Records of the Town of Jamaica, Long Island, 1656-1751

Records of the Town of Jamaica, Long Island, New York, 1656-1751. edited by Josephine C. Frost, consisting of three volumes, was published by the Long Island Historical Society in 1914. Digital copies can be found online at Internet Archives.

Records of the Town of Jamaica, Long Island, New York, 1656-1751, Vol. 1

Records of the Town of Jamaica, Long Island, New York, 1656-1751, Vol. 2

Records of the Town of Jamaica, Long Island, New York, 1656-1751, Vol. 3

Although located within the political jurisdiction of Dutch New Netherlands, and called Rustdorp (prior to the English takeover in 1664), Jamaica was a predominately "English town," and the first settlers were all of English ancestry. The first record appearing in volume one is dated 18 February 1656, and here Daniel Denton is "chosen to write & enter all acts and orders of public concernment of ye Town and is to have a daie's work a man for ye said employment." The first votes taken by "ye Town," order that "whosoever shall fell any trees in ye highways shall take both top and body out of ye highway;" declare a bounty of fifteen shillings for every wolf killed; and make the statement, "Likewise it is agreed upon by ye Town that whereas they have the Little plains by purchase and patent within their limits to maintain their rights & privaleges in ye said place from any such as shall goe to deprive ym off it & soe to make use off it as they shall se cause."

In the opening pages, house lots were granted to Robert Coe and his son Benjamin Coe, Nicolas Tanner, Abraham Smith, John Eazer, Samuel Smith, Morace Smith, and William Thorne, in the west quarter. In the north quarter lots were granted to Andrew Messenger, Samuell Matthews, Thomas Wiggins, Richard Chasmore, Richard Harker, Richard Everet, Henry Townsend, Richard Townsend, John Townsend and John Roades. So as you can see, the first inhabitants of the Town of Jamaica, located within Dutch New Netherland, all had English names. However, within a few decades names belonging to families of Dutch, Scandinavian, French and German origin; names more often associated with New Netherland, can be found in the Town of Jamaica records. In time the population of "Dutch" families was large enough to warrant the establishment of a Reformed Dutch congregation, and although the exact date of its formation is not known, surviving baptism records begin with the year 1702. They were published in the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record beginning with volume 105, no. 1 (January 1974), and continuing in each subsequent issue into volume 107 (1976).

Only one person named Brouwer appears in the three volume set. While the indexes for volumes one and three do not include the surname Brouwer (or any variation), volume two includes three mentions of "John Brower," and "Johannes Bruer."

At page 375 of volume two is a list of those contributing to the support of a minister. It bears the date of 1 January 1693/94. The list is dominated by English names, but also found on it is John Brower, who is followed by John Hareson (a transcription error for Hanson) and Steven Courtt. The three are the only "non-English" names on the list and they are the last three listed.

At page 439, "Johanas Bruer," is found on a rate list for the town dated 3 February 1708/09. John Hanson and Tunis Hanson, are also on this list. Following, on page 440, is a rate list dated 4 February 1708/09, which again includes Johanas Bruer, along with John Hanson, Hanss Bargin (Bergen) and Tunis Hanson.

The records above can only belong to Johannes Brouwer, son of Jan Brouwer and Jannetje Jans of Flatlands, Long Island. He was baptized on 26 May 1658 in the New Amsterdam Reformed Dutch Church. Adam Brouwer of Gowanus, Long Island had no son named Jan (John), and is oldest grandson with that name (Jan, son of Pieter Brouwer, bapt. 1685 at New York), was living at Newark, New Jersey when banns for his marriage to Antje Mandeville were posted at Hackensack, New Jersey, on 10 April 1708.

The "John Hanson," found on the rate lists, and contributing to the upkeep of the minister in 1693/94, would be Jan Hansen, son of Hans Hansen and Sara Rapalje, whose descendants took on the surname, Bergen. "Tunis Hanson," and "Hanss Bargin," were two of his sons. As laid out in the post of October 8, 2013, I believe that Annetje Jans, a.k.a. Antje Berge, was also a daughter of Jan Hansen. She was married in 1687 to Pieter Brouwer, brother of the John Brower/Johanas Bruer found in Jamaica.

"Steven Courtt," the other "non-English" contributor found on the list of 1 January 1693/94, would be Stephen Coerten Van Voorhees, a son of Coert Stephensz Van Voorhees and Marritje Gerrits.

Johannes Brouwer (John Brower/Johanas Bruer) died in the fall of 1712. In his will dated 1 September 1712, he is stated to be "of Hempstead, Long Island." He is styled as "Johannes Brewer," in the will, which was proved 13 October 1712. Johannes' wife was Sara Willems, and they were not known to have had any children. None were named in the will and Johannes left his property to his wife, and then to his own brothers and sisters after Sara's death.

While there are no deeds or land records found for Johannes Brouwer in the Jamaica records, there are a number involving Hans Bergen and Tunis Bergen. They are found in volume three and are indexed under the name "Bargin," which apparently is how the English speaking clerk recorded their surname. There are also quite a few for John Hanson/Hance/Hans/Hanse found in both volumes two and three.

PDF version of this post 

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Correction to the Family of Pieter Jansz Brouwer and Annetje Jans

The post of September 10, 2013 makes mention of a change to the descendants of Jan Brouwer of Flatlands. A description of the family of Pieter Jansz Brouwer and Annetje Jans, the family that is directly effected, was originally posted on October 10, 2012. A careful review of some records used to construct this family leads me to believe that a change must be made to this family. There is no longer any evidence, either direct or circumstantial, that would allow us to conclude that Pieter Jansz Brouwer and Annetje Jans had a son named Pieter Brouwer (or Peter Brower, or Brewer).

Pieter Jansz Brouwer is a son of Jan Brouwer of Flatlands. A genealogical summery titled, "Jan Brouwer of Flatlands and Descendants," was published in the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, vol. 138, no. 4 (2007), beginning with page 250. The article is not authored, but footnote 2 explains that is was compiled by the editor using records identified by John Reynolds Totten and Teunis G. Bergen, and what I assume, was the input of five others mentioned in the footnote. The same footnote is also careful to make the statement that "Direct evidence does not exist for every placement presented here, but this construction is most consistent with the evidence." The first part of this statement is certainly true. One of the most frustrating aspects of researching the descendants of Jan Brouwer is a lack of the basic records, meaning baptisms, marriages and probate records, for the first few generations. This of course means that attempting to reconstruct the first few generations requires the interpretation of indirect or circumstantial evidence, which naturally can be interpreted differently by different researchers. The second half of the cautionary statement, "that the construction of the genealogy is most consistent with the evidence," of course requires that the evidence collected and considered has to be accurate. This is where the problem starts for the family of Pieter Jansz Brouwer. At least one piece of evidence was not related correctly, and a second piece was then misinterpreted, and assigned to the supposed son Pieter, in error.

The family of Pieter Jansz Brouwer (no. 2 in the genealogy) is covered on pages 252 to 255. A problem is found with the facts given under his son, Pieter Brouwer (no. vii on page 255, described as tentative in footnote 34 on page 253). In the second record attributed to Pieter Brouwer it is stated that he married "by 1731" Antie/Anne Berge. While this is correct (the couple was married by 1731, and may well have been married long before that year) what is left out is that Pieter Brouwer was in fact deceased by 1731. The record cited is the church membership of Antie Berge found in the Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey vol. 24, no. 1 (1949), page 22, which reads, "Antie Berge, widow of Pieter Brouwer." What is not mentioned, and apparently overlooked in the 2007 compiled genealogy, is the fact that Pieter Brouwer's wife was a widow in 1731, and therefore Pieter was deceased by this date. This overlooked (and important) fact directly impacts the first record that was attributed to Pieter Brouwer in this same account.

That first record mentioned (in the 2007 NYG&B Record genealogy) was the record of the administration of the estate of a Peter Brewer, of Shrewsbury, Monmouth Co., granted to his wife Anne on 22 September 1759. This record is found in Honeyman, A. Van Doren. Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, First Series Vol. 32; Calender of New Jersey Wills, Administrations, Etc. Vol. 3 1751-1760. (Somerville, N.J.: The Unionist-Gazette Association, Printers, 1924), page 40 (which abstracts New Jersey Wills, Lib. G, p. 99). As per footnote 34, on page 253 of the compiled NYGB Record genealogy, it is stated that it is this 1759 administration, in which one of the bondsmen was Thunis Amack, is the evidence behind the "tentative" placement of Pieter Brouwer as a son of Pieter Jansz Brouwer and Annetje Jans. This record, however, cannot pertain to the Pieter Brouwer who's wife, Antie Berge, was described as a widow in 1731. The administration of an estate takes place soon after a person's decease. Pieter Brouwer, who was deceased by 1731, would not have had administration granted on his estate 28 years later in 1759. This first mentioned record, the administration of the estate of Peter Brewer of Shrewsbury, belongs to a different Peter Brewer than the Pieter Brouwer who left a widow, Antie Berge, by 1731. Lacking this record, there is no other record, set of circumstantial records, or reason to suppose that Pieter Jansz Brouwer and Annatje Jans had a son named Pieter. It is therefore necessary to remove Pieter Brouwer from the record of the family of Pieter Jansz Brouwer.

To expand upon what was last just stated a bit more: Absent the incorrectly reasoned analysis of the two records mentioned above, we are left with the fact there is no other record found that would indicate that Pieter Jansz Brouwer and Annetje Jans had a son named Pieter. There is no baptism record of such son. There is no record of marriage for a Pieter Brouwer and Antie Berge. There is no record, baptism or otherwise, for children of a couple named Pieter Brouwer and Antie Berge. There is no probate or estate file either for Pieter Jansz Brouwer, Annetje Jans or any potential siblings of the tentative son Pieter Brouwer that could be cited as proof of his existence. There are no records of sponsors or witnesses at baptisms of the other children of Pieter Jansz Brouwer and Annetje Jans in which a sibling named Pieter Brouwer is named as a sponsor or witness. Thus far, no land records have been found that found that would identify a son named Pieter Brouwer. When we cannot find so much as one record that can confidently be identified as belonging to a person described as "tentative," we have to come to the conclusion that in fact, this "tentative" person probably did not exist to begin with.

To re-cap the above in two sentences: The misreading of the 1731 church membership record, in which Antie Berge is called a widow, resulted in the incorrect assignment of the record of the administration of the estate of Peter Brewer to his wife Anne in 1759, to a "tentative" son named Pieter of Pieter Jansz Brouwer. Since no other record that could point to this "tentative" Pieter as being a son of Pieter Jansz Brouwer exists, it is necessary to remove the "tentative" son Pieter from the family of Pieter Jansz Brouwer and Annetje Jans.

We can add to this that there is a known Peter Brewer (Pieter Brouwer) with a wife named Anne, to whom this 1759 administration more likely applies. The Records of the Reformed Dutch Congregations at Freehold and Middletown (serialized in the Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey, include the baptism record of "Joannes; parents: Pieter Brouwer, Antje Van Dyk; witness: Antje Brouwer" on 21 March 1756 (GMNJ 25:91), and of "Petrus; parents: Pieter Brower, Antye Van Dyk; witness: Hendrick Brower" on 23 September 1759 (GMNJ 26:22). This second baptism took place the day after administration on the estate of Peter Brewer, of Shrewsbury, was granted to his widow, Anne. No records of baptisms for this couple have been found post 1759. The Pieter Brouwer/Brower who married Antje Van Dyk was likely the "Peetres" baptized on 26 Dec 1737 at the Reformed Church at Harlingen, a son of Johannes Brouwer and Helena Van Cleef (GMNJ 17:80). He would be a grandson of the above mentioned Pieter Jansz Brouwer and Annetje Jans, and named for his grandfather. The witnesses mentioned above were most likely his brother Hendrick who was baptized in 1735, and his aunt Annatje Brouwer (sister of his father) who married Abraham Lane and had her own children baptized at the Harlingen church. While it is difficult to assign this 1759 estate administration record to any one person with absolute certainty (the complete file should be located and examined), it is much more likely that the record belongs to the Pieter Brouwer who's sons Joannes and Petrus baptized in 1756 and 1759, and that "Anne" is Antje Van Dyk*, and is certainly not, Antje Berge.

Removing the "tentative" son Pieter from the family of Pieter Jansz Brouwer and Annatje Jans leaves us with new questions: Who is the Pieter Brower whose widow, Antje Berge, was a member of the Reformed Dutch Congregation at Middletown in 1731? Who is Antje Berge? And who is Annetje Jans? I am presently working on the theory that it is possible, maybe even probable that Antje Berge's husband Pieter Brower is actually Pieter Jansz Brouwer, that Antje Berge is in fact Annetje Jans and that she is a (until now) unidentified granddaughter of Hans Hansen (Bergen). I will present the known facts that form the basis of this theory in a future post.

See the current edition of the Brouwer Genealogy Database for additional info and sources regarding those mentioned above.

The journal report and chart of the descendants of Jan Brouwer of Flatlands, L. I., and the Family Group sheet for Pieter Jansz Brouwer and Annetje Jans have also been updated. The family structure now shown in each of these accounts still includes a son, Hendrick Brouwer. It does have to be emphasized that this placement is also very tentative. Hendrick was not included in the 2007 NYGB Record summery, but rather was my own placement that I am now having serious doubts about and am reconsidering.

*There are baptism records post 1759 at Freehold-Middletown for a couple named Antje Van Dyk and Jacobus Jansen. The will of James Johnson, Sr., of Howell, Monmouth Co., dated 1 June 1803, names his wife Anna and children. An executor is "friend" Benjamin Brewer, while John A. Brewer took the inventory. (Calendar of New Jersey Wills, 10 (1780-1782) in New Jersey Archives First Series, 39:245). The English name, James Johnson, would be a reasonable equivalent of the Dutch, Jacobus Jansen. Further research into the possibility that the two Antje Van Dyks are one, is required.

(Additional details relating to Pieter Brouwer, Antje Van Dyk and James Johnson/Jacobus Janson, are published in the post of September 17, 2013.)

(For a follow up on Annetje Jans/Antje Berge, see the post of October 8, 2013).

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Pieter Brouwer and Annetje Jans of Flatlands

Pieter Brouwer, was one of only two sons of Jan Brouwer and Jannetje Jans of Flatlands, Long Island, who had children and descendants himself. Pieter was baptized on October 22, 1660 at the New Amsterdam Reformed Dutch Church. The sponsors were Thomas de Karmen and Sara Sanders, two individuals who had no known family relationship to either of Pieter's parents.

Pieter was, like his father, a blacksmith, and lived his life at Flatlands. In September of 1687, Pieter Brouwer took the Oath of Allegiance at Flatlands as a native. His property there is mentioned in a May 14, 1697 conveyance between Alexander Sympson of Flatlands and Evah Van Sycklen, the wife of Ferdinand Van Sycklen, in which the property in Flatlands being sold was stated to be bounded by the property of Peter Brewer and "John the shoemaker." In a conveyance of March 18, 1697/98 between Garret Schenck and Stephen Coerte (Van Vorhees), the property in Flatlands that was sold was bounded by that of John Wyckoff and Peter Brewer. On April 23, 1700, Jan Brouwer of Flatlands conveyed to Pieter Brouwer of the same place, lands bounded by Cornelius Coerte, Martens Schenck, Roelof Schenck, Claes Pieters, Ferdinand Van Sycklen, and Roelof Martense. The previous day, April 22, 1700, Jan had conveyed all of his smith's tools to Pieter. The conveyances were acknowledged on November 17, 1702. In effect, what was happening here, was Jan Brouwer was transferring his property and business to his son Pieter Brouwer, who would then be responsible for Jan's care until his death.

Pieter's wife was named Annetje Jans. Nothing of her parentage or ancestry has been discovered. A thorough study of the families of the men listed in the deeds above, as neighbors of Pieter Brouwer, might lead to the discovery of Annetje's family. T. G. Bergen, in his Early Settlers of Kings County, mistakenly places Annetje as a wife of Pieter Brouwer, son of Adam Brouwer and Magdalena Verdon. The two men named Pieter Brouwer were contemporaries, although Adam Brouwer's son Pieter was about fourteen years older then the son of Jan Brouwer. Adam Brouwer's son Pieter did not live at Flatlands at any time during his life. This error was corrected in later published accounts by Totten and Hoffman. On December 23, 1706, "Antye Browers," was recorded with 23 acres in an assessment at Flatlands. As she, and not Pieter, was recorded as the property holder, it can be assumed that Pieter Brouwer was deceased by this date.

The marriage banns of Pieter Brouwer, young man, at New Amersfoort (Flatlands), and Annetie Jansen, also residing there, were published at the Flatbush Reformed Dutch Church on February 15, 1687. They may have had as many as eight children, but baptism records have been found for only one. Son, Hans, was baptized on October 30, 1695. The baptism was recorded in the Town records of Flatbush and was published in the 1998 Flatbush Church Records, translated and edited by David William Voorhees. The sponsors were Cornelis Willemse and Machiel Willemse, the later being Maghtel Brouwer, Pieter's sister and the wife of Cornelis Willemse (Willemsen). Hans was married to Nelke Goulder and lived in Monmouth County, New Jersey (last found there in 1731). All other children of Pieter Brouwer are assumed. As no baptism records have survived and since no estate settlement has been located for Pieter, there is no direct evidence that they are children of Pieter Brouwer. Reconstructing Pieter's family is based upon circumstantial evidence for a few, and simply guesses for others. With that said, the following are presumed children of Pieter Brouwer and Annetje Jans.

Lucretia, believed to be the eldest child and daughter, was born August 12, 1688. The date is from a Luyster family Bible record. She was married to Johannes Luyster in 1716 at Flatbush, in which she is stated to have been born at New Amersfoort (Flatlands) in the marriage banns. The couple lived in Monmouth County where she died in 1771, in her 83rd year. Her husband was a son of Cornelius Luyster and Sara Nevius. Among Lucretia's children are Peter and Anna (named for her parents) and Cornelius and Sara (named for Johannes' parents. Lucretia's placement in the family of Pieter Brouwer is certain. As the eldest daughter, her name Lucretia (a female take on Lucas) may be a clue to her mother's ancestry.

Daughter Jannetje, was likely the second child and second daughter. She would have been named for Pieter's mother (Jannetje Jans) and was likely born about 1690 give or take a year or two. She was married on October 29, 1713 to Jan Gerritsen from Jamaica, Long Island, a son of Gerrit Lubbertsen and Geertruy Willemse Van Boerum. The marriage banns, recorded in the Flatbush Church records, state that she was born at New Amersfoort (Flatlands). The couple's first son, Gerrit, was baptized at Jamaica on January 2, 1715. Sometime after that date the family moved to Fordham Manor in Westchester County, New York. Baptism records in that location are not in existence, and no other baptism records for children are known. It is believed that Jan and Jannetje also had sons, Jan, Tunis and Peter (see the Brouwer Genealogy Database for details and sources). On September 5, 1759, Jannetje and Jan were members of the First Reformed Church of Tarrytown (the Old Dutch Church at Sleepy Hollow). This is the last known record of the two. Jannetje is placed in the family of Pieter Brouwer based upon her place of birth as per her marriage banns.

Pieter's son, Jan Brouwer, was married to Helena Van Cleef by 1724. No marriage record has been found, but the couple's first child was baptized at Freehold-Middletown in Monmouth County, New Jersey, on June 21, 1724. Neither the name nor sex of the child was stated in this record. A baptism of a second child on April 11, 1726 was similar in that neither a name or sex is recorded. One of these records may belong to a presumed son Aris (Arie, Aaron) who married Neeltje Cooper, lived at Shrewsbury in Monmouth County, and had children named Helena and John. Baptism records for nine other children of Jan Brouwer and Helena Van Cleef are found in the records of the Freehold-Middletown, Harlingen, Readington and Raritan reformed Churches in Monmouth, Hunterdon and Somerset counties, New Jersey. On November 28, 1731, Jan witnessed the baptism of Jan, son of Hans Brouwer and Nelke Goulder (Freehold-Middletown). Jan is placed in the family of Pieter Brouwer and Annetje Jans based upon this baptism and based upon the fact that he named two sons (one dying young) Pieter. No daughter named Annatje has been found, but one of the nameless children baptized in 1724 and 1726, could have had that name. Helena Van Cleef is believed to  be the daughter of Isbrandt Van Cleef and Jannetje Vanderbilt, although neither of these two given names (Isbrandt and Jannetje) appear among the children of Jan and Helena.

Possible daughter, Annatje, was married to Abraham Lane, by 1730. Their first known child, a daughter Jannetje, was baptized at Harlingen on April 15, 1730. Abraham was a son of Adriaen Lane and Martynetje Hendrickse Smock. A. Van Dorn Honeyman in his account of the Lane family (Somerset County Historical Quarterly Vols. 2, 3 and 4 [1913-1915]), places a "supposed" son named Adriaen, "who must have died young," in the family. This seems to have been a common technique for compiling families by earlier researchers such as Honeyman. That is, specifically in this case, the compiler notes that Abraham's father was named Adriaen, and then assumes that Abraham "must have" named a son for his father, even though no record of such son exists on it's own. Annatje and Abraham had children baptized in the Harlingen, Readington, Rariatn, Marlboro and Freehold-Middletown Reformed Churches. Abraham Lane of Middlesex Co., New Jersey left a will dated September 11, 1760, in which he names his wife, Hannah, and children Rebecca, Hannah, Mary, Jane, Lucretia and Abraham. Annatje also appears in records with her name recorded as Hannah and Johanna. There is admittedly no evidence, direct or circumstantial, to warrant her placement as a child of Pieter Brouwer and Annatje Jans. She is placed here as a possible daughter based upon the observation that she does not seem to fit into any other Brouwer family of the period, whether they be descended from Jan Brouwer of Flatlands or Adam Brouwer of Gowanus. She did name a daughter, Anna, but there is no record of her naming a son, Pieter. (The account of the family of Abraham Lane and Annatje Brouwer, found at the BGD website, will be adjusted with the next update of that website).

Pieter Brouwer, of Shrewsbury, Monmouth County, New Jersey is presumed to be a son of Pieter Brouwer and Anantje Jans. He was married to Antje Berge, but there is no record of any children. Peter and his wife were members of the Freehold-Middletown Congregation in 1731. He died intestate before September 22, 1759, when administration on his estate was granted to his widow, Anne. James Harkinson, Thunis Amack and John Hans, Jr. were bondsman. As with Annatje above, their is no direct or circumstantial evidence that helps us place Pieter in the family of Pieter Brouwer and Annatje Jans. It is largely based upon there being no other family to place Pieter in.

Hendrick Brouwer, married Rachel de Bon and had a daughter Sara baptized at Harlingen on October 25, 1727. The witnesses were Rachel Crom and Margaret Crom, which does not provide any clue to Hendrick's relationship to a Brouwer family. On August 3, 1766, a Hendrick Brewer witnessed the will of Johannes Luyster of Middletown, New Jersey. Johannes was a son of Lucretia Brouwer and Johannes Luyster mentioned above. We honestly do not know exactly who this Hendrick Brewer was. He may or may not have been the Hendrick Brouwer who married Rachel de Bon. The possibility that Hendrick is a son of Pieter Brouwer and Annatje Jans exists, but there currently is no known evidence to support the notion. He may well be a descendant of Adam Brouwer of Gowanus.

In May 1734, a Catherine Brewer (with Peter Johnson) witnessed the baptism of Lucretia Lane, daughter of Abraham Lane and Annatje Brouwer, at Harlingen, New Jersey. Based upon this, it is possible that Catherine was a sister to Annatje Brouwer. If we assume that the placement of Annatje as a daughter of Pieter Brouwer and Annatje Jans is correct, then Catherine would be a daughter of Pieter Brouwer and Annatje Jans as well. The placement, however, must be described as "possible." It is possible that Catherine had some other relationship to Annatje, and so this placement is weak.

While the placement of Hans Brouwer in this family is certain, and while I am comfortable with the placement of children Lucretia, Jannetje and Jan as very near certain children, the children Annatje, Pieter, Hendrick and Catherine mentioned above, can be at best described as possible, and better evidence is desired. It should not be ruled out that they might belong to other Brouwer families, descended from either Jan Brouwer of Flatlands or Adam Brouwer of Gowanus.

A Family Group sheet for Pieter Brouwer is online. He is found as No. 4 in Descendants of Jan Brouwer of Flatlands.

No confirmed direct descendants of Pieter Brouwer have yet participated in the Brewer DNA Project. We would love to find one, especially one descended from son Hans Brouwer, as he is the only child of Pieter for whom a baptism record exists. Including a descendant's Y-DNA data in the database we know have would be a welcome addition and may help us place some of the other unplaced descendants of Jan Brouwer of Flatlands.

For corrections to this post, please see the post of September 15, 2013

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Johannes Brouwer and Hendrick Brouwer, sons of Jan Brouwer of Flatlands, L. I.

Johannes Brouwer, the eldest son of Jan Brouwer and Jannetje Jans, was baptized on May 26, 1658 at the New Amsterdam/New York Reformed Dutch Church. The sponsors were Nicholas Velthuysen and Grietje Jans. His younger brother, Hendrick, was baptized on January 14, 1665 at the same church. Here the sponsors were Albert Leenartszen and Ariaentie (whose surname or patronymic was not recorded). Of the four sponsors, none have been shown to have a family relationship to either of the parents, Jan Brouwer or Jannetje Jans.

Johannes, the elder of the two brothers, was married to Sara Willemse on September 2, 1683, with the marriage banns published at the Flatbush Reformed Dutch Church on August 12, 1683. Sara has been identified as a daughter of Willem Gerritsen and his wife Mary (surname not known) of Amersfoort (Flatlands), Long Island. Johannes Brouwer is found at Gravesend, Long Island in 1687 when he took the Oath of Allegiance. In 1688 he was a schoolmaster and reader at the Flatlands Reformed Church. He had been preceded in that position by Willem Gerritsen (Van Kouwenhoven) and was succeeded in 1691 by Pieter Tull. In 1693 he sold his house and garden lot at Gravesend to Stoffel Langestraat. When Johannes wrote his will on September 1, 1712, he was a resident of Hempstead in Queens County, New York. In his will he leaves his wife, Sarah, all of his estate, and then leaves it to his own brothers and sisters after her death. No children are mentioned. The will was proved on October 13, 1712.

Hendrick Brouwer, was the second son of Jan Brouwer and Jannetje Jans who was given that name. A younger brother named Hendrick had been baptized on November 14, 1663 at the New York Reformed Dutch Church. The sponsors here were Pieter Symonszen and Debora Jans. Again, no relationship has been found between the two sponsors and the parents. The first son Hendrick certainly died in infancy, and this Hendrick was named in his honor. Hendrick Brouwer's wife was named Cornelia. Her surname (or a patronymic) has not been discovered. Hendrick took the Oath of Allegiance at Flatlands in 1687. In 1698 he is found on the census at Flatlands with a household of just one man. He therefore, married Cornelia after 1698. No record of their marriage has been found. Cornelia is mentioned as Hendrick's wife in his will dated September 12, 1738. At the time, Hendrick was living at Hempstead in Queens County, and his wife was left his estate until his "cousin John Brewer, son of John Brewer" attained the age of 22 years, at which time Cornelia was to retain one-third of the estate and the remainder was to go to "cousin John Brewer." In Hendrick's time, the term "cousin," was used more loosely then it is today. It was often used to describe person who, today, we would refer to as a nephew or niece. The "John Brewer," who received the property, was Jan Brouwer, baptized on March 20, 1726 at Jamaica, Long Island, the son of Jan Brouwer and Aegje Sprong. Hendrick was the brother of his heir's grandfather, Derck Brouwer. "John Brewer" the heir, was Hendrick's great-nephew. This identification is collaborated by information I found in the collection of correspondence received from William Bogardus. Jan Brouwer, the father of Hendrick's great-nephew "John Brewer" had himself died six years before Hendrick in 1732. According to the notes of an ancestor of William Bogardus' correspondent, Cornelia, the widow of Hendrick Brouwer, raised Jan Brouwer's three children. Of the three, "John Brewer" would have been the eldest. Hendrick and Cornelia had no children of their own. The three (possibly four) children of Jan Brouwer and Aegje Sprong were no doubt raised as their own by Hendrick and Cornelia, and by Cornelia herself after Hendrick's death. Hendrick died by October 4, 1738, when his will was proved.

As can been seen from the above, neither Johannes nor Hendrick, two of Jan Brouwer and Jannetje Jans' four sons to reach adulthood, had children.

Johannes and Hendrick can be found as nos. 3 and 6 respectively in "Descendants of Jan Brouwer of Flatlands, L. I."

Source citations can be found at the Brouwer Genealogy Database website. 

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Derck Brouwer and Hannah Daws

Derck Brouwer, a son of Jan Brouwer and Jannetje Jans, was probably born about 1666 at Flatlands, in Kings County, Long Island. No record of baptism has been found. Despite the absence of a baptism record, Derck is certainly a son of Jan Brouwer. The circumstantial evidence being the fact that Derck named his eldest son, Jan (for his father), and lived at Flatlands as a young man. He cannot be a son of Adam Brouwer.

Only a few records have been found for Derck Brouwer. In September 1687 he took the Oath of Allegiance at Flatlands, and is recorded as "Dirck brouwer, native" (O'Callaghan, Lists of Inhabitants of Colonial New York...Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1979; page 39). Also listed as taking the oath from Flatlands are Jan Brouwer (Derck's father), and Pieter Brouwer (Derck's brother).
On September 25, 1694, Peter Carsten of Cape May, West Jersey, sold to Cornelis Williamsen and Dirck Brouwer, "two allotments of land lying and being in the limits of Gravesend upon Gisberts Island...land received from William Goulding living then in this towne of Gravesend" (Corson, Three Hundred Years with the Corson Families in America, Burlington, Vt: Free Press Interstate, 1939; page 2:21, citing Gravesend Book VI, p. 136). The Cornelis Williamsen in this deed was married to Derck's sister Maghtel Brouwer.
According to T. G. Bergen, Early Settlers of Kings County (1881), page 52, Derck married Hannah Daws on 6 October 1694 at Flatlands. Bergen does not provide a source for this date, and the original record has not yet been located.
In 1698, "Derick Brewer & his wife Hannah," with one child, are listed among the Dutch Inhabitants of the Town of Flushing, Queens County, Long Island (O'Callaghan, List of Inhabitants of Colonial New York..., page 40).
On September 22, 1700, "Dirrick Brewer of Jamaica (L. I.) and Hendrick Brouwer of Flatlands" sold a house and 75 acres on the borders of Hempstead, Jamaica and Flushing (Queens County Deeds Lib. A, pp.180-181).

Derck Brouwer's wife was Hannah Daws. She was the daughter of Elias Daws (of Gravesend in 1672) and Anna (whose family name is unknown). The given name, Elias, as it appears in the early generations of the descendants of Derck and Hannah, as it's origins with Hannah's father, Elias Daws. Derck probably died in 1702 or 1703 at Jamaica, Long Island (no record of his estate is found) and Hannah was remarried to Joseph Goulder, probably in 1704. With her second husband she relocated to Monmouth County, New Jersey and had five children. Hannah was deceased by October 22, 1716, when Joseph Goulder married, as his third wife, Maritje Van Dyke.

It is presumed that Derck and Hannah had five children. As the couple were married in late 1694 and as Derck was deceased in say 1703, they would have been married but nine years, and having five children would be about all a couple might have in that length of time. Of the children (all sons) a record of baptism is found only for the eldest, Jan, who was baptized about June 9, 1695 at Flatbush. The sponsors were Jan Brouwer and Jannetie Teunisse (Derck's father, and his sister who had married Theuinis Jansen Amack). The other four sons are assumed, and their placement as children of Derck and Hannah is based largely upon either their own given names, or names they themselves gave to their children (the grandchildren of Derck and Hannah). The four would be 1) Elias, certainly named for his maternal grandfather, Elias Daws, who married Helena Willemse. 2) Pieter, who married Susanna Titsoort and named a son Dirck, and a daughter Annatje (which name can be a variation of Hannah). 3) Jacob, whose wife was named Marike (family not identified) and who also named children, Dirck and Annatie. 4) Possibly, a Derck Brouwer who is found in Hempstead in 1742 when his property is mentioned in a deed, and who in 1738 was on the Queens County militia muster rolls. Another possible son could be a Samuel Brouwer/Brewer who appears in Raritan, New Jersey at the same time as the known sons of Derck (Elias, Pieter and Jacob). However, it is much more likely that Samuel is a son of Willem Brouwer and a grandson of Adam Brouwer, and his appearance at Raritan at the same time as Derck's sons is simply a coincidence as many families from Kings County were relocating to the Raritan area at the same time. (Families of the children of Derck Brouwer and Hannah Daws will be covered in future posts).

Derck Brouwer can be found as no. 7 in "Descendants of Jan Brouwer of Flatlands, L. I." (Note that this document is subject to change and future corrections). He is found as no. 3 in "Jan Brouwer of Flatlands and Descendants," New York and Genealogical Record, volume 138 (October 2007), pages 255-259. He can also be found at Richard Brewer's website, "Brewer Descendants of Johannes (Jan) Brouwer." A Family Group sheet is online as well.

Descendants have participated in the Brewer DNA Project. A chart with the participant's pedigrees is online at the Brouwer Genealogy Database website. Data can be found at both Jan Brouwer Group DNA Results, and at the Brewer DNA Project Results page. We are continuously looking for new participants for the Brewer DNA Project, especially those who can provide a confirmed line of ancestry back to the progenitor, Jan Brouwer of Flatlands. We would also like to find descendants of Jan Brouwer's son, Pieter Brouwer (wife Annetje Jans) to participate. Of Jan Brouwer's five (or six) sons, only Derck and Pieter are known to have descendants. Adding the data of individuals descended from Pieter, would be a valuable addition for the Brewer DNA Project.

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