Most of you who have spent time researching colonial families in the area of Albany, New York are familiar with the marriage and baptism records of the Reformed Dutch Church of Albany, originally published by the Holland Society of New York in their early yearbooks (1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1922/23, 1924/25, 1926/27), and then published as one collection titled, Records of the Reformed Dutch Church of Albany, New York, 1683-1809 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1978, reprinted 1999, 2003). As the title would suggest, these published records only covered the years up to 1809 (the last entry is for a baptism date of March 13, 1809).
The Albany church records, post 1809 are less accessible but were published in the Dutch Settlers Society of Albany Yearbook (volumes 36-37, 39, 43). The transcriptions were made by the late Howard A. McConville who for many years was the Schenectady Town Historian. The records were published in three sets. The years January 1809 to August 1823 are found in volumes 36-37 (1961-62), the years July 1823 to January 1850 in volume 39 (1963-64), and the years January 1850 to January 1865 in volume 43 (1970-72). The records for the first two sets of years (1809-1823, and 1823-1850) were photocopied by William B. Bogardus and were found in the William B. Bogardus Collection (Box 5, CHU AA-123). I scanned the pages and they are now available online.
Baptismal Records, First Dutch Reformed Church of Albany 1809-1850.
There are a handful of Brower entries in the records. Researchers of many other Albany area families of the early 1800s should also find the records to be useful.
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Sunset at Gowanus Bay
Sunset at Gowanus Bay, Henry Gritten, 1851
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Jan Brouwer and Jannatje Jans of Flatlands, Long Island
Jan (or Johannes) Brouwer is the third of the three progenitors of New Netherland Brouwer families to be profiled. The other two were Willem Brouwer of Beverijck and Adam Brouwer of Gowanus. My account here will be brief and instead I will refer you to pages authored by Richard Brewer (Administrator of the Brewer DNA Project) who certainly has done more research, put in more thought, and has a better understanding of Jan Brouwer then anyone else I know of.
Jan Brouwer and his wife Jannetje Jans, along with their eldest child (daughter Jannetje) came to New Amsterdam in 1657. He was a blacksmith, and after a few years residing in New Amsterdam, settled at Flatlands (as it was called after the English takeover), or Nieuw Amersfoort (during Dutch rule), on Long Island. This area today is a neighborhood in the Borough of Brooklyn. Jan Brouwer's origins in (presumably) the Netherlands has yet to be discovered. The identity of his parents is not known. The marriage banns of his daughter Jannetje state that she was born in Amsterdam, although no record of her baptism has been found in the Reformed Dutch Churches there. His date of birth can be estimated at about 1632, possibly a bit earlier. Jan was living on 17 November 1702, at Flatlands, when he confirmed the terms of a deed to his son Pieter. He may have died soon after that event. His wife, Jannetje, had died in 1683.
Jan Brouwer and Jannetje Jans had seven (possibly eight) children. A Family Group sheet is available online. Of these children, sons Johannes, Pieter, and two successive sons named Hendrick, have baptism records in the Reformed Dutch Church of New Amsterdam/New York. The eldest child, daughter Jannetje, mentioned above, was married in June 1677 to Theunis Janszen (Amack) and is placed in this family based upon her appearance as a sponsor for a child of Derck Brouwer. There are no surviving records of baptisms for children Derck, Aris and Maghtel, who were probably born after Jan had relocated to Flatlands. Derck and Maghtel are placed in the family because of relationships (deeds, baptism sponsors) with other members of the family. The son named Aris has to be described as "possible." He is included as a son by Teunis G. Bergen in his account of the Brouwers in Early Settlers of Kings County. However, no independent record or mention of Aris has ever been found by contemporary researchers. If Bergen did have evidence of Aris, then it apparently disappeared some time during the interceding one hundred and twenty some odd years since Bergen did his work.
As mentioned in the post of June 6, 2012, a genealogical summery of the descendants of Jan Brouwer for three generations was published in the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record vol. 138 (Oct 2008). This published account is your basic "hatch, match and dispatch" genealogy typical of genealogical journals today. For those who would like to gain much more insight into the life of Jan Brouwer, I refer you to the pages authored by Richard Brewer:
Brewer Descendants of Johannes (Jan) Brouwer (Main page)
About Johannes (Jan) Brouwer 1632-1702 where you will find a link, "Jan Brouwer Historical Narrative" which I believe you will find both interesting and informative in a number of ways.
Descendants of Jan Brouwer
I also should note that I do have online a five generation genealogical summery for Jan Brouwer. I do caution that it is subject to corrections, additions and updates and is not a final word. The Brouwer Genealogy Database would include any new info or corrections, and Jan Brouwer can be most easily found through his link on the Progenitors Page.
As of this writing, twenty descendants of Jan Brouwer have participated in the Brewer DNA Project. In addition, Richard Brewer as a good deal of background regarding Jan Brouwer's Haplogroup (I2b1c). In addition to descendants with the surname Brewer, others with the surname Rose and Embody, have "matched" the Y-DNA signatures of Jan Brouwer descendants to a high enough degree that it is felt that they may well be descendants of Jan Brouwer too. But more on that in future posts.
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Jan Brouwer and his wife Jannetje Jans, along with their eldest child (daughter Jannetje) came to New Amsterdam in 1657. He was a blacksmith, and after a few years residing in New Amsterdam, settled at Flatlands (as it was called after the English takeover), or Nieuw Amersfoort (during Dutch rule), on Long Island. This area today is a neighborhood in the Borough of Brooklyn. Jan Brouwer's origins in (presumably) the Netherlands has yet to be discovered. The identity of his parents is not known. The marriage banns of his daughter Jannetje state that she was born in Amsterdam, although no record of her baptism has been found in the Reformed Dutch Churches there. His date of birth can be estimated at about 1632, possibly a bit earlier. Jan was living on 17 November 1702, at Flatlands, when he confirmed the terms of a deed to his son Pieter. He may have died soon after that event. His wife, Jannetje, had died in 1683.
Jan Brouwer and Jannetje Jans had seven (possibly eight) children. A Family Group sheet is available online. Of these children, sons Johannes, Pieter, and two successive sons named Hendrick, have baptism records in the Reformed Dutch Church of New Amsterdam/New York. The eldest child, daughter Jannetje, mentioned above, was married in June 1677 to Theunis Janszen (Amack) and is placed in this family based upon her appearance as a sponsor for a child of Derck Brouwer. There are no surviving records of baptisms for children Derck, Aris and Maghtel, who were probably born after Jan had relocated to Flatlands. Derck and Maghtel are placed in the family because of relationships (deeds, baptism sponsors) with other members of the family. The son named Aris has to be described as "possible." He is included as a son by Teunis G. Bergen in his account of the Brouwers in Early Settlers of Kings County. However, no independent record or mention of Aris has ever been found by contemporary researchers. If Bergen did have evidence of Aris, then it apparently disappeared some time during the interceding one hundred and twenty some odd years since Bergen did his work.
As mentioned in the post of June 6, 2012, a genealogical summery of the descendants of Jan Brouwer for three generations was published in the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record vol. 138 (Oct 2008). This published account is your basic "hatch, match and dispatch" genealogy typical of genealogical journals today. For those who would like to gain much more insight into the life of Jan Brouwer, I refer you to the pages authored by Richard Brewer:
Brewer Descendants of Johannes (Jan) Brouwer (Main page)
About Johannes (Jan) Brouwer 1632-1702 where you will find a link, "Jan Brouwer Historical Narrative" which I believe you will find both interesting and informative in a number of ways.
Descendants of Jan Brouwer
I also should note that I do have online a five generation genealogical summery for Jan Brouwer. I do caution that it is subject to corrections, additions and updates and is not a final word. The Brouwer Genealogy Database would include any new info or corrections, and Jan Brouwer can be most easily found through his link on the Progenitors Page.
As of this writing, twenty descendants of Jan Brouwer have participated in the Brewer DNA Project. In addition, Richard Brewer as a good deal of background regarding Jan Brouwer's Haplogroup (I2b1c). In addition to descendants with the surname Brewer, others with the surname Rose and Embody, have "matched" the Y-DNA signatures of Jan Brouwer descendants to a high enough degree that it is felt that they may well be descendants of Jan Brouwer too. But more on that in future posts.
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Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Published Brouwer Accounts: Post "Brouwer Beginnings"
Two articles that were published after William J. Hoffman's "Brouwer Beginnings" (published in 1947/48, The American Genealogist [TAG] vols. 23-24) should be mentioned.
"Adolphus Brower (1777-1855)," by Katherine Hewitt Cummin was published in TAG vol. 44, pp. 150-153. This article identifies Adolphus Brower, born 3 July 1777, died 23 August 1855, buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, as a son of Isaac Brouwer and Jacomyntje Quackenbosch. Adolphus was married to Elizabeth Baker on 24 March 1799 in Brooklyn at the house of John Brower (recorded at St. Ann's Episcopal Church). The couple lived in Brooklyn and had nine children, eight of whom were baptized at St. Ann's. William J. Hoffman, in "Brouwer Beginnings," had suggested that this Adolphus Brower was a son of Adolf Brouwer (1725-ca.1780) and Elisabeth Lassing (this couple did have a son named Adolf/Adolphus, but he went to New Brunswick, Canada after the Revolutionary War). Katherine Hewitt Cummin's article corrects Hoffman's suggestion.
"Another Child of Peter (Adam) Brouwer," by Phyllis Miller, was published in the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, vol. 120 (1989) pp. 44-45. This article adds daughter Maria to the family of Pieter Brouwer and Petronella Kleyn. No record of baptism survives for Maria. She married Jacob Knoet/Clute by banns dated 16 November 1727 at Albany, New York. Hoffman had omitted Maria from the family of Pieter Brouwer. Her placement in the family is based upon Maria naming her eldest daughter Nelletie (diminutive of Petronella) for her mother, and second son Pieter, for her father, and of cross-sponsorships at baptisms between Maria and her siblings Jacob Brouwer (husband of Maria Bovy) and Cornelia Brouwer (wife of Claes Bovy).
I do have a copy of the Pieter Brouwer article available online. It was included in the William B. Bogardus Collection. I do not have a copy of the Adolphus Brower article available. It can be accessed online by those who are members of the New England Historic Genealogical Society at their website American Ancestors.
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"Adolphus Brower (1777-1855)," by Katherine Hewitt Cummin was published in TAG vol. 44, pp. 150-153. This article identifies Adolphus Brower, born 3 July 1777, died 23 August 1855, buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, as a son of Isaac Brouwer and Jacomyntje Quackenbosch. Adolphus was married to Elizabeth Baker on 24 March 1799 in Brooklyn at the house of John Brower (recorded at St. Ann's Episcopal Church). The couple lived in Brooklyn and had nine children, eight of whom were baptized at St. Ann's. William J. Hoffman, in "Brouwer Beginnings," had suggested that this Adolphus Brower was a son of Adolf Brouwer (1725-ca.1780) and Elisabeth Lassing (this couple did have a son named Adolf/Adolphus, but he went to New Brunswick, Canada after the Revolutionary War). Katherine Hewitt Cummin's article corrects Hoffman's suggestion.
"Another Child of Peter (Adam) Brouwer," by Phyllis Miller, was published in the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, vol. 120 (1989) pp. 44-45. This article adds daughter Maria to the family of Pieter Brouwer and Petronella Kleyn. No record of baptism survives for Maria. She married Jacob Knoet/Clute by banns dated 16 November 1727 at Albany, New York. Hoffman had omitted Maria from the family of Pieter Brouwer. Her placement in the family is based upon Maria naming her eldest daughter Nelletie (diminutive of Petronella) for her mother, and second son Pieter, for her father, and of cross-sponsorships at baptisms between Maria and her siblings Jacob Brouwer (husband of Maria Bovy) and Cornelia Brouwer (wife of Claes Bovy).
I do have a copy of the Pieter Brouwer article available online. It was included in the William B. Bogardus Collection. I do not have a copy of the Adolphus Brower article available. It can be accessed online by those who are members of the New England Historic Genealogical Society at their website American Ancestors.
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Sunday, June 17, 2012
Will of Adolphus Brower of Brooklyn, 1825
Adolph Brouwer, or Adolphus Brower was a son of Jeury Brouwer and Elizabeth Hilton, and was a great-grandson of Adam Brouwer and Magdalena Verdon. He lived in Brooklyn, New York and was the last descendant of Adam Brouwer to own the mill property at Gowanus (he sold the property to John C. Freeke of New York City on 5 March 1798).
The will of Adolphus Brower of Brooklyn was dated 10 April 1825. A codicil was dated 13 June 1825 and it was proved in the Kings County Surrogate's Court on 11 September 1827. Adolph died at Brooklyn on 19 July 1827. His will is found in Kings County Will Book 3, pp. 206-209. A photo copy and transcription from the Long Island Historical Society, and found in the William B. Bogardus Collection (Box 5, WIL WW-70) is now available online (Will of Adolphus Brower of Brooklyn). The will can also be found on Family History Library (FHL) film #0872179.
Adolph Brower was married to Aeltje Hulst and the couple had ten children. Details regarding his life can be found on the Brouwer Genealogy Database website (please use one of the indexes to access his link). A complete profile is planned to a future post to this website.
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The will of Adolphus Brower of Brooklyn was dated 10 April 1825. A codicil was dated 13 June 1825 and it was proved in the Kings County Surrogate's Court on 11 September 1827. Adolph died at Brooklyn on 19 July 1827. His will is found in Kings County Will Book 3, pp. 206-209. A photo copy and transcription from the Long Island Historical Society, and found in the William B. Bogardus Collection (Box 5, WIL WW-70) is now available online (Will of Adolphus Brower of Brooklyn). The will can also be found on Family History Library (FHL) film #0872179.
Adolph Brower was married to Aeltje Hulst and the couple had ten children. Details regarding his life can be found on the Brouwer Genealogy Database website (please use one of the indexes to access his link). A complete profile is planned to a future post to this website.
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Saturday, June 16, 2012
The Will of Alexander Jackson
Alexander Jackson lived in Orange County, New York, and was the husband of Martha Drake who was a descendant of Adam Brouwer of Gowanus, Long Island. (Line of descent from Adam Brouwer to Martha Drake). Descendants of Alexander Jackson are therefore descendants of Adam Brouwer as well.
Alexander Jackson's will dated 25 January 1815, proved 31 March 1818, can be found in Orange County Surrogate's Office, Will Book F, page 209. A photo copy was found in the William B. Bogardus Collection (Box 5, WIL WW-57) and has now been placed online. Will of Alexander Jackson.
At the time he wrote his will, Alexander Jackson, was of Goshen, Orange County, New York. He also had property at Minisink, New York. The 1800 census places him at Minisink, the 1810 census at Newburgh, New York, and he is said to have died 14 March 1818 at Florida, New York. These towns are all situated in Orange County. In his will Alexander mentions his wife, Martha, his sons Abel Jackson and James Jackson, his daughter Esther Jackson, his daughter Julia Davis and her son (his grandson) Alexander Jackson Davis (under the age of twenty-one), and his daughter Mary Higbee, the widow of James Higbee, deceased. Not mentioned in the will are his daughters Anna, Elizabeth, Jane and Martha, all of who were living at the time, and daughter Eleanor (whose date of death has not yet been determined). He appointed as executors, "trusty friends" John Springsted, Daniel Poppino, Esq., and William Smith, all of Goshen.
Alexander Jackson, Martha Drake, and their children can be found on the Brouwer Genealogy Database website (use one of the indexes to locate his link). Much of the information there comes from secondary sources and further verification is suggested. Details on Alexander's Will, will be included on the BGD with the next update of the website. As of this writing I have made no attempt to research the origins of Alexander Jackson. Two undocumented secondary sources give conflicting info for his date of birth. Imogene H. Lane in her manuscript, "Drakes of Orange County, New York and Related Families," (1971) states that Alexander was born 18 May 1728, probably calculating from his age at death which was 89yrs., 9 mos., 14 dys. from 14 March 1818 (which would actually place his birth date as 28 May 1728). Ronald L. Stewart in his manuscript, "Westward Movement of John Stewart and His Descendants," (1993) places Alexander's date of birth as 12 June 1728 in Ireland, and in Appendix C includes "A record of heirs of Alexander Jackson taken from the Family Bible." However, the important details of the claimed Bible (title, publisher, date published, exact provenance) are not given, although it was apparently in the possession of Stewart descendants of Alexander Jackson's daughter Anna Jackson, and was used as evidence during one of the lawsuits regarding the inheritance of Anneke Jans. In his will, Alexander Jackson, does leave to his wife, "my books comprising my library," and it would not be surprising if a Bible was among these books.
Descendants of Alexander Jackson would be best served by spending the time to search out more reliable, primary sources if they wish to gain more insight into an accurate account of Alexander Jackson, his origins, and his family.
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Alexander Jackson's will dated 25 January 1815, proved 31 March 1818, can be found in Orange County Surrogate's Office, Will Book F, page 209. A photo copy was found in the William B. Bogardus Collection (Box 5, WIL WW-57) and has now been placed online. Will of Alexander Jackson.
At the time he wrote his will, Alexander Jackson, was of Goshen, Orange County, New York. He also had property at Minisink, New York. The 1800 census places him at Minisink, the 1810 census at Newburgh, New York, and he is said to have died 14 March 1818 at Florida, New York. These towns are all situated in Orange County. In his will Alexander mentions his wife, Martha, his sons Abel Jackson and James Jackson, his daughter Esther Jackson, his daughter Julia Davis and her son (his grandson) Alexander Jackson Davis (under the age of twenty-one), and his daughter Mary Higbee, the widow of James Higbee, deceased. Not mentioned in the will are his daughters Anna, Elizabeth, Jane and Martha, all of who were living at the time, and daughter Eleanor (whose date of death has not yet been determined). He appointed as executors, "trusty friends" John Springsted, Daniel Poppino, Esq., and William Smith, all of Goshen.
Alexander Jackson, Martha Drake, and their children can be found on the Brouwer Genealogy Database website (use one of the indexes to locate his link). Much of the information there comes from secondary sources and further verification is suggested. Details on Alexander's Will, will be included on the BGD with the next update of the website. As of this writing I have made no attempt to research the origins of Alexander Jackson. Two undocumented secondary sources give conflicting info for his date of birth. Imogene H. Lane in her manuscript, "Drakes of Orange County, New York and Related Families," (1971) states that Alexander was born 18 May 1728, probably calculating from his age at death which was 89yrs., 9 mos., 14 dys. from 14 March 1818 (which would actually place his birth date as 28 May 1728). Ronald L. Stewart in his manuscript, "Westward Movement of John Stewart and His Descendants," (1993) places Alexander's date of birth as 12 June 1728 in Ireland, and in Appendix C includes "A record of heirs of Alexander Jackson taken from the Family Bible." However, the important details of the claimed Bible (title, publisher, date published, exact provenance) are not given, although it was apparently in the possession of Stewart descendants of Alexander Jackson's daughter Anna Jackson, and was used as evidence during one of the lawsuits regarding the inheritance of Anneke Jans. In his will, Alexander Jackson, does leave to his wife, "my books comprising my library," and it would not be surprising if a Bible was among these books.
Descendants of Alexander Jackson would be best served by spending the time to search out more reliable, primary sources if they wish to gain more insight into an accurate account of Alexander Jackson, his origins, and his family.
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Wednesday, June 13, 2012
The Gowanus Canal
In 1664 Adam Brouwer and neighbors petitioned the Governor and Council for permission to dredge a canal at Gowanus to improve the operation of his grist mill (Henry J. Stiles, A History of the City of Brooklyn vol. 1 [1867], 68-69). The petitioned was granted and the ensuing work was the beginning of what would become the Gowanus Canal (the present day canal was finished in 1869). Now with nearly 350 years of history behind it, the Gowanus Canal is a Superfund clean-up site.
In March 2011, on the old "Brouwer Genealogy" website, I posted a link for this story from the New York Times, October 21, 2009, "Renewal - On the Waterfront."
Follow up articles were published in the New York Times in 2010 and 2011:
Gowanus Canal Gets Superfund Status, March 2, 2010
Gowanus Canal Underlies Severity of Pollution, February 2, 2011
Under the Gowanus Canal, Flushing Out the Stench, February 23, 2011
Hoping Gowanus Canal Cleanup Turns Up Old Treasures, March 14, 2011
The above are just a sampling, there are additional articles and blog posts at the New York Times.
Perhaps of more interest, however, is a website that was brought to my attention by Ken Brower. The website is the online home of, "Proteus Gowanus,"which "acts as an interpreter of culture and place, deepening the community's sense of context and connection." The organization's physical location is at 543 Union Street in Brooklyn. There is a lot of varied material on this website to explore, and although most of it has nothing to do directly with the Gowanus Canal, there is one upcoming presentation that is of special interest. If you go to the page for The Battle Pass Project, and scroll about half way down to "Battle Pass - Revolution III," you will find a description for a project titled, "Molinology - an installation on Tide Mills," scheduled for the Fall of 2012. Read the description. It may be of interest to anyone researching families (Brouwer and others) from this section of Brooklyn, or to those who simply have an appreciation for "how things work."It has my interest, and if time permits I may just make the trip to see it.
Ken also pointed out another page at this site, Hall of Gowanus Archive, has information including maps and photographs on the history and future of the Gowanus Canal. What is online is only a small sampling of what they have. I wonder what might be found with an visit in person.
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In March 2011, on the old "Brouwer Genealogy" website, I posted a link for this story from the New York Times, October 21, 2009, "Renewal - On the Waterfront."
Follow up articles were published in the New York Times in 2010 and 2011:
Gowanus Canal Gets Superfund Status, March 2, 2010
Gowanus Canal Underlies Severity of Pollution, February 2, 2011
Under the Gowanus Canal, Flushing Out the Stench, February 23, 2011
Hoping Gowanus Canal Cleanup Turns Up Old Treasures, March 14, 2011
The above are just a sampling, there are additional articles and blog posts at the New York Times.
Perhaps of more interest, however, is a website that was brought to my attention by Ken Brower. The website is the online home of, "Proteus Gowanus,"which "acts as an interpreter of culture and place, deepening the community's sense of context and connection." The organization's physical location is at 543 Union Street in Brooklyn. There is a lot of varied material on this website to explore, and although most of it has nothing to do directly with the Gowanus Canal, there is one upcoming presentation that is of special interest. If you go to the page for The Battle Pass Project, and scroll about half way down to "Battle Pass - Revolution III," you will find a description for a project titled, "Molinology - an installation on Tide Mills," scheduled for the Fall of 2012. Read the description. It may be of interest to anyone researching families (Brouwer and others) from this section of Brooklyn, or to those who simply have an appreciation for "how things work."It has my interest, and if time permits I may just make the trip to see it.
Ken also pointed out another page at this site, Hall of Gowanus Archive, has information including maps and photographs on the history and future of the Gowanus Canal. What is online is only a small sampling of what they have. I wonder what might be found with an visit in person.
 | |
| House of Simon Aertsen de Hart still standing on Gowanus Bay in 1867 (NYPL Digital Gallery) |
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