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