A Revised Placement Within the Descendants of Hubert Brower for John Brower of Randolph County and Henry Brewer of Bedford County

 The following is contributed by David Schuler. It was originally posted in the Comments section of the post of  May 21, 2017, "Y-DNA Testing Identifies Another Branch of Descendants of Hubert Brower."

David has also provided an Xcel Spreadsheet mentioned below. It is accessible here. David can be contacted through Ancestry.com's internal messaging service. A link to his "tree" at Ancestry.com is provided below. David's work, which now follows, would revise the "Revised Chart of Descendants Expanded to Five Generations," found beginning on page 2 of this document from 2017.

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Being cooped up during the pandemic has permitted me to devote a ridiculous amount of time to Brower family mystery.  This time I’ve waded into Coventry Township and made a few discoveries using mostly tax lists and deeds. 

 This most significant discovery is that John Brower of Randolph County and Henry Brower of Bedford County could not have been the sons of John Brower (son of Hubert).  However, Christian Brower (son of Hubert) did have sons John and Henry that were of the right age and much more likely to be the John and Henry that went to Randolph County and Bedford counties.  Here is information that support that claim and a few other interesting findings.

 

·         Christian Brower appears in Vincent Township Tax lists in 1734, 1735/6, 1737, 1740.  Henry Brower is in the Vincent Township Tax lists in 1740.  There is a gap in tax records between 1740 and 1747.  All three (Christian, Henry and John) appear in the Coventry township tax list in 1747 and years after.

·         A John Brower Jr appears in the Coventry 1756 Tax List as an inmate (i.e. an adult male married or widowed, landless).  In 1757 “Christian Brower and John Brower his son” are taxed in Coventry.  John Brower Jr appears again in the 1758 Tax List before disappearing.  Assuming he is most likely above the age of 21 in 1756. His birth year is project to be 1735 or earlier.

·         Manual Brower appears in the Coventry 1763 tax list as an inmate. That puts his birth year at about 1742. 

·         The Brower Family Circle has this significant clue.  I was not able to find this record, but with this much detail, I assume it to be valid. 

16 Jan 1773 - The following Legacies paid agreeable to directions of the Will:  To

The Widow -30

Mary Bowman, stepdaughter - 15

John Bowman, stepson -20

John Brower, oldest son -169lbs

Abraham Wenger's wife, eldest dau -169lbs

Henry Brower, second son -169lbs

Emart (Emanual) third son -169lbs

Barbara Miller, second dau -169lbs

Christian Brower, 4th son -169lbs

Peter Brower -169lbs

Enoch Brower -169lbs

Susannah Urmy (Urney) 3rd dau -169lbs

David Brower, youngest son -169lbs

·         According to findagrave, Abraham Wenger’s wife, Anna, was born Mar 1734.  Based on the above, Christian’s second son Henry would have been born between 1735 and 1741.  That fits with the notion that Henry Brower of Bedford County had children beginning about 1760. 

·         Henry Brower is found in the Bedford County tax records (then Cumberland County) in Air Township in 1768-1773 and then in Bethel Township (Bedford County) after that.  

·         We know John Brower (son of Hubert Brower) owned 161 acres from the 21 Apr 1743 Indenture (Chester County Deed Bk V pg 11).  We also know that John and Susannah Brower sell a portion of that land (114a) on 30 May 1770 to son Daniel Brower (Chester County Deed Bk V pg 9).  This is reflected in the tax records as John Brower goes from paying taxes on 153a in 1765 to just 40a (average) between 1766 and 1776.  Daniel Brower (son of John) begins paying taxes in Coventry in 1766 on 100a (some years 120a). 

·         30 May 1777 the inventory of the estate of John Brower indicates the plantation in his possession is worth 300lbs.  While looking for a deed for this “plantation” I came across a 7 Oct 1785 Indenture between Daniel and Catherine Grubb of Coventry and John Bach of Coventry (Chester County Deed Bk F2 Pg 100) that referenced the 21 Apr 1743 indenture between Sebastian and Isabella Wagoner and John Brower for 161a.  It also indicates John Brower died intestate “leaving issue Daniel Brower, John Brower, Henry Brower and Elizabeth the wife of Christian Holderman to whom the above mention tract of land descended”.  It also mentions the following two indentures (neither of which I could find, but no doubt existed). 

o   7 Feb 1781 Indenture where Daniel and Mary Brower, Henry and Elizabeth Brower, and Christian and Elizabeth Holderman release their share of the 46a (part of the 161a) to their brother John Brower. 

o   3 Sep 1783 Indenture where John and Mary Brower sell the 46a to Daniel and Catherine Grubb 

·         Henry (son of John Brower) buys 62a next to John and Henry Brauer in a 27 Oct 1773 Deed.  He appears in the Coventry tax lists beginning in 1774.  

·         John (son of John Brower) appears in tax list for Coventry beginning in 1779.  He is a Freeman (single) in 1779-1780, but is married to Mary by 3 Sep 1783.  Far too late to be the John Brower that had children baptized in York County that eventually went to Randolph County, NC.

·         Henry and John (sons of John Brower) are found in Bedford/Franklin County, Virginia tax lists beginning in 1785. 

·         The children of Christian Brower (son of Hubert) that also went to Franklin County, Virginia include Christian Brower, Barbara (Brower) Miller (wife of Tobias Miller), Enoch Brower, David Brower and stepson John Bowman. 

·         It’s not clear when Christian Brower married the widow Eve Bowman or which children belong to her.  However, her son John Bowman pays tax in 1775 (probably for Eve’s 42a left to her by Christian) which would indicate he was probably born by 1754 and the marriage would have occurred after that.

·         The 23 May 1806 deed selling the 44a (Chester County Deed Bk A3 pg 199) that Christian Brower left to his wife, Eve, only mentioned the surviving children of Christian.  I find it strange that shares did not go to the heirs of John and Henry. 

 Hope this helps others.  Viewing the sources and family relationships from my tree on Ancestry might help make sense of it all.  Attached is a Tax List spreadsheet with 3 tabs (Randolph, Coventry, and Franklin) that I created to help figuring out the families. I was not able to access court records…so there may be some more details waiting to be found for someone with access to those records.

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In effect, what David's work does is switch the two sons (John and Henry) of John Brower (d.1777) and Susannah, of Coventry, Pennsylvania, with the two sons (John and Henry) of Christian Brower (d.1771) who was also of Coventry.

BGB 701