Sunset at Gowanus Bay

Sunset at Gowanus Bay
Sunset at Gowanus Bay, Henry Gritten, 1851

Friday, June 17, 2022

The Origins and Family Connections of Burwell Brewer

 David Brewer, a Co-Administrator of the Brewer DNA Project, who is focused on the "Lanier-Brewer" group within the project, as recently made available to members of the project a paper titled, "The Origins and Family Connections of Burwell Brewer." He has placed it online using Google Docx and has allowed me to provide a link via this post to others who may have an interest. This is a 237 page paper with over 800 footnotes citing records. The paper is not "finished," to quote David, but is being made available in it's current form for review and comment. Those who are not members of the Brewer DNA Project can contact David through the Project's main page.

The Origins and Family Connections of Burwell Brewer

 Long thought to be a son of George Brewer of Brunswick Co., Virginia, David concludes that this assumption regarding Burwell Brewer is not correct and that Burwell is more likely a son of William Brewer of Martin Brandon Parish in Prince George County, Virginia. 

From David Brewer's post to the Brewer DNA Project's Activity Feed: 

"The paper is long, and it has a lot of record cites. My objective is to put as much relevant information as possible about this group in one document. As more data is published online with the passage of time, other researchers will be able to build on this information and correct errors of fact and speculation. The paper also includes a lot of information about other Brewer and allied families present in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and the Mississippi Territory. For example, there is a lengthy discussion about a man named William Brewer from Lancaster County, South Carolina, who I believe was the son of George Brewer Jr., of Brunswick County, Georgia. The paper also discusses Burrell Brewer of Chesterfield County, South Carolina, a likely close relative of William Brewer of Lancaster County, Those men often have been mistaken for descendants of Burwell Brewer, but the paper explains why I believe, instead, that they were descendants of George Brewer of Brunswick County."

I will say no more and leave it up to interested readers to review the document in it's entirety at the above link, and ask those with insight or comments to contact David Brewer directly. The Brewer DNA Project is a Y-DNA project and I would urge any descendants of any of the numerous BREWER families whose origins trace back to the American Southeast during the colonial period to consider contacting and joining the project by taking a Y-DNA test.

BGB 721