We can start by adding a date of death for Cornelius Brewer. The New Jersey Death and Burials, 1720-1988 Index found at FamilySearch.org, gives the date and place of death for Cornelius Brewer as 27 July 1860 at Port Washington (sic), Monmouth County, New Jersey. While the date is likely correct, the location is a problem. There is no accompanying image with this record, but there is no location within Monmouth County, New Jersey called Port Washington. Port Washington is a hamlet within the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, New York. Cornelius Brewer, age 85, born in New Jersey is found on the 1860 U. S. census at Shrewsbury, Monmouth Co., New Jersey. He is in the household of George Jeffery (age 34) and Elizabeth Jeffery (age 30), and the sheet that they are enumerated on is dated 17 July 1860. It's likely that Cornelius died at Shrewsbury. Family relationships were not recorded on the 1860 U. S. census, but it appears that Elizabeth is Cornelius Brewer's daughter, but with her age understated by perhaps ten years.
Cornelius Brewer was married twice. His first marriage was to Jane Williamson, and she apparently died by 30 December 1815 when Cornelius married his second wife. The marriage record of Cornelius Brewer and Lydia Hurley, on 30 December 1815, in Monmouth County, recorded 27 January 1816 by Justice William Brinley can be found in New Jersey County Marriages, 1682-1956 at FamilySearch. An image is available with this record. The household of Cornelius Brewer, found on the 1850 U. S. census at Atlantic Township, Monmouth Co., New Jersey, includes Lydia Brewer, age 65. Cornelius is age 78. Also in the household are David Brewer, age 51 and Elizabeth Brewer, age 30. Marital status is not filled in on the sheet, and it appears likely that the two are children of Cornelius. The BGD shows Elizabeth as a daughter of Jane Williamson, however, based upon her age, it is more likely that she is a daughter of Lydia Hurley. Lydia is not recorded on the 1860 census. Civil records, such as the U. S. census and New Jersey vital records, record Cornelius with the surname BREWER, while the Reformed Dutch Church records (Freehold-Middletown) record him with the surname BROWER or BROUWER. This seems to be a typical pattern for New Jersey where many Dutch or German names were Anglicized by court and government recorders or clerks. I have not found a burial record for Cornelius nor for either of his two wives.
Additions to the children of Cornelius Brewer/Brower:
David Brewer - David was baptized at Freehold-Middletown on 8 July 1799. As his parents were married on 10 February 1798, it is apparent that he is his parents first child. The New Jersey Births and Christenings, 1660-1980 index at FamilySearch, however, gives a date of birth as 16 November 1799, which pre-dates the baptism date, although it cites the Dutch Reformed Church record (no image available in the FamilySearch index). The deed cited in the post of January 29, 2019, mentions David as an heir of his mother Jane Williamson and his grandfather William Williamson. It also mentions that he has a wife named Caroline. The deed was dated 20 March 1838. "New Jersey, United Methodist Church Records, 1800-1970," found at Ancestry.com, has a marriage for David Brewer to Caroline Maps, both of Shrewsbury, date of 2 March 1826. See the fourth entry down from the top on the image below.
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| United Methodist Church Marriages (download from Ancestry.com) |
Gilbert Brower/Brewer, the second son of Cornelius and Jane (Williamson) Brewer, was born 11 September 1801, and baptized 18 November 1802 as per the register of the Dutch Reformed Church at Freehold and Middletown. We briefly cover Gilbert in the January 29, 2020 post. As mentioned there, Gilbert died in 1847, thirteen years prior to his father. His wife, Deborah Tabor Morris, remarried Francis Whitmill (1813-1892) and died in 1857. User submitted trees on Ancestry.com place her as a daughter of Jacob Morris and Anne Lewis Wolcott, and although I have not researched this myself, I don't doubt it as Gilbert and Deborah, twice named a son, Jacob Morris Brower. On the 1850 U. S. census Deborah is found in Brooklyn, New York with her second husband who is enumerated as "Thos. Whitmall," and three of her Brower children, William, Gilbert H. and Jacob M. Also in the household are Mary Whitmall, age 10 and Elizabeth Whitmall, age 7, who must be from a previous marriage of Deborah's second husband. Gilbert and Deborah had eight children, three of whom (Jane, a second Jane, and a first Jacob Morris Brower) all died in infancy or very early childhood. A second Jacob Morris Brower (1842-1861) died at Alexandria, Virginia after enlisting for service during the Civil War. Names, dates of birth and death of the children is taken from a transcript of a Bible record held by the Jersey Blue Chapter of the D.A.R. Provenance for the Bible record is not stated. The copy of the transcript, online here, was received from William B. Bogardus. Gilbert is called "Gilbert Henry Brower" in this document but I find no other record for Gilbert that uses that name. A son was named Gilbert Henry Brower (1838-1914). His profile on the BGD can be updated. In addition to the four children found there, add two more who died in childhood, Deborah Tabor Brower (5 July 1871-3 November 1871) and Ida Lavenia Brower (24 September 1877-14 July 1878). Both are buried at Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery. The younger Gilbert's wife was Hannah Elizabeth Travis (1845-1903). She died in New Jersey, and an obituary appears in The Brooklyn Citizen of April 4, 1903. User submitted trees on Ancestry.com place her as a daughter of John Conklin Travis and Hannah Ketcham. I have not researched this through. Four of Gilbert and Hannah's children reached adulthood, married and had children. Daniel Ketcham Brower (1867-1943) married Mary Elizabeth Evans and had four children. Zeruah Ann Brower (1869-1908) married John Cosman Wandell and had a daughter Gertrude Wandell. John C. Wandell married again after Zeruah's death, died himself in 1947 and had other children from his second marriage. In 1870 and in 1880 Gilbert and his family is found in Brooklyn, New York. However, it appears that for at least a few years in between, during the 1870s, the family lived at Isle La Motte, Grand Isle Co., Vermont which is in Lake Champlain in northern Vermont near the Canadian border. Daughter Ida Lavenia, mentioned above, has a record of birth there, as does daughter Hannah Augusta Brower (1875-1954) who married Allen Marvin Hall (1873-1940) and had five sons. This family lived at Isle La Motte. The profile of Hannah Augusta Brower on the BGD can be corrected by eliminating the suggestion that she was "probably born in Brooklyn." She was born at Isle La Motte. Gilbert and Hannah's daughter Mary E. Brower (ca. 1879-1957) married Edward Hartshorne Green (1881-1957) and had a son, Edward H. Green, Jr. They lived first at Brooklyn and then at various locations in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Researchers of the descendants of Gilbert H. Brower and Hannah E. Travis can find a good amount on their descendants, including some nice portrait photographs, on Ancestry.com (subscription required).
Gilbert Brower (1801-1847) and Deborah T. Morris' other children are, Charles K. Brower, born 3 December 1826 according to that Bible record, although is birth date is given as August 1825 on the 1905 New Jersey State census. Charles appears to have been married twice. In a deed dated 18 January 1855 (Monmouth Co. Deeds H6:594) Charles Brower and Mary his wife of Ocean Twp. convey property to Joseph King. The deed mentions that the property was purchased by the guardians of Gilbert Henry Brower, Jacob Brower and William W. Brower, by Deborah T. Brower and Samuel G. Morris. Also see Monmouth Co. Deeds V5:520, where Deborah T. Brower and Samuel G. Morris, acting as guardians of the above named, sell this property to Charles Brower of Monmouth County in 1849. I have been unable to locate Charles and Mary on either the 1850 or 1860 U. S. census records in Monmouth County. On 24 June 1865, Charles K. Brower married Sarah Jane Booth at Jersey City, Hudson Co., New Jersey. The couple, usually found as Charles K. and Jane Brower, can be found on U. S. and New Jersey State census records and City Directories, in Jersey City in 1870, 1873, 1880, 1885, 1890, 1895, 1896, 1900, 1902 and lastly in 1905. Charles' occupation is consistently given as plasterer or mason. They appear to have had one daughter, most often called Ella, but also Ellen or Elizabeth. She was born about 1865 and the 1930 U. S. census finds an Ella Brower, age 65, single, head of household, on Concord Street in Jersey City. Ages, as given on the various census records, for both Charles K. and Jane, vary a bit. It seems that Jane was born about 1830, or in the late 1820s, in Virginia. The 1900 census gives her birth as May 1830 in Virginia. Neither death nor burial records have been found for either Charles K or Jane, nor for their daughter Ella.
Gilbert and Deborah's son William W. Brower was born 15 January 1832 as per the Bible record. He was married to Charlotte Emily Thompson (1835-1910) daughter of James Alexander Thompson and Catherine S. Kay, probably in 1851. William is found on the 1850 U. S. census in Brooklyn in the household of his mother and her second husband, Francis Whitmill, while his and Charlotte's son, Gilbert M. Brower was born about 1852. William and Charlotte were separated, probably divorced, by 1867 when she married John Polhemus Lake (11 July 1867 in Brooklyn) who had also been previously married. I find William and Charlotte, with children Gilbert, William, Deborah and Catherine, in Brooklyn in 1860 (U. S. census). William served during the Civil War, and this appears to be the time when the couple separated. Civil War records are pretty consistent in calling him, William W. Brower, giving his occupation as carpenter, and his service in New York's 145th Regt. of Volunteers. I cannot find William in 1870 or 1880, but in 1887 William W. Brower, age 56, born in New Jersey, carpenter, served in NY's 145th, married, last lived at Newark, N. J., is in a U. S. Home for Disabled Veterans in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His wife is given as Alice, living at New Bedford, Massachusetts. He was admitted 9 September 1887 and discharged 8 September 1888. William W. Brower died 4 February 1896 and is buried at Cypress Hills National Cemetery in Brooklyn. I've found nothing further on his second wife, Alice. The record regarding his stay in Milwaukee states that he and Alice had no children under the age of 16. William and Charlotte's children remained with their mother who continued to live in Brooklyn. Her second husband died in 1897. Charlotte lived until 1910 and is buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. Son Gilbert M. Brower (1852-1913) does not appear to have married, although I cannot locate him in 1900 or 1910. Son, William Brower was born about 1854, and although there are numerous records for men named William H. Brower, born about that time, available on Ancestry.com, I've yet to find one that convincingly connects to this son. More work needs to be done here. William and Charlotte also had three daughters. Deborah Brower (ca. 1856-1942) married three times and had children by her first two husbands, George H. Scragg and Harry Ambrose LaTour. Her third husband was Ralph E. Price, apparently Ralph Waldo Emerson Price, born in Virginia, who had previously been married to Clara B. Lake, a daughter of John Polhemus Lake (above) and his first wife, Sarah Clayton (died 1864). Catherine Brower, age one on the 1860 census, but no further record has been identified for her. And, Matilda R. Brower, born about 1863, although the 1900 U. S. census says born September 1861, married three times, and had children by her first two husbands, Jacob Bertisch (1858-1891) and Robert N. Blackhall (1831-1909). Her third husband was Charles J. Vaughn. A passenger ship manifest from 1930, calling her Mathilda R. Blackhall, gives her date of birth as 30 Sept. 1865, but I'm skeptical. Later census records tend to understate her age when compared to those from earlier in her life. She was traveling with her daughter Charlotte T. Stimpson who according to the manifest was born 12 Sept. 1681 (consistent with the 1900 U. S. census), implying that Matilda was 16 when she was born. They were returning to New York from Cherbourg, France. Matilda had lived in Englewood Cliffs, Bergen Co., New Jersey, and the obituary of Martha R. Blackhall is in The Record (Hackensack, N.J.) of June 20, 1944. Her reported age places her birth at about 1863, the place stated as Brooklyn.
Gilbert and Deborah's two daughters who reached adulthood were Lydia H. Brower, born 26 February 1828, married first Oscar Woolley (1832-1866), two daughters (Mary E. and Jennie R. Woolley). Her second husband was Abram/Abraham C. Carman, son of Elijah Carman as per their marriage record of 30 October 1869 in Jersey City. Lydia was deceased by 1880 when her second husband is found as a widower on the U. S. census at Jersey City, the other member of the household being his "step-daughter" Jennie R. Smith. Jennie had married Richard H. Smith on 12 October 1871 in Jersey City and was a widow herself on the 1880 census. Mary E. Woolley was married to George Watson, formerly Dixon/Dickson, and had two sons. Apparently George, had been born George Dickson, had been paid by some individual to serve in his place during the Civil War, deserted himself, and took the name of Watson to conceal this. He had also been previously married and had three children by his first wife who was also named Mary. Serepta Ann Brower, born 26 May 1829, also called simply, Ann or Annie, married Lewis C. Worthley (1822-1904) and died 6 April 1893 in Shrewsbury. She is buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Little Silver, New Jersey. Lewis and Serepta Ann had seven children including a son named Gilbert.
The majority of descendants of Cornelius Brewer and Jane Williamson appear to be descended from their son Gilbert Brower (1801-1847) and his wife Deborah T. Morris. Cornelius and Jane's son William, born 27 June 1806, baptized at Freehold-Middletown, 22 September 1807 was deceased, as per the Monmouth County deed involving the heirs of William Williamson, by 20 March 1838. There is no mention of William's heirs in this deed, and since if any had existed they would have been entitled to their father's portion, and therefore would likely have been named, but are not, I would assume that he left no heirs.
No record of baptism or birth is found for Cornelius' son Johnston, or Johnson, Brower/Brewer. The deed calls Johnson an heir of Jane Williamson, so I would assume he is her son based on this in conjunction with his age as reported on the census records from 1850 and 1880 which point to about 1813. However, he is age 54 in 1870 (so b. ca. 1816), and couple this with the fact that there is a gap of seven years between Johnson and his next known older sibling (William) of seven years, suggests that he may perhaps be a son of Cornelius' second wife Lydia Hurley. His given name, Johnson or Johnston, which is clearly a surname, perhaps of an ancestor, is not found in his Brower ancestry. Whether or not that name appears in the ancestry of Jane Williamson or of Lydia Hurley, may help to settle the question. He is usually called Johnson Brower in records, and he married Louisa Allen on 19 November 1836 in Monmouth County. I have not researched Louisa fully, but she is claimed to be a daughter of Jacob Allen and Anne Smith. Johnson and Louisa's son Jacob Allen Brower died 14 December 1856, age 12 years. The couple had two daughters, Sarah J. Brower (1852-1892) who married George B. Coffee (1850-1920), had two sons (Joseph Ellis Coffee and George J. or V. Coffee). Her husband remarried after her death. The second daughter was Teresa Brower, age 7 in 1860 and age 17 in 1870, but no further record identified with her. She is called "Thressa L. Brower" in 1860. Louisa (Allen) Brower died 17 April 1890 in Jersey City, New Jersey. She is found in the New York City Directory of 1884, at 119 East 81st Street, as Louisa Brower, widow of Johnson). She is on the 1885 New Jersey State census at Jersey City, New Jersey in the household of her son-in-law George Coffee and his wife (Louisa's daughter) Sallie Coffee (Sallie/Sally being a common nickname for Sarah). No record of Johnson's death is found, but it is apparent that he died in or by 1884. The 1887 Jersey City Directory also lists Louisa Brower, widow of Johnson). Johnston Brower (with Louisa) is found on the 1880 U. S. census at Neptune, New Jersey, age given as 67, occupation: "keeping boarders." The daughter Teresa is not included there. Perhaps if deeds or a probate record for Johnson can be found there may be a clue as to her whereabouts.
Cornelius Brewer's youngest child appears to be Elizabeth, and although there is variation among them, the ages she is recorded with beginning in 1850 and thereafter, indicate that she was more probably a daughter of Cornelius' second wife, Lydia Hurley. Elizabeth was married to George Jeffrey (Jeffrie, Jeffery) by 1850. They are found in 1850 at Atlantic, N. J. where she is age 30, in 1860 at Shrewsbury where she is also age 30 (so clearly an error here), in 1870 at Shrewsbury, where she is age 52, in 1880 at Shrewsbury where she is age 55 (certainly wrong) and as a widow in 1900 at Shrewsbury, age 80, born April 1820, a boarder in the household of Mary Peterson. There is no record of children for Elizabeth and George Jeffrey. He died 2 February 1891 and his obituary published in the Red Bank Register on February 10, mentions that his wife was Elizabeth Brower, daughter of Cornelius Brower of Long Branch and that "his wife, but no children," survive him. George was a son of Elihu and Catharine Jeffrey. I have been unable to find a record of death or obituary for Elizabeth (Brower) Coffee, and have not found her in 1910.
BGB 674
