Reviewing The Unplaced Genetic Descendants of Jan Brouwer of Flatlands, L.I. Revisited (Part III)

 This post continues the series that begins with the post of March 19, 2022.

In this post we will focus on the 23 page PDF document that was put together in June 2015, and titled, "Review of the Early Generations of Descendants of Jan Brouwer and the Possible Placements of Known Genetic Descendants Whose Precise Ancestry is Not Known." I know, a mouthful. The Early Generations aspect was dealt with in the March 24, 2022 post, and so now we will move onto the unplaced genetic descendants. The order of unplaced genetic descendants will follow the order in which they were handled in the 2015 documents. The page numbers referenced here will refer to the page of the PDF. Numbers referring to the early generation descendants of Jan Brouwer, and so possible ancestors for the unplaced, refer to those found on "Summary of the Male Descendants of Jan Brouwer of Flatlands, L.I. through the Colonial Period." This may take three or four posts to get through, so lets get right into it.

We start with David Brewer found on pages 6-7. David is found on the 1850 U.S. census in Geneva, Jennings Co., Indiana, his age recorded as 88 years, birthplace recorded as New Jersey. This is the only record we have for his year of birth, which would then be about 1762. David is probably a fifth generation, great-great grandson of Jan Brouwer. David married Euphema Warner about 1785 (place not known, record of marriage not found). They had eight children born between 1787 and 1807. David's will, dated 24 February 1845, was probated in Jennings Co., Indiana, 4 August 1853. David's third child, son Samuel Brewer, said to have been born 14 February 1790, is found on the 1860 U.S. census in Harrison, Bartholomew Co., Indiana, age recorded as 77 (overstated compared to his claimed date of birth) and place of birth recorded as New Jersey. David's fourth child, Jacob Jennings Brewer, said to have been born 17 May 1792, is on both the 1850 and 1860 U.S. census records at Sand Creek, Jennings Co., Indiana, age given respectively as 58 and 68 years (which aligns with his birth date) and place of birth recorded as Pennsylvania in both instances. From this it appears that David Brewer was still in New Jersey during the 1780s, but was in Pennsylvania by 1792. The youngest child, daughter Sarah (b. 20 July 1807), married William Sawyer Riley, and is on the 1850 U.S. census at Geneva, Jennings Co., Indiana, age 42, born in Virginia, which as will be seen, at a place that is likely now in West Virginia. A new piece of information found since 2015, is the will of Nathaniel McFarson of Kingwood, Hunterdon Co., New Jersey, yeoman, written 30 September 1788 and proved 19 January 1789. The witnesses to the will were Samuel McFarson, Uriah Bonham and David Brewer (Abs. NJ Wills 7:144). David Brewer is on a tax list in Ohio County, Virginia in 1788 (Ohio Co. is now in West Virginia. It is on the panhandle that runs south to north between the southwestern counties of Pennsylvania and Ohio). In 1797 David Brewer's property in mentioned in a petition of citizens of Menhallen Twp., Fayette Co., Pennsylvania, asking for a division of the township. Redstone Twp. was created and David Brewer is found there on the 1800 U.S. census. In 1810, David Brewer is found at Elizabeth, Ohio Co., Virginia (now W.V.). In 1820 and 1830 he is enumerated in Tyler Co., Virginia (now W.V.). The most valuable piece of information regarding David Brewer is a biography written in 1899 by his grandson Jacob Jennings Warner Brewer, in which he states that his (meaning Jacob) great-grandfather was Derrick Brewer, "who was of Holland descent." Jacob J. W. Brewer was born in 1815 in Tyler Co., Virginia (his own words). His grandfather, David, was living when Jacob was an adult, and he may well have received the name of his grandfather's father directly from David himself. There really is no reason to doubt the statement. So, if born in 1762, David's father, perhaps in his 20s when David was born, was likely born himself between 1732 and 1742 give or take a few years on either side. Looking at the fourth generation of the Jan Brouwer family, the great-grandsons of Jan Brouwer, we have four Dirck Brouwers to choose from, No.19 (b.1729), No.21 (b.1732), No.26 (b.1743) and No.27 (b.1737). Eliminate No.19 as we know that he lived his life at Hempstead, L. I. and there is nothing that has been found to connect David to Hempstead. Of the three remaining, No.26 (b.1743), the youngest is the least likely as I'd suspect that he is the Derrick Brewer who died in 1769 with no mention of heirs when his small estate was settled. In 2015 we suggested No.21, the Dirck baptized 15 August 1732 at Harlingen, son of Elias Brouwer (No.8) and Helena Willemse. I would stay with that placement today, largely based on the fact that Derck (No.21) had a brother, David (No.22) he being the first male named David among Jan Brouwers's descendants. Dirck (No.27) baptized 29 May 1737 at Readington), son of Jacob Brouwer and Marike (___), could still be a possibility. One descendant of David Brewer, who is also a descendant of David's grandson Jacob J. W. Brewer, has taken the basic STR 37marker Y-DNA test. This test confirms the descendant as a descendant of Jan Brouwer, however, an upgrade to the latest BigY-700 test would add new genetic data that may better point the way towards the identity of David's father, and would certainly add new data beneficial to the group as a whole.

John Brewer of Scioto Co., Ohio is found on pages 7-9. Four direct male descendants have taken Y-DNA tests. Two of the four have taken FTDNA's Big-Y test. Their identifying SNP is I-Y7214 which is the identifying SNP for the Jan Brouwer Group as a whole. John Brewer first married Elsie Lewis by 1774 when their first child was born. If married during his twenties this would place his birth in the decade of about 1744 to 1754 give or take a few years. That would likely place John Brewer among the fourth generation and a great grandson of Jan Brouwer. Elsie Lewis' brother, Barnet Brewer, of Bernards Twp., Somerset Co., New Jersey, wrote his will 12 February 1807 (proved 19 Feb 1807) in which he mentions his sister Elsie as the "first wife" of John Brewer and their two children, Mary Brewer and Edward Brewer. John Brewer's second wife was Sarah Howell although I have yet to find confirmation of her family name. No record of their marriage has been found. Their first (of supposedly nine children) was born in 1779. In 1790 John Brewer is found on the U.S. census at Bullskin, Fayette Co., Pennsylvania. In 1797, John Brewer and his wife Sarah, of Bullskin, sold land in Bullskin. In December 1801, John Brewer is in Adams Co., Ohio when he collected a $6 bounty on three wolves. Scioto Co., Ohio was created out of Adams County in March 1803, and John Brewer remained there and died by May 1808 by accounts regarding his estate found in court records at Portsmouth, Ohio. Administration on his estate was granted 19 February 1809 to a Samuel Lucas, whose relationship to John Brewer's family is not known. Perhaps he was a creditor, perhaps he had some relationship to John's second wife, Sarah, who is found in later records regarding the estate. Of John Brewer's 11 children, seven are sons. Three of the sons are ancestors of participants in the Brewer DNA Project. Among the sons is a Richard Brewer, who is called "Derrick Brewer of Scioto County," in an 1816 deed by which he and siblings sell land from their father's estate. If born between 1744 and 1754, it's likely that John's father was born earlier than 1724. The 2015 report places John Brewer as probably one of the sons of Derck Brouwer (No.3). Based on newer BigY-700 test results, the Brewer DNA Project now suggests that John Brewer could be a son of one of the sons of Elias Brouwer (No.8, wife Helena Willemse), either Dirck (No.21) or David (No.22). He cannot be a son of Elias (No.23) had a son named John Brewer, but who is otherwise accounted for. If David Brewer (above) is also a son of Dirck (No.21) it would be suggested that both the descendant of David Brewer, and the remaining two descendants of John Brewer, upgrade their Y-DNA tests to the BigY-700. Results might expose unique identifying SNPs that could link the two to a more recent common ancestor than Jan Brouwer (No.1) or Derck Brouwer (No.3).

John Rose is found on pages 9-10. John Rose died in Madison, Pickaway Co., Ohio in December 1830. Seven descendants of four different sons of John Rose, have taken Y-DNA tests and from the results it is clear that John Rose is a genetic descendant of Jan Brouwer. Since 2015 four of those descendants have taken BigY-700 tests and will cover the results below. I will not spend time reviewing the traditional genealogical research findings here, but will instead direct the reader to the original 2015 document. There are a couple of new items of info to add. One, in an email from June 2021, Marg Bond, who has does considerable research on the descendants of John Rose and on the investigation of his ancestry, informs us that John Rose's wife, Dorothy, was Dorothy Eva Sirk, born 1768 in York Co., Pennsylvania, daughter of Mathias Sirk. The Sirks were in Louden Co., Virginia by 1782 and by 1795 were in Frederick Co., Virginia. She has also found a John Rose on a tax list in Frederick Co., Virginia in 1792. By 1802 he was in Rockingham Co., Virginia. It's likely that John Rose and Dorothy Eva Sirk were married in Louden Co., Virginia, or perhaps Frederick Co., Virginia. Another item is the appearance of a John Rose on the 1792 Hunterdon Co., New Jersey Militia roll at Amwell Township (see the post of March 26, 2021). The John Rose of Frederick Co., VA in 1792, and the John Rose of Amwell Twp., Hunterdon Co., NJ in 1792, may or may not be the same man. Advanced DNA testing in the form of FTDNA's BigY-700 test has added helpful genetic data with regards to the placement of John Rose within the Jan Brouwer family. The new test results have created a new genetic sub-branch of the Jan Brouwer branch (I-Y7214), with this new sub-branch identified by SNP I-FT135755. This SNP is shared by the descendants of Joh Rose with two others in the project, they being the Embody descendant and a descendant of Richard Brower (b.ca.1804) who lived at Lee, Oneida Co., New York and later Albion, Oswego Co., New York (see the post of June 20, 2019). In addition, two of the descendants of John Rose can be further identified by a unique SNP I-Y41503. Both of the two descendants are descendants of John Rose's son Anthony Rose (1792-1857). I-Y41503 is then a sub-branch of I-FT135755 which in turn is a sub-branch of I-Y7214. This can be seen on the YFull Y-Tree of February 25, 2022. John Rose was probably born between 1766 and 1770 (from age ranges found on the 1810, 1820 and 1830 U.S. census records), and probably in New Jersey, although the 1880 U.S. census for his son Solomon Rose (at Pleasant Hill, Nebraska) records Solomon's father's place of birth as Virginia. Records this far removed from the actual event, and reported by someone other than the individual the record is in regard to, can be unreliable, but having said that, Virginia is a possible location, and if so I'd suspect that John Rose's birth took place in Frederick County. To be clear, what I'm saying is that John Rose could have been born in either New Jersey or Virginia. The date range for his birth would likely place John Rose in the fifth generation of descendants of Jan Brouwer (i.e. a great-great grandson). We would then look for his father among those of the fourth generation. The Brewer DNA Project's Y-DNA analysis suggests that John Rose is probably among the descendants of Jan Brouwer's son Derck (No.3) and likely a descendant of Pieter Brouwer (No.9) who was at Bridgewater, New Jersey in 1753*. His sons, possible father's for John Rose, would be Petrus (No.24), Abraham (No.25) and Dirck (No.26). Of the three, Abraham does have known descendants and we'll get to them in a future post. Descendants for Petrus and Dirck have not been discovered. I would also add that in the summary, under Dirck (No.26) we discuss the Derrick Brewer of Somerset County whose estate was administered in 1769, and mention the fact that no heirs are mentioned. That no heirs were named, does not necessarily imply that Derrick Brewer never had any children. He may still have had a child born out of wedlock, as John Rose may have been. In other words, Derrick Brewer who died in 1769 should not be ignored. Now, which Dirck Brouwer of the fourth generation this belongs to, is another matter, although I would suspect that it was the youngest of the four, which would be Dirck (No.26).

*The issue here isn't so much a question of whether John Rose is a descendant of Pieter Brouwer (No.9), but rather is Pieter (No.9) a son of Derck (No.3) or is he a son of Pieter (No.2). See Pieter (No.9) in the Summary PDF.

To be continued...

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