The Grandsons of Adam Brouwer: (3) Matthys Brouwer, Son of (1) Adam Brouwer

 (3) Matthys Brouwer is the second son of (1) Adam Brouwer and Magdalena Verdon. "Mathys, child of Adam Brouwer," was baptized at the New Amsterdam Reformed Church on 30 May 1649. His mother's name was not recorded in the baptism register, but this was something that was not unusual at the time. Many of the baptism records from the years around 1649 only record the father's name. That same day, Aeltie, child of Paulus Van der Beeck was also baptized. Aeltie was Mathys' mother Magdalena Verdon's half-sister. The sponsors/witnesses for Mathys' baptism were Mathys and Barentje Molenaers. What if any family relationship they may or may not have had with Adam Brouwer, or Magdalena Verdon, is not apparent. The "surname" Molenaers is an occupational name, and it most probably describes Mathys Molenaers' occupation at the time. A molenaar (in Dutch) is a miller. Adam Brouwer would soon build and operate a grist mill of his own. Perhaps he was employed by Mathys Molenaer in 1649 and simply named his second son for his employer who may have taught Adam the trade of a miller. This is just speculation, albeit a plausible one.

Marriage banns for "Mathys Brouwer, j.m. Van N. Jorck, en Margrietje Pieters, j.d. Van N. Amersfort," were published by the New York Reformed Dutch Church on 26 January 1673. The banns tell us that Mathys was born in New York (City) which at the time he was born was New Amsterdam. This would imply that in May 1649 his parents, (1) Adam Brouwer and Magdalena Verdon had not yet settled at Gowanus. Mathys married Marietje Pieterse. The marriage record incorrectly calls her Margrietje. In all other records she is recorded as Marietje, Marritje, or some other near variation in spelling. She was a daughter of Pieter Claesen and Grietje Cornelise Van Ness. Descendants of Pieter Claesen a took the surname Wyckoff (with many varied spellings). This would have first occurred during the later years of the 1600s. I have not found a record in which Marietje Pieterse, or her father for that matter, is found with the surname Wyckoff. Marietje Pieterse was likely born around 1648, at New Amersfort, a.k.a. Flatlands. 

On 19 November 1679, "Matthijs Brouwer and wife Marritje Pieters" were members of the Flatbush Reformed Protestant Dutch Church. They were recorded as living at "Brooklyn Ferry." A record from the Old First Dutch Reformed Church at Breuckelen (Brooklyn) under the date of 30 November 1680, states that the couple were "both from Manhattan Island." As "Mattys Brouwer," he is recorded on an Assessment List dated 26 September 1683 at Brooklyn with 1 poll, 1 cow and 1 cow of 3 years. On 26 September 1687, Matthys took the Oath of Allegiance in Orange County, New York. It is important here to point out the the Orange County, New York of 1687 is not the same as the Orange County, New York of today. In 1687 Orange County also included what is today, Rockland County, which in 1687 was the southern portion of Orange County. It's likely that this is where Matthys lived in 1687, and that would be on the west side of the Hudson River, just north of Manhattan Island and across from Westchester County which is on the east side of the Hudson River. Mathys was named in his father's will dated 22 January 1692. He stood as sponsor/witness for baptisms of three different grandchildren in 1706, 1708 and 1710 at the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow in Tarrytown, Westchester County. On 18 April 1716 both Matthys and Marietje were recorded as member nos. 83 and 84, "from Cortlandt Manor," at the Sleepy Hollow Dutch Church. Matthys Brouwer died prior to 29 July 1726 when he is described as deceased in the marriage banns of his daughter Jannetje Brouwer who married Jan Pell (Lutheran Church of New York City). Marietje was living on 26 September 1725 when as "Maretje Brouwer," she witnessed the baptism of her granddaughter Mattheus Vos, son of her daughter Willemtje Brouwer and her husband Jan Vos by the Lutheran Minister. She is described as the child's grandmother in the record. No record of death or burial has been found for either Matthys or Marietje. There is no record of a will, nor of the settlement of either estate.

We know of eleven children of Matthys Brouwer and Marietje Pieterse. There are surviving baptism records for seven of the children. The surviving records are dispersed between the New York RDC and the Reformed Churches at Brooklyn and Flatbush (whose records often overlap). The records of the later two churches have gaps and are not complete which may account for missing baptisms for four of the children. There are four sons, (13) Peter, (14) Samuel, (15) Hendrick and (16) Johannes. We will cover each in future posts. Six of the couple's seven daughters reached adulthood and married.

William J. Hoffman covers Matthys Brouwer in "Brouwer Beginnings" at TAG 23(1947):202-204. 

Floyd I. Brewer in his A Dutch-English Odyssey; Stories of Brewer and Estey Families in North America, 1636-1996 (1997) incorrectly places his post colonial period Brewer ancestry as descended from Matthys Brouwer. He recognized this error only after his book was published. In correspondence with the late William B. Bogardus, and in Floyd I. Brewer's defense, I was informed that Floyd did not research his colonial period ancestry himself. He had hired two professional genealogists, one of which suggested a lineage that led back to Matthys Brouwer. She was wrong. Floyd I. Brewer's correct lineage leads back to (1) Adam Brouwer's son (8) Nicholas Brouwer.

Frank J. Doherty, Settlers of the Beekman Patent, Vol. 2: 763-765, follows one line of descendants of Matthys' son (16) Johannes, but only to his sons. The account here essentially follows Hoffman's account in "Brouwer Beginnings" and adds a bit more on the last generation followed, that being grandsons of (3) Matthys.

On this website see the August 8, 2012 post, "The Family of Matthys Brouwer and Marietje Pieters (Wyckoff). 

For source citations see the profile of Matthys Brouwer on the BGD website.

We do not have any records or evidence of any contemporaries to (3) Matthys Brouwer who might bear the same name. Matthys did not name any of his sons, Matthys. He has two known grandsons with the name, they being Matthys, baptized 1695, son of (14) Samuel and Matthys, baptized 1711, son of (16) Johannes. There are a couple of records of men similarly named, from the colonial period that we will list here and try to expand on in the future:

1. Mattheus Brouwer and wife, Elizabeth had daughters Elizabeth and Maria baptized at the North Branch Reformed Church at Readington, Hunterdon Co., New Jersey in May 1750 (sponsors John Egbert and Metje Egbert) and 3 June 1753 (no sponsors recorded) respectively. 
2. Matheus Brouwer and Marijke Beker were witnesses for the baptism of Maria, daughter of Samuel Elsworth and Janneke (___), 15 May 1750, Lutheran Church, New York City.
3. A Mathew Brewer/Brower was sued by Joseph King in Hunterdon Co., New Jersey in 1764. (Post of April 27, 2020). 
4. A Matheus/Mathew Brewer is found in Dutchess County, New York, "Ancient Documents" involved in lawsuits from 1741 through 1743. (Post of August 7, 2013).
   

All of the above would have had to have been born prior to 1730, and in the case of no. 4 prior to 1720, most likely in the greater New York City area. I would venture to say that no. 3 above is likely the same individual as no. 1. There is also Mathew Brower/Brewer of Greene Co., Pennsylvania who has been covered in previous posts starting in 2013. This Mathew Brower/Brewer was living as late as 1820 and was perhaps born in the period of 1755-1760. He apparently was in Lebanon, Hunterdon Co., New Jersey prior to settling in Greene Co., Pennsylvania.

(3) Matthys Brouwer, born in New Amsterdam in 1649, lived in Brooklyn, certainly at or near Gowanus after he married. His eleven children were all born or baptized between 1673/74 and about 1695. In 1687 he is found in Orange County (that part now Rockland County) and afterwards at Courtlandt Manor in Westchester County, New York. Son (14) Samuel, born by 1677 had eleven children born between 1695 and 1716. Son (16) Johannes had five children born between 1711 and about 1720. The roster of Matthys' grandchildren may be incomplete. Records for both of the sons just mentioned are found in the records of the Old Dutch Church at Sleepy Hollow in Westchester County, New York, through the first half of the 1700s. More on them in future posts.

Genetic genealogy: To date the Brewer DNA Project has no known direct male descendants of (3) Matthys Brouwer, whose Y-DNA test results match those of other descendants of (1) Adam Brouwer. However, the Project does have two members, both of whom claim to be descendants of (3) Matthys Brouwer through his son (14) Samuel, but whose Y-DNA tests do not match those of the members of the Adam Brouwer group. Their tests identify their predicted haplogroup as R-M512, while Adam Brouwer's descendants are identified by E-BY6201. The two, along with two other members, form the group "Under Consideration B" at the Brewer DNA Project. We will elaborate on this further when we take up (14) Samuel, but for now I'll just say that one of the two has a very strong claim, a solid ancestry based on traditional genealogical research, back to (14) Samuel, while the second has a very plausible ancestry, yet neither are genetic descendants of (1) Adam Brouwer.

< Previous post in this series                                             Next post in this series >

BGB 730