Brower/Brewer Guardianships in Montgomery County, New York

Letters of Guardianship for Montgomery County, New York can be found online at FamilySearch.org in their collection titled "New York Probate Records, 1629-1971," under Montgomery County. Volume 1 and volume 2 are combined in one film. There is no alphabetical index for volume 1, however, at the end of the volume is a list, arranged in order of appearance in volume 1, of the names of the minors involved. In other words, by page number, so we'll have to look through these pages to find the Browers and Brewers. The "index" begins here at image 183 of the digitized film. Volume 2 does have a traditional index, arranged alphabetically, at the front of volume 2 (A's are at image 192). The index for volume 2, 1838-1862, of Montgomery County Letters of Guardianship has six entries of interest.

Starting with Volume 1, 1825-1838

Pages 6-7. Dated 24 January 1826. Guardianship of Sally and Margaret Brower, infant children and heirs of William Brower, deceased. Polly Thayer, mother of Sally and Margaret, petitions the court, asking that John P. Demarest of the Town of Broadalbin be appointed guardian. William Brower died in late 1814 after being accidentally shot by his brother-in-law David Demarest. His wife was Maria Demarest, daughter of Petrus Demarest and Sara Demarest (cousins). She married second, Reuben Thayer. William is most certainly the son of Jacob Brouwer and Margitta Triet.

Page 44. 13 April 1827. Guardianship of William Brewer, Lawrence Brewer, Clark Brewer and Cordelia Brewer, children of Peter Brewer, deceased. The children are described as infants all under the age of fourteen. Mercy Brewer, their mother, petitions for William Brewer of Amsterdam to be appointed guardian. This family is not found on the Brouwer Genealogy Database. My assumption would be that Peter Brewer, is the Peter Brewer of Amsterdam whose estate was administered on 19 December 1826. See the post of November 9, 2018. My suggestion in that post is that this Peter Brewer was the son of William Brewer (whose wife was Annatje DeLong), who is found in Amsterdam, New York in 1810, and in 1820 (as William Brower, although the U. S. census for this year is of poor quality). I do not find William in Amsterdam on the 1830 U. S. census, but he is found in Copley, Summit Co., Ohio in 1840. See William Brewer on the BGD for what (incomplete) info I have on him.

Page 246 (scroll to the bottom of the page). Dated 3 September 1835. Elizabeth Brower, Jacob Brower and David Saltzman, executrix and executors of the last will and testament of Cornelius Brower late of the Town of Palatine, ask for Adam H. Van Wyck, to be appointed guardian for the minor children and heirs of Cornelius Brower, namely William Henry Brower, John Brower, Margaret Brower and Aaron Brower. Cornelis Brower, born 16 April 1770, was a son of Harmanus Brower and Margariet Ekker. As mentioned on the November 9, 2018 post where you will find an abstract of Cornelius' will, his profile on the BGD is incomplete. It appears that a second daughter Margaret, probably born in the early 1820s, should be added to Cornelius' family.

Found in Volume 2, 1838-1862 (index at image 193)

Page 13 (scroll to the bottom). 3 January 1839. David Brower appears before the court. Alida Brower widow of Peter Brower late of the Town of Mohawk, deceased intends to petition the Surrogate's Court for admeasurement of her dower in certain lands and tenements of the said Peter Brower. And whereas John Henry Brower an heir of said deceased is a minor, the court then appoints said David Brower as guardian for John Henry Brower. Administration on the estate of Peter Brower of Mohawk was granted on 23 November 1838 to David Brower and Harman DeWandelaer (see November 9, 2018). His son John Henry Brower was born 13 February 1826 and his record of baptism at the Caughnawaga Reformed Church in Fonda, New York, gives his parents as Peter Brower and Harrietta Enders (Kelly, Arthur C.M.. Baptism Record of Caughnawaga Reformed Church, Fonda, New York. Rhinebeck, New York: Arthur C.M. Kelly, 1985, p. 242, no. 5469). Apparently Harrietta (or Henrietta) died and Peter remarried Alida whose family name I have not identified. It appears that John Henry Brower is Peter's only child. Also see page 29, where, on 15 February 1840, Harman DeWandelaer of Mohawk is appointed guardian of John Henry Brower, a minor above the age of fourteen.

Page 75. 23 December 1841. Whereas Harman H. Brower, executor of the last will and testament of Harman Brower, late of the town of Palatine, deceased, intends to make an application to have the will proved. And whereas Shadrach Brower, an heir of Harman Brower is a minor. Charles Miller is appointed guardian for said minor, Shadrach Brower.

Page 134. 7 February 1845. William H. Brower, a minor above the age of 14, and a resident of Montgomery County, nominates Lawrence Marcellus to be appointed his guardian. Although neither of his parents are named in this record, William H. Brower is most certainly William Henry Brower, son of Cornelius Brower and Elizabeth Staller, who was born 8 February 1825, and had not yet attained the age of 21 when this appointment occurred. See Volume 1, page 246 above.

The above only covers what is found in volumes 1 and 2 which covers the years 1825 to 1862. Volume 3 picks up with 1862 but I will not be searching these records. It appears that there is no index for volume 3. Beyond page 110 of volume 3 the pages are not numbered.

A note on a couple of important terms found in the guardianship records. This is for the benefit of those who might be new to this type of research. Specifically the terms "Infant" and "Guardian." Both are used in these records in the legal sense, so to speak. Nowadays we would think of an infant as a child under the age of one year or so, or at least to describe a child who is not yet walking on his or her own, at which point we then generally refer to the child as a "toddler." In the legal parlance of the day, an "Infant" was a minor under the age of 14. Generally a guardian would be appointed for such a child by the court who often followed the request of a surviving parent. Once having attained the age of 14, a child was still a minor, but at that point would have the ability to request, him or herself, from the court, the appointment of some specific guardian. Perhaps one who was different from a previously appointed guardian. A "Guardian" in turn did not take custody of a child for whom they were guardian, nor were they charged with raising the child. They were simply an adult who would be responsible for representing the child before the court in legal matters, particularly those involved in the settlement of the estate in which the minor child was an heir and had a legal interest. A guardian could petition the court on behalf of the minor. A child represented by a guardian often did not live with their guardian, although they may have if both of the child's parents were deceased. Often the guardian was a close relation of a child's mother, especially if she was still living.

BGB 627