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From the back cover:
"Researchers investigating the pedigrees of descendants of George Brewer of Brunswick County, Virginia (1670?-1744?) have learned that most of his reputed sons ultimately migrated to or through two neighboring counties in central North Carolina during the mid-1700s: Moore and Chatham. This account primarily focuses on the Brewers who lived in northern Moore and southwestern Chatham counties in the period between 1750 and 1850.
One of its theses is that three reputed sons of George Brewer of Brunswick County, Howell I, Lanier I, and John, (and their descendants) had significant contacts with the region during the era. This book compiles and integrates existing research about the Brewer families who lived in the region during that period with some newer information, including the early results of YDNA genetic testing of their male descendants."
What this work is not, is a compiled genealogy. If you're one who is simply looking for your, or some ancestor of yours place among the descendants of George Brewer, or one of his three sons mentioned above, you will not find it here. Indeed, to date, there is no existing published genealogy of George Brewer's descendants. If, however, you are one who is intent on working at finding your place among the descendants of George Brewer, then David Brewer's book will be of value to you.
This book follows somewhat in the spirit of Marvin T. Broyhill's The Brewer families of colonial Virginia, 1626-1776: with notes on the migrations of their descendants into North Carolina and other states, which is was the subject of a post on this website on December 21, 2014. What David Brewer doesn't do, however, is make the mistake that Broyhill made of trying to draw genealogical conclusions from the data presented. Broyhill's work was ambitious in that it spanned a far wider geographical area and covered many more individuals and families, some of whom are certainly not related to George Brewer. This new work is more focused. It is more than two hundred pages of records, and analysis of those records pertaining to the Brewers found in Moore County and portions of Chatham County, North Carolina. Many of the records and analysis found here is not found in Broyhill. And while Broyhill is occasionally referred to, David Brewer's book goes beyond what Broyhill provided when it comes to Moore County.
Brewer Families of Moore and Southwest Chatham Counties, North Carolina is a very much needed and welcomed contribution to the larger effort of identifying George Brewer's descendants. Perhaps it will inspire others researching Brewer families in the south to compile similar works focusing on other locations like Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and some of the other counties in North Carolina where Brewers are found. One drawback is that it does not include an index. The author notes this and explains that a searchable PDF version "has been circulated," that would substitute for a printed index (page 2). Those purchasing the book (I'd recommend the paperback hard copy which is easier to use than some digital format like Kindle, or a PDF) would no doubt find that having the searchable PDF in hand will be helpful, although the book can certainly be used without it. There are plenty of footnotes and researchers should have no trouble finding or identifying the location of the records discussed in the text. As always, my recommendation is to seek out the originals for yourself.
BGB 638
This book follows somewhat in the spirit of Marvin T. Broyhill's The Brewer families of colonial Virginia, 1626-1776: with notes on the migrations of their descendants into North Carolina and other states, which is was the subject of a post on this website on December 21, 2014. What David Brewer doesn't do, however, is make the mistake that Broyhill made of trying to draw genealogical conclusions from the data presented. Broyhill's work was ambitious in that it spanned a far wider geographical area and covered many more individuals and families, some of whom are certainly not related to George Brewer. This new work is more focused. It is more than two hundred pages of records, and analysis of those records pertaining to the Brewers found in Moore County and portions of Chatham County, North Carolina. Many of the records and analysis found here is not found in Broyhill. And while Broyhill is occasionally referred to, David Brewer's book goes beyond what Broyhill provided when it comes to Moore County.
Brewer Families of Moore and Southwest Chatham Counties, North Carolina is a very much needed and welcomed contribution to the larger effort of identifying George Brewer's descendants. Perhaps it will inspire others researching Brewer families in the south to compile similar works focusing on other locations like Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and some of the other counties in North Carolina where Brewers are found. One drawback is that it does not include an index. The author notes this and explains that a searchable PDF version "has been circulated," that would substitute for a printed index (page 2). Those purchasing the book (I'd recommend the paperback hard copy which is easier to use than some digital format like Kindle, or a PDF) would no doubt find that having the searchable PDF in hand will be helpful, although the book can certainly be used without it. There are plenty of footnotes and researchers should have no trouble finding or identifying the location of the records discussed in the text. As always, my recommendation is to seek out the originals for yourself.
BGB 638
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