second baptism took place the day after administration on the estate of Peter Brewer, of Shrewsbury, was granted to his widow, Anne. No records of baptisms for this couple have been found post 1759. The Pieter Brouwer/Brower who married Antje Van Dyk was likely the "Peetres" baptized on 26 Dec 1737 at the Reformed Church at Harlingen, a son of Johannes Brouwer and Helena Van Cleef (GMNJ 17:80). He would be a grandson of the above mentioned Pieter Jansz Brouwer and Annetje Jans, and named for his grandfather. The witnesses mentioned above were most likely his brother Hendrick who was baptized in 1735, and his aunt Annatje Brouwer (sister of his father) who married Abraham Lane and had her own children baptized at the Harlingen church. While it is difficult to assign this 1759 estate administration record to any one person with absolute certainty (the complete file should be located and examined), it is much more likely that the record belongs to the Pieter Brouwer who's sons Joannes and Petrus baptized in 1756 and 1759, and that "Anne" is Antje Van Dyk*, and is certainly not, Antje Berge.

Removing the "tentative" son Pieter from the family of Pieter Jansz Brouwer and Annatje Jans leaves us with new questions: Who is the Pieter Brower whose widow, Antje Berge, was a member of the Reformed Dutch Congregation at Middletown in 1731? Who is Antje Berge? And who is Annetje Jans? I am presently working on the theory that it is possible, maybe even probable that Antje Berge's husband Pieter Brower is actually Pieter Jansz Brouwer, that Antje Berge is in fact Annetje Jans and that she is a (until now) unidentified granddaughter of Hans Hansen (Bergen). I will present the known facts that form the basis of this theory in a future post.

See the current edition of the Brouwer Genealogy Database for additional info and sources regarding those mentioned above.

The journal report and chart of the descendants of Jan Brouwer of Flatlands, L. I., and the Family Group sheet for Pieter Jansz Brouwer and Annetje Jans have also been updated. The family structure now shown in each of these accounts still includes a son, Hendrick Brouwer. It does have to be emphasized that this placement is also very tentative. Hendrick was not included in the 2007 NYGB Record summery, but rather was my own placement that I am now having serious doubts about and am reconsidering.

*There are baptism records post 1759 at Freehold-Middletown for a couple named Antje Van Dyk and Jacobus Jansen. The will of James Johnson, Sr., of Howell, Monmouth Co., dated 1 June 1803, names his wife Anna and children. An executor is "friend" Benjamin Brewer, while John A. Brewer took the inventory. (Calendar of New Jersey Wills, 10 (1780-1782) in New Jersey Archives First Series, 39:245). The English name, James Johnson, would be a reasonable equivalent of the Dutch, Jacobus Jansen. Further research into the possibility that the two Antje Van Dyks are one, is required.

(Additional details relating to Pieter Brouwer, Antje Van Dyk and James Johnson/Jacobus Janson, are published in the post of September 17, 2013.)

(For a follow up on Annetje Jans/Antje Berge, see the post of October 8, 2013).

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Church Records (Part III), "Vosburgh Collection"

Part I of the set of files from the William B. Bogardus Collection, categorized as Church Records, briefly mentioned files noted as "From the Vosburgh Collection." This post will group the remaining files in the collection with the exception of those covering church records from New York City churches, which will be grouped separately.

Again, the "Vosburgh Collection" refers to a series of many transcriptions of church records ( of various denominations) that were transcribed by the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, and edited by Royden Woodward Vosburgh. I have not counted the exact number of works found in this collection, but it is large, and covers churches from all parts of New York State. Many, although I don't believe all, are available in digital version to members of the NYG&B Society online at their website. (An individual membership is $60 annually and is worth it if you have an interest in or are actively researching New York families). Many (perhaps all) of the titles are also available on microfilm through the Family History Library. Here is a search of their online Catalog using "Royden Woodward Vosburgh" in the author field. Here is a description at American Ancestors, the website of the New England Historic and Genealogical Society. And, here is a catalog of the numerous church records that were transcribed from the City of Carlsbad Genealogy and Local History Collection.

The files below, only include those persons named Brouwer, Brower or Brewer, found in volumes that were searched and transcribed by William B. Bogardus some years ago. As always, researchers and users of the files are advised to seek out the original source material, to both confirm the accuracy of the transcriptions, and to become familiar, first hand, with the vast array of reference material that is out there and available for Brouwer, and New York, researchers, genealogists and family historians to utilize. New York State did not require civil registrations of births, marriages and deaths until 1881. Even then, compliance with the requirement was sporadic. Odds are, that if you were born at home in the late 19th century, or even through the first decades of the 20th century (as many people were) your birth was not registered in New York State. The "Vosburgh Collection" is an important source as a substitute for the lack of vital records in New York.

Records of the Reformed Dutch Church at Fort Plain in the Town of Minden, Montgomery County, New York, formerly known as the Reformed Calvinist Church of Canajohary. Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (April 1918).

Records of the First United Presbyterian Congregation in Cambridge in the Village of Cambridge, Washington Co., New York. March 1917.

Records of the First Presbyterian Church, Cherry Valley, Otsego Co., New York. May 1920.

Records of the First Presbyterian Church of Cooperstown in Otsego Co., New York. July 1920

Records of the Reformed Dutch Church of Catskill in the town of Catskill, Greene Co., New York. December 1919.

Records of the Congregational Church and Society of New Canaan at Canaan Four Corners in the town of Canaan, Columbia Co., New York. October 1919.

Records of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church in the Town of Easton, Washington Co., New York. July 1917.

Records of the Reformed Dutch Church of Greenwich, New York (formerly) the Reformed Dutch Church of Union Village in the Town of Greenwich, Washington Co., New York. July 1917.

Records of Christ's Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Town of Ghent, Columbia Co., New York. July 1913.

Records of the Presbyterian Church of Johnstown in Fulton County, New York. December 1916.

Records of the Presbyterian Church in New Hartford (Formerly the First Religious Society of Whitestown) in the Town of New Hartford, Oneida Co., New York. June 1921.

Records of the Second Street Presbyterian Church in the City of Troy, Rensselaer Co., New York. April 1915.

Records of the First Presbyterian Church of Utica in Oneida Co., New York. July 1920.

So, if I counted right, above we have thirteen more files from the William B. Bogardus Collection.

BGB 314

Mathew Brower of Greene County, Pennsylvania (Part I)

Mathew Brower can be found in Greene County, Pennsylvania in 1810 and 1820. Very little direct info or data has been found with regards to him. His exact ancestry is not known What is known is that he is a genetic descendant of Adam Brouwer of Gowanus, Long Island. In addition, two pieces of secondary information, one published and the other not, both with some incorrect statements, have provided a basis for reconstructing Mathew's family and for identifying some descendants.

Within just the past few months, a descendant of Mathew Brower has participated in the Brewer DNA Project. The participant's direct ancestry back to Mathew Brower has been confirmed and is not doubted. Results from Family Tree DNA's 67 marker Y-DNA test match the other descendants of Adam Brouwer whose results were previously known. In addition, the participant shows the same mutation at marker no. 9 (allele DYS439) as do other participants who are descendants of Adam Brouwer's youngest son, Nicholas Brouwer. A full table of Y-DNA results is found online at the Brewer DNA Project page. The descendant of Mathew Brower is represented by kit #293571. A results table is also found at the Brouwer Genealogy Database website, and there is a simple chart showing the participant's ancestry. The comparison of results show us that the descendant of Mathew Brower matches the other participants who are descendants of Nicholas Brouwer on either 36 of 37, or 37 of 37 markers (only one other descendant of Nicholas Brouwer has been tested at the 67 marker level. It can be stated with a high degree of confidence that the participant, and therefore his direct ancestor Mathew Brower, are descendants of Adam Brouwer through his son Nicholas Brouwer.

The secondary information used as a basis for reconstructing the family of Mathew Brower begins with a brief published account of one of his great-grandsons Jacob Harrison Brewer, and is found in H. W. Beckwith, History of Vigo and Parke Counties (Chicago: H.H. Hill and N. Iddings, 1880) at page 456. Jacob Harrison Brewer (1841-1927) lived his adult life in both Parke County and Vigo County, Indiana. He was a son of John Harford Brewer (1813-1885), a grandson of Jacob Brewer (1790-1866) and  is stated to be a great-grandson of Mathew Brower. What needs to be emphasized regarding the account published in History of Vigo and Parke Counties, is that the statements regarding Mathew Brower's ancestry are terribly incorrect. Mathew Brower is not a son of "Sybrant Brewer, or Brower" and his wife, Sarah Webber. The claim that Sybrant and Sarah returned "again to Holland where they made their wills and died," is completely unfounded and incorrect. Sybrant is most likely the Sybrant Brouwer who died on 3 December 1727 at New York, and if not, then he is the Sybrant Brouwer who died on 28 April 1735, in New York. Sybrant Brouwer never "returned to Holland," and there is no evidence that he ever once visited the place. Also in error is the statement that Sybrant was "one of the first settlers of New Amsterdam." Sybrant was, in fact, born in Brooklyn, New York in 1683, roughly twenty years after New Amsterdam was captured by the English and no longer existed. Sybrant's father, Jacob Brouwer, was likely born at Gowanus, Long Island, and his grandfather, Adam Brouwer, was the immigrant, coming to New Amsterdam around 1642 from service as a soldier with the West India Company in Brazil. The remainder of the profile of Jacob Harrison Brewer found in History of Vigo and Parke Counties appears to be accurate when compared with other records that we can find.

Of greater interest, and what turned out to be very useful, is an account of Mathew Brower's family as written down by his grandson James A. Brewer in 1898. A transcription of the original pages was provided by Charles Brewer, a descendant of a brother of James A. Brewer, and he has granted permission for me to place his transcription online. As with the published account in History of Vigo and Parke Counties, there are problems with James A. Brewer's account regarding the family ancestry. But first some background on the diarist.

James A. Brewer was born in July 1837 in Greene County, Pennsylvania. He was, by his own statement, the son of Conrad Brewer and Rachel Anderson, and a grandson of Mathew (who he refers to as Mattavis) Brower and his wife, whose name he "believes" was Elizabeth Emery. In 1898, when James A. Brewer wrote his account, he was age 61 (assuming his birth date as stated on the 1900 U.S. census is correct). During his adult life James A. Brewer lived in Missouri and in Iowa. He is found on the 1910 census, age 72, in Des Moines, Polk Co., Iowa. He died 31 January 1918 in Polk Co., Iowa.

It is apparent from James A. Brewer's "diary" that he did not personally or directly know is Brewer grandparents. James was born in 1837 and both Mathew Brower and his wife were very likely deceased by then. The brief account that James gives of his grandfather's origins most likely came from some sort of "family history," either verbal or written that was passed down to him. Based upon everything that is known regarding the first few generations of descendants of Adam Brouwer, James' "diary" is also incorrect, at least in part. James states that his grandfather, "called Mattavis Brower," was born in Holland and came to America with a brother prior to the American Revolutionary War. The "born in Holland" statement is certainly wrong. Since we now know that Mathew Brower was a descendent of Adam Brouwer, who came to New Amsterdam in about 1642, it is probable that Mathew Brower was a fourth or fifth generation American. James' account also starts off with a couple of sentences pertaining to "Great Grandmother Weber of the noted Weber family." James is no doubt referring to Sara Webber (b. 1685) the wife of Sybrant Brouwer (b. 1683) who is also mentioned in the History of Vigo and Parke Counties account. As stated above, Sybrant is a son of Jacob Brouwer, and he is a great-grandson of Anneke Jans. What I take from this is that James A. Brewer's account of his ancestor was no doubt influenced by knowledge of, and perhaps participation in, one of the infamous Anneke Jans lawsuits by some member of his immediate or extended family. There is no evidence that Sybrant had a son named Mathew Brower, and indeed other considerations would lead us to believe that Mathew was born roughly 70 to 75 years after Sara Webber was born, and therefore could not possibly be her son.

James A. Brewer states that Mathew, and a brother named William, served during the American Revolutionary War, "enlisting from the state of New Jersey." William is said to have been sent to "Stoney Point," which would likely be the Stony Point located in present day Rockland County, New York. This was an important location during the Revolutionary War and the site of a famous battle (July 16, 1779). At that time this location was within the Town of Haverstraw in Orange County, New York. According to "the understanding of my Grandfather," as related by James, "he (William) was there at the battle, but from that date to this there has never anything been heard of him or any of his lineage. He was not married at the time of the battle." As of this writing, evidence or records collaborating the Revolutionary War service of Mathew and his stated brother, William, have not been located. There is, however, the record of an application for 48 acres of land made by "Mathew Brewer of the Township of Buffalo, Union County, Pennsylvania, dated 7 July 1815. The application does not mention any military service (whether it be during the Revolutionary War or during the War of 1812), but one criteria that states did use when issuing land grants was prior military service. It is noted that this application is attested to by a John Brewer who signed with a mark. Mathew Brewer signed his name, and so we have an example of his signature.

Mathew Brewer, Application for land, (Ancestry.com, Pennsylvania Land Warrant Applications)

It also must be pointed out that as of now we cannot say with certainty that the Mathew Brewer making this application is the same Mathew Brower who is the subject of this post.

The three records that I believe we can be very likely certain of as pertaining to Mathew Brower are the U. S. census records of 1800, 1810 and 1820. (This Family Group Sheet should be helpful in understanding what follows). In 1820 we have "Matthew Brewer" as a head of household in Richhill, Greene Co., Pennsylvania (Mathew's son Conrad Brewer, who was James A. Brewer's father, is found here as a head in 1830). The household consists of 1 male 16-25 (likely son Conrad), 1 male over 45 (likely Mathew), 1 female 16-25 (likely daughter Mary), and 1 female over 45 (likely Mathew's wife).
In 1810, we find "Mathew Brewer" at Morris, Greene Co., Pennsylvania, with a household of 1 male 10-15 (likely Conrad), 2 males 16-25 (likely son John and possible son Jacob), 1 male over 45 (likely Mathew), 1 female under 10 (likely Mary), and 1 female over 45 (likely Mathew's wife).
James A. Brewer states that Mathew Brower moved from New Jersey and settled at "Siding Hill" in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Somerset County was created in 1795 from Bedford County, and in 1800 we find "Mathew Brewer" enumerated at Bethel and Belfast, Bedford Co., Pennsylvania, with a household of 3 males under 10 (likely Conrad, John and the possible Jacob), 2 males 10-15 (likely sons Mathew and William), 1 male 26-44 (likely Mathew), 2 females 16-25 (likely daughters Charity and Elizabeth), and 1 female 26-44 (likely Mathew's wife). [The above mentioned children will be described further in a separate post].
The locations mentioned above need some clarification. Belfast in Bedford Co., is now in Fulton Co., which was created in 1850 from Bedford Co. (Mathew's daughter Charity is found there in later records). The location that James calls, "Siding Hill," is not found and he probably was referring to Sideling Hill, which is in present day Washington Co., Maryland, which boarders present day Fulton Co., and the Township of Bethel where Mathew was in 1800 (later census records for Mathew's daughter Mary, state that she was born in Maryland). Somerset Co., which was created out of Bedford Co. in 1795, and lies directly west of Bedford Co., was probably an error on James' account. Sons Conrad and John, and later descendants, are found at Richhill in Greene Co. where Mathew was in 1810 and 1820. [The deed books and land records for these locations should be researched for additional evidence and information regarding the properties and how they may have passed between Mathew and his descendants].

Now moving back in time, in June 1793, a Mathias Brewer is found on the tax list at Lebanon, New Jersey*. This is likely the Mathew Brower being considered in this post, and his presence at Lebanon, New Jersey in 1793 dove-tails with the family who is wife likely is a member of. We will take a look at Mathew's wife and their children, and how they may tie Mathew back to New Jersey, in Part II.

*This list was found on a search at Ancestry.com in the database titled, "New Jersey, Compiled Census and Census Substitute Index, 1643-1890." Mathew is listed as Mathias Brewer, and the place is described as Lebanon, Essex County, New Jersey. This appears to be an error, either on the part of the original source from which the data was taken, or on the part of the transcribers for Ancestry.com. Lebanon is a township in Hunterdon Co., New Jersey. There is no place called Lebanon in Essex Co., New Jersey.

(Part II was posted on September 18, 2013).

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Brouwer Genealogy Database Update

The Brouwer Genealogy Database has been updated. The new edition includes new Y-DNA test results from two descendants of Adam Brouwer of Gowanus. There is also a correction of note to the descendants of Jan Brouwer of Flatlands.

Y-DNA testing of males named BROWER or BREWER through the Brewer DNA Project at Family Tree DNA has once again proved valuable. In one instance the participants ancestry, arrived at through traditional genealogical research was confirmed. In the second case, the participant, who's complete Brewer/Brower ancestry is still not determined, as been able to greatly narrow down his list of possible ancestors and has opened up a new, and unexpected door, for descendants of Adam Brouwer. In both cases the participants took the 67-marker test, and having results at this level can now been seen as a valuable way to differentiate between more recent ancestral lines. I would strongly urge, and would love to see, all descendants of Adam Brouwer, who's current tests were conducted at levels less than 67 markers, to upgrade to the 67 marker test.

In the first case a descendant of Jeremiah Brower/Brewer of Highgate, Vermont, was tested at the 67 marker level. His results matched other descendants at 37 of 37 markers, and in one comparison at 36 of 37 markers (this one descendant having a distinct mutation at one allele not seen in the other descendants). The new participant, kit #285309, has been added to the Jeremiah Brower/Brewer chart.

The second case involves a descendant of Mathew Brower of Greene Co., Pennsylvania. We had previously known of descendants of Mathew Brower, but prior to the Y-DNA testing (67-markers) of the descendant, did not have a lead on Mathew Brower's ancestry. This was complicated by the fact that all descendants thus far encountered, were known by the name of BREWER, leaving open the possibility of numerous ancestors including German immigrant families who came to Pennsylvania in the 1700s. The participant's Y-DNA test results demonstrate, beyond a doubt, that the participant, and therefore all of his direct male ancestors including Mathew Brower, are descendants of Adam Brouwer. In addition, the appearance of the value 14, at marker no. 9 (allele 439), leads us to believe that the participant (and Mathew Brower) are descended from Adam Brouwer's youngest son, Nicholas Brouwer. By 1800 Mathew Brower is found in the area of south-western Pennsylvania, near the Maryland line. Previously all descendants of Nicholas Brouwer were found in New York, northern New Jersey, or in the case of Jeremiah Brower (above) in northern Vermont and Canada. The new Y-DNA test results open up new areas to consider in the search for the descendants of Nicholas Brouwer. A simple chart of the participants ancestry is now online (kit #293571) and Mathew Brower will be investigated further in upcoming posts.

The correction to the descendants of Jan Brouwer of Flatlands can be found in the second generation in the family of Pieter Jansz Brouwer and Annatje Jans. A genealogical summery of the descendants of Jan Brouwer was published in the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, vol. 138, no. 4 (Oct. 2007), beginning at page 250. The account of Pieter Brouwer, "tentatively" assigned to the family of Pieter Jansz Brouwer (no. 2 in the genealogy) and Annatje Jans (see page 255, no.vii), contains an important error and a miss-identification of a record that leads me to the conclusion that such a son (Pieter Brouwer) did not exist. This, and a probable identification of Annatje Jans, will be elaborated on in upcoming posts. The Family Group sheet for Pieter Jansz Brouwer and Annatje Jans has been corrected and updated.

The Brouwer Genealogy Database itself, is now being created with the newest version of Second Site (version 5.05) that features an expanded pop-up box which shows an individuals ancestry back to his or her's great-grandparents (the older version went to the grandparents only), and a list of the individuals siblings, and partners and children. Just click on that little blue square button under each individual's name. (See the Second Site link, above, for an example).

The BGD now contains data, info, source citations and suggestions on over 40,000 individuals, many related to one of the numerous BROUWER, BROWER, BREWER, BRUERE, BRUER, etc. families found in New Netherland, and colonial New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania and elsewhere. In addition there are many individuals who are not related but are found in colonial New York and New Jersey, especially in Kings Co., Long Island. If I have learned one thing over the thirteen plus years that I have now been researching the Brouwers, is that if you want to get a accurate account of your ancestor you cannot simply focus on his or her name only. You have to learn as much about the people they co-existed with as well, whether related or not. The more info you can collect, the more likely you will have success in identifying your correct ancestry. I very much hope that you will find something useful in these pages.

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