Y-DNA Haplogroups for Willem Adriaense Bennet

Contributed by Ron Bennett.

This is a follow-up to the earlier posts on the Y-DNA haplogroups for Willem Adriaense Bennet (WAB), which were generic. Since that time, eight descendants of WAB have upgraded to an extensive, full chromosome Y-DNA paternity test called BigY-700. Data processing alone for this test takes over 8 weeks, but the result is a sufficiently detailed list of individual mutations, which occur every 50 to 100 years on average, such that the software is able to create a biological family tree (called a TimeTree), showing the birth years of each common ancestor between branches.
 

The unique haplogroup (branch name) for WAB is E-FTB90013 (est. birth 1626, historical ~1605), which includes him, his two sons, and their descendants. His older son, Adrian Willemsen's haplogroup is E-FTB92022 (est. birth 1651, historical 1637). His great-grandson, Isaac Adrianson's haplogroup is E-FTD68674 (est. birth 1708, historical 1717).
 

This haplotree corroborates the WAB family tree on this site with the corrections published by Morrissey, et.al. in 2017, but does not match the original 1962 tree published by Ledley and subsequently by Kenneth Bennett.
The Y-DNA tree is skeletal due to the small number of descendants. Luckily we have four descendants from each of WAB's two sons, but only three of the eight grandsons documented here are represented. Additional male descendants are needed to fully corroborate the historical records family tree. Please contact FTDNA directly to order this test or contact me directly with questions. The test is a bit expensive, but the beauty is that nothing more is required of the participants except their DNA. The analysis will automatically connect you to all other Bennetts and other surnames (including Brouwer) who have ever taken this test.

Bennets/Bennetts interested in participating in the Bennett Y-DNA Project at FamilyTreeDNA should contact the Project directly via their website, and/or contact Ron Bennett directly.

BGB 754 

An Update to "Joseph Driggs Is Not Josias Drake, Jr."

 It has been fifteen years since "Joseph Driggs Is Not Josias Drake, Jr." was posted online. While this update does not change the conclusion of the original post (Joseph Driggs is still NOT Josias Drake, Jr.) it is here to bring to the attention of those interested in the question of Joseph Driggs' ancestry, the research of Richard Davis who has now found the origins of Joseph Driggs who died in East Haddam, Connecticut in 1748. This post will be short and any interest, further inquiry or questions should be directed to Richard Davis.

First a bit of housekeeping. Links provided on the original June 3, 2012 post, which itself was a copy of a post originally from 2008 (see Broken Links, The Ephemeral Nature of the Internet) were in need of repair. The original, "Joseph Driggs Is Not Josias Drake, Jr." is now online as a PDF. Please use the link found in the text of the June 3, 2012 post.

The incontestable proof that Joseph Driggs could not possibly be Josias Drake, Jr. was the result of Y-DNA testing of direct descendants of both Joseph Driggs and of Josias Drake's father, Josias Drats/Dratz whose wife was Aeltje Brouwer (a daughter of Adam Brouwer and Magdalena Verdon). Josias Drake, Jr., himself, is not known to have left any descendants. This work was initiated by Richard Davis and now some fifteen years later he has contacted me to inform me that he has "finally found the origin of Joseph Driggs (1681-1748) of Middletown, Connecticut." Richard did this by first matching five Y-DNA test results of five Driggs descendants with three Y-DNA matches from Sao Roque, Pico Island in the Azores, an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean which today is an autonomous region of Portugal. Through the traditional genealogical work that followed, Richard was able to trace Joseph Driggs paternal ancestry back to the late 1400s to some of the earliest settlers of Pico Island. 

Richard has written a 29 page report (including addendums) describing and explaining his research, which includes both genetic and traditional genealogical research. All and all it's a pretty interesting adventure that includes a visit to Pico Island itself. Richard has also created a couple of charts showing the paternal lineages of those tested.

I will not be making available online any of Richard's work. Again, those who are interested should reach out to Richard Davis directly. 

BGB 753

Broken Links, The Ephemeral Nature of the Internet

 The previous post serves as perfect example of the ephemeral nature of the internet. Here one day, perhaps gone the next. Or perhaps gone next week Or maybe next year. Or perhaps in a few years. One thing is for certain, if you are reading it online today, the day will come when you will not be able to find it. Or, perhaps what you are looking for is just misplaced because the URL was changed. This is what happened with the BGD in 2018 after it was restored by RootsWeb  following a ten month or so state of being offline. Many URLs were changed when the site was reinstated. Here we'll address the problem of Broken Links. The Brouwer Genealogy Database (BGD) and this website, Brouwer Genealogy, are both plagued by broken links.

What to do about these broken links?

I could spend my time continuously scouring and checking each of the 751 posts (to date) for broken links, and then repair them. I'm not keen on doing that. That's not going to happen. I'm not going to spend time doing that. However, you the reader, can help to do something about it.

Fixing or replacing broken links on this website can be made a bit more efficient than having one person (me) check through every individual post. You can help by bringing to my attention any broken links that you might encounter during the course using this website. Please do this by using the Comments section of the post in which you encounter the broken link. If you do not see the "Post a Comment" field, just click on the "No comments" link at the bottom of the post. Leave a comment pointing out the broken link. Blogger will notify me via email of your pending comment. When I see it (I usually check email once a day), I will put through your comment online, find a new replacement link, and reply to your comment to confirm that the link has been fixed. I may also add it to the Replacement Links and More page on this website.

Fixing broken links on the BGD is an entirely different matter. The BGD has not been updated since early 2016 and cannot be updated today or at anytime into the future. It is now an Archive, and will remain so, in its present condition until the day that it eventually disappears from the ephemeral internet. A day which will come, we just don't know when. (Although we have been given a hint that it may well happen). This means that broken links on the BGD cannot be fixed on that site.

Back in 2018 I created a page for this website titled, "Replacement Links and More." It is listed in the margin to the right under Pages. It's the second one down from the top. We will use this page to list new links for links that are broken within the BGD. Should you encounter broken links on the BGD, what I would ask you to, using the comments section for THIS POST, is leave a description of the broken link and paste a copy of the URL for the page on which that link appears (unfortunately Comments does not except hyperlinks. I'll copy and paste the URL that you provide to find the page where the problem is found). I'll then reply and acknowledge your comment. I will add a new link to the Replacement Links and More page. You can then find it there. The links are listed alphabetically. Again, I cannot correct the link on the BGD itself. I prefer that you use the Comments section for this rather than contacting me directly through email, simply because doing will so will create a log of broken link replacements right here on the website. Thanks for you help here.

Some exceptions: One, is that I cannot replace links that connect one individual on the BGD to another on the BGD itself. That could only be done by updating the entire site, and as stated, I cannot do that. On the plus side, so long as the site is intact, few, if any of this type of link should be broken. 

A second is the "Brouwer Photos" page and the "Images Off Site" page. Both pages are recent casualties of the ephemeral internet. The photos were housed on Google, on Album Archive, a service which they just recently discontinued. I do have the photos. They are not lost. However, I am not going to place them online again unless they are used within the context of some new post written sometime in the future. Many of them are probably found within the pages of this website anyway.

Of the documents found under the headings of "Notes, Research, Reports," "Index Extractions, and "William B. Bogardus Collection," most still appear to work, although I did find a few which are broken. I looked, but have been unable to find replacement documents in my files offline. Some may have been links to other websites, in which case, if that site or page is gone, there is nothing I can do about it anyway. Just another example of the ephemeral internet.

I will place a link to this post in the margin at the right under the heading Brouwer-Brower-Brewer links, which is right under Featured Post. In that way it will be easier to find. Thank you for your help with this.

As I said above, here one day, gone the next. Have no doubt, the day will come when the BGD is offline for good. When that day comes, it will not be replaced. The same is true for this website. In fact it has happened once already. This site was started in 2008 on an Apple laptop using Apple's blogging program. This was before they were calling programs, apps. In 2011 Apple simply decided that they were done with maintaining the program and providing the online space in which users could post and so they killed it. Here one day, gone the next. I found blogger, then an independent company, reconstituted some of the 2008-2011 posts, but not all (they're gone) and continued. Blogger was soon bought by Google. Over the years Google has dumbed it down a bit. The tools available here are basic at best. There is no ability to use superscripts or subscripts for example, and there is no ability to use hyperlinks in the Comments. But it'll do. It is easy and it is integrated with one's Google account. But I have no doubt. The day will come, I have a feeling sooner than later, when it will no longer be in Google's financial interest to continue carrying or supporting Blogger. When that day comes, Brouwer Genealogy will be no more. When that happens it will not be reconstituted as another site elsewhere on the ephemeral internet. If the site is at all helpful to you, great, take advantage of it while it's here. Like everything else, it is not forever.

BGB 752

The Current State of the Brouwer Genealogy Database Website

 The Brouwer Genealogy Database (BGD) was first launched in 2008 and was last updated in late 2015/early 2016. This post also covers the current state of the other databases that I had placed online, namely Brewer of New England, Brewer-Lanier Database, Descendants of Alice Freeman Thompson Parke, Drake Genealogy Database, and Drake in Devonshire, the links for which can be found in the right hand column of this website.What is said below with regards to the BGD applies to these five databases as well.

If you will travel over to the BGD you will note the new banner headline altering us to the fact that "Hosted websites will become read only beginning in early 2024." In effect this means that RootsWeb, which has been owned by Ancestry.com for some years now, will no longer provide the authors and publishers of websites hosted by RootsWeb with the ability to update or in any way add to or alter their sites. The websites will remain "static" in their words. This, in actuality, is not new to the BGD. It has been "static" since April 6, 2016. I have not updated the BGD since then, and I have no intention of doing so in the future. Since then I have used this website, Brouwer Genealogy, to add new information and to correct errors in the existing BGD. Please note: RootsWeb has not stated in its notice that they will be removing the websites that they host. What they do state is that they are removing the ability for authors to edit or otherwise amend their websites. Having said that, there is a significant problem left behind after RootsWeb posted their banner alert.

You will note that the original introduction to the database that appeared on the Main Page has been severely truncated. It's in effect, gone. In addition, and this greatly effects the functionality and ease of use of the site, the indexes (Surname Index and Master Index) are empty. Users no longer have the ability to locate any particular or specific individual within the 744 pages that contain the individual profiles. There is nothing that I can do about this. Unless RootsWeb/Ancestry.com corrects this themselves, the Indexes are lost. In an email to their Support staff I have asked if they could address and fix this. While I have received acknowledgement that my inquiry has been received and have been given a "Case number," I have not yet received a reply. As of this writing it is still possible to access some individual profiles through the Charts, Progenitors, Unplaced, and DNA Analysis pages found in the space below the title. All and all, the BGD is very inefficient without the Indexes. However...

There is a Work Around

A work around to this problem is to use an internet search engine like Google or Bing to locate an individual within the BGD's pages. I first tried this with Google using a rather uncommon Brewer name, Elazerus Brewer. I entered Elazerus Brewer, Brouwer Genealogy Database on Google Search. The results were useless. Among them was the Brouwer Genealogy Databases' main page, but that doesn't help me get to Elazerus himself. I then tried "Elazerus Brewer" and "Brouwer Genealogy Database," both in quotation marks and separated by the word, and. The third suggestion down was Brouwer Genealogy Database - Person Page 101. That takes me to page 101 of the BGD and then I scrolled through the page for Elazerus. As I recall, I think that I had this set up for 100 profiles per page. This more precise search request did bring me to Person Page 101, and scrolling down, or using your browser's "Find in page" tool (I'm using a Fire Fox browser here) this work around does work. Using Bing, I pretty much had the same result. You need to be specific and use perimeters like quotation marks to narrow down your search. Keep in mind, with this test I did use an uncommon given name, Elazerus. Try this with say, John Brewer, Brouwer Genealogy Database, and you will have far more search results to consider. Here I would suggest adding more info to the search, such as a birth or death date, or by searching using the spouse's name (if known). This is all I can suggest with regards to finding an individual on the BGD. Should RootsWeb fix the index problem - great. Should they not - oh well, users will just have to trudge on without it.

The Bigger Issue

As mentioned, the BGD was first created and uploaded in 2008 and was frequently updated through the end of 2015. This was for me, a lot of work. The technical aspects of what was involved in creating the website and the reason why I created it were summed up back in 2008/09 in "About the Brouwer Genealogy Database." In 2017 RootsWeb was hacked and all of their hosted websites and forums were taken down. They were offline for, as I recall, ten months or so. See the post of June 9, 2018. Soon thereafter, by July 20, 2018, the BGD was restored by RootsWeb, although some stand alone pages that were linked to by this website, Brouwer Genealogy, remained lost. Also lost was my ability to manage the many files needed to create the BGD. That is to say, I lost the ability to replace incorrect information with replacement information or add new information to the pages already online. RootsWeb had taken away their free and easy to use upload tool. This meant that site publishers had to find and use a third party alternative, i.e. some FTP client software. I was not interested in doing this and simply decided that it was a good time to stop working on the BGD. As a result, the website you now find online is the same as it was back in late 2015/early 2016. It is in RootsWeb's words, "static," and has been for the past eight years. This final condition of the BGD includes the errors within the database and does not include all of the additional information that has been discovered and learned over the past seven to eight years since it went "static". Since early 2016  I have been using this website, Brouwer Genealogy, to point out errors, to correct profiles (see the recent post of April 6, 2023 for an example) and to add new names and info. This isn't how I envisioned this turning out way back in 2008 when I created the site. But, it is what it is. Unforeseen events often alter initial plans. It is the way things will remain with the BGD from here on out into the future.

There are other issues with the "static" BGD that I have but I will not go into them in detail now or here. In short, the flaws in it irritate me to the point that I would just as soon see the entire site taken offline once and for all and for good, and the time and effort required to maintain and update the BGD in the format in which it stands, is time and effort that I would prefer to spend elsewhere. I did, however, receive an email from Richard Brewer, the previous administrator of the Brewer DNA Project, in which he described the BGD, not as "static," but as "an Archive." This is perhaps a better way to think about the condition of the BGD. Think about it as an archive of the work done on numerous Brouwer/Brower/Brewer, etc., and associated families between the years of 2000 and 2016. In that light, I can live with it remaining online in it's present, and final form, errors, omissions, warts and all, for as long as RootsWeb is willing to host it. And for those who are persistent and willing to do a little extra work, the BGD can still be a useful tool. Looking at the BGD as an archive is the thing which stops me from taking RootsWeb's advise to use a FTP client tool to download my files from the RootsWeb server which would in turn remove the site in its entirety from the internet. If I did or do remove the files I would not reconstitute it online using another hosting provider. Having now said that the BGD is to a degree outdated, please keep that in mind when using it. The strength of this website is its numerous sited sources. Use them to check the work for yourself and please don't re-post any images or screenshots of profiles or pages elsewhere online, like in your Ancestry.com Tree, without first validating the content within said image or screenshot. So, to be clear...

RootsWeb tells us that, "website owners wishing to maintain their sites must migrate to a different hosting provider before 2024." That will not happen with the archival BGD. It will not be migrated to a new hosting platform, nor will it be altered from it's present, that is to say, "static" or "archived" form. I have contacted RootsWeb support and asked whether or not they intended to continue hosting websites, whether or not the websites would be migrated to Ancestry.com (as they did with World Connect Trees), and if so, would the pages have new URLs. My inquiry was acknowledged and I was given a case number, but I have yet to receive a reply. If I do not hear back we'll just have to wait until 2024 to see just how Ancestry.com handles the RootsWeb hosted websites that have not migrated to a different hosting provider. Perhaps when that is completed, or perhaps sooner as per my request, the banner notices on the BGD's site will be removed and the indexes will be restored. If they aren't, as I've said, users will have to get along without them.

BGB 751

 

Some BREWER Wills, Etc., In Kentucky: Mercer County

 Mercer County, Kentucky was formed in 1785 out of what was then Lincoln County, Virginia (and is now Lincoln County, Kentucky). Kentucky was admitted to the Union as a state, June 1, 1792. Harrodsburg, the county seat of Mercer County, was first settled in 1774. Below are BREWER wills and other probate records found in the books of Mercer County, Kentucky and available on FamilySearch.org, "Probate Records 1786-1865; General Index, 1786-1946," Kentucky. County Court (Mercer County).

1. Daniel Brewer.* 1791. 1:49. Will.

2. Daniel Brewer. 1799. 2:134. Guardian Account.

3. David Brewer. 1819. 6:214. Will.

4. David Brewer. 1819-20. 6:230, 232. Inventory.

5. Dilly Brewer. 1820. 6:333. Dower.

6. Daniel A. Brewer. 1822. 7:333. Guardian Account.

7. John Brewer. 1826. 8:324. Inventory.

8. David Brewer. 1826. 8:395. Settlement.

9. John Brewer. 1828. 9:113. Settlement.

10. Abraham Brewer. 1828. 9:137. Will.

11. David Brewer. 1828. 9:149. Settlement

12. Abraham Brewer. 1828. 9:151. Inventory.

13. David Brewer. 1833. 10:66. Settlement.

14. L. D. Brewer. 1851. 14:36. Guard. Settlement.

15. H. R. Brewer. 1853. 14:204. Guard. Settlement.

16. Robert Brewer. 1854. 15:36. Guard. Settlement.

17. Abram A. Brewer. 1858. 15:527. Will.

18. A. A. Brewer. 1858. 15:527. Inventory.

19. A. A. Brewer. 1858. 16:43. Exor. Settlement.

20. L. D. Brewer. 1882. 18:336. Will

21. Ethelinda Brewer. 1882. 18:339. Renunciation.

22. Ethelinda Brewer. 1899. 19:102. Will.

This post has been in the draft file for some months now. My original plan was to include an abstract of the above records. At this time that project would be too time consuming and is not possible within the foreseeable future, so rather than have this much of the post linger in the draft file, perhaps this can serve as a head start for anyone researching the Brewers of Mercer County, Kentucky.

*Daniel Brouwer/Brewer (1719-1791) is a great-grandson of Adam Brouwer of Gowanus, L. I. (Adam>Pieter>Abraham>Daniel).

BGB 750

A List of BREWER Deeds in Kentucky: Hardin County

 Hardin County, Kentucky was formed in 1792 from land partitioned from Nelson County, which itself was created from Jefferson County in 1784. Kentucky was admitted to the Union as the 15th State on June 1, 1792. Prior to that it was known as the Kentucky District and was within the jurisdiction of Virginia. The first permanent European settlement was founded in 1774 by James Harrod at the site of present day Harrodsburg in Mercer County. On 4 March 1843, the southeast portion of Hardin County was set of to form LaRue County. 

The Family History Library has filmed and since digitized the deed books for Hardin County. Digital images can be accessed from a home computer at the FamilySearch.org website: Hardin County, Kentucky Deeds, 1793-1902; index 1795-1904. A list of deeds involving persons named BREWER.

1. Mark Brewer from Benjamin Chastee, G:71 (1819)
   
2. Mark Brewer from John Brewer, I:15 (1823)
   
3. Isaac Brewer from John Willett, T:385 (1841)
   
4. John Brewer to Stephen French, T:41 (1840)
   
5. Isaac Brewer from Edward Sutton, T:380 (1841)
   
6. Isaac Brewer to Nathaniel Whitehead, V:221 (1841)
   
7. Uriah Brewer from Henry F. McBride by Comr., Y:247 (1850)
   
8. John Brewer from L & N Rail Road Co., Z:388 (1852)
   
9. Uriah Brewer to Felix J. Fowler, 2:431 (1854)
   

This post has been in the draft file for some months now. My original intention was to abstract these deeds. Plans have changed, I will not be doing that at this time. Perhaps this list will serve as a bit of a shortcut to anyone who may be interested in the Brewer families of Hardin County, Kentucky.

BGB 749

Revising The Family of Jan Brouwer and Helena Van Cleef

 The post, "The Family of Jan Brouwer and Helena Van Cleef," was published October 24, 2012. A profile, with source citations, for Jan Brouwer can be found on the Brouwer Genealogy Database (last updated late 2015). The family was also covered back in 2007 in "Jan Brouwer of Flatlands and Descendants," New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, 138(2007):254. In each of these instances we see a family consisting of eleven or twelve children. We also see that the mother of these children is recorded variously as Helena, Hilletje, Lena, and Mardelena. We also see some conflicts among the baptism dates of the children, specifically with the children, Pieter, Benjamin, and Marytje, who were baptized 26 Dec. 1737, 19 Feb. 1738 and 3 Oct. 1738 respectively. Ten years later I have had reason to revisit this family and today I see it very differently. Rather than one family of eleven or twelve children, I believe that what we have here are TWO families, a family of Jan Brouwer and Hilletje Van Cleef, and another family of a different Jan Brouwer and his wife Lena/Mardelena (___).

Both the 2007 "Jan Brouwer of Flatlands and Descendants" article and my post of October 24, 2012 acknowledges the problems with the original family of Jan Brouwer and Helena Van Cleef. With regards to the 2007 article see footnote 45 on page 254 which, in short, explains the "odd spacing of baptisms" in this family, to the personality of the minister, Rev. Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen. I should quote the full footnote here:

"The odd spacing of baptisms may be due to Rev. Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen, the autocratic minister of the churches at Three-Mile Run (New Brunswick), Raritan (Somerville), North Branch (Readington) and Six-Mile Run, who, influenced by the Great Awakening, withheld communion and baptisms from various church members for extended periods of time in the 1720s and 1730s and even excommunicated some who would not conform to his evangelical views. Some members occasionally sought the sacraments from other ministers in the area. Thus, although Reformed baptisms usually followed soon after birth, in this part of New Jersey, in this time period, baptismal dates are not necessarily good estimators of birth of birth dates." 

Perhaps. Or perhaps not. Do we have record of Rev. Frelinghuysen specifically withholding baptism from some children of Jan Brouwer and Hilletje Van Cleef? If such a record exists, it is not presented in the article. And since it is not, I would then assume that we do not have this evidence and that there is no reason to assume that that is what is happening here. The author(s) of this article (see footnote 2 on page 250), is (are) suggesting that Jan Brouwer and Hilletje Van Cleef went to the Reformed minister at Freehold-Middletown to baptize children that Rev. Frelinghuysen would not baptize at North Branch or Raritan. In other words, Jan Brouwer lived in the area of Raritan in Somerset or Hunterdon Counties when these children were born, whereas other evidence suggests that he lived at Middletown in Monmouth County. Having the children baptized  by the Freehold-Middletown minister would have been the parents first option, as is the case with the couples first four baptisms and the sixth (see below).

In my own post on October 24, 2012, I recognize this and try to explain away not only the problem of the "odd baptism spacing," but also the problem of the children's mother having a wide variety of recorded given names. Hilletje a Dutch diminutive of Hillegondt, and equivalent in English to Hilda, and Lena, a diminutive of both Helena and Magdalena, are just two very different names. Hilletje Van Cleef was a daughter of Isbrandt Van Cleef and Jannetje Arise Van der Bilt. Her maternal grandmother was Hillitje Remse (a daughter of Rem Jansen and Jannetje Jorise Rapalje). She was likely named for her maternal grandmother. The correct name of Jan Brouwer's wife is Hilletje Van Cleef. Her name is mistakenly recorded or transcribed from the original in one baptism record as Helena. However, the other baptisms in which the mother's name is Lena or, in one instance, Mardelena, is not a recording error. It's the name of a different mother, of a different family. Back in 2012 I incorrectly assessed this family. But, let's just list all of the baptisms here once again:

1. 1724 June 21. A child; parents: Jan Brower, (blank) Van Kleve; no witnesses recorded (Freehold-Middletown 23:12)
2. 1726 April 11. A child; parents: Jan Brouwer, Helena Van Cleve; witnesses: Isbrant Van Cleve, Janneke, his wife (Freehold-Middletown 23:43)
3. 1727 Aug. __. Pieter; parents: Jan Brouwer, Hilletie; no witnesses recorded (Freehold-Middletown 23:44)
4. 1735 Dec. 25. Henrikus; parents: Jan Brouwer, Hilletje Van Kleef; no witnesses recorded (Freehold-Middletown 24:46)
5. 1737 Dec 26. Peeteres; parents: Yan Brouwer, Leena; no witnesses recorded (Harlingen 17:80)
6. 1738 Feb. 19.  Benjamin; parents: Jan Brouwer, Hilletje Van Kleef; witnesses: Benjamin Van Kleef, Rachel Couwenhove (Freehold-Middletown 24:91)
7. 1738 Oct. 3. Marytje; parents: Jan Brouwer and Lena; no witnesses recorded (Readington 4:217)
8. 1741 June 28. Catrina; parents: Brouwer, Jan and wife, Mardelena; no witnesses recorded (Raritan 2:302)
9. 1743 Jan. 14.  Leena; parents: Yan Brouwer, Leenaa; no witnesses recorded (Harlingen 17:82)
10. 1746 Dec. 10. Elsje; parents: Jan Brouwer and Lena; no witnesses recorded (Readington 4:303)
11. 1749 Dec. 26.  Johannis; parents: Jan Brouwer and Lena; no witnesses recorded (Readington 4:305)

Sources for the above:

Freehold-Middletown: "Records of the Dutch Congregations of Freehold and Middletown," Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey Vols. 22-38 (1947-1963)

Harlingen: "Reformed Dutch Church of Harlingen, Baptisms," Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey Vols. 15-20 (1940-45)

Readington: "Readington Church Baptisms From 1720," Somerset County Historical Quarterly vol.4-8 (1915-19)

Raritan: "First Reformed Church Raritan (Somerville) Baptisms," Somerset County Historical Quarterly Vols. 2-7 (1913-18)

Notes on the above baptisms:

I suspect that either no. 1 or no. 2, where in both cases the child's name was not recorded, belongs to Aris Brower who married Neeltje Cooper by 1756. He would have been named for his maternal great grandfather Aris Janse Van der Bilt. He is on the BGD but is not included in the 2007 NYGBR article.

No. 8, Catrina is not included in the 2007 NYGBR article, but her baptism record is there. The author(s) in 2007 missed it.

The baptisms span 25 years, from 1724 to 1749. A long period of time. Possible, but not that typical. Magdalena Verdon was mother of 14 children from 1646 to 1672, a span of 26 years, but she was likely married at, or by age 16. [See  Harry Macy Jr., "Some New Light on Aeltje Braconie and Maria Badie," New York Genealogical and Biographical Record 142(2011):21-36, which suggests that Magdalena may have been married as early as age 13 or 14]. We do not have baptism records for either Jan or Hilletje, but as Jan's father died between 1702 and 1706, and as Helletje, being named for a maternal grandmother, would probably be an older daughter of her parents, both were born either in the 1690s or early 1700s (I have estimates of ca. 1692 for Jan and ca. 1703-1708 for Helena Van Cleef on the BGD. The later date for Helena allows her to have a child born in 1749, something I no longer believe is correct).

There is a glaring gap of eight years between the baptisms of no. 3 and no. 4. That is a long period of time for a couple who are in their mid twenties to early or mid thirties. Two to four additional children may be missing from this family. Perhaps Hilletje had a few miscarriages or stillbirths. Perhaps the couple were separated for one reason or another for this period, although I truly doubt this. Perhaps they were back on Long Island where church records for the Breukelen and Flatbush churches are missing. Maybe there are some unplaced Brouwers out there (and there are quite a few of them) that belong in this family.

In baptism no. 1 the mother's given name is blank. In no. 2 she is called Helena Van Cleve. In nos. 3, 4, and 6 she is Hilletje (Van Kleef in 3 and 4). In no. 8 she is Mardelena (undoubtedly an error for Magdelena) and in nos. 5, 7, 9, 10 and 11, she is Lena/Leenaa. 

As pointed out, in the October 24, 2012 post, I presented this family with a full eleven or twelve children and argued for explanations that would cover up the inconsistencies outlined above. But now, ten years later, I believe that was incorrect. While it's possible to hold on to this family as being accurately described in the older accounts, both my online posts here and on the BGD, and the 2007 NYGBR article, I'm now inclined to think otherwise. What we actually have here are two distinct families.

Make the following changes to the Brouwer Genealogy Database

1. Change Helena Van Cleef's primary name to Hilletje Van Cleef. The appearance of her name as Helena in baptism no. 2 is likely an error, perhaps on the part of the transcriber. 
2. Remove the following children: no. 5 Peeterse (Pieter), no. 7 Marytje, no. 8 Catrina, no. 9 Leena, no. 10 Elsje and no. 11 Johannis from this family.
3. Change the husband of Antje Van Dyk from Pieter Brouwer, bp. 26 Dec 1737 (no.5) to Pieter Brouwer, bp. Aug. 1727 (no.3). The children of Antje (Joannes and Petrus) are now sons of Pieter (bp. 1727). 
4. Change the date of death for Pieter Brouwer, bp. Aug 1727, from "bef Dec. 1737" to "bef 22 September 1759" and move the 1759 administration of estate record and "resided at Shrewsbury" statement from Pieter (1737) to Pieter 1727).
5. Create the new family of Jan Brouwer and Lena/Mardelena (___) with their children, nos. 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 above.

Now stand back and take a look at these two newly reconstructed families and tell me if this doesn't make better sense. We now have the family of Jan Brouwer and Helletje Van Cleef with five or six children (depending on whether or not you wish to assign one of the first two baptisms to the supposed son Aris Brower) with children born between 1724 and 1738 (14 years) with an eight year gap from 1727 to 1735 in which perhaps 2 to 4 additional children may have been born. This Jan Brouwer lived at Middletown, Monmouth Co., New Jersey from 1719 (ear mark recorded) through 1727 and from 1735 to at least 1738, but may have been elsewhere between the years 1727 and 1735. 

The new second family is Jan Brouwer and his wife Lena/Mardelena (Magdalena) who lived in the Raritan River Valley area of Somerset and Hunterdon Counties at least between 1737 and 1749 when they had six children baptized at Raritan, Readington and Harlingen. Whether they remained there after 1749 or were there before 1737 is not (yet) known. If the 1737 baptism is that of their first child, a son named Peeteres (Pieter), then perhaps they were married around 1736 and if in their early to mid 20s at their marriage were perhaps born 1710 to 1717 or so. This Jan is not necessarily a descendant of Jan Brouwer of Flatlands, L.I., whereas the other Jan Brouwer certainly is. This new Jan Brouwer may well be a descendant of Adam Brouwer which leads me to one additional change in something I previously published. Back in 2012, in the post of October 28, "Unplaced: John Brewer, Revolutionary War Patriot of New Jersey and Pennsylvania," I suggested that this John Brewer, who was born 4 July 1749 as per a D.A.R. lineage application could be one and the same with Johannis, baptized 26 Dec. 1749 (no. 11 above). I then updated and reversed this idea in the post of February 25, 2022, when, after the Brewer DNA Project received test results from a descendant of Thomas Brewer of East Buffalo and Annville, Pennsylvania, a very likely son of John Brewer, born 4 July1749, and with those results showing that the participant was a certain descendant of Adam Brouwer of Gowanus, L.I., I wrote that the two (John and Johannis) were not likely the same. Well, sorry to have to do this, but when evidence changes or becomes clearer, we do have to change our opinions. It may well be that John Brewer, b. 4 July 1749 and Johannis Brouwer, bapt. 26 Dec 1749 are one and the same.To be clear, this last statement is not to be taken as fact. The trick now is to find evidence that either demonstrates that the two are one and the same, or proves that they are instead two different men born at about the same time.

While I would expect that others may disagree with my new assessment of the family of Jan Brouwer and Helena (now Hilletje) Van Cleef, there does exist enough ambiguity and incompleteness with what we have regarded as fact in the past, to state that this new arrangement of two families from one incorrectly reconstructed family, is viable option. As we search for linking the descendants who form the Sub-Unit E-FTC5921 at the Brewer DNA Project, this is the scenario that I would suggest researchers begin working from.

BGB 748

New Publication From David V. Brewer, "Brewer Families of Moore, Chatham, and Randolph Counties, North Carolina"

 Just released and placed online last night, the full title: "Brewer Families of Moore, Chatham, and Randolph Counties, North Carolina: In Search of the Descendants of George Brewer of Brunswick County, Virginia," is the latest work from David V. Brewer, a co-administrator of the Brewer DNA Project who oversees the Project's Group known as "Lanier-Brewer." David has very generously made his 357 page paper available with the link below. But first, I suggest you read through David's preview and synopsis as originally posted on the Brewer DNA Project's Activity Feed page:

"In 2018, I wrote a paper about the Brewers from Moore and Southwest Chatham Counties, North Carolina, mainly because I knew that my ancestors haled from there. I finished too quickly, missing many details, clues, and family connections. I also made the mistake of thinking I needed to publish something on paper, which I've learned makes it even harder to correct mistakes. Since then, picking up more leads and confronting mistakes where I'd been too quick in the curves, helped me appreciate the value of patience in this hobby. So, the link below will take you to a broader, hopefully more carefully researched, yet still hopelessly incomplete effort to sort out and trace the Brewers of the tri-county region (Moore, Chatham, Randolph). Unlike the first version, this version of the paper discusses in detail the Haw River Brewers, including Henry, Oliver, and Nathaniel Brewer, as well as the descendants of Nicholas Brewer and several Brewer families from northern Chatham County, including the families of John, Samuel and Abel Brewer, who were closely associated with the other Brewers in the area. The paper also discusses in detail descendants of the tri-county Brewers who moved to Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina in the early decades of the 1800's. 

 "I'm now even more convinced that most of the sons of George Brewer (1680?-1744?) of Brunswick County, Virginia moved to the tri-county region in the 1750's and 1760's. Among those sons, Howell (I), Lanier (I), and probably John and their offspring settled in southwest Chatham, northern Moore, and southeast Randolph Counties. Henry, Oliver, and probably Nathaniel settled in the Haw River area of central and northern Chatham County, as did sons of Nicholas Brewer (I). In fact, the only two branches of George's supposed male descendants that didn't move to the tri-county region in that era were William and George Brewer Jr. and their children. Interestingly, DNA evidence has shown that several Brewer Project members who credibly trace their ancestry to those two men, unlike the descendants of Lanier (I), Howell (I), John, Henry, and either Oliver or Nathaniel, aren't positive for haplogroup I-Y82422. The significance of that variance remains unclear. 

"As before, this paper is not a list of family trees or pedigrees. All you need to do is poke at the pedigrees in hundreds of Brewer family trees purporting to date back to the 1700's that are posted on Ancestry.com to see that the vast majority of them simply are not adequately supported by credible data. In my view, the certainty that we all understandably seek isn't possible at this stage of our collective knowledge. There simply are too many record gaps in virtually all the lines under study. Instead, my goal has been to compile and integrate existing research about the obscure period between 1750 and 1850 with some newer information, including the early results of YDNA genetic testing of male line descendants of the Brewer families from this region. At most, this is just a next step in the process of filling gaps in our knowledge. 

"But that doesn't mean we should demand too much certainty before drawing tentative conclusions. For example, the paper addresses two questions that researchers of the extended Brewer families of the tri-county region must confront. How do we know whether Howell Brewer I was the father of Howell Brewer II, and how do we know whether Lanier Brewer I was the father of Lanier Brewer II. The simple answer to both questions is we don’t know. But that’s a bit of a dodge as more layers of genetic evidence have been unpeeled, most of them in the last decade. The fact is that we have three distinct subgroups of closely related Brewer descendants who can trace their ancestry to the tri-county region and, from there, most probably to George Brewer of Brunswick. The first, haplogroup I-Y15300, subclade I-Y182422, Brewer DNA Project subgroup A, probably consists of descendants of John Brewer, the son of George Brewer. In addition, there are two more defined branches of subclade I-Y182422 that probably are more than 250 years old years old. Descendants of Willis Brewer (born in the 1760’s), Royal Brewer (born about 1770-1775), Henry Brewer (born about 1780), Solomon Brewer (born about 1785), Wiley Brewer (born about 1790), Jenkins Brewer (born 1812-1815), and Andrew Brewer (born about 1818) all have tested positive for subclade I-Y29640. The common ancestor of these men almost certainly was born in the early to mid-1700’s, and no later than the 1740’s. As discussed in the paper, we have an even further refinement of this line showing that another sub-branch, SNP FTD55716, probably arose in the mid-1700’s. Lanier Brewer II, likely born in the 1740’s or 1750’s, probably wasn’t positive for that mutation, but I suspect that a sibling of his was. That man, in turn, probably was the grandfather or great grandfather of Willis, Jenkins, and Andrew Brewer. 

"A somewhat similar pattern exists for descendants of haplogroup I-Y15300, I-Y182422, subclade I-Y23708. Descendants of Isaac Brewer (born 1763), Harmon Brewer (born mid-1760’s), and Cornelius Brewer (born early 1780’s), as examples, all are positive for subclade I-Y23708. The first-hand account of Isaac Brewer stated that his father was Howell Brewer (II), who almost certainly was born before 1745. Isaac Brewer stated that he had an Uncle John Brewer, and more than 100 years ago, Street Brewer passed on the family history that Harmon Brewer’s father was John Brewer. If that information is correct, and there’s no reason apart from sheer fussiness to ignore it -- especially in light of YDNA evidence that descendants of Harmon and Howell II are both positive for subclade I-Y23708 – then the grandfather of Isaac and Harmon Brewer also probably would have been positive for subclade I-Y23708. That man would have been born no later than the early 1720’s and, based on what we know about the earliest Brewer migrants to the tri-county area, there are three reasonable possibilities: Howell I, Lanier I, and John Brewer. 

"Again, the paper argues that descendants of George Brewer's son John probably fall into Haplogroup I-Y15300, I-Y182422, Brewer Project Subgroup A. If that's right, this leaves Howell I and Lanier I. Because subclade I-Y23708 probably arose in their generation, and membership in that subclade and subclade I-Y29640 is mutually exclusive, those two subclades most likely are separate YDNA branches representing those two sons of George Brewer. True, we can’t yet say to a reasonable probability whether subclade I-Y29640 arose in the first or second generation after George Brewer. But that doesn’t undermine the essential point that these two subclades probably are distinct earmarks for descendants of Howell I and Lanier I. 

"As discussed in the paper, there are generations of old stories in the families of Solomon (born about 1785), Wiley (born about 1790), and George Brewer (born about 1775) that the father of those men was named Lanier Brewer. Those stories, shared among geographically separated family clusters whose descendants all are positive for subclade I-Y29640, ultimately tip the scales for me. If we conducted a civil trial where the proponent’s burden of proof is by a preponderance of the evidence, most jurors would give the answer common sense suggests is correct: Descendants of Howell Brewer I are positive for subclade I-Y23708, and descendants of Lanier Brewer I are positive for subclade I-Y29640, with one of his sons (not Lanier II) probably having been the source of the further downstream mutation of SNP FTD55716. The same evidence wouldn’t satisfy the criminal law standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. But my instinct tells me that, in time, more evidence will. And, if not, there will be many opportunities to reconsider. 

"With that peek under the hood, here's the link to the current version of the paper:

 

Brewer Families of Moore, Chatham and Randolph Counties, North Carolina: In Search of the Descendants of George Brewer of Brunswick County, Virginia

 

I look forward to your comments, questions and corrections."

 

Thank you David.

 

David can be contacted through the Brewer DNA Project website. And a little note of my own: The paper is a relatively large file, should it not completely load on your computer, close it, then try again. It should then load.

 

BGB 747 

Henry Brewer and Mary Wickoff, New Jersey Marriage License

 The January 13, 2023 post, "New Jersey Marriage Records, 1665-1800: BREWER and BROWER," includes an entry for Brewer, John, Hunterdon, and Mary Wickoff, taken from"Index to Marriage Bonds and Marriage Records in the Office of the Secretary of State at Trenton," found in Nelson, William. Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey. Volume XXII. Marriage Records, 1665-1800. Archives of the State of New Jersey. First Series. Paterson, N.J.: Press Printing and Publishing Co., 1900:32. I followed this up with a note that the New Jersey State Archives Searchable Database for Colonial Marriage Bonds, shows the couple as Henry Brewer, of Hunterdon (County) and Mary Wickoff. So, which one is it? Was it a John Brewer, or was it a Henry Brewer who had a license to Mary Wickoff dated April 5, 1783?

For a small fee a copy, either physical or digital, can be ordered from the New Jersey State Archives. I did just this. Turn around time was fairly quick. And the original license shows that it was a Henry Brewer who married Mary Wickoff with a license dated April 5, 1783. I received via email a digital copy which was delivered as a PDF, which you dear reader, can now view here. The bond of five hundred pounds for the license was put up by "Henry Brewer of Hunterdon County and Jacob Johnston of the same place yeomen." The marriage license itself does not state the residence of the bride, Mary Wickoff.

A quick search at FamilySearch.org's database titled, "New Jersey Marriages, 1678-1985," using the name, Henry Brewer, gives us a bit more info into the couple. The search results tell us that Henry was born in Hunterdon County and that his father was named Daniel Brewer. Mary Wickoff's place of birth is not recorded, but the record names her father as William Wickoff. 

William F. Wyckoff, in "Notes On The Wyckoff Family," published in the Somerset County Historical Quarterly volumes 2 and 3 (1913-1914) at 3:202, tells us that the above mentioned William Wickoff, whose wife was named Mollie or Mary (see 3:42), had children Nicholas (the eldest), Phebe (m. Sickles) and Mary (m. Brewer). It is also stated that William Wickoff "moved to Central New York and died there in 1812 at Fayette, Seneca County." The previous entry for William Wickoff (at 3:42) had omitted these three children, but had included a son Edward, baptized 12 April 1772 at the North Branch Reformed Church in Readington, Hunterdon Co., New Jersey. This baptism can be found in Readington (North Branch) Baptisms in SCHQ 5:305, where the parents are recorded as Williem Wickoff and Mollie, but no witnesses/sponsors are given.

If we assume that both Henry Brewer and Mary Wickoff were young adults when married, it is probable that they were both born in the early 1760s, or perhaps the late 1750s. William F. Wyckoff presumably did not find baptism records for Mary or the other two children included in his followup piece. I have not looked for such baptisms myself. Perhaps he learned the names of these children from some probate record, but if so, he does not mention it specifically. His "notes" do not provide source citations. I have not had the opportunity to check the Seneca County, New York probate records.

There is a Daniel Brouwer, variously recorded as Brouer and Brower, who along with his wife Maria/Marya had six children baptized in the Raritan River valley Reformed Churches, one in 1755, then a gap of nine years, followed by five more 1764 through 1770, which includes two, Daniel and Maria (perhaps twins, but not specifically stated as such) on 24 June 1764 at Readington (SCHQ 5:146). The previous post of February 25, 2023, mentions this baptism. I have not found a record for the baptism of a son named Henry, however as just mentioned, there is a nine year gap where other children may have been born, but who were either not baptized, or for whom baptism records have not been found, at least not among the Reformed Dutch Church records. This Daniel Brouwer is not found on the BGD, and perhaps we'll look into him a bit more in a future post.

An important take away from all of this is off course the fact that transcribed records, even highly regarded and frequently cited ones such as William Nelson's "Index to Marriage Bonds and Marriage Records..." can have errors. In this case the error clearly is on the part of the transcriber/compiler. The original record, once sought out, reveals that is was a Henry Brewer, and not a John Brewer, who married Mary Wickoff with a bond dated April 5, 1783.

BGB 746

More Corrections to the Brouwer Genealogy Database (BGD)

 Four of the corrections that follow were discovered while conducting research focused on the Brouwer families found in the records of Hunterdon, Somerset and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey. The fifth from some further research into the family of Johannes Brouwer and Perkins Lambert.

1. Daniel, baptized 24 June 1764 at the North Branch Reformed Dutch Church in Readington, New Jersey, son of Daniel Brouer and Marya (___). The BGD places Daniel in the family of Daniel Brouwer (bp. 5 Jul 1719, d. 15 Jan 1791) and Marietje Koning (bp. 22 March 1724, d. ___). This placement is incorrect. Daniel (bp. 24 June 1764) belongs in a different family not found on the BGD. The family of Daniel Brouer/Brower/Brouwer and his wife Maria/Marya (____) will be covered in a future post pending further research. [A correct citation for the baptism is: "Readington Church Baptisms From 1720," Somerset County Historical Quarterly vol.4-8 (1915-19) 5:146. Daniel and Maria; parents: Daniel Brouer and Maria; no witnesses recorded]. In addition, Daniel did not die before February 1768. He may well have lived into adulthood. Eight of Daniel Brouwer and Maria Koning's (remaining) ten children, including their own son Daniel (bp. 28 Feb. 1768) were baptized at Schraalenburgh. This one baptism at Readington is an outlier and belongs in a different family. To be clear: There are TWO distinct families headed by couples named Daniel Brouwer/Brouer and Maria (in one case, Marietje Koning and in the other Maria/Marya (___) found in New Jersey during the same period of time. The family of Daniel Brouwer and Marietje Koning originates in Bergen County, New Jersey (ten children with eight baptized at Schraalenburg between 1744 and 1768), then removed to the Conewago settlement in York (now Adams) County, Pennsylvania during the mid 1770s, and then on to Harrodsburg, Mercer Co., Kentucky where Daniel Brouwer died in early 1791. The family of Daniel Brouer and Maria/Marya (___) had six children baptized in more than one of the Reformed Churches of the Raritan River valley area in Hunterdon and Somerset Counties, New Jersey between 1755 and 1770. This family IS NOT found on the BGD and will be covered in a future post.
   
2. Hendrick Brouwer, had daughter Sara baptized 25 October 1727 at Harlingen, Somerset Co., New Jersey, the mother being Rachel Bon. The profile here places this Hendrick as a possible son of Pieter Brouwer and Annetje Jans. Scratch that. The reasoning supplied on the BGD was that a Hendrick Brewer witnessed the will of Johannes Luyster (3 Aug. 1766). Johannes Luyster lived at Middletown in Monmouth County, New Jersey and the Hendrick Brewer who witnessed that will is more likely one who we do know was living at Middletown at this time (he being this Hendrick Brewer). This one record of the baptism of a daughter (Sara) is the only confirmed record for Hendrick Brouwer that we have in the Raritan River valley region of central New Jersey. We do not know Hendrick Brouwer's ancestry, and we have no evidence to make a reliable suggestion. It is best to leave his ancestry open to all possibilities until  additional records and evidence can be found. We hope to have more regarding Hendrick Brouwer and Rachel Bon, as well as the multiple Hendrick Brouwers of Hunterdon, Somerset and Middlesex Counties in a future post. For now, remove Hendrick Brouwer from the family of Pieter Brouwer and Annetje Jans. We have NO evidence that this couple had a son named Hendrick.
   
3. Annatje Brouwer and her supposed sister Catherine Brewer are placed respectively as probable and possible daughters of Pieter Brouwer and Annatje Jans, the same couple in no. 2 above. Remove both Annatie and Catherine from the family of Pieter Brouwer and Annetje Jans. The 2007 article, "Jan Brouwer of Flatlands and Descendants," New York Genealogical and Biographical Record Vol.138 (2007) places Annatje, but not Catherine, as a daughter of Pieter Brouwer and Antje Jans. My own rationalization for this (back in 2007) was that Annatje was a daughter was based on the baptism record of Joannes, son of Pieter Brouwer and Antje Van Dyk at Freehold-Middltown (Monmouth Co.) dated 21 March 1756, with one witness: Antje Brouwer. Annatje who was known as the wife of Abraham Lane/Laen was placed as this witness and then assumed to be a daughter of Pieter Brouwer and Annetje Jans, only because there was no other Annatje known. At closer inspection, it is more likely that the witness for this baptism was the child's paternal grandmother, Antje (Van Dyk) Brouwer who was living at the time and had not yet remarried James Johnson (marriage license dated 24 March 1761). This leaves Annatje, the wife of Abraham Lane/Laen, with no identifiable parents (as of this writing, although I do have a much better alternative in mind). Catherine is known from only one record - in May 1734 at the Harlingen Reformed Church she was witness for the baptism of Lucretia, daughter of Abraham Lane and Hanatie Brouer, the witnesses being recorded as Pieter Janse and Katryntye Brouer. At this writing we have no other record for Catherine/Katryntye. With such limited info we cannot determine her correct relationship to Annatje with complete certainty. She could be a sister (I think very likely), but she might not be. She could be her mother (less likely but as of this writing cannot be ruled out). More work to be done here, however, without additional records it is prudent to remove Annatje and Catherine from the family of Pieter Brouwer and Annetje Jans. [Please also note that there are errors with regards to Abraham Lane and in particular, his father Adriaen Lane as they appear on the BGD. Researching the very large and complicated Lanen Van Pelt families in detail is beyond the scope of my own research. For a better understanding please see Mike Morrissey, "Notes on Descendants of Gysbert, Son of Matthias Lanen Van Pelt"]. Also see no. 4...
   
4.  Corrections to the family of Abraham Lane and Annatje Brouwer. Remove the daughter Petronelly. As Mike Morrissey points out in the above referenced piece, no record of baptism (as claimed by Honeyman in SCHQ 2:217) exists. He likely confused her with Peternlte, daughter of Abraham Lot and Yante, who was baptized at Harlingen, March (not May) 30, 1748 ["Reformed Dutch Church of Harlingen, Baptisms," Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey, 17:86]. Remove Petronelly from this family. The placement of son Jan, not mentioned in his father's will, also can be questioned. The baptism record at Raritan, 6 Dec. 1730, lists his parents as Abraham Layn and Ariaentie (not Annatje). This baptism would conflict with that of his sister Jannetje who was baptized at Harlingen 15 April 1730, only eight months earlier. Yes, there are issues with estimating actual birth dates from the baptism dates at Raritan and the associated Reformed churches, but neither Petronelly nor Jan are mentioned in their claimed father's will. Mike Morrissey (again see the above reference) suggests that Jan is a son of Abraham Bodyn/Bodine and his wife Ariaentje Jans Van Nuys. I would suspect that he has good reasons for this statement. So, either the father's surname in the published record is incorrect, OR, the mother's given name is incorrect. For now I'll follow Mike's lead and suggest removing Jan from the family of Abraham Lane and Annatje Brouwer. The baptism record is found at "First Reformed Church Raritan (Somerville) Baptisms," Somerset County Historical Quarterly, 2:215. 
5. Thomas Brouwer. The BGD shows Johannes Brouwer (bp. 1747) and his wife Perkins Lambert with a son Thomas, born "say 1778." I don't recall my original source for this information, and you will notice that there is no citations involved with this profile. There is, however, a caveat stating that, "this placement is questioned." The Second Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia does record a baptism for a "son of John and Pirkins Brouwer, of New York" [Second Presbyterian Church (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Records, 1753-1914; (Philadelphia, PA: Presbyterian Historical Society, 1982), FHL 973460 (DGS 7903469):48]. It is important to recognize that in this record the son's name is not recorded. Unless, or until evidence is found showing that Johannes and Perkins (Lambert) Brouwer had a son named Thomas, this profile should be changed from Thomas, to A son (name unknown). Please also not that the claimed death date of 1823 for Johannes Brouwer has not been verified.
   

In addition to the above there is a substantial correction to the family of Jan Brouwer and Helena (which is not her correct given name) Van Cleef  which will require a post onto itself to explain. Look for a future post on this important correction.

BGB 745

Some BREWER Wills In Kentucky: LaRue County

 We're looking into some potential connections between some BREWER families, primarily descended from Adam Brouwer of Gowanus, Long Island, who settled in Kentucky during the late 1700s and/or early 1800s. Below are some abstracts/transcriptions by myself with links to digital images of the will books at FamilySearch.org (you will need to log in to FamilySearch to view them. There is no fee). This post includes four will found in the LaRue County Will Books. LaRue County was formed March 4, 1843, set off from the southeast portion of Hardin County.

1- Samuel Brewer, Larue County. Larue Co. Wills 1:54-55. Dated 18 October 1852. Samuel Brewer "now in a bad state of health but of sound mind." To Charity Howell and Samuel Howell daughter and son of Elizabeth Howell my sister dec., my part of the land on the Swel Woods & Otter Creek, Larue County, Ky that was willed to me by Peter Brewer dec., equally. Also said Charity is to have one heifer that was given to her for her services and attention on her grand mother when sick & in her last moments & dying. Also the above Samuel is to have my  cloth suit & hat. I give and bequeath unto Phebe Brewer the daughter of Isaac Brewer, dec. my brother my (?) cow & bequeth unto Mary Jane Brewer the (?) heifer. I also appoint John Baird as my executor if consistent with the laws of our land to divide the above property to the different legatees without administration. Also the said Baird is requested to sell all the rest of my goods and chattels to the highest bidder & discharge all my legal debts and expenses then the balance if any I give to my brother Benjamin Brewer. Signs with his mark. Witnesses: John Baird, William ? Baird. Proved 30 Nov 1852. [This is Samuel Brewer, b. ca. 1796 in Kentucky, d. 8 November 1852, a son of Peter Brewer and Margaret Hobach].

2- William F. Brewer, Larue County. Larue Co. Wills 1:103-4. Dated 18 May 1861. William F. Brewer of the County of Larue, State of Kentucky being of sound and disposing mind & memory but weak & infirm knowing once that it is appointed once to all men to die and being desirous of disposing of what little estate I have been blessed with to my satisfaction I do make, ordain & establish this as my last will & testament... All just debts and liabilities to be paid by my executor. To my wife Mary Brewer one feather bed and furniture to be well furnished with all her fine quilts six in number & one square table forever. My property, all both real & personal, land, stocks, kitchen and house hold furniture be sold in a twelve month credit by my executor, and after paying all liabilities loan out all the money that may be left of my estate and the interest of the same be paid to my wife Mary for her support during her life. (Instructions for the executor to also pay out principal should the interest be insufficient to support his wife). Appoints friend, Jisse P. Bryant sole executor. Signed William F. Brewer. Witnesses: Saml. P. Lasley, James M. Hausbury. Proved 26 August 1861. [William F. Brewer is not found on the Brouwer Genealogy Database. I do find a Wm. Brewer with (inferred) wife Mary on the 1850 U.S. census in Hamiltons, Larue Co., KY, both age 26, born in Kentucky. In 1860, W. F. Brewer, age 37, born in Kentucky with (inferred) wife Mary, age 41, Kentucky are enumerated in Larue County (no township or city stated). On this same census sheet are a Michl Brewer (age 31, KY) and an Isaac Brewer (age 20, KY) both married with one child each. A Peter Brewer (age 34, KY) is in the household of Michl (I assume Michael) Brewer. There is a Kentucky marriage record for William Brewer and Mary Hatfield, both age 21, dated 12 November 1846 in Hardin County (Larue/LaRue County was set off from Hardin County, 4 March 1843). Additional research on this Brewer family, due to length and complexity, will have to be reserved for a future post of its own].

3- Michael Brewer, Larue County. Larue Co. Wills 1:212. Dated 30 June 1869. Michael Brewer of Larue County, Kentucky being feable in body but sound in mind and memory. After my death my body be decently buried and my just debts and funeral expenses be paid. To my son William, a certain tract of land lying in Larue County on the waters of the southfork of Nolin (River) and bounded as follows...127 1/2 acres (see original). To Milley Brewer the wife of my son Peter M. Brewer, two dollars. To grandson John W. Brewer and Washington R. Brewer and Thomas B. Brewer, 157 1/2 acres, more or less, to be divided equally among my three grandsons, the land lying on the west of my son William above mentioned. Appoints friend Baylor Henderson sole executor. Signs with his mark X. Witnesses: Saml. S. Kirkpatrick, Eliza F. Alfney. Proved 24 August 1874. [Michael Brewer is found on the BGD website. This will adds to his profile and narrows down the time range for his date of death to between 4 August 1870 when he appears on the U.S. census at Buffalo, Larue County, and 24 August 1874 when his will was proved. He is a son of Peter Brewer and Margaret Hobach and a brother of Samuel Brewer, above].

4- Valentine Brewer, Larue County. Larue Co. Wills 2:73. Dated 3 November 1883. Valentine Brewer of Larue County, "am well and in my right reason." To my wife Rachel Brewer my land during her natural life - to have the entire control of. "She must rent it each year for the third of what can be raised on the farm. Whoever rents the farm must bind themselves to keep the farm in good repair." To son William A. Brewer the "refusal of renting the above named farm." "I want my land sold at my wife's death." Son William to have two thirds of the money that the farm brings. Daughter Lucinda J. Howell to have one third of the money the farm brings. If William dies before Lucinda, Lucinda is to have William's two thirds share. Wife Rachel to have all of "my property out of doors to dispose of at her will and that she have all the household and kitchen furniture her life time and at her death it is my will that my daughter Lucinda Howell have it all." Signs with his mark X. "And I also want W. M. Baird to be my administrator." Witnesses: Philip R. Scott, W. M. Baird. Proved 27 July 1885. [Valentine Brewer can be found on the BGD website. This will adds to the notes found there and provides a date range for his time of death which would be sometime between 3 November 1883 and 27 July 1885. He is a son of Peter Brewer and Margaret Hobach and a brother of Samuel Brewer and Michael Brewer above].

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Some BREWER Wills in Kentucky: Hardin County

 We're looking into some potential connections between some BREWER families, primarily descended from Adam Brouwer of Gowanus, Long Island, who settled in Kentucky during the late 1700s and/or early 1800s, and some unplaced BREWER ancestors who we suspect may be descendants of Adam Brouwer (see the post of January 18, 2023). Below are some abstracts/transcriptions by myself with links to digital images of the will books at FamilySearch.org (you will need to log in to FamilySearch to view them. There is no fee). We start with a look at Hardin County which was formed in 1792 from land partitioned from Nelson County. In 1843, LaRue County was created from a portion of southeastern Hardin County.

1- William Brewer (Hardin Co. Wills E:18-19). Dated 12 February 1838. William Brewer of the County of Hardin and State of Kentucky, being sick and weak in body but of sound mind and disposing memory. Debts and funeral expenses to be paid. To my wife Eliner Brewer, all the balance of my estate both real and personal for her use in the case of my children during her natural life or widowhood, but in case she does marry there I bequeath unto her a third part of all estate and the balance or two thirds to be for my six children Nancy Ann, Urias, Elizabeth, Henry, Mary Jane, Martha Ann to be divided equally between them all. But in case my wife should die and not marry then the estate to be divided all equally with the six above named children as they come of age. Signs with his mark X. Witnesses: Joseph Ryan, John Stader. Proved 21 Jan 1839. [Note with regard to the list of children - the commas are mine, there was no punctuation in the original. William twice stated that he had six children and this seemed to be the most logical way to differentiate those with compound names (i.e. Nancy Ann, Mary Jane, Martha Ann). [William Brewer is not found on the Brouwer Genealogy Database website (BGD). Some quick research finds that he is a son of Mark and Catharine Brewer, originally from Maryland, and then of Hardin County, Kentucky (see 3-John Brewer below). They are not related to the BREWER descendants of Adam Brouwer who are found also found in Hardin County].

2- Peter Brewer (Hardin Co. Wills E:48-49). Dated 2 November 1840. Peter Brewer of Hardin County and State of Kentucky am sick but in my right reason. Unto my sons Samuel Brewer and Valentine Brewer my lands in the Levelwoods to be equally divided at their mother's death, Samuel the north and Valentine the south part of said survey By their giving their mother one third of what they raise to maintain her decently and in order also if either of the above brothers should become dissatisfied and wish to sell. Also I give and bequeath unto my wife Margaret Brewer all my personal property horses cattle farming utensils and house lot and kitchen furniture with hoggs and bee hives during her natural life then the surplus of the above personal estate is to be equally divided between the rest of my children Michael Brewer, Elizabeth Howell, Isaac Brewer, Benjamin Brewer and John Brewer. Signs with his mark X. Witnesses: John Baird Senr., Nancy Hobach, John Baird Jr. Proved 19 April 1841 and recorded 29 May 1841. [Peter Brewer can be found on the Brouwer Genealogy Database website (BGD). Also see the post of January 18, 2023. Direct male descendants of his sons Isaac and Valentine have participated in the Brewer DNA Project. They are descendants of Adam Brouwer of Gowanus, L. I.].

3- John Brewer (Hardin Co. Wills E:232-4). Dated 20 July 1852. John Brewer of Hardin County, Kentucky, being sick and weak but of sound mind and disposing memory. All debts and funeral expenses to be paid. The land that was part of the Mary Wise farm to be sold for that purpose (to pay debts) but if either of my heirs should wish to keep that place and furnish money to to its worth to pay the debts off they can have the privilege to do so. To wife Matilda Brewer all my house farm for her support and the support of my younger children viz. Rose Malvinia, James Elias, and Luinda C. Brewer during the time they continue with her. If they marry or leave her then my wife Matilda Brewer to have the houses and one third of the land of said farm. To my three daughters Mary Jane Ryan, Kitty Ann Hoskins, and Rose Malvina Brewer each a house (sic) worth fifty dollars or fifty dollars in cash in place of a horse Malvina also a cow a bed bedstead and furniture. Son James Elias a horse saddle and bridle worth seventy five dollars or its equivalent in cash. To daughter Luinda C. Brewer a horse saddle and bridle worth seventy five dollars and a cow a bed bedstead and furniture or its equivalent in cash to be put to interest until she marries or becomes at age. To Francis X. Brewer a lot in Pittstown for services rendered which may be his choice of two lots. I divine the other lot at Pitts Point and three acres and a quarter of land lying between John Hannes and Wielen Greenville to be sold at public sale. Further I have been of the opinion that my farm on Salt river Bullitt County was worth twelve hundred dollars if any one or more of my sons John Q. and Francis X. Brewer do wish to take it at twelve hundred dollars they are privilege to do so otherwise to be sold at public sale. A note payable to Luke Howlett perhaps ninety two dollars that I am in security for with James Ryan . If James fails to pay it then the executor discounts that much out of what I give to my daughter Mary Jane. I devise a public sale of all my personal estate consisting of household and kitchen furniture, farming utensils, stock, wagons, buggy, etc. I appoint my wife Matilda Brewer and my son John Q. Brewer executrix and executor. Signed John Brewer. Witnesses: Joseph Ryan, Dennis Pursell. "One thing more as it comes to my mind I want enough money of the estate applied to the schooling of James Elias and Luinda C. Brewer as will give them good schooling." Codicil (not dated) gives the balance after debts and expenses and wife Matilda Brewer's right to my children an equal part (named) Elizabeth Warren, Mary Jane Ryan, Kitty Ann Hoskins, John Q. Brewer, Francis X. Brewer, Rose Malvena, James Elias and Luinda C. Brewer, each to have an equal part of the residue. Proved 16 Aug 1852. Recorded 7 October 1852. [John Brewer can be found on the BGD. Please note that the reference here to a tree on Ancestry.com is no longer active. The "Unplaced Brouwer, Brower, Brewer, Bruer tree has been deleted from Ancestry.com. John Brewer was born around 1789 in Maryland and is a son of Mark and Catharine (___) Brewer. This family is not related to the Brewer families of Hardin County who are descendants of Adam Brouwer (see 1-William Brewer above)]. 

And that is the extent of the BREWERs who I find in the Hardin County, Kentucky will books into the mid-1800s. We'll be looking next at LaRue County, Kentucky which was set off from Hardin County in 1843. 

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Bergen, New Jersey Church Records: BROUWER

 The following entries are extracted from the records of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Bergen, New Jersey as published in the Year Book of the Holland Society of New York in three successive Year Books: Baptisms in 1913, Marriages in 1914, Burials and Members in 1915. These are often referred to as "Bergen Books" Volumes 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Digital images of the Year Books can be found online at the Internet Archive. Use their website search tool.

What was the Village of Bergen in the late 1600s and 1700s is today within Jersey City in Hudson County, New Jersey on the west side of the Hudson River and the Upper New York Bay across from the lower portion of Manhattan Island. The Introduction found in the 1913 Yearbook tells us that the first "municipality" was created here in 1661 with an inferior court subject to the general court in New Amsterdam. In 1662 a voorleser (reader) and schoolmaster, Englebert Steenhuysen, was engaged. There is also a subscription list from 1662 (see pp. 13-15 of the 1913 Yearbook). A church in full communion begins in 1664 with records found in the handwriting of Dom. Henricus Selyins, then the minister of the church at Breuckelen, Long Island (and after 1682 of the New York Reformed Dutch Church). The existing baptism record starts with the year 1666. They end in 1788. There is a break from 1669 to 1673 where baptisms were entered in the books of the New York Church, and in years after this you will find some baptisms recorded in the Bergen records also recorded in the New York records. The published records here also include some footnotes adding information such as "first child, first son," that was included in the original record book. The introduction tells us, however, that some of this ancillary information, such as "born on Thursday at midnight," has not been included. In addition, note is made of two instances where children were born "out of wedlock" wherein the surname of the child is not given, and that these entries where omitted "because of no genealogical value" (I think that most genealogists today would dispute that). Marriages in the 1914 Yearbook begin in the year 1665 and end with 1757. In most years there are just a handful and in the earliest years just one or two per year. The 1915 Yearbook has burials that begin with 1666 and end with 1788. Since this is a relatively small congregation it is easier to identify those in this burial register than it is to do so with the much larger New York Church register, ex.: "buried a child of John Brower" (ok, now which John Brower and which child?). The 1915 Yearbook also has the membership rolls which start with 1664 and are pretty much annual through 1690 but then become more intermittent as the years progress and end with 1769. This is followed by lists of elders, deacons and churchmasters for 1785, 86 and 88. There is an index included in each of the three Yearbooks. I have extracted those named BROUWER or an obvious equivalent of that name.

Bergen Members (YBHS 1915, Bergen Book v.3)

1- [70] 5 April 1712, nos. 918-919 Adriaantje Pieters, wife of Olrig Brouwer

Bergen Burials (YBHS 1915, Bergen Book v.3)

1- [30] 12 February 1700, no. 163 Newly born infant of Uldrick Brouwer

2- [34] 19 May 1710, no. 215 Esther de Vouw, wi. of Uldrick Brouwer. Bur. May 21st. 134th with pall

3- [34] 11 January 1712, no. 225 Bur. ch. of Uldrick Brouwer and Adriaantje Pieters

4- [50] 4 May 1776, no. 483 Lea Slot, wi. of Jacob Brouwer, (d. May 3)

5- [51] 8 November 1778, no. 515 Lea, da. of Jacobus Brouwer, (d. November 7)

6- [52] 9 November 1779, no. 534 Jacobus Brouer, (d. November 7)

Bergen Marriages (YBHS 1914, Bergen Book v.2)

1- [76] 28 March 1730, no. 210 Jacob Brouwer, Y.M., born at Bergen, and Lea Slot, Y.D., born at Ackinsack, both living at Bergen

2- [76] 8 October 1738, no. 221 Uldrick Brouwer, Y.M., born and living at Bergen, and Marya Vander Vorst, Y.D., born at New York, living at Bergen

Bergen Baptisms (YBHS 1913, Bergen Book v.1)

Parents; Child; Witnesses; Text Footnote; [my notes in italics]

1- [48] No. 346. Ulrick Brouwer, Hester Devou; son, bo. Jan 7, 1700; First child and first son

2- [49] No. 357. Uldrick Brouwer, Hester de Vouw; Abraham bo. Mar 9, bp. Mar 30, 1701; Tyme Jansen Valentyn, Susanna de Vous; Second child and second son. Baptized by Do. Bertollof

3- [50] No. 373. Uldrick Brouwer, Hester de Vouw; Isaack bo. between Jan 29 & 30, bp. Apr 5 1703; Thomas Fredrickse, Y.M., Jannetje Steynmets, Y.W.; Third child and third son

4- [53] No. 404. Uldrick Brouwer, Hester Du vouw; Jacob bo. Sept 11, bp. Oct 8, 1705; Jacob Swan, Annetje Jacobs, wife of William Day; Fourth child and fourth son 

5- [63] No. 517. Jacob Brouwer, Lea Slot; Johannis bo. Feb 6, bp. Apr 14, 1731; Johannis Pietersen and his wife; First child. Baptized. in New York by Do. Dubois

6- [66] No. 548. Jacob Brouwer, Lea Slot; Coobis bo. Sept. 30, 1735 [My notes: Coobis, or Cobus, is a diminutive for Jacobus. Only his date of birth was recorded. No date of a baptism. No witnesses recorded. William J. Hoffman in his manuscript notes wrote down a baptism date of October 13, 1735 at Bergen, but a record of this has not been found in either the Bergen or New York church records].

7- [69] No. 577. Uldrik Brouwer, Marya Van de Vorst; Johannes bp. June 18, 1739; Jacob Brouwer, Leja Slot, his wife; First son

8- [71] No. 605. Uldrick Brouwer, Maria van de Vorst; Abraham bo. July 26, bp. Aug 29, 1743; Abraham Brouwer, Eliesabet Ackerman, his wife

9- [72] No. 618. Uldrik Brouwer, Maria Vos; Thomas bo. Feb 3, bp. Apr 21 1746; Thomas Vos, Catharina Buis, his wife

10- [79] No. 683. Pieter de Groot, Hester Brouwer; Leya bo. June, bp. July 15, 1759; Jacob Brouwer, Leya Slot, his wife; First child

11- [81] No. 713. Johannis Brouer, Catrina Walderon; Jacop bo. Apr 13, bp. Apr 18, 1762; Jacop Brouer, Eva Slot

12- [83] No. 727. Johannis Brouer, Catrientie Walderon; Josep bo. Sept. 16, bp. Sept. 18, 1763; Josep Walderon, Antie Diederix, his wife; Second son

13- [85] No. 748. Johannis Brouer, Catrientye Walderon; Leeya bo. Dec. 25, (1765) bp. Jan 19, 1766; Pieter de Groot, Hester Brouer, his wife

14- [90] No. 808. Jakobes Brouwer, Jannetye van Saen; Yannetye bo. Dec 30 (1770), bp. Jan. 20, 1771; Ysack van Saen, Jannetye Ackerman

15- [91] No. 821. Hendrick van Winkel, Jannetye Brouwer; Catrina bo. Jan 26, bp. Mar. 1, 1772; no witnesses recorded

16- [101] No. 944. Jacop Brouer, Jannetye van Saan; Jacobes bo. Aug. 7, bp. Sept. 31(sic), 1783; no witnesses recorded

17- [105] No. 983. Benyamen Eth (or Etli), Pekkee Brouyer; Keetye bo. Mar 1, bp. June 4, 1786; no witnesses recorded; [You will not find these names on the BGD. This is the first that I have seen of this record. I am unsure if Brouyer is meant for Brouwer, or some other name]

Final note: All of those, with the exception of numbers 15 and 17 in the baptisms, are known to be descendants of (9) Uldrick Brouwer (son of Pieter Brouwer, grandson of Adam Brouwer of Gowanus, L.I.) and his two wives, Hester De Vouw and Adriaentje Pieterse. Jannetje Brouwer, the wife of Hendrick van Winkle (no. 15) is a daughter of Jacob Brouwer and Maria de Lanoy, and a great-great granddaughter of Adam Brouwer through his son, Jacob Brouwer. The last entry (no.17) is a curious one, I had not seen it before and I'm not certain that the name here, Brouyer was meant to be Brouwer (with the y a mis-transcription of a w). I am not familiar with this couple. I do not have a confident guess as to what the name Pekkee might refer to. Could it be Peggy, a diminutive for Margaret?

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Unplaced Genetic Descendants of Adam Brouwer Who are Positive for the SNP E-FTC5921

 The Brewer DNA Project, initiated back in the early 2000s when FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA) first came online has since grown to 434 members (or participants) dispersed among 23 different groups of genetically related participants. That is to say, those participants within any one group are related to one another in genetically, through comparison of Y-DNA test results, within a genealogically meaningful period of roughly the past 400 years. In other words, the Brewer DNA Project includes 23 genetically different families named BREWER, or some variation of the name such as BROWER, BROUWER, BRUER, etc. The 23 groups can be seen on the Project's public results or "Y-DNA Colorized Chart" page. With the advent of FTDNA's Big-Y tests, back in the early 2010s, and with increased participation, the Brewer DNA Project has been able to sub-divide a few of the larger groups, which are seen as "Sub-Units" on the public chart page. This post is focused on one such Sub-Unit within the Adam Brouwer, Gowanus, L.I. group.

Brewer DNA Project: Adam Brouwer Group: Sub-Unit A: E-FTC5921. Multiple lines from the most recent common ancestor, a son or grandson of Adam Brouwer

As the title suggests, the participants assigned to this sub-unit have all taken the advanced Big-Y test (either at the initial 500 STR marker level or at the more recent and improved 700 STR marker level), and all are positive for the SNP E-FTC5921. The remaining attribute that all here have in common is that of the current 16 participants, all of whom are certainly genetic descendants of Adam Brouwer, none have been able to complete their direct paternal (Brewer/Brower/Brouwer) line back to Adam Brouwer. The 16 participants found in this sub-unit are descendants of a number of different Earliest Known Ancestors (EKAs). The pages of this blog, over the years, has included information, profiles, etc., on all of the EKAs. The purpose now, with this post, is to consolidate the known EKAs into one place, with brief descriptions, and in a follow up post we'll suggest possible directions to take for concentrating efforts of traditional genealogical research, with the ultimate goal of identifying the connection to Adam Brouwer. As noted in the title, the common ancestor for the 16 participants is one of the known sons of Adam Brouwer (i.e. they all are descendants of the same son) or one grandson (i.e. a grandson of Adam Brouwer who is a son of the thus far unidentified son from which all 16 are descendants). To be clear, it is possible, that the participants in this sub-unit are descended from more than one son of the unidentified son, meaning, they may be descendants of different grandsons of Adam Brouwer. 

In Short - the sixteen participants who are all positive for the SNP(haplogroup) E-FTC5921 share as their common paternal ancestor one of the seven sons of Adam Brouwer. The sixteen may be descendants of just one individual grandson of Adam Brouwer, OR they may be descendants of multiple grandsons of Adam Brouwer.

E-FTC5921 is the parent SNP (haplogroup) for this Sub-Unit. All of the participants in the group are positive for E-FTC5921. As of this writing six of the sixteen members seen on the public results page show E-FTC5921 as their haplogroup. The other ten are identified by haplogroups that are sub-branches (sub-clades, sub-haplogroups) of E-FTC5921. There are seven EKAs for the sixteen participants. They are:

1. Benjamin Brewer, born 24 April 1755, died 6 May 1834 in Washington Co., Indiana. He married Catharine Mellinger, 18 May 1781 in Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania. He is found on a tax roll at Tyrone Twp., then in Westmoreland County in 1783. In 1785, Fayette Co., Pennsylvania is formed and Tyrone Twp. is found in this new county. Benjamin, along with his wife Catharine, are last recorded in Tyrone Twp. on 9 Feb 1797 when they executed a deed for land in Tyrone Twp. to Joseph Alexander. In 1800, Benjamin Brewer is recorded on a tax roll in Jefferson Co., Kentucky (est. 1780). A War of 1812 Militia Roll places Benjamin Brewer in Harrison Co., Indiana (est. 1808 when Indiana was a territory). We find Benjamin Brewer on both the 1820 and 1830 U.S. census records in Washington Co., Indiana (est. 1814 out of Harrison and Clark Counties). In 1832 Benjamin applied for a pension for his service during the Revolutionary War stating that he served in the militia out of Fayette County in a company under Capt. Huston. Both Benjamin and Catharine (d.1839) are buried in Cooley-Brewer Cemetery inn Washington Twp., Washington Co., Indiana. Benjamin Brewer can be found on the Brouwer Genealogy Database (BGD). Please keep in mind that the BGD was last updated seven years ago in late 2015, and information found there today may be outdated. The BGD shows Benjamin Brewer with a possible father, Benjamin(?) Brewer. This is a suggestion, it is not fact. As of this writing Benjamin Brewer's father is not known. Also see the post of November 16, 2013, "Some Unplaced Brewers of Western Pennsylvania and Kentucky." Again, some statements found here are now outdated. Two participants identified by E-FTC5921 are confirmed descendants of Benjamin Brewer and Catharine Mellinger. Both are descendants of their son Benjamin Brewer (1792-1861) and his wife Rebecca Blair. One participant is a descendant of their son Peter Brewer (1814-1869, m. Mira M. Lutz) and the other is a descendant of son Benjamin B. Brewer (1831-1878, m.1 Nancy A. Westfall).
2. Peter Brewer, age 70-80 on the 1830 U.S. census and age 80-90 on the 1840 U.S. census so born during the decade of 1750-1760, died between 2 November 1840 and 19 April 1841, dates when he wrote his will and when it was proved (Hardin Co., Kentucky Wills E:48-9). He married Margaret Hobach. Peter Brewer is on the tax roll of 1783 in Huntington Twp., Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania. He is on tax rolls there in 1785, 1786 and 1787 as well. I do not find him on the 1790 U.S. census in Westmoreland Co., nor is he found on the 1800 U.S. census. He is found on the 1810 U.S. census at Elizabethtown, Hardin Co., Kentucky. In 1820 he is at Little York, Hardin Co., Kentucky. On the above referenced 1830 and 1840 censuses he is at Hardin Co., Kentucky (specific town or location not indicated). A profile for Peter Brewer is on the BGD. Also see the post of November 16, 2013. The July 5, 2018 post, "A Suggested Ancestry for Peter Brewer of Hardin Co., Kentucky," might also be of interest, but it must be emphasized - this is a speculative suggestion that is not proved by acceptable genealogical research standards, nor by genetic genealogy. Four descendants of Peter Brewer have tested positive for E-FTC5921. All are descendants of Peter's son Valentine Brewer (b.ca.1808-will proved 27 July 1885). The four are first cousins and have a common identifying SNP E-BY6245. This SNP would have first formed sometime between the generation of Valentine Brewer and the participant's common grandfather (early 1900s). 
3. Henry Brewer, age 80-90 in 1840 so born in the decade of the 1750s. Since the last BGD update in late 2015 we have consolidated two men named Henry Brewer into one. The two are found on the BGD here and here. This paragraph is then in effect a correction to the BGD. The decision to consolidate the two Henry Brewers into one is based on BigY test results of four participants, one, a descendant of the first linked Henry Brewer and three descended from the second. Together, the four share a unique SNP, E-FT40569, a sub-branch of E-FTC5921. There is uncertainty regarding the wives of Henry Brewer. He had at least two, and possibly three. The baptism of Henry's son, also named Henry, 10 October 1788 at the German Church in Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania, names Henry's wife as Anna Maria ____. Henry's sons Benjamin Brewer (1796-1883, of LaPorte Co., Indiana) and John Wesley Brewer (1806-1890, of LaPorte Co., IN and Burt Co., Nebraska) both are said to be sons of Henry's wife Jane ____, who was previously identified as Jane Hurdley or Hundley, but this identification has since been questioned. All three of the just mentioned sons are represented by advanced Y-DNA testing. A wife named Honour ___, has also been attributed to Henry, but evidence of her existence has yet to be found. Son Benjamin was born in 1796 in Fayette Co., Pennsylvania. In 1810 Henry is in Donegal, Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania (U.S. census). In 1820 he is at Charlestown, Clark Co., Indiana. In 1840 he is found at Clay, Owen Co., Indiana where he is said to have died (date not found). Note that there is an eight year gap between sons Henry and Benjamin and then a ten year gap between sons Benjamin and John Wesley (with an eighteen year gap between Henry and John Wesley). There may well have been other, yet identified, children of Henry Brewer.
   
4. Henry Brewer, born May 1765, died 20 February 1829 in Adams Co., Ohio. Henry married Sarah Hawke, 14 February 1786 in Berkeley Co., Virginia which is today in the State of West Virginia (admitted as a state 20 June 1863). Henry Brewer filed an application for a pension on his service during the Revolutionary War, stating that he served out of Martinsburg, Berkeley Co., Virginia. In 1810 Henry is found on the U.S. census in Berkeley Co., Virginia (census records for 1790 and 1800 in Virginia are lost). As Henry Brower he is found on the 1820 U.S. census at Jefferson, Adams Co., Ohio. His record of marriage in 1786 records his name as Henry Bruer. A D.A.R. membership application of a descendant calls him Hendrick Brower. Henry Brewer is on the BGD. Also see the post of May 9, 2013, "Henry Brewer of Berkeley Co., Virginia and Adams Co., Ohio." One direct male descendant has participated and is identified by E-FTC5921. He is a descendant of Henry's son Charles Brewer (ca.1802-liv.1860, m. Hannah Cook).
5. Mathew Brower/Brewer, probably born between 1755 and 1760, date of death unknown but found on the 1820 U.S. census at Richhill, Greene Co., Pennsylvania, age over 45. His wife was an Emery, as stated in an 1898 memoir of his grandson James A. Brewer. Her given name has been suggested as Elizabeth, or as Mary Magdalena. In 1793 a Mathias Brewer is found on a tax roll in Lebanon, Hunterdon Co., New Jersey. As Mathew Brewer he is on the 1800 U.S. census at Bethel and Belfast, Bedford Co., Pennsylvania. In 1810 he is at Morris, Greene Co., Pennsylvania. And as stated, in 1820 he is at Richhill, Greene Co., Pennsylvania. Mathew Brower is found on the BGD. The note regarding an application dated 17 July 1815 for land in Buffalo, Union Co., Pennsylvania does not apply to this Mathew Brower. It belongs to a younger man of the same name (mentioned below under Thomas Brewer). Also see the post of September 11, 2013, "Mathew Brower of Greene County, Pennsylvania." Three descendants of Mathew Brower have been identified with the SNP E-FTC5921. One is a descendant of Mathew's son Conrad Brewer (1798-1854, m. Rachel Anderson). The other two are brothers who are descendants of Mathew's son John B. Brewer (b.ca.1794 in New Jersey). The two brothers are further identified by the SNP E-BY114218. This sub-branch was therefore formed sometime between the generation of Mathew Brower's son John B. Brewer and their father's generation.
6. Thomas Brewer, is found on the 1820 U.S. census at Annville, Lebanon Co., Pennsylvania, his age given as between 26 and 44 years, so born between 1776 and 1794. In the household are two males under age 10, one female under age 10, and one female age 16-25, no doubt his wife, one young daughter and two young sons. Thomas was living on 18 April 1828 (a deed executed between heirs of his father-in-law John Stroh) but was deceased by 1830 when his wife Mary Brewer was enumerated as the head of a household on the U.S. census at Annville. She was also there in 1840. She was Anna Maria Stroh, born 6 October 1795, baptized 8 February 1796 at Hill Evangelical Lutheran Church, North Annville, daughter of John Stroh and Anna Maria Muese. Her birth in 1795 may suggest that Thomas was closer in age to 26 years than to 44 years when enumerated on the 1820 U.S. census. One descendant has participated. He is a descendant of Thomas' son Israel Brewer, born at Annville on 8 Dec 1826 (and so NOT counted on that 1820 census), died 4 April 1897 at Carthage, Jasper Co., Missouri. The descendant is identified by the SNP E-FTC5921 (the parent SNP for this group). Thomas is not included on the BGD. In 1810, a Thomas Brewer (probably this one) is found on the U.S. census at East Buffalo, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, a male age 16-25, with no other household members. He is enumerated next to a Mathias Brewer (or Brower) and the older (than Thomas and Mathias) John Brewer, who was born 4 July 1749 in Hunterdon Co., New Jersey. See the post of October 28, 2012, "Unplaced: John Brewer, Revolutionary War Patriot of New Jersey and Pennsylvania," with the caveat that the suggestion that John Brewer was a descendant of Jan Brouwer of Flatlands, L.I. is now unlikely, as stated in the post of February 25, 2022, "Update: John Brewer, Revolutionary War Patriot of New Jersey and Pennsylvania." This latter post also introduces Thomas Brewer. It is conceivable that both Thomas Brewer and Mathias Brewer, found in 1810 in East Buffalo, PA, are sons of the older John Brewer and his wife Hannah Timpson.
   
7. Daniel Brewer, age 60-70 in 1830, so born 1760-1770, perhaps closer to 1760 as his wife is age 70-80 in 1830, U.S. census at Mahoning, Indiana Co., Pennsylvania. His wife is said to be Margaret Bennett. His will dated 31 January 1842, proved 14 March 1842, Belmont Co., Ohio (Belmont Co., OH Wills G:321) names eleven children but not his wife. In 1800 he is found on the U.S. census at Washington, Northumberland Co., Indiana along with Paul Brewer (age 45+), Henry Brewer (age 26-44) and a second Daniel Brewer (age 45+). In 1810, 1820 and 1830 the U.S. census places him in Mahoning, Indiana Co., Pennsylvania. In 1840 he may be the older male in the household of his son Daniel Brewer (1790-1854) at Union, Belmont Co., Ohio. Daniel Brewer is NOT found on the BGD, nor is he mentioned within the pages of this website. Daniel is a newly discovered descendant of Adam Brouwer. There are two direct male descendants in the Brewer DNA Project, one of whom just recently took the BigY-700 test, his results showing a positive for E-FTC5921. This participant is descended from Daniel Brewer's son Daniel (1790-1854, Belmont Co., OH, m. Mary Brady). The other participant (standard STR marker test) is a descendant of the elder Daniel's son Peter Brewer (1792-1852, m. Letitia Work) lived at East Mahoning, Indiana Co., Pennsylvania. The 1880 U.S. census record for the elder Daniel Brewer's daughter, Margaret (Brewer) Hendricks (1812-1895), at Washington, Harrison Co., Iowa, records that her (Margaret's) parents were both born in New Jersey. It must be taken into account that Northumberland County, Pennsylvania in 1792 was a much larger county than it was in 1850. It encompassed much of the northern half of the interior of Pennsylvania in 1792. In 1795 Lycoming County was created out of Northumberland, taking much of interior Pennsylvania. In 1806 Indiana County was created out of both Lycoming Co. and out of Westmoreland Co.
    

Before moving on we also want to mention one Benjamin Bruer (as his name is spelled in the one record that we have found for him) whose estate was administered in the extinct county called Yohogania, then within the jurisdiction of the Virginia Colony. Administration on his estate was granted there on 25 May 1778 to Mary Bruer. Joseph Beeler, Sr., Christopher Hays, John Mellander and John Morecroft were ordered to make an inventory of Benjamin's estate. The inventory was returned by the appraisers on 26 October 1778, and this is the last we here of it. In the post of July 5, 2018 and before that the post of June 29, 2018 (under Peter Brower) I suggested that Benjamin and Mary (___) Bruer could be parents of, in particular, no. 2 above, Peter Brewer, and also of of 1. Benjamin Brewer and 3. Henry Brewer, and that this Benjamin Bruer may be one and the same with the Benjamin, bapt. 11 February 1728, at the New York Reformed Dutch Church, son of Pieter Brouwer and Elizabeth Quackenbosch. It has to be emphasized here that this is a possibility and NOT fact. It is a potential lead for a situation in which to date we have no other leads. No evidence has yet been found that would in prove this notion as fact. For one, we have no idea how old Benjamin was when he died in 1778. For all we know he may have been a young man. Perhaps he was a brother to one or more of our EKAs above. Perhaps he was a first cousin to some. Perhaps even a second cousin. Perhaps there was no relationship between Benjamin Bruer and the others. I doubt this last possibility, but without more evidence, it cannot be ruled out.

Moving on. Based on Y-DNA test results of the direct male descendants of the above seven EKAs, it has been concluded that all share one of (1) Adam Brouwer's seven sons as a common ancestor. Which one of those seven sons is not certain, however, we can with help from Y-DNA test results conclude that this common son of (1) Adam cannot be (7) Abraham Brouwer, and that it is very likely not (8) Nicholas Brouwer. (4) Willem Brouwer is also very unlikely as it may well be that he does not have any direct male descendants living today. (3) Matthys Brouwer also has to be considered as unlikely (no confirmed tested descendants are in the DNA Project). (2) Pieter Brouwer and (5) Jacob Brouwer are possible candidates, however, to date none of the tested descendants of either (2) Pieter or (5) Jacob are positive for E-FTC5921. To this we add, that not all of either (2) Pieter's or (5) Jacob's sons (Adam Brouwer's grandsons) have direct descendants who have taken a BigY DNA test. The search here would benefit from advanced BigY testing of more descendants of both (2) Pieter and (5) Jacob. (6) Adam Brouwer, despite the fact that we to date have no confirmed descendants in the Brewer DNA Project, also remains a possibility, and based on the fact that his one known son (26) Hendrick Brouwer had sons baptized at Raritan in Somerset Co., New Jersey and at Three-Mile Run in Middlesex Co., New Jersey leads me to believe that both (6) Adam Brouwer and (26) Hendrick Brouwer should be strongly considered as ancestors to the seven listed above. But again, and as with (3) Matthys Brouwer, no confirmed descendants of (6) Adam Brouwer are in the DNA Project. The western counties of New Jersey (Hunterdon, Somerset and Middlesex included) were after all, during the second half of the 1700s, a stepping off place for migration into the interior and western regions of Pennsylvania.

Future posts will focus on the 24 grandsons of (1) Adam Brouwer. In the meantime it might be helpful to get an idea of just where in time and in which generation or generations the above seven EKAs might connect with the sons and/or grandsons of (1) Adam Brouwer. With the exception of 6. Thomas Brewer, the EKAs above were apparently born between the years 1750 and 1770. Assuming that their fathers were at least 20 years old when any one of the EKAs were born and maybe no more than 50, we might assume that the fathers of these six EKAs were born between 1700 and 1750. We know that (1) Adam Brouwer's sons were born between the years 1646 and 1672, and this largely rules them out. What I'm saying here is that none of our EKAs are themselves grandsons of (1) Adam Brouwer. The 24 grandsons of (1) Adam Brouwer were born between the years 1673 and 1707. It is conceivable that one or more of the younger grandsons of (1) Adam Brouwer could be a father to one or more of the EKAs. The sons of the grandsons of (1) Adam Brouwer (i.e. Adam's great grandsons) were born between about 1700 and about 1740 or so. The next generation, sons of the great-grandsons of (1) Adam Brouwer, in other words his great-great grandsons first appear in the early 1720s and a large number of them were born prior to 1750. These last two mentioned generations, the great grandsons and great-great grandsons, or generations 4 and 5 in a standard compiled genealogy of (1) Adam Brouwer's descendants, are the most likely places where the father's of the EKAs above will be found.

BGB 741