Additions and Corrections to the BGD: Records from the Reformed Dutch Churches of Pompton Plains, N.J. and Montville, N.J.

 The following additions and corrections are from the records of the Reformed Dutch Church at Pompton Plains, New Jersey. The source I am using here is Reformed Dutch Church Records of Pompton Plains, pages 1-210: records of Montville, pages 211-258: typescript, which is found on Ancestry.com (paid subscription is required for access at Ancestry.com). This material is an unauthored typescript, and unfortunately the "Original data" description tells us nothing more. An entry for the same can be found on WorldCat, but it also does not tell us much more. Google Books has an entry for the Reformed Dutch Church Records of Pompton Plains with the same publication date (1923) and cites the First Dutch Reformed Church of Pompton Plains as the Contributor. WeRelate has a description for a volume with a slightly different title, Records of the Dutch Reformed Church, Pompton Plains, N.J., and of the Reformed Dutch Church, Montville, N.J., 1737-1873, and a publish date of 1966. A search at the Internet Archive produced No Results. FamilySearch.org has six titles in their catalog under, United States, New Jersey, Morris, Pompton Plains - Church Records. Of these, "Marriage Records, 1735-1746, 1793-1809; Baptismal Records, 1735-1871," is digitized but is not accessible from a home computer. The other five entries are either not digitized or if digitized, are also locked from access from a home computer. The Ancestry.com source is searchable, while the sources at FamilySearch.org are not.

The First Reformed Church of Pompton Plains website tells us that the church was formed in 1736.

Isaac Brouwer - The entry on the BGD for his birth reads: "born on 12 January 1744 (based on age at death, g.s.). No record of baptism is found in Hackensack or Schraalenburgh. Paramus baptisms for the years 1744 to 1748 are missing." Well, a date of birth and baptism is found at Pompton Plains: Isack, Bp. Dec. 18 & bo. Nov. 20 (1745); parents: Isack Brower, Rachel; witnesses: Coenraad Frederick, Margaret Frederick. [32]. Also Isaak Brower & Rachel Brower were witnesses for the baptism of Isaack, bp. 1 April 1746; parents: Henry Kanckelyn and Catharina [33]. We do not have record of a daughter Catharina for Isaac & Rachel (Demarest) Brouwer, and neither of the two had a known sister named Catharina, so what family relationship, if any, exists is not apparent. Kanckelyn is probably a phonetic spelling attempt at Concklin.

Gerrit Brower (not certain at this writing of which Gerrit Brouwer/Brower found on the BGD) - Pompton Plains baptisms: Elisabeth, baptized 25 August 1776; parents: Jacob Smit (or Smeets), Feytje; witnesses: Gerrit Brouwer, Elizabeth Meets [60].

Jane Brower - Her date of birth is given as "say 1781." She was born 7 July 1781, baptized 2 September 1781 at Pompton Plains; parents: Theophilus Brower, Maria Bogert; witnesses: Pieter Kip, Jane Brower. [71] The witness, Jane Brower, is a sister of Theophilus Brower. She married Pieter Kip on 10 March 1775, Lutheran Church, New York City. The Theophilus Brower family was a New York City Brower family. This baptism takes place during the occupation of NYC by the British during the years of the American Revolutionary War. No doubt they, like many others, took refuge in northern New Jersey.

Hessel Hennion & Catharina Brouwer - Add daughter Maria, born 22 September 1795; parents: Hessel Hennion, Trintje Brouwer; no witnesses recorded; the baptism date is not recorded. Pompton Plains Baptisms[106].

Marietje Brouwer - Maria Brower and John V. Houten were witnesses for the baptism of Elisabeth, born 8 June 1795; parents: John Fraland, Caty Witty. Pompton Plains Baptisms [106]

Jeremiah C. Brower - I find this curious record in the Montville Reformed Dutch Church records. Child: Sarah Ellen, Cornelius J.; Parents: blank; witnesses: Jeremiah C. Brower, Mary Wilkinson. No date. The previous record has a baptism date of 4 Feb 1856, and the record that follows has a baptism date of 31 May 1856, so I assume it's from sometime between these two dates. [243, see the image that follows, the entry is fifth up from the bottom].

I have not been able to place this Jeremiah C. Brower. He married Mary Wilkinson in Passaic County, New Jersey, 28 October 1850, so he cannot be Jeremiah C. Brouwer, who was married to Elizabeth (Schenck?) and is found with her on the 1850, 1860 and 1870 U.S. census returns in LeGrange, Dutchess Co., New York.  Jeremiah C. Brouwer had a second marriage- in Tower, Maria Bockee Carpenter. Records of the Reformed Dutch Church of New Hackensack, Dutchess County, New York. Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, Inc., 2000 (org.1932): 115, "Jeremiah C. Brower of LaGrange, N.Y. and Mrs. Nelly Westervelt of Poughkeepsie, N.Y." However, both the 1880 U.S. census and Jeremiah C. Brower's will (23 April 1898) records his wife as Mary E. (perhaps she was a Mary Eleanor? Nelly is a diminutive for Eleanor). The two marriages tell us that this second mentioned Jeremiah C. Brower cannot be the Jeremiah C. Brower who married Mary Wilkinson. We have two men named Jeremiah C. Brower, both of whom lived during the second half of the 1800s. There is a bit more work to do on both of these fellows named Jeremiah C. Brower. They are both post-1850 families and therefore researching them further should not be difficult considering the resources now available online. Presently, my time is focused on the colonial period and pursuing the two Jeremiah C. Browers is not possible right now. Should anyone have any insight on either, please pass it on using the Comments feature with this post.

BGB 739