Broken Links

 A reader has sent an email alerting me to a few broken links found within the pages of this blog, specifically in the June 1, 2012 post, "The Family of Adam Brouwer and Magdalena Verdon." The broken links here are to PDFs that were originally uploaded to RootsWeb Free Pages, which had some major troubles a few years back, it was down for some months, and when restored some of the PDFs that had been posted there still did not come back. I don't why. So, I've replaced the broken links in the June 1, 2012 post, both in the post itself and for good measure I'll post them in this post as well. I'm certain that there are other broken links as well. I don't have the time to go through each post to search for and correct broken links. Instead I'll rely on you, the reader to alert me of any that you might be interested in viewing or downloading. Just send me a note pointing out the post and specific document, I'll replace it and add a link below. And, Thank You to the reader who brought this to my attention.

Adam Brouwer and Magdalena Verdon, Family Group Sheet

Adam Brouwer's Will (Transcript)

New Insight Into The Origins of Adam Brouwer which is also archived in the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine: New Insight Into The Origins of Adam Brouwer. 

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Edmund Brewer of Robertson County, Tennessee: A Correction to the Brewer-Lanier Database

 I created the Brewer-Lanier Database back in late 2015 and it was later updated in early 2016. It's purpose was to share collected genealogical research that I accumulated over a period of just a few months in an effort to help out members of the Brewer DNA Project who were descendants of George Brewer of Brunswick County, Virginia or of other Brewer families found in the American southeast. 

An Edmund Brewer is found on page seven of the Brewer-Lanier Database. It has been brought to my attention in an email from Michelle Reardon that the information I have assembled for this Edmund Brewer in fact belongs to two different men named Edmund Brewer. The purpose of this post is to correct and clarify the profile of Edmund Brewer found on the Brewer-Lanier Database. 

Michelle, whose 3rd great-grandfather is Edmund Brewer informs me that he was born about 1788 in North Carolina, and although he is the Edmund Brewer who witnessed a deed in Robertson County, Tennessee in 1805, he is not the Edmund Brewer who married Francis Rool, and had a daughter Rebecca Brewer who was born 16 February 1819 and died 28 November 1912 in Green County, Kentucky. The Edmund Brewer of Robertson County, Tennessee later relocated to Yell County, Arkansas where Michelle has traced her ancestors and her 3rd great-grandfather Edmund Brewer's descendants. 

In short, the profile of Edmund Brewer found on page seven of the Brewer-Lanier Database is actually for two different Edmund Brewers. One Edmund Brewer married Francis Rool and had a daughter Rebecca (Brewer) Handy who died in Green County, Kentucky in 1912. Her Kentucky Death Certificate names her parents as Edmond Brewer and Francis Rool. The second Edmund Brewer is Michelle's ancestor who is found as a witness to a deed in 1805 in Robertson County, Tennessee, but later moved to Yell County, Arkansas where he is found on the 1860 U.S. census in the household of his son Joseph Brewer (Michelle's 2nd great-grandfather).  The name of this Edmund Brewer's wife has not been discovered. Whether or not he is in fact related to Jones Brewer (as is postulated in the profile) is not known, and no evidence has been located to either confirm or refute this possibility. 

Thanks to Michelle Reardon for bringing this correction to my attention. Should anyone have additional information regarding either of the two Edmund Brewers mentioned, please feel free to use the Comments feature for this post to share such info with others.

[Also see the post of September 8, 2022].

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Correction to the Family of William Goulding/Goulder

The Brouwer Genealogy Database includes a profile of William Goulding/Goulder whose grandson, Joseph Goulder, married Hannah Daws who in turn had previously been the wife of Derck Brouwer, son of Jan Brouwer and Jannetje Jans. Although this correction does not effect the descendants of Derck Brouwer, it should still be addressed as the notion originated with a published account of William Goulder.

The correction is in regards to the possible son of William, named Jacob (or Yacum) by Richard W. Cook in, "The Golder Family," published in the Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey in volumes 29 and 30. In volume 29, at page 51, Cook suggests that Jacob Gouldt who with his wife Jannetje Cousart, had a son, Frans, baptized at the New York Reformed Dutch Church on 29 November 1691, is possibly a son of William Goulder. Further research is conclusive in demonstrating that Jacob "Gouldt" is not a son of William Goulder, but is instead Jacobus Goelet who was a school-master in New York City and later a book-seller and stationer.

Jacobus Gouleth, j.m., Van Buyck Sloot, and Janneken Cocher, j.d., Van N. Yorck, both living there (New York) had marriage banns published 28 December 1687 at the New York Reformed Dutch Church. They were married on 10 January 1688. The couple had ten children baptized at the New York Reformed Dutch Church between 1689 and 1708. In the baptism records, Jacob's surname is variously spelled as Goulet (1689-1696) Gouldt (just once, 1691, the record referred to by Cook, and this may simply be a typo or transcription error with e misunderstood or mistranscribed as d), and Goelet (1699-1708). Janneken's (or Jannetje's) surname varies as Sozard (1689 and just this once), Cousart (1691, 94), Coussaert (1696), Cosaer (1699, 1701), and Cosaar (1700, 02, 04, 08). She has been identified as the daughter of Jacques Casjou whose surname appears in numerous records from this period with varied spellings too numerous to go through here, but among them, Cousart. Her mother was Lydia Willems who appears as a witness for the baptism of Janneken's first child (Jacob) in 1689. I have not looked into Lydia Willems ancestry. All of the ten baptisms include names of witnesses (sponsors) and none are named Goulding/Goulder, nor do any appear to be associated with members of the Goulding family. Many of the witnesses' names do repeat, but they appear to more likely be close friends and associates of Jacob Goelet, rather than relations. That is the impression I get anyway, and perhaps someone with a greater interest in this family would prefer to research this further.

The will of Jacob Goelet of New York City, stationer, shopkeeper, "and now in good health," was written 15 September 1722. It was proved 2 September 1731 and is found in New York Wills 11:167. In his will, Jacob mentions his wife, "Janitie," and five children, Jacob, Jan, Raphael, Aefie and Phillipus. The abstract is found in New York (County) Surrogate's Court. Abstracts of Wills on File in the Surrogate's Office, City of New York (Vol. III 1730-1744). Collections of the New York Historical Society. New York: Printed for the Society, 1894): 37. Here the editor notes (38-9) that Jacob Goelet's place of business in New York was called the "Sign of the Bible," and also his dwelling place was located at what is now Hanover Square directly opposite 114 Pearl Street. And that "for many years before his death (was) the clerk of the Dutch church, and the records of baptism, etc. are in his handwriting." With this, I would suggest that Jacob's surname is most accurately, Goelet.

In short, Jacob Gouldt, actually, Jacob Goelet, the father of a son Frans who was baptized 26 November 1691, is not a son of William Goulding/Goulder. Whether or not William Goulder did have a son named Jacob (or Yacum) as per Cook, who may be found elsewhere, is something I have not investigated and cannot comment on one way or the other.

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Corrections to Johannes (John) Brouwer and Perkins Lambert

An incomplete profile of Johannes Brouwer (a.k.a. John Brower or Brouwer) and his wife Perkins Lambert is found on the Brouwer Genealogy Database (BGD) here. Newly found records forwarded to me by Sara Brower corrects data found in this profile for John and Perkins, their son Thomas, and especially their daughter Susannah.

Regarding son Thomas, placed as a son with the stipulation, possible, a baptism record for "a son" of "John & Pirkins Brouwer from New York," is found in the baptism records of the Second Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The date of baptism is recorded as June 13, 1779. The entry records the child as "son." A given name is not recorded. The identity of this son as Thomas, therefore still needs further verification. However, it is apparent that John and Perkins did have another son born after the five children whose baptisms are found in the New York Reformed Dutch Church between 1769 and 1776 (see the BGD profile for citations).


John and Perkins (Lambert) Brouwer's daughter, Susannah, baptized 11 August 1776 at the New York Reformed Dutch Church, is shown on the BGD as the Susannah Brower who married David Osborn (Osburn, Asburn) on 16 November 1800 at Poughkeepsie, New York (First Reformed Church), and with a date of death of 21 September 1873 and a burial at the New Hurley Reformed Dutch Church cemetery. This marriage, date of death and burial are incorrect.

Records of the Old Swede's Church, Philadelphia, include an entry under December 1795, which reads: "Joseph Cole, son of Andrew Cole in N. W. Jersey, and his dec'd wife Latitia, twenty five (and) Susannah Browers, dr. of the dec'd John and Perkins Browers, heret. of Philadelphia, nineteen."

Therefore, the Susanna Brouwer who married David Osborn, is not a daughter of Johannes (John) Brouwer and Perkins Lambert. In addition to Susanna's profile on the BGD, a Find-A-Grave memorial for Susannah Brower Osborn is also incorrect in placing her as a daughter of John and Perkins (Lambert) Brouwer. Although David Osborn did marry a woman named Susannah Brower (they had a daughter, Sally, baptized at Poughkeepsie, 23 August 1801, that Susannah is not a daughter of John Brouwer and Perkins Lambert. The marriage record of Joseph Cole of Salem Co., New Jersey and Susannah Browers (sic) of Philadelphia, tells us otherwise. The identity and parents of Susannah Brower, wife of David Osborn, is now unknown. She is, however, the Susannah Osborn who died 21 September 1873 and is buried in the New Hurley Reformed Church Cemetery (with her husband) and the Susannah, John and Perkins Brouwer's daughter, is not buried there. In that regard the Find-A-Grave memorial is correct and it does include a photo of David Osborn's gravestone (a repair of the stone apparently obscures his wife's name).

The marriage record also tells us that John and Perkins Brouwer, both died prior to December 1795. John did not die in 1823 as shown on the BGD. The Find-A-Grave entry for Johannes Brouwer is therefore incorrect. I'll note that the Find-A-Grave page for Johannes Brouwer cites the BGD, and you know, if you are creating a Find-A-Grave memorial you really shouldn't do that! Find-A-Grave was intended as a website were one could post memorials, backed up by actual graveyard records and photos obtained through visits, and not as a place to post genealogical summaries that were previously published elsewhere, whether online or in printed format (books or genealogical journals) without ever visiting the graveyard to see if some certain individual is in fact actually buried there. I could go on regarding this but I won't except to say that Find-A-Grave started out as a good, well intentioned idea, but it's become a site that unfortunately propagates a terrific amount of incorrect information. There is in fact a terrific amount of incorrect burial information regarding descendants of Adam Brouwer (including Adam Brouwer himself) found on Find-A-Grave. It's unfortunate, but enough said.

Sara sent me images of published transcriptions of these records. The marriage record of Joseph Cole and Susannah Brower can be found online at FamilySearch.org in "Early marriage records of Pennsylvania Churches: Old Swedes Church..." by Mildred C. Williams, p. 39, where the year is incorrectly transcribed as 1775 (which is impossible based on Susannah's baptism date). I imagine that the complete record as quoted above can also be found here, although this digitized film can only be viewed at a Family History Library location. I would gather that the 1779 baptism record for "a son" of John & Pirkins Brouwer from New York, can be found in this digitized film, again only viewable at a FHL location.

The marriage record of David Osburn (sic) and Susannah Brower in found in Kelly, Arthur C. M., Poughkeepsie Reformed Church Marriages, 1746-1824. Rhinebeck, N. Y.: Kinship, p. 25, no. 546. Parents names are not recorded. The baptism record for their daughter Sally is found in Kelly, Arthur C.M., Baptism Records - Poughkeepsie Reformed Church, 1716-1824. Rhinebeck,N.Y.: Kinship, 1998, p. 102. (Sally, b. 3.13; parents: Davis Asburn, Susannah Brower; no witnesses recorded).

Much thanks to Sara Brower.

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Bennet Corrections

Over seven years ago in the post of November 14, 2012, I mentioned corrections to "Willem Adriaense Bennet of Brooklyn, N. Y., and Some of His Descendants," published in the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, by Wilson V. Ledley beginning with volume 94, number 4 (1962) and ending with volume 95, number 4 (1964). The intention at the time was to follow up with more corrections in posts here on this blog. Well, that didn't happen.

Mike Morrissey, however, has further researched and published a large number of corrections to Ledley's series of articles. They can be found online on his blog, "New Netherland Ancestry," with nine posts dated March 30, 2017. The nine posts each focus on a specific Bennet family and include a genealogical summery reflecting the corrections. Sources are included. This is very professionally done. The work is very good here, and mention of the corrections can be found in the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, 149 (2018):316 (in Additions and Corrections to Articles in the RECORD). The corrections include the volume and page number from Ledley's articles for each individual being corrected, making it easy to compare the two (the correction and the original) side by side. This is a must reference for Bennet family researchers. There are, unfortunately, a lot of errors in that original publication. Here's list of links to the individual posts:

The Family of Jan3Bennet (Adriaen2, Willem1) (#9) and Femmetje Rapalje

The Family of Adriaen³ Bennet (Adriaen², Willem¹) (#10) and Barbara Vonk 

The family of Jacob3Bennet (Adriaen2, Willem1) (#12) and Barbara Verdon

The Family of Isaac3Bennet (Adriaen2, Willem1) (#14) and Magdalena Joosten 

The Family of Abraham3Bennet (Adriaen2, Willem1) (#15) and Jannetje Folkerts 

The Family Angeniejte³ Bennet (Adriaen², Willem¹) (#16) and Hans Volkerts Van Nostrand 

The Family of Jan³ Bennet (Willem², Willem¹) (#20) and Aeltje Wynans 

The Family of Willem3Bennet (Willem2, Willem1) (#21) and Arriantje Vandewater 

The Family of Jacob3Bennet (Willem2, Willem1) (#22) and Neeltje Beekman

Thank you Mike Morrissey, and my apologies for taking nearly three years to recognize this work!

I must emphasize that if you are using Wilson V. Ledley's published articles in the RECORD, you MUST consult the above pages for the corrections. The two have to be used hand in hand.

In addition, I would recommend exploring Mike's website for other New Netherland families that might be of interest. Many of the families featured in the posts (54 posts to date) are found in Kings County, New York and in New Jersey, two areas where baptismal and marriage records are very incomplete and where very careful research is required. Many of the posts correct previously published accounts (including other articles authored by Wilson V. Ledley) while others feature family summaries that (to my knowledge) are not published elsewhere.


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Quackenbosch-Brouwer Correction

The Brouwer Genealogy Database (BGD) has Marretje Quackenbosch (bapt. 1 Nov 1730 at Tappan), daughter of Jacob Quackenbosch and Anna Brouwer, as the wife of Albert Van der Werken, and as the mother of six Van der Werken children. The source for this claim was Adriana (Quackenbush) Suydam, The Quackenbush Family in Holland and America (Paterson, New Jersey: Quackenbush & Co., 1909), p.50. However, as noted on the BGD profile of Marretje Quackenbosch, William B. Bogardus, Dear "Cousin": A Charted Genealogy of the Descendants of Anneke Jans Bogardus (1605-1663) to the 5th Generation - and of her sister, Marritje Jans (Wilmington, OH, U.S.A.: Anneke Jans and Everardus Bogardus Descendants Association, 1996), chart 7D, states "no further record," for Marretje. William B. Bogardus was correct and The Quackenbush Family and the profile on the BGD are wrong.

The October 2018 issue of the New York Genealogical and Biographical RECORD (vol. 149, no. 4, pp. 313-316) provides the evidence for the correct identification of Albert Van der Werken's wife. The correction is supplied by Susan Kay Skilton as an addition to her article, "Rachel Quackenbush, Child Captive During King George's War" (RECORD 148[2017]:165-73). Here, the wife of Albert Van der Werken is identified as Maria Quackenbush, baptized 2 October 1731 at Albany, daughter of Jacob Quackenbush and Geertruy van der Werken. The piece includes an additional four children for Albert and Maria (Quackenbush) Van der Werken who are not found on the BGD profile.

What became of Marretje Quackenbosch, the daughter of Jacob Quackenbosch and Anna Brouwer, is as yet, unknown.

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The Will of Benjamin Brewer of Galena, Indiana (1878) and A Correction

The will of Benjamin Brewer of Galena Township, La Porte Co., Indiana can be found in La Porte County Wills, Book C, pages 73-74. This book was accessed at Ancestry.com and the images below were taken from that site. I imagine it can also be found on the FamilySearch.org website. The will is dated 31 August 1878 and was proved 12 April 1883. This later date forces a correction in the believed date of death for Benjamin. More on that to follow.

The will is brief, and here is a brief abstract:

• Benjamin Brewer of Galena Township, La Porte Co., Indiana, being of sound mind and memory. To grandson, Benjamin Arthur Brewer, my silver watch and my riding saddle. To my daughter Margaret Van Wagenen, wife of Charles Van Waganen, all rest residue and remainder of my estate of every name and nature whatever whether real, personal or mixed to have and hold the same to her and her heirs and assigns forever subject nevertheless to the payment of the following legacies to wit to my granddaughter Henrietta Towner the sum of five hundred dollars for the payment of which I charge my estate and desire that my said daughter Margaret shall enter upon the possession of the said estate as bequeathed and devised to her immediately upon my decease without any administration or legal proceedings whatever. Witnesses: A. P. Ireland, James Moore.

Images of the will pages. Will is on page 73. Proof is on page 74.

La Porte Co., IN Wills C:73 (image from Ancestry.com)

La Porte Co., IN Wills C:74 (image from Ancestry.com)

 The only child of Benjamin mentioned in the will is his daughter Margaret, the wife of Charles Van Wagenen. Two grandchildren are mentioned - grandson Benjamin Arthur Brewer, and granddaughter Henrietta Towner.

Benjamin Brewer can be found on the Brouwer Genealogy Database (BGD) here. It is strongly believed that he is a son of Henry Brewer and Jane Hundley, although absolute proof of that has not been found*. We do know from Y-DNA testing (Brewer DNA Project) of direct male descendants that Benjamin is a descendant of Adam Brouwer of Gowanus, Long Island. His direct ancestry back to Adam Brouwer, however, has not been proved. The BGD entry shows a date of death for Benjamin of 6 April 1885, this taken from his memorial (# 73568927) at Find-A-Grave. The page includes a photo of his gravestone. We now know from the date his will was proven, 12 April 1883, that Benjamin had to have been deceased by that date, and so could not have died in 1885. His gravestone is marble (see the photo) and unfortunately inscriptions in marble stones erode with time (largely due to the effects of acid rain). I would assume that the error is simply a misread of a difficult to read inscription. Benjamin's age at death is given as 89 years on the Find-A-Grave page. The age on the BGD is 87 years, 2 months, 9 days which was taken from this page back in 2013. Benjamin's date of birth on the BGD (27 January 1796) is taken from History of La Porte County, Indiana (Chicago: Charles C. Chapman and Co., 1880): 699-700*. This date would be very close to correct (off by a day) if is age at death (87y 2m 9d) is calculated from 6 April 1883, rather than 1885. A date of death of 7 April 1883 would square the published date of birth with the age at death, assuming the later is a correct read (again, the stone is worn).

*History of La Porte County, Indiana (1880), p. 699, gives us Benjamin's date of birth and states that he was born in Fayette Co., Pennsylvania, son of Henry and Jane Brewer. It does not identify Jane's family name, but other evidence has provided the proof that her name was Hundley. As this history was written during Benjamin's lifetime, albeit towards the end, Benjamin himself may have been the source for his date and place of birth and the names of his parents. I suspect it is all reliable.

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New In The October 2019 Issue of The RECORD

The current issue of the New York Genealogical and Biographical RECORD, vol. 150, no. 4, Fall 2019 has been published and includes a piece by Steven Eustis found in the "Additions and Corrections to Articles in The Record," at pages 317-18, that should interest those researching the descendants of Adam Brouwer of Gowanus, L. I. Steve's work corrects and adds to William J. Hoffman's, "Brouwer Notes II," which was published in volume 72 (1941), pages 332-37 of tThe RECORD. There, Hoffman discusses the ancestry of Johannes Brouwer who married Catherine Duryea. While the ancestry of Johannes Brouwer, who is seen in the records of his time as either John I. Brower or John J. Brower, is not challenged, Steve's piece in the current issue adds contemporaneous newspaper sources for his death and the death of his brother Abraham Brouwer/Brower. Most importantly, the date of death for Catherine Duryea, given by Hoffman in 1941 as October 1812 (citing a "newspaper notice" without being more specific) is corrected. Catherine (Duryea) Brower died some years previous to Hoffman's claim, and her correct date of death is found in an unpublished family (Bible) record and in a published record of her burial by the Reformed Dutch Church of New York City (see footnote 4 on page 318 for specifics). Steve has been working on the descendants of the brothers John I. and Abraham Brower (sons of Jacob Brouwer and Jannetje Hartje) and hopefully we will be seeing more from Steve on the descendants sometime in the future.

The October 2019 has other articles that should interest those researching early ancestors in New Netherland/New York. "The Hendricks-Burger Parentage of Catharina Davids, and Her Four Marriages," by Michael Rudy and Harry Macy, Jr. (pages 278-84) provides a previously unknown parentage for Catharina Davids who married Coenradt Vanderbeek (her third marriage, his second). Coenradt Vanderbeek is a son of Paulus Van der Beek and Maria Badie, and therefore descendants of this couple are cousins to the descendants of Adam Brouwer and Magdalena Verdon (Coenradt and Magdalena being half-siblings). Catharina Davids can be found as Catherine Cocks on the Brouwer Genealogy Database. The profile of her there is very much incomplete and this article not only provides us with her correct name, but informs us that she was not married just three times, but was married four times and had children by all four husbands.

At page 291, I find mention of an Eliza Brower, born in New York City about 1808/09, died there 4 March 1879, in the article, "Andrew Sinclair (circa 1795-1874) of New York City and His Family," by Scott Wilds (pages 285-296) being a continuation of an article from the previous issue. Eliza Brower was married to John M. Sinclair who died at Roosevelt Hospital, New York City, 9 December 1895, age 78 years (pp. 290-91). I do not know where this Eliza Brower is to be placed among the Brouwer/Brower families of the New York City area. The footnotes provide some clues for places to begin the search.

Also in this issue:
Identifying Samuel Fletcher (1758-1826) of South Hero, Vermont, and Westville, New York, by Denise Engelhardt Cross.
Henry Tucker (1825-1882): Composer of an Erstwhile "Most Popular Song Ever Written in America, by Thomas W. Jones.
The Bengali and English Ancestry of New York City Immigrant Thomas Chapman (1777-1862), by Meryl Schumacker (continued from 150:182).
Early Sicard-Secor Families of New York: Origins of United Empire Loyalist William Secord, by R. Kirk Moulton (continued from 150:220). Many persons named Demarest are found in this article. The Demarests comprise a very large early New Netherland/New York/New Jersey family with many intermarriages with Brouwers.

As the October issue is the year end issue, also included are a list of contents of the articles that were published in the four issues of 2019, a list of contributors, and an every name index to those mentioned in articles.

The New York Genealogical and Biographical RECORD is published quarterly by the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society, based in New York City, and online at www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org. Copies of the RECORD are included with a membership. As the RECORD is the second oldest continuously published genealogical journal in the country (since 1870) many libraries are subscribers and issues can often be found in their stacks.

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Corrections and Additions to Descendants of Alice Freeman Thompson Parke

The Alice Freeman Thompson Parke database (AFTP) was created back in 2009. It is stored online as a sub-directory of BrouwerGenealogyData, at RootsWeb (which is why brouwergenealogydata appears in the URL). Like the Brouwer Genealogy Database (BGD) it went down back in the fall of 2017. The AFTP was brought back this past August, and like the BGD, I will no longer be updating it, nor will I be able to correct errors that may be found within the pages of the site. And so, this blog, Brouwer Genealogy, will be the place to find corrections for the Alice Freeman Thompson Parke database. And there are now, some important ones.

As a background, the database was intended primarily as a source for descendants of Alice Freeman. Please see the main page for a little background on why Alice is an important 17th century immigrant to the American colonies. If you have an Ancestry that can be traced to colonial America, especially to New England, but also to New York and New Jersey, there is a chance, even a good chance, that you are a descendant of Alice Freeman. I have, in the years researching the New Netherland Brouwers, engaged and corresponded with a number of individuals who have in their ancestries, both Alice Freeman and one of the early New Netherland Brouwer families. Moving forward, corrections to AFTP and the other databases, will be found in posts to this blog.

The important corrections to Alice Freeman come to me by e-mail from Joe Cochoit who is the author of the Alice (Freeman) Parke profile page at WikiTree. I have not used, or been involved with WikiTree myself, but at quick glance I like the idea and the approach. It allows for changes and corrections, and all of us who have spent a good deal of time on genealogy, know that correcting earlier errors is a big part (and an ongoing part) of the process. So, thank you to Joe for bringing the following to my attention.

The changes I'll mention here all come from a series of articles written by Randy A. West, that were published in The American Genealogist in volumes 87 and 88 (2015). The articles are:

- West, Randy A.. "Robert Parke of Wethersfield, New London and Stonington, Connecticut, Was Not The Grandson of William Parke (d. 1551) of Gestingthorpe, Co. Essex," The American Genealogist Vol. 87, no. 2 (Jul-Oct 2014, pub. Jul 2015), pp. 91-92. This article refutes the long accepted ancestry of Robert Parke, the immigrant to Connecticut who married Alice Freeman as his second wife (likewise Robert was Alice's second husband). This Robert Parke is a son of Robert Parke of Acton, co. Suffolk and his wife Alice Chaplin, however, it is shown in the article that the elder Robert is not a son of William Parke of Gestingthorpe, co. Essex, who left a will dated 25 March 1551, proved 13 May 1551. Although the author suggests that William and Robert may have been close relatives, they were not father and son, and the long held Parke ancestry of Robert Parke is lost. The parents and ancestry of Robert Parke of Acton, co. Suffolk (father of the immigrant, Robert Parke) are not known.

-West, Randy A.. "Alice Freeman, Wife of John Tompson of Preston Capes, Northamptonshire, and of Robert Parke of Connecticut," The American Genealogist Vol. 87, no. 3 (Jan-Apr 2015, pub. Oct 2015), pp. 209-217. There are a number of changes here regarding vital dates, the family of Alice's father Henry Freeman is expanded, and  additional children are found for Alice Freeman and her first husband, John Tompson/Thompson. Starting with Alice Freeman's father, Henry Freeman: change his date of death to 5 August 1606 (Inquisition post mortem held at Kettering, Northamptonshre 14 October 1606). The will and codicil of Alice's brother, Thomas Freeman, dated 14 August 1637, codicil dated 23 August 1637, proved in September 1637, is presented on pages 210-212. Thomas apparently was unmarried and childless, and the will names siblings, nephews and nieces. Importantly, it places Alice as the mother of John Tompson's sons, Samuel and Thomas. The database has them listed as sons of John, but with an unknown mother (and a caveat for Samuel). We can now count Samuel and Thomas as sons of Alice Freeman. Their baptisms were found in the Preston Capes, Northamptonshire parish registers, and are reported as 25 May 1618 for Samuel and 23 Dec 1616 for Thomas. The author cites Thomas Freeman's mention of "kinsman Robert Peake" in his will, with a marriage recorded at Cranford, St. John, Northamptonshire, "Robert Peake of Achurch, & Margaret Thompson Neece unto Mr. Thomas Freeman of this parish were marryed July 31, 1634," to conclude that Alice and John had another daughter, Margaret, "born by say 1614, perhaps before 28 August 1614, the date of the earliest baptism in the surviving parish register." John Tompson's will is transcribed (only abstracts have previously been published, see p. 213). The will was proved 11 April 1627, so John Tompson died between 7 November 1626, the date of the codicil, and 17 December 1626, when he is mentioned as deceased in the baptism record of his youngest child, Martha. The place of John's death, London, may also be incorrect. Burial records for Preston Capes for 1626-1631 are lost. The article includes a genealogical summery (pp. 214-217) which concludes that Alice would have married John Tompson, "say 1613." This would necessitate altering the estimated range for Alice's birth from "between 1595 and 1600," to something a bit earlier. The author writes, "say 1695," while Joe in his e-mail suggested 1685-1695, which I would agree with. Joe also points out that Alice was not born at Preston Capes, as her father did not live there (he is called of Cranford, and her mother was from Alwalton) and I would agree with that too. So, change Alice Freeman's birth from 1695-1600 at Preston Capes, to 1585-1595, location unknown (but likely in Northamptonshire). The WikiTree page says, abt. 1593, Northamptonshire, which is a good and acceptable "guestimate." See the Genealogical Summary, pages 214-215 of the article for changes to the estimates for dates of births for Henry Freeman's other children, Thomas, Henry and Jane, as well as burial and marriage dates. Also in the Genealogical Summary, at pages 215-216, we find a range for the date of Alice's marriage to Robert Parke, as between 30 May 1644 and 28 October 1644. Robert Parke was of Weathersfield at the time, and they moved to New London by 1651. Alice was living on 24 December 1658 when she witnessed a deed (Robert Parke of Southington to John Russell). Robert Parke, in his will of 14 May 1660, only mentioned sons from his first marriage. And finally, the baptism date for Thomas Parke (son of Robert Parke and his first wife Martha Chalplin, and husband of Alice's daughter Dorothy Tompson) should be corrected. He was not baptized on 13 February 1615/16(?). Footnote 46 on p. 217 of the Genealogical Summary explains that there is a burial of 25 February 1615/16 for that child. No record of baptism for this Thomas is found and the author suggests that Thomas Parke was "born say 1619." (For corrections for Alice's mother, Margaret Edwards, see below).

-West, Randy A.. "The English Origins of Christopher Peake of Roxbury, Massachusetts," The American Genealogist Vol. 87, no. 3 (Jan-Apr 2015, pub. Oct 2015), pp. 204-208. At page 207 in the genealogical summary we have details for Robert Peake, the wife of Margaret Tompson (above). He was baptized 6 November 1603 at Thorpe Achurch, Northamptonshire, buried there 13 December 1666. He left a will dated 28 November 1665 which names children Elizabeth Peake, Joseph Peake, Margaret Peake now wife of Thomas Chapman, Mary Peake now wife of James Ollaman, John Peake and Jonathan Peake. These names can now be added to the descendants of Alice Freeman. Robert's wife is not mentioned in the will, but a date for her burial is not included. Robert Peake was a son of Boniface Peake and Joan Clarke and a brother of Christopher Peake who immigrated to Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1634, and married Dorcas French. (Neither Robert Peake, nor Margaret Tompson are found on the AFTP).

-West, Randy A.. "New Information on the Edwards Ancestry of Alice (Freeman) (Tompson) Parke of Roxbury, Massachusetts and Connecticut," The American Genealogist Vol. 88, no. 4 (Oct 2016), pp. 302-309. Alice Freeman's mother was Margaret Edwards, daughter of Edward Edwards and Ursula Coles. Until now her date of baptism was not known. Margaret was baptized 25 September 1565 at Stoke Bruerne, Northamptonshire. There is also a problem with Margaret's burial as it appears on the database. There we have her "probably buried" 12 January 1603/4 at St. Andrews. This cannot be possible. Margaret was named in her mother's will dated 14 January 1606. In 1617 she is named in her brother, Peter Edwards will, and in 1637 is named in her son Thomas Freeman's will. Margaret clearly did not die in 1603/04. There is, however, a burial at St. Andrews for a Margaret Freeman (see here). But who she is, is not known (could she be Henry Freeman's mother???) Additional children are added for Edward Edwards and Usula Coles. Edward was a son of Peter Edwards and Susanna Samwell. A prior marriage for Susanna Samwell has been found. She was first married to John Bond. The dates of her marriage to Peter Edwards are narrowed down to 11 August 1533 to 2 August 1535. The date of death for Peter Edwards can be changed to between 14 October 1550 and 3 October 1551. Susanna Samwell married her third husband, John Arundell, between 3 October 1551 and 11 February 1556/57. John Arundell died by 30 October 1557 when his will was proved. Susanna married her fourth husband, John Bill, by 5 March 1557/58 (the date of his will). So, add two more husbands, not found in the database, for Susanna Samwell (John Bond and John Bill). Susan was buried at All Saints, Northampton, Northamptonshire on 23 February 1585/86. I would suggest consulting the Genealogical Summary in this article for considerably more info on descendants of Peter Edwards.

There are a lot of corrections here. I have created a PDF with revisions to the children and grandchildren of Alice Freeman. This document provides source citations and supersedes that what is shown on the current (and last) incarnation of the Descendants of Alice Freeman Thompson Parke website. It also supersedes any other PDFs I may have placed online in the past covering Alice Freeman's descendants or ancestry.

I would suggest that those researching Alice Freeman, her ancestors and children consult the articles mentioned above and published in The American Genealogist, copies of which are likely to be found in larger libraries and those with a department devoted to genealogy. And, if you have a significant interest in colonial era ancestors, I would recommend a subscription to the publication.

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PDF version of this post

Corrections And Additions to the Brewer-Lanier Database

As mentioned in the July 30, 2018 post, the Brewer-Lanier Database (hereafter BLD) cannot and will not be updated. It will stand online as it was created on November 5, 2015, warts and all. This post will serve as a catalog of corrections to the BLD. As I am not actively researching this group of Brewers, I'll ask anyone who is, and who spots an error in, or as an addition to the BLD, to please submit it to me for inclusion below.

Nathaniel Brewer - found on person page 18, son of George Brewer, and named in his father's will. He died prior to 1810, but appears to have been living in 1800. The account of his family found here is incomplete. Posts found on this blog, beginning with the July 12, 2016 post, adds additional information on the heirs of Nathaniel. I have not worked out a genealogical summery for Nathaniel Brewer, but if there is anyone who has, or wishes to, I welcome you to submit it for inclusion here. Also see the posts of July 13, 2016, July 14, 2016, and July 15, 2016. (July 31, 2018).

Willis Brewer - found on person page 24. Willis is found on the 1810 U.S. census in Moore Co., North Carolina, on the 1820 U.S. census in Jackson Co., Ohio, but has not been located in 1830. Willis is a descendant of George Brewer, Y-DNA testing of a direct descendant proves that. However, he is not a son of James and Ann (___) Brewer as shown on the BLD. Comparison of Y-DNA test results with other descendants of James' father, William Brewer, versus the test results of others in the Lanier-Brewer subgroup, indicate that Willis most likely belongs to another branch of the family. The estimated death date for Willis, and the bullet point stating that he is mentioned in James Brewer's will should be removed. The son Willis mentioned in James Brewer's will (dated 27 July 1816, Brunswick Co., VA) may be the Willis Brewer who is found on the 1800 U.S. census in Northampton Co., North Carolina, and whose estate was administered there in March 1815 (but note that his estate was administered prior to the date on which James wrote his will), or perhaps the Willis Brewer, b. 7 April 1797 in North Carolina, died 10 October 1864 and is buried in Independence Co., Arkansas. (July 31, 2018).

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Comments and Clarifications Regarding the Brewer-Lanier Database

Now that the databases are back online there is a need to clarify and comment in particular, the restored Brewer-Lanier Database. Much of this is a repeat of what has been previously written both within the posts of this site and on the main page of the Brewer-Lanier Database and in the post of January 20, 2015, which was written when the database was first launched. I think it is best to start with what the database is NOT.

What the Brewer-Lanier Database is NOT: The Brewer-Lanier Database is not an account of all the descendants of George Brewer and his two wives, Sarah Lanier and Alice (___). It is not intended to be a complete and final genealogy of George Brewer's descendants (although a professional quality genealogy of George Brewer's descendants is needed if someone out there is up to the task). Descendants of daughters will not be followed. The database will be focused upon lines of descent from George Brewer for which we have a descendant providing Y-DNA test results through the Brewer DNA Project. All that is from the post of January 20, 2015, and I will add, that the material found within the pages of the database was not created for the purpose of being blindly copied and pasted to any individual trees or websites created online or off by anyone. The information and relationships found within the pages are not intended to be copied verbatim without analysis or thought to just what it is one is copying.

What the Brewer-Lanier Database IS: The Brewer-Lanier Database is created as a companion to the Brewer DNA Project. It is to be used as an aid for identifying and archiving correct lineages for those participants in the Brewer DNA Project who are, or are believed to be descendants of George Brewer of Brunswick County, Virginia. All lineages entered into the database must be verifiable through the use of primary records. Many lines that cannot be proved are not included. The objective is to create a database that includes as many proved lineages from the progenitor, George Brewer, as possible so as to create a Y-DNA profile for the progenitor, and hopefully for each of his sons. All that is adopted and slightly modified from the main page of the database, found there under the date of January 20, 2015. And I would add to this that the database was placed online, not only as a resource to be used by members of the Brewer DNA Project, but also as a vehicle to encourage new Brewer ancestry researchers to contact and join the Brewer DNA Project. David V. Brewer is the co-administrator at the Brewer DNA Project who covers the sub-group of members who are genetically matched through Y-Chromosome DNA testing, and who are (or are believed to be) descendants of George Brewer of Brunswick Co., Virginia, which is referred to at the project as the "Lanier-Brewer" sub-group*. Members of the project and those considering joining the project can contact David through the About page at the Brewer DNA Project website. (The Brewer DNA Project is affiliated with Family Tree DNA, and a Y-DNA test is a requirement for joining the project).

Now to further clarify and update. Although the current main page of the Brewer-Lanier Database states that it will periodically be updated, that action is no longer possible. I am no longer able to update the database. What is found on the database was last updated on November 5, 2015. While some of it as since been found to be incorrect or incomplete, it will remain as is so long as the database is online. This is one reason why I ask that you not copy verbatim from the database. First review, analyze and check what is found on the database (and then feel free to use what you found to be correct). In order to at least partially alleviate the problem of not being able to update, I will start a post on this website dedicated to Corrections and Additions to the Brewer-Lanier Database. So, if you find an error, or believe some individual or information should be added to the database, feel free to contact me, or contact David through the Brewer DNA Project site (and he can forward it to me). I will add it to the corrections and additions post. I just ask that you be concise, and that you provide supporting evidence, data, reasons, for your correction or addition.

Finally, I'd like to mention that beginning back in late 2014, I began writing posts focused on George Brewer and some of his descendants. Links for some of the posts (those dated up to March 1, 2015) can be found on this page at the Brewer-Lanier Database site. Others can be found on this site under the label "Brewers in the South." What I said above under, What the Brewer-Lanier Database is NOT, applies to these posts as well. The conclusions found within the posts are not the final word. They are my own best attempt at analyzing  the data, records and information, some of it obtained from others. Anyone who has spent any time researching ancestors and families who lived during the colonial period in the southern regions of the American colonies (really much of that south of New Jersey and Pennsylvania) know just how scarce primary records are. There are very few, and in many cases absolutely no vital records (births, marriages and deaths). Probate records only cover a fraction of those who lived during this time, and land records (land grants and recorded deeds) are time consuming to locate and analyze. So, what is presented on the Brewer-Lanier Database and in the posts on this blog, is simply done on a "best efforts basis," so to speak. Take it as a start and try to improve upon it.

*I chose to name the database "Brewer-Lanier," rather then "Lanier-Brewer," so as to avoid confusion with certain specific men of the name Lanier Brewer, who lived during the 18th and 19th centuries.

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Corrections to the Brouwer Genealogy Database

This post will serve as an ongoing report of corrections to the current edition of the Brouwer Genealogy Database (BGD). The BGD has become too large to update on a regular basis, although I hope to update it again at the end of this year. Since there are errors in the database, and since they should be pointed out and corrected, the best I can offer to do is to keep a running list of them on this post. I would ask readers who do find errors to use the Comments option for this post to bring them my attention and to the attention of others. I will then add individual corrections to this post as they come in. For a log of previous corrections please see this page on the BGD. Also see the Brouwer Genealogy post and comments of November 1, 2014.

The corrections that follow are to errors found in the current edition of the BGD. The date for this edition is 6 April 2016.

• July 24, 2017. Correction to the date of birth for Moses De Clark. The date given of 27 July 1750 is clearly in error as his father was born in 1745 and his mother in 1744. The error is brought to my attention by Mitch Faulk who also provided a link to his Find-A-Grave page for Moses De Clark. The correct date of birth should be 2 December 1780. This is confirmed in George O. Zabriskie's article on the De Clark Family that was published in the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, volume 96, no. 4, October 1965 (see page 202). Moses De Clark was married to Nensje (Nancy) Brouwer (1783-1873) a daughter of Abraham Brouwer and Rebecca Stevens. Moses and Nancy had eight children born between 1803 and 1823. They lived in Rockland County, New York.
• July 31, 2017. Annatje Van Gelder, daughter of Hendrick Van Gelder and Femetje Wynants did not marry John Bragier as stated by Arthur Pine Van Gelder in "Van Gelder Families in America," NYGBR 75 (1944), p. 172. John Bragier, a.k.a. John Brasher/Braasjer/Bresser (and other variations) married Annatje Van Gelder, daughter of Abraham Van Gelder and Catalina Post. This Annatje Van Gelder was baptized 8 July 1702, Reformed Dutch Church, New York City, and was deceased by 18 May 1737 when John Brasher married Susanna Baker. On 30 April 1735, Annatje Van Gelder, wife of John Brasjer, witnesses the baptism of Johannes, son of Johannes Boekenhoven and Elisabet Van Gelder. Elisabeth was also a daughter of Abraham Van Gelder and Catalina Post. Annatje Van Gelder and John Bragier had married on 2 December 1732. The will of Hendrick Van Gelder, dated 26 March 1739, names his daughter Hannah, a name often synonymous with Anna (Annatje). Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, Vol. 22, Marriage Records, 1665-1800, page 306 records the marriage of Samuel Pryer and Anne Van Gilder, both of Staten Island, on 3 March 1749. A. P. Van Gelder in "Van Gelder Families in America, assigns this marriage to Annatje Van Gelder, daughter of Hendrick, as well. Further research is need to confirm whether or not this is correct.
• August 26, 2017. Garret Brouwer, son of Adolph Brouwer and Aeltje Hulst. Garret's date of birth should be changed from 22 February 1787 to 22 February 1793. The date is calculated from his age given at death. Garret died 18 January 1865, age 71-10-27, and not age 77-10-27.
• August 26, 2017. John A. Brouwer (Brower), brother of the above Garret Brouwer. The date of John's marriage to Elizabeth Burdge should be changed to 8 January 1812 as found here at FamilySearch.org, where John's surname is incorrectly transcribed as "Browin." An image of the original document is available. John A. Brower's death is recorded as 20 November 1860 by his son, John S. Brower, in a Bible record. An alternate death date of 20 December 1860 can be found at FamilySearch. Thanks to April Santinon for bringing these changes to our attention. April also made me aware of an Adolphus Brower who died 5 April 1863, age 55, incorrectly transcribed as Adolphus "Braves" at FamilySearch. The record gives his parents as John and Elizabeth Brower, and his place of birth as Flatbush, Long Island. While the stated age at death (55 years) suggests born about 1808, the 1850 U.S. census gives his age as 38 (so born ca. 1812) and the 1860 U.S. census records Adolphus as age 40 (so born ca. 1820). Adolphus married Adelia Ann, a.k.a. Delia Smith and had eight or nine children. They lived in the Keyport, Middletown later Raritan Twp. area of Monmouth County, New Jersey, as did John A. Brower and his known sons, John S. Brower, Nehemiah Brower and Jacob B. Brower. It is strongly suspected that Adolphus is another son of John A. Brower and Elizabeth Burdge, however, a record or document proving this has remained elusive. More on these families can be found at Ancestry.com at John A. Brower and Adolphus Brower. John and Elizabeth's son Jacob B. Brower has also been significantly expanded. The information found at these pages supersedes that what is on the current BGD website (sorry, but a paid subscription to Ancestry.com is needed to access the pages). 
• November 8, 2018. Caleb Pell Brower and Caleb S. Brower are two different men. Caleb Pell Brower is incorrectly stated to have married Mary Marschalk. He is incorrectly stated to have been enumerated in 1820 at Amsterdam, Montgomery Co., New York. Please see the post of November 8, 2018 for details.
• December 7, 2018. Please see the comment below from Jim Hamstra dated December 3, 2018. Corrections and additions here are to the family of Nicholas J. Stansell and Susanna Erskine. Here is a link to the deed involving Eliab T. Stansell. Richard A. Stansell was a son of Henry Stansell and Mary Arnold White (and was not a son of Nicholas J. Stansell and Susanna Erskine. Here is the page for Nicholas J. Stansell and Susanna Erskine at WeRelate.
• December 14, 2018. This correction involves the post of April 12, 2012, "The Family of Elizabeth Brouwer and Claes de Graaf of Schenectady." Thanks to Tanya Lowry who left a comment on December 13. There was some confusion regarding the children of Claes de Graaf and Elizabeth Brouwer that was initiated by Jonathan Pearson with his publication of his First Settlers of Schenectady in 1873. The Claes de Graaf whom Pearson places as a son, with the birth date of 4 August 1709, is actually a grandson, and a son of Jesse de Graaf and Aaltje Akkermans. He was baptized on 25 Dec 1706 at Schenectady and so could not have been born on 4 August 1709. So, "merge" Claes de Graaf, bapt. 1706 with Claes de Graaf, said to be born 1709. You may note that the younger Claes de Graaf's eldest son was named Jesse. The other questionable child named by Pearson is a Rebecca de Graaf, whom he states was born 28 February 1701. No source is cited for this date and no other record of this supposed Rebecca can be identified. Rebecca is actually Rebecca Groot, who was the wife of Abraham de Graaf, who is a another son of the elder Claes de Graaf and Elizabeth Brouwer. Rebecca is Claes and Elizabeth's daughter-in-law. Rebecca was a daughter of Abraham Groot and Hesterje Visscher, and we note that Abraham and Rebecca's first daughter was named Hester, while their second son was named Abraham, in honor of Rebecca's parents. Jonathan Pearson's books on the early settlers of Schenectady, and Albany, are handy references and a useful place to get an overview of any one of the many families who originate there, however, one does have to use them with caution and a competent family researcher will take the time to seek out verification for every placement Pearson suggests. 
• December 19, 2018. Cornelius Simonsz Van Arsdalen and his wife Maritie Dirckse Ammerman, AND,  Cornelis Symonse Van Arsdale and his wife Marretje Dirkse, are the same individuals. The profiles for Cornelius and Cornelis and for Maritje and Marretje should be merged. Thank you to Pete Kuhlmann for pointing this out in the comments to the post of June 22, 2015.
• February 27, 2019. A couple of corrections submitted by Peter Kuhlmann to the comments section of the November 1, 2014 corrections post (scroll down). Alice Longstreet, wife of Peter Wyckoff, is listed with a date of death of 16 June 1809. The source there was William Forman Wyckoff, Wyckoff Family in America (1950), pp. 420-21. Peter cites George C. Beekman, Early Dutch Settlers of Monmouth County (1901), appendix xiv, who gives a date of death as 16 June 1820, age 78y 5m 3d. As both are "secondary" sources relying on other data, and subject to typographical and transcription errors, one might wish to seek out a more direct source to ascertain the correct date for Alice's death. Also, Daniel Remsen, b. 1665, had a wife named only as Jannetje here. James Riker, in Annals of Newtown (1852) p. 386, identifies Jannetje as Jane Ditmars. Riker is another one of those secondary sources that has some problems, so those interested may want to confirm that identification with more direct evidence.
• July 20, 2019. As pointed out by Pete Kuhlmann (see comments below) Albert Albertszen (Terhune) and  Geertje Dircks did NOT have a daughter, Heyltje (bap. 1650). This baptism record belongs to Heltje Stoothof, a daughter of Elbert Elbertszen (Stoothof) and Aletje Cornelis Cool. Both are found on the BGD, in other words the one baptism is applied twice, in error. The child, Heyltie of Albert Albertszen and Geertje Dircks should be removed. Pete sites Harry Macy, Jr., and Renee L. Dauven, "Origin of the Amerman and Terhune Families, and Their Founding Mother Geertje Dircks," NYGBR 148 (Apr 2017): 97-98. 

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Annetje Jans / Antje Berge (Part II)

In the post of October 8, 2013, evidence was laid out to support the notion that Annetje Jans, the wife of Pieter Jansz Brouwer, was one and the same with Antje Berge, who was described as the widow of Peter Brouwer in a list of member of the Reformed Dutch Congregations of Freehold and Middletown, from 1731. This post will propose a set of parents and family for Annetje Jans Berge.

We start with the obvious. Assuming that the notion that Annetje Jans and Antje Berge are one and the same (as I believe they are), we have an instance in which she is recorded by her patronymic, "Annetie Jansen," and an instance when she is recorded with her surname, "Antie Berge." This is simple enough and we now have that Annetje/Antie's father was named Jan, and his surname was Berge. The surname "Berge" is a variation on the more commonly seen surname, BERGEN. Instances of the Bergen surname being recorded as"Berge" are numerous. One example being the baptism record of "Annetje, child of Hans BERGE, and Saartje Rapalje, Jur." on 12 March 1710 at the New York Reformed Dutch Church. Now, combining the patronymic with the surname, it is apparent that Annetje Jans/Antie Berge is a daughter of a Jan Bergen.

The marriage banns of Pieter Brouwer and Annetie Jansen was dated 15 February 1687. The couple had at least six children and the eldest, a daughter named Lucretia, was born 12 August 1688. Pieter Brouwer was baptized in October 1660, and so probably age 26 when he was married. A typical age range for a young woman living in the communities of the New York City area in the late 1600s, one in which the Reformed Dutch Church was dominant, to get married, would be between 16 and 25 years. We have no record of baptism for Annetje Jans, but we can certainly state that she was likely born between 1662 and 1671. Of the potential persons named, Jan Bergen, during this time frame (1662-1671), old enough to be a father, there is only one. He would be Jan Hans Bergen, son of Hans Hansen and Sara Rapalje.

Hans Hansen was an early settler at New Amsterdam. He is stated to have been there by 1633, and was a ship carpenter. He married Sarah Rapalje, a daughter of Joris Rapalje and Catalina Trico. Sarah is often claimed to be the first child of European ancestry born in New Netherland. Their marriage likely took place in 1639, probably just before the time that marriage records of the Reformed Dutch Church at New Amsterdam are found. Their first child, daughter Anneken, was baptized 22 July 1640 at the New Amsterdam Reformed Dutch Church. The record records Anneken's father as "Hans Noorman," a name that Hans Hansen was often called. In fact there is no record of Hans, himself, being referred to with the surname, BERGEN. That surname was adopted by descendants later on, well after the English takeover of New Netherland in 1664. The surname, BERGEN, did not become commonplace until about the time when the grandchildren of Hans Hansen became adults. Hans Hansen, often referred to as "Hans de Noorman," or "Hans Hansen de Noorman," died by 30 May 1654, some twenty years before the surrender of New Amsterdam. The Bergen Family or the Descendants of Hans Hansen Bergen one of the Early Settlers of New York and Brooklyn, L.I., by Teunis G. Bergen, was published in 1876. This genealogy can be consulted as a guide to reconstructing the descendants of Hans Hansen, but must be used with caution. There are numerous errors in Teunis G. Bergen's work. (An updated, although unrefined, journal report of three generations of descendants of Hans Hansen is now online).

The first son of Hans Hansen was named, Jan, and he was baptized on 17 March 1644 at the New Amsterdam Reformed Dutch Church. The record names Jan's father as "Hans Hanszen de Noorman." As with the vast majority of baptism records of the New Amsterdam Reformed Dutch Church from this time period, the name of the mother of the child being baptized is not stated. This son, Jan, would be the father of our Annetje Jans/Antie Berge. Jan is most often referred to in records as Jan Hansen. It appears that the first mention of him as "Jan Hansen BERGEN," is with the baptism record of his daughter, Adriaantje, at Brooklyn in 1681. Jan Hansen's wife was Jannetje Teunis. T. G. Bergen incorrectly identified her as "Jannetje Teunis, daughter of Teunis Denyse (Nysen, Nyse, Nyssen) of Gowanus." This incorrect identification was corrected in 1988 by Phyllis J. Miller in, "Jannetje Teunis Nyssen and Jannetje Teunis Covert," New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, vol. 119, no. 1 (1988), page 6. This article correctly identifies Jannetje Teunis, the wife of Jan Hansen, as the daughter of Teunis Covert and Barbara Lucas. Jannetje Teunis Covert would be the mother of our Annetje Jans/Antie Berge.

Assuming this identification of Annetje Jans/Antie Berge as a daughter of Jan Hansen Bergen and Jannetje Teunis Covert is correct (as I believe it is), she would be a previously unknown, or unclaimed child, of this couple. Teunis G. Bergen, in 1876, did not identify a daughter named Annetje, or Antie, for Jan Hansen and Jannetje Teunis. To my knowledge, no other published account places a daughter named Annetje in the family of Jan Hansen. There is no simple direct evidence that supports the idea that Jan Hansen had a daughter named Annetje. There is no surviving record of her baptism. Jan Hansen did not leave a will, and a clear record of the settlement of his estate has not been located (a date of death is not known, but he was deceased by 9 April 1730). In addition, the marriage banns of Annetje Jansen (to Pieter Brouwer) state that at the time they were published, she was living at Amersfoort (in Kings County, on Long Island), while Jan Hansen is not known to have lived there himself (he is found on a rate list at Brooklyn in September 1676 and was living at Jamaica, Queens County, in 1681, where he appears to have remained for the rest of his life). There is no instance in which Annetje/Antie is found as a sponsor for the baptism of a child of one of the known children of Jan Hansen. And there is no instance in which a known child of Jan Hansen is recorded as a baptism sponsor for a child of Annetje Jans/Antie Berge. The placement of Annetje Jans/Antie Berge as a daughter of Jan Hansen Bergen, is based primarily on her very name, "Annetje Jans Berge (Bergen)" which by definition tells us that she is a daughter of Jan Bergen.

There is, however, some supporting onomastic evidence among the names found in the families of Jan Hansen Bergen and Jannetje Teunis Covert, and Pieter Jansz Brouwer and Annetje Jans Berge that can be considered. Pieter and Annetje had sons named Jan and Hans. The older son, Jan, would have course been named for his paternal grandfather (who would be JAN Brouwer). In this case, however, the given name, Jan, would also satisfy the need to name a son for maternal grandfather (who would be JAN Hansen Bergen). A second born son (in the family of Pieter Brouwer and Annetje Jans) would then likely be named for a sibling of one of the parents. In the family of Pieter and Annetje, the second son is named, Hans. He was most likely named for HANS Bergen, the eldest son of Jan Hansen Bergen and Jannetje Teunis Covert, and most probably the oldest brother of Annetje Jans Berge. Pieter Brouwer and Annetje Jans Berge's daughters are named, Lucretia, Jannetje, Catharine and Annatje. The given name, Lucretia, is relatively uncommon among the families of Dutch, Scandinavian or German heritage found in New York in the late 1600s. In this case, "Lucretia" could be a feminine variation of LUCAS*, and the child may have been named in remembrance of the Lucas ancestry of Jannetje Teunis Covert who's mother was, Barbara LUCAS. Hans Bergen (the son of Jan Hansen and Jannetje Teunis) named one of his own sons, Lucas (b. 1715). The daughter Jannetje, would have been named for both her maternal grandmother, Jannetje Teunis Covert, and for her paternal grandmother, Jannetje Jans. It is presumed that Pieter Brouwer and Annetje Jans Berge had a daughter named Catharine. The basis of this belief, and thus far the only evidence of her existence, is the presence of a Catharine Brewer as a witness (with a Peter Johnson) at the baptism of Lucresia (Lucretia) the daughter of Abraham Lane and Annatje Brouwer (the Harlingen Reformed Dutch Church records the parents as "Abraham Lowe and Hannah Brewer"). Jan Hansen Bergen and Jannetje Teunis Covert had a daughter named Catlyn (Catlyntie) who is also referred to as Catharine, or Catherine.

Jan Hansen Bergen and Jannetje Teunis Covert had four known children baptized (either at Brooklyn or New York) between 1677 and 1685. In addition, they had a daughter named Sarah, who, since she would have been named for her paternal grandmother, Sarah Rapalje, was likely born prior to 1677 (no record of baptism is found for Sarah). As mentioned above, Jan Hansen Bergen's older sister, Anneken (Annatje, Antie) was baptized in 1640. She had been married first, in 1661 to Jan Clercq (no known children) and second, in 1662, to Dirck Jansen Hoogland. Anneken Hanse (Bergen) and Dirck Jansen Hoogland had three known children. There are no records of baptisms for the three, but the youngest, William Hoogland, was born by 1669 (he took the oath of allegiance in September 1687 at Flatbush). Dirck Jansen Hoogland married as his second wife, some time between 1670 and 1677, Annetje Feddens. It is probable, although not documented, that Anneken Hanse (Bergen) died at about the time her youngest child was born, probably around 1669. It was mentioned above that Annetje Jans Berge, based on the date of her marriage banns, was probably born between 1662 and 1671. If correct, this would place her as one of the first, and possibly the first, child of Jan Hansen Bergen and Jannetje Teunis Covert. If born around 1669, she may well have been named for her father's recently deceased older sister, Anneken Hanse (Bergen).

The evidence derived from the comparison of names in the associated families is not claimed to be sufficient for conclusive proof with regards to the idea that Annetje Jans Berge is a previously unknown daughter of Jan Hansen Bergen. However, it can be considered as evidence that somewhat supports the idea. We are very much handicapped in this analysis by incomplete baptism and marriage records (especially in the Brooklyn and Flatbush churches) and the lack of probate records for Jan Hansen Bergen and his wife. It is also known that Annetje Jans Berge relocated to Monmouth County, New Jersey by 1715 (apparently moving there as a widow with her adult children), while the known children of Jan Hansen Bergen remained in the area of Jamaica, Long Island. This could account for the lack of records (baptism sponsorships) that would associate Annetje with the other children of Jan Hansen Bergen. The land conveyance records of Queens County, New York and the Jamaica Town records (Jan Hansen Bergen last lived at Jamaica) need to be searched for records that might provide more suitable evidence. For now, the most convincing piece of evidence for the placement of Annetje/Antie as a daughter of Jan Hansen Bergen is her very name, Annetje Jans Berge.

Sources:
Called "Annetie Jansen":  Voorhees, David William. Records of The Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Flatbush, Kings County, New York, Vol.1, 1677-1720. New York: Holland Society of New York, 1998, page 257. Marriage banns: "Pieter Brouwer, j.m., tot nieu amersfort met Annetie Jansen, meede woonachtigh aldaar. (Pieter Brouwer, young man at New Amersfort; with Annetie Jansen, also residing there)."

Called "Antie Berge": "Records of the Dutch Congregations of Freehold and Middletown," Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey Vol. 24 (1949), page 22. List of members who signed the declaration recognizing Dom. Gerardus Haeghoort as their minister. "Antie Berge, widow of Pieter Brouwer."

Baptism record of Annetje, child of Hans Berge, Saarthe Rapalje, Jur: Evans, Thomas Grier (Ed.). Baptisms from 1639 to 1730 in the Reformed Dutch Church, New York. Collections of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, Vol. 2. New York: Printed for the Society, 1901, page 344. Sponsors were Jeronimus Rapalje and Saartje Rapalje, Zenr. This, Annetje Berge, was married to Gerrit Couwenhoven and had two children baptized at New Utrecht in 1743 and 1746. She is described as the wife of Gerrit Couwenhoven in her father's will dated 11 September 1743.

Please consult the Brouwer Genealogy Database website for all other source citations. For the time, Annetje Jans/Antie Berge is linked as a possible daughter to Jan Hansen and Jannetje Teunis. I would like to find additional, and hopefully more conclusive evidence.

*An example of the name Lucretia being used as a feminine variation of Lucas, would be found with Lucretia Rodenburg, who was probably born in late 1655 or 1656 on the island of Curaçao, and who was baptized, posthumously, on 1 July 1657 at New Amsterdam. She would have been named for her father, Lucas Rodenburg, who had died between 22 March 1655 and 8 June 1655 on Curaçao. Lucetia was the only child of Lucas Rodenburg and Trijntje Roelofse (daughter of Roelof Jansen and Anneke Jans) who afterwards married Johannes Pietersz Van Brugge. In the baptism record, Johannes Rodenburg, a brother of Lucas Rodenburg, is recorded in the place of the child's father.

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Annetje Jans and Antje Berge

The post of September 15, 2013, "Correction to the Family of Pieter Jansz Brouwer and Annetje Jans," corrects an error that is found in a 2007 published account of the descendants of Jan Brouwer of Flatlands (NYGB Record, vol. 138, no. 4, p. 250). As mentioned towards the end of the post, the correction leaves us with two women, one being Annetje Jans who we know married a Pieter Brouwer in 1687, and the second being Antje Berge, who we know was a widow of a Pieter Brouwer in 1731. Left with that, I suspect that Annetje Jans and Antje Berge are one and the same, and that their respective husbands, both named Pieter Brouwer, are also one and the same.

We'll start with a timeline of events and locations.

• On 15 February 1687, marriage banns were recorded with the Reformed Protestant Dutch of Flatbush in Kings County reading, "Pieter Brouwer, j.m., tot nieu amersfort met Annetie Jansen, meede woonachtigh aldaar." This translates to "Pieter Brouwer, young man at New Amersfort; with Annetie Jansen, also residing there." [Source: Voorhees, David William. Records of The Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Flatbush, Kings County, New York, Vol.1, 1677-1720. New York: Holland Society of New York, 1998. Pages 256 and 257]. This record establishes that Pieter Brouwer was never before married and was living at New Amersfoort (a.k.a. Flatlands) and that Annetie's patronymic was Jansen (her father was named Jan), and she was also living at New Amersfoort. Whether or not she had previously been married is not stated in the record and is therefore not known with certainty.
• On 30 October 1695, we have the baptism of Hans, child of "Piter Brouwer and Antie Brouwers," recorded in the Town Records of Flatbush. The sponsors were "Cornelis willemse and machiel willemse," believed to be the brother-in-law and sister of Pieter Brouwer, who is the father of the child, Hans. [Source: Voorhees, David William. Records of The Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Flatbush, Kings County, New York, Vol.1, 1677-1720. New York: Holland Society of New York, 1998. Page 449, which copied the record from "Flatbush Town Records, Misc., Vol. 1, 1652-1708, page 237]. Note that in this record both the names of the mother of the child and the female sponsor (or witness) is rendered with the surname of their husbands, and not with their own surname or patronymic. This is probably because the record is found in the Town records of Flatbush, which was under English governance. The English, generally, recorded women with their husband's surnames or patronymics. The Dutch, on the other hand, generally, recorded women with their own (maiden) surnames or patronymics. In this record, Annetje Jans is recorded with her husband's surname as Antie Brouwers.
• On 20 December 1706, Antye Browers, is listed with 23 acres on the tax assessment roll at Flatlands in Kings County. [Source: Kings County, New York, Deeds v.1-4. FHL #1413189. New York, New York, Salt Lake City, Utah: Recordak Corp.; Genealogical Society of Utah, 1957. Vol. 3, page 92. A digital image of this record is now available online at FamilySearch, New York Land Records, 1630-1975. Kings. Conveyances 1679-1736, Vol. 1-4, image 418]. Antye Browers is recorded between Marten Roelofse Schenk and Evah Van Sycklyn. Here she is again recorded with her husband's surname, and it is inferred from this record that Pieter Brouwer is, on this date, deceased. If not, his name would have appeared on the assessment list. And again here, this being a Town record, Annetje (Antye) is recorded with her husband's surname.
• On 4 November 1715, "Antie Browers, received by certificate," is recorded as a member of the Reformed Dutch Congregations at Freehold and Middletown in Monmouth County, New Jersey. [Source: "Records of the Dutch Congregations of Freehold and Middletown," Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey Vol. 22 (1947), page 4]. As this was a Dutch congregation, we would expect that women would be recorded with their own surnames or patronymics. However, the pastor of the congregation, at this time, was Joseph Morgan, an Englishman who was born at either Preston or Stonington in New London Co., Connecticut. Examining the Freehold-Middletown records as a whole during the pastorate of Joseph Morgan, we can see that often women (when they are mentioned) are recorded with the surnames of their husbands. Joseph Morgan recorded Annetje Jans' name the way any Englishman would, with her husband's surname, as "Antie Browers." (For an interesting comparison, compare the baptism register of the Freehold-Middletown "Dutch Congregation" during the pastorate of Joseph Morgan, with the baptism registers of the Congregational Churches at Preston and Stonington, Connecticut during the same period. You will find that in most records, the mother's name is not recorded). The fact that Antie Browers was received into the Freehold-Middletown Congregation, "by certificate," tells us that she was a member of a Reformed Dutch Congregation elsewhere, prior to November 1715. That elsewhere, was likely the Flatbush Church in Kings County, Long Island.
• On 11 September 1720, Anke, child of Hans Brouwer and Nelke Golder was baptized at Freehold-Middletown. The lone witness was Anke Browers. [Source: "Records of the Dutch Congregations of Freehold and Middletown," Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey Vol. 22 (1947), p. 85]. Anke is the first known child of Hans Brouwer, who was aged 25 when she was baptized. Following the tradition of the period among Dutch families, it would be expected that Hans would name a daughter for his mother, Annatje (Anke). In such cases, the witness, or sponsor of the child being baptized is usually the very person for who the child is being named. In this case "Anke Browers," is the grandmother of the child, Anke, and therefore, Annetje Jans. She, once again, is recorded by the English pastor, with her husband's surname. From this record we can also deduce that Hans Brouwer had made a move from Kings County, where he was born, to Monmouth County, New Jersey. He had additional children baptized there in 1723, 1725 and 1731 (after which he has not been located).
• On 23 August 1731, "Antie Berge, widow of Pieter Brouwer," is recorded among the members of the Dutch Congregations at Freehold and Middletown, "at Middletown." She is followed on the list by "Lucretia Brouwers, wife of Joh: Luyster." [Source:  "Records of the Dutch Congregations of Freehold and Middletown," Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey Vol. 24 (1949), page 22]. Now, this list is not a roster of members in a strict sense. What it is, as explained in the prelude to the list, is a declaration, signed by the members of the congregation, acknowledging their new pastor, Dom. Gerardus Haeghoort, and making a commitment to conduct themselves as members of the congregation, and to do what ever they can to support the congregation. In effect, it is a list of members, as only members signed the declaration, but what appears to be different here is that the members themselves signed the declaration. This is not a list written by the pastor or some other official of the church. So here, Antie Berge, is using the name by which she refers to herself as. That she is followed by Lucretia Brouwers is significant as well. Lucretia is most probably a daughter of Pieter Brouwer and Annetje Jans. There is no record of her baptism, and there is no probate or estate settlement for Pieter Brouwer, so proof is not absolute, but the placement of Lucretia as a daughter of Pieter Brouwer and Annetje Jans is near certain. She was born at New Amersfoort, as per her marriage banns, and she named two of her children, Pieter and Anna, for her parents.

During the period of time covered by the events listed above, it is clear that Pieter Brouwer and Annatje Jans had at least three children who relocated to Monmouth County, New Jersey and who were recorded in the records of the Dutch Congregations of Freehold and Middletown. In addition to Hans and Lucretia, son Jan Brouwer (married to Neeltje Van Cleef) had children baptized between 1724 and 1738 at Freehold-Middletown. It would not in anyway be a stretch to assume that Annetje Jans, widowed sometime before December 1706, would follow her adult children to Monmouth County, New Jersey. That "Antje Berge, widow of Pieter Brouwer," signed the declaration immediately before "Lucretia Brouwers, wife of Joh: Luyster" signature is probably because she was living in the household of her adult married daughter (therefore they signed the declaration at the same time). It is reasonable to presume that Antje Berge is Lucretia Brouwer's mother, and she is the person recorded as Anke Browers, Antie Browers, Antye Browers, Antie Brouwers, and Annetje Jansen in the records that came before the 1731 declaration.

Could there be another woman, known to exist, named Annetje Brouwer, to whom the some or all of the above records apply. Among the descendants of Jan Brouwer of Flatlands, the answer is no. Jan Brouwer did not have any known daughter named Annetje, and only his son Pieter married a woman named Annetje. Among the granddaughters of Jan Brouwer, only Pieter Brouwer and Annetje Jans themselves named a daughter, Annetje. She was probably born between 1700 and 1705, and was married to Abraham Lane by 1730 (they had a daughter, Jannetje, baptized on 15 April 1730 at Harlingen, New Jersey). Annatje Brouwer, the wife of Abraham Lane, cannot be "Antje Berge, the widow of Pieter Brouwer," on 23 August 1731. While it is possible that she is the Anke Browers who witnessed the baptism of Hans Brouwer's daughter, Anke, in 1720, it is more likely that the witness was the grandmother for whom the child was named.

Among the descendants of Adam Brouwer of Gowanus, Long Island, the answer is, also, no. Adam Brouwer named a daughter Anna, but she was married to William Hilton and all evidence points to her having spent her entire adult life in Albany, New York. Among Adam Brouwer's sons, only Jacob was married to a woman named Annetje (she being Annetje Bogardus). On the same assessment list mentioned above, this "Annitje Brower" is assessed in Brookland, with 26 acres (see image 417 of the above cited source at Family Search). She is listed in succession following Nicholas Brower (with a mill), Abraham Brower and Marya Brower, who, along with Annitie, would be widows of Adam Brouwer (Jr.) and Jacob Brouwer, respectively. Annetje (Bogardus) Brouwer is found as late as 1714 when she witnessed the baptism of a granddaughter at the New York Reformed Dutch Church. Although two of her sons did relocate to Monmouth County, New Jersey, and although one of them (William Brouwer) had a child baptized at Freehold-Middletown in 1723, there is no reason to suspect that Annetje (Bogardus) Brouwer relocated to Monmouth County herself (the other son, Adam Brewer, joined the Quakers and had no children baptized in any Reformed Dutch Church). Of the two granddaughters of Adam Brouwer, named Annatje (or some variation thereof), Anna Jacobse Brouwer was married to Jacob Quackenbosch in 1716 and had children baptized at New York and at Tappan, and Antje Pieterse Brouwer was married to William Ennes in 1726, and had children baptized at Hackensack. Neither had any association with the congregations at Freehold and Middletown.
Among the descendants of Adam Brouwer, named Pieter, who were born early enough to have been married and dead by 1731 (when Antje Berge is a widow) we have: Pieter Brouwer, b. 1701, son of Abraham Brouwer and Lea Demarest, was married to Dina DeGroot and died by 1734. Pieter Brouwer, b. 1699, son of Jacob Brouwer and Annatje Bogardus, who married (first) Elizabeth Quackenbosh in 1721, second Catharina Thong in 1750, and third Sarah Kip in 1751. And, Pieter Brouwer, baptized in 1704 at the Old Sleepy Hollow Dutch Church in Tarrytown, New York, son of Samuel Brouwer and Grietje Smith. No further record of this last Pieter Brouwer has yet been found.
Among the descendants of Jan Brouwer is Pieter Brouwer, probably born between 1700 and 1703, son of Derck Brouwer and Hannah Daws. He was married to Susanna Titsoort and had children born between 1732 and 1747.
Among those descended from Willem Brouwer, we have Petrus Brouwer, b. 1697 at Schenectady, son of Hendrick Brouwer and Maritie Borsboom. He was married to Lena Fonda in 1742.
It does not appear that there are any other known candidates who could possibly be the Pieter Brouwer, deceased by 1731, leaving a widow named Antje Berge at Middletown, New Jersey.

This leaves us with only one possibility. Annetje Jansen, Antye/Antie/Anke Brouwers, and Antje Berge, widow of Pieter Brouwer, named in the above records, are one.

Possible parents for Annetje Jans/Antje Berge (or Annetje Jans Berge) will be suggested in a follow-up post. (Update posted November 7, 2013, Annetje Jans/Antie Berge Part II).

For additional source citations, not specifically mentioned above, please see the Brouwer Genealogy Database.

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