Images From Probate Records in Chatham County, North Carolina

We've had too dry a spring, but the rains have come back this past week and since it's a rainy morning we can take the opportunity to turn out another quick post for the Brewers in the South.

Chatham County, North Carolina is one of the principal focus points for research on the early generations of descendants of George Brewer of Brunswick County, Virginia. Here are some images and links collected during the brief time back in early 2015 that I spent searching for Brewers in Chatham County.

Here is an page from an index to Chatham County wills. Chatham County Probate Records, 1735-1970 can be accessed from this page at FamilySearch.org. Henry Brewer is listed about halfway down the page. You will also note a couple of listings for a Henry Bray. There are Bray and Brewer marriages from the early generations. One that comes to mind is that of a Jeremiah Brewer and Anna Bray, of whom there will be a little more in a future post.

Image from Chatham Co., NC Wills Index, 1682-1905 at FamilySearch

This next image is from a different index of wills for Chatham County, but accessed from the same larger collection that I linked to above.

Image no. 10 at Chatham Co., NC Wills Index, 1770-1924 v.1

This index is very rough, and is only alphabetized by the first letter of the surname. And the pages to the index are not numbered, so here I refer to the image number on the FamilySearch viewer. If you are looking for Brewers you will have to scan through each page of the B's. It does, however, list both Devisees and Devisors, in other words, testators (devisors) and the heirs, beneficiaries, etc. (devisees). There are a few Brewers on the page above. Image no. 9 in this film includes "Ambrose Brewer, Nov. 1860" (right side page, about half way down). Image no. 8 includes a "Polly Brewer," a devisee of a "John Burns, senr." (right side, five names down). Search through the B's, I'm sure you'll find more. One of the striking things I noticed during the time I did spend on this family, is just how few of the wives of the Brewer men from the first two or three generations have been identified. Other than George Brewer's wife, Sarah LANIER, and their son George Brewer's wife, Abigail WYCHE, we do not know with certainty the identity of any of the other wives of George Brewer's sons. Does John Burns' will identify a Brewer wife (perhaps of a later generation)?

North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979, is one of those rare searchable estate collections at FamilySearch. Enter BREWER in the search box and you'll get 222 hits. Enter BROWER and we get 51 hits. Don't forget, some descendants of Hubert Brower migrated to North Carolina with other German Baptists and Quakers from Pennsylvania at about the time of the American Revolutionary War. They primarily settled in Randolph County, and are in effect living right among the Brewers. Here are a couple of images from the estate file of William Brewer, dated 1811.

William Brewer, Estate File, image 4

William Brewer, Estate File, image 5

There are fourteen pages in William Brewer's estate file. Take the time to view them all. I believe this William Brewer was a son Oliver Brewer (see the post of January 15, 2015).

 Next is the will of Nathan Brewer, of Chatham County, dated 6 April 1836. It is found in Chatham Co., Wills, vol. C, p. 89.

Will of Nathan Brewer, Chatham Co., NC Wills v. C, p. 89

Here's a brief abstract: Nathan Brewer of Chatham County, North Carolina, being of sound and perfect mind and memory... Wife, Polly, all property both real and personal during her life or widdowhood. After her death or widdowhood, what property remains, after paying just debts, "Elizabeth, Amus, Winney and Eleanor to have equal to them that have married and settled of and after they git equal then the balance to equally divided all of my children, that I had by my wife Polly..." Land to son Amus after death of wife Polly. Son-in-law John Gee apointed executor.
Signed Nathan Brewer. Wit.: Geo. Gee, John Adcock. I have Nathan penciled in as a son of a John Brewer, Sr. whose estate was administered on 10 May 1824 in Chatham County. John's wife was Nancy, and his children were John, Amos, Nathan, Martha and Polly. I have not placed this John Brewer within a North Carolina Brewer family, George Brewer's or otherwise. If someone reading this can place him please advise us using the Comments below, and please provide your proof for his placement.

And for those searching in Chatham County, please don't ignore David V. Brewer's, "Brewer Families of Moore and Southwest Chatham County, North Carolina."

To assure those who may be thinking otherwise, the Brouwers and Brewers of New York are not forgotten, and a post for the New Yorkers will follow. More for "Brewers in the South" in future posts soon.

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