Unplaced: Elias E. Brewer/Brower of Marlboro, New Jersey

Elias E. Brewer (or Brower) lived at Marlboro, Monmouth County, New Jersey. He died on June 22, 1855 and is buried in the Old Brick Church Cemetery in Marlboro. His age on the 1850 U.S. Federal census is given as 67 years. No record of birth or baptism has been located for Elias E. Brewer, and the identity of his parents is not known. A descendant has participated in the Brewer DNA Project and from his Y-DNA test results we are certain that the participant, and therefore all of his known direct male Brewer/Brower ancestors including Elias E. Brewer, are descendants of Jan Brouwer of Flatlands, Long Island.

Elias E. Brewer's wife was Elizabeth. There is some uncertainty regarding her maiden name. The index card for her application for a pension as a widow of a soldier in the War of 1812, records her maiden name as "More." This same index card gives Elias and Elizabeth's marriage date as May 26, 1810. A published account, Brick Church Memorial, 1699-1877, The days of old and their commemoration, by Theodore W. Wells (1877) gives her maiden name as "Myers." Elizabeth died on February 17, 1879 (age 87yrs 3mos) and her New Jersey State Death Certificate records her mother as "Mary Jefris," but does not name a father.

Elias and Elizabeth had eight or nine children whose dates of birth were recorded in a Family Bible record. The eldest child, a daughter Anne, is questionable as her date of birth is given as May 8, 1810, which is two years prior to the date of marriage supplied by Elizabeth in her pension application (the application may be the document in error as it was created long after the marriage took place, or as the index card is a transcription, there may have been an error in transcribing). If we accept Anne, then Elias and Elizabeth had nine children born between the years of 1810 and 1828. Marriages are known for six of the children and at least four of them, sons John, Jacob C., William Ede, and Isiah, had descendants.

Elias is found on the 1830 and 1840 Federal census at Freehold, Monmouth Co., New Jersey (census records prior to 1830 for New Jersey are lost). The 1840 census refers to him as "Elias E. Brewer." In 1848, Marlboro was formed as a Township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature, created from a part of Freehold. On the 1850 Federal census, Elias E. Brewer, age 67, is enumerated with Elizabeth in Marlboro Township. They are enumerated next to Benjamin D. Brewer, a son of Isaac Brewer and Styntje Van Brunt (Isaac may be a son of Elias Brower and Elizabeth Palmer).

As mentioned above, Y-DNA testing of a descendant confirms that Elias E. Brewer is a descendant of Jan Brouwer of Flatlands. The fact that his given name is Elias, tells us that he most likely is a descendant of Jan Brouwer's son, Derck Brouwer. The fact that Elias appears to have spent his entire life at Marlboro, New Jersey tells us that he more then likely is closely related to the other Brewer families found there. There is probably three generations between Elias E. Brewer and Derck Brouwer, and it may be that Elias Brower and Elizabeth Palmer constitute one of the generations. But, at this time, this is merely an educated guess. Additional records are sought and we would welcome hearing from anyone who can add provide more information.

Thanks to Hank Graham for providing important details and records pertaining to Elias E. Brewer and his family, and thanks to the descendant who participated in the Brewer DNA Project. The participation of additional descendants would be welcomed. Details and source citations can be found at the Brouwer Genealogy Database website, a link to a chart and profile of Elias E. Brewer is found on the Unplaced page. An e-mail address for contacting Hank Graham can also be found there.

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Update: Brouwer Genealogy Database, and Introducing, Bennet Corrections

The Brouwer Genealogy Database website has been updated. Launched on July 29, 2008, the BGD now includes profiles of 33,786 individuals.

With this update we have included results from a new participant in the Brewer DNA Project. The participant is a descendant of Adam Brouwer of Gowanus, L. I. through his eldest son Pieter Brouwer. He is represented by kit #252546, and his lineage can be found on the descendants of Pieter Brouwer Chart accessible from the Adam Brouwer Group DNA Results Page. The participants data is a very valuable addition to our efforts in understanding the descendants of Adam Brouwer using Y-DNA testing, and we would like to express our thanks to the participant for agreeing to join the project. We would also like to encourage other Brouwer, Brower and Brewer descendants to join as well.

Also added is a Chart of the some of the descendants of Willem Adriaensen, whose descendants adopted the surname, BENNET. Willem Adriaensen was the second husband of Maria Badie, and their descendants are cousins to the descendants of Adam Brouwer, by virtue of the fact that Adam Brouwer's wife, Magdalena Verdon, was Maria Badie's eldest daughter by her first husband, Jacob Verdon. Through some more complicated twists and turns, it has also been found that some descendants of Willem Adriaensen and Maria Badie are also cousins of descendants of Jan Brouwer of Flatlands, L. I. Descendants of Willem Adriaensen have been covered in a published account. Wilson V. Ledley, published, "Willem Adriaense Bennet of Brooklyn, N. Y., and Some of His Descendants," in the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. His series of articles ran from volume 93, no. 4 (1962) through volume 95, no. 4 (1964). Unfortunately there are many errors in Ledley's published account, some have been repeated in later published articles citing Ledley's original account. Since the past summer I have found some time to periodically consider some of these errors, and have had the opportunity to correspond with two excellent researchers, Mike Morrissey and Liz Johnson, both of whom are very familiar and experienced in researching colonial families of New Netherland, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Many of the corrections are now addressed on the BGD website, and the chart of Willem Adriaensen's descendants is intended as a convenient method for accessing complete profiles, and as a guide to my current take on the Bennet family. The chart currently covers five generations and is not complete. In the coming months I will add posts regarding some of the more critical corrections and they will have the label, "Bennet Corrections." The first post, Identifying the wife of Isaac Bennet, was published here on August 25, 2012. More will eventually follow.

In the meantime, issues that will be addressed in the coming months will start with the addition of a few more Unplaced descendants of Jan Brouwer of Flatlands, L. I.; the completion of posts focused on the remaining children of Adam Brouwer; posts on Unplaced descendants of Adam Brouwer, and posts on other Unplaced Brewers who have had descendants that participated in the Brewer DNA Project. The BGD will likely be updated again in early 2013.

Also of interest to those researching related New Netherland families would be the identification of the Father and Brother of Aucke Jans Van Nuys, by Liz Johnson and just recently published on her website, Sketches of 17th Century Hollanders. The article also includes the discovery of baptism dates for three, possibly four, of Aucke's children who were baptized in Amsterdam prior to the family's migration to New Netherland. Aucke Jans Van Nuys settled in Kings County on Long Island and his children married with members of a number of other prominent early Kings County families. Aucke's descendants are numerous, some were among the early settlers in New Jersey, and some have ties with Brouwer, Brower and Brewer families descended from both Adam Brouwer and Jan Brouwer. There are also important ties with the Bennet families mentioned above.

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Unplaced: Stephen Brewer of New Jersey, Kentucky and Indiana

Stephen Brewer was said to be born in 1772 in New Jersey, although the 1850 and 1860 U.S. census records his place of birth as Virginia. A descendant of Stephen Brewer has participated in the Brewer DNA Project and Y-DNA test results demonstrate that the participant and therefore all of his direct male BREWER ancestors are descendants of Jan Brouwer of Flatlands, Long Island. Although Stephen Brewer is a descendant of Jan Brouwer, we still do not know his correct ancestry back to Jan Brouwer. As he was born in 1772, it is most likely that Stephen Brewer is a great-great grandson of Jan Brouwer.

Stephen Brewer was married to Mary Melinda Whitsett on May 26, 1811 in Harrison County, Kentucky. A chart of some of their descendants, linked to individual profiles, can be found on the Brouwer Genealogy Database website, at the Unplaced page. Much of the information and research concerning Stephen Brewer comes from Charles Wells, a descendant.

A published, early 20th century account found in Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of Sedgwick County, Kansas (Chicago: Biographical Publishing Co., 1901), page 469, makes the statement that Stephen was born in a "suburb of New York City" (which of course could include parts of New Jersey) and that his father was also named Stephen, and both served during the Revolutionary War (the younger Stephen apparently as a boy who helped transport supplies, etc.). This volume can be found online at Internet Archive. Whether or not, and to what degree this is accurate is something that we would like to find out.

The 1793 tax rolls at Bernards Twp., Somerset Co., New Jersey includes a Stephen Brewer. If his stated birth date of 1772 is correct, our Stephen Brewer would have been aged 21 in 1793 and therefore certainly eligible to appear on a tax roll. From his above mentioned marriage, it is clear that Stephen was in Harrison County, Kentucky by 1811. In the years between 1811 and 1815 Stephen Brewer is found on tax rolls in Harrison County. Also appearing on these rolls is an Aaron Brewer. The relationship between Stephen and Aaron Brewer has not been determined. It is suspected that they are brothers. Aaron Brewer was married to Polly McFarland on September 10, 1812 in Harrison County. The 1850 U.S. census gives his age as 63 (so born ca. 1787) and place of birth as Virginia. Among Aaron Brewer and Polly McFarland's probable children is Aaron W. Brewer (1828-1908), who through Y-DNA testing of a descendant is also a genetic descendant of Jan Brouwer. Presently, all that links the three (Stephen, Aaron and Aaron W.) is fact that they are found in the same locations and have genetic links to a common ancestor. Conclusive proof, in the form of records, that would tie the three together in one way or another, have not been found.

Stephen Brewer and Mary Melinda Whitsett had seven known children. Harrison County, Kentucky is in the northeast portion of the state, just south of the Ohio River and a bit southeast of the state of Indiana. In 1820, Stephen is found at Jennings Twp., Fayette Co., Indiana on the U.S. Federal census. In 1830 and 1840 Stephen Brewer is found in Delaware Co., Indiana, and in 1841 he registered federal land in Madison Co., Indiana. The 1850 and 1860 U.S. census finds Stephen in Grant Co., Indiana and he last resided at Fairmount Twp., Grant Co. Stephen Brewer died sometime between the 1860 census and 1864. His place of burial or exact date of death has not been discovered.

As mentioned above, a direct descendant has participated in the Brewer DNA Project. From the results and from the known circumstantial evidence it is safe to say that it is very probable that Stephen Brewer and Aaron W. Brewer are closely related (the tested descendants match on 37 of 37 markers). They, and/or their immediate ancestors (meaning parents) likely began in New Jersey, then made their way to the Berkeley Co., Virginia (now West Virginia) area sometime soon after the American Revolution, and from there headed down the Ohio River into Kentucky. Numerous families of Dutch ancestry, with origins on Long Island and in New Jersey made this very move. For many of these families, linking the descendants found in Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana during the early 1800s, back to their Long Island/New Jersey families of the 1700s has been extremely difficult. Vital records, estate records and land records for this period are just very limited. DNA testing and analysis of descendants of these pioneers offers a new opportunity for tying these families together. But we need more participants. Especially needed, are participants who can conclusively demonstrate their descent from Jan Brouwer of Flatlands, L.I. Test results from these participants provide us with a base to which we can compare those who do not know their complete ancestry.

As always, additional details and source citations are found at the Brouwer Genealogy Database.
Descendants Chart: Stephen Brewer. 

Thanks to Charles Wells for providing a good deal of the information on the origins and descendants of Stephen Brewer.

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New York County Deeds Index

Back on October 27th I posted a link for a source that provided an index to the deeds recorded in New York County prior to 1800. There of course were many more deeds recorded after 1800 and many of then involve persons named Brouwer, Brower and Brewer.

The link below will take you to digital images of the index pages for persons named Brouwer, Brower and Brewer, found in the Grantees index of New York County Deeds. These images are from FHL film # 888237.

Brewer-Brower NY Co Deeds Grantees Index

The link below leads to digital images from the Grantors index, FHL film #888232

Brewer-Brower NY Co Deeds Grantors Index

Currently the complete deeds are only accessible at the New York County Courthouse or by viewing filmed copies at a local Family History Library Center. Hopefully, the day will come when Family Search makes the images available online. Deeds can be an important source of otherwise unknown information useful to discovering family links. There are a lot of Brouwer, Brower and Brewer names mentioned in this index. I have no doubt that there is some yet undiscovered clues to family relationships that are waiting to be found by some researcher.

It is suggested that you download images to your own computer so that they can be more easily enlarged and manipulated for better viewing.

Update June 8, 2019: Here is a link to the online image for the Grantors Index where the surname BROUWER begins. This is image number 373 in Conveyance index-grantor 1654-1866 A-C. The images are faint, but still better than the photographed images placed online seven years ago.

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Unplaced: Richard Brouwer of Albany & Delaware Cos., New York

Richard Brouwer is known to have lived at Duanesburgh, Albany Co., New York (1790 census) and at Walton (1800) and Tompkins (1810, 1820) both in Delaware County, New York. He was married to Mary Blann/Blain/Blean sometime prior to 1779. Richard Brouwer was mentioned in an earlier post, Six Derck/Dirck Brouwers.

A descendant of Richard Brouwer has participated in the Brewer DNA Project. The results of his Y-DNA test confirm that he, and therefore all of his direct male Brewer ancestors, are descendants of Jan Brouwer of Flatlands, Long Island. Richard Brouwer's direct ancestry back to Jan Brouwer, however, is as yet unknown.

We know of four children of Richard Brouwer and his wife, Mary Blann. They are recorded in baptism records at Schenectady and Guilderland Center, New York. The first two are found in the records of the First Reformed Church at Schenectady. They are for George Washington, son of Richard Brouwer and Mary Blann, with sponsors Johannes Mynderse and Eva C. Yates, dated January 31, 1779; and Petrus, son of Richard Brouwer and Mary Blean, with sponsors Petrus Westvaal and Sophia Westvaal, dated January 16, 1782. Then on November 6, 1787, Helena, daughter of Richard Brower and Margariet (sic) Blaine, was baptized at the Helderbergh Reformed Church at Guilderland Center, Albany County. Sponsors were Evert Van Arnem and Helena Vroman. On April 17, 1795, Derick, son of Derick Brewer and Maria Blain, was baptized at the Helderbergh Reformed Church. No sponsors were recorded and the child's date of birth was given as May 1, 1790. The name Richard, of course, is a derivation of Derick. What relationship if any, of the above mentioned sponsors to either Richard or Mary, is not known. Extended families for each of the named sponsors would have to be compiled before any potential family relationship might be found. The parents of Mary Blann, and her ancestry is also unknown, but discovering her whereabouts prior to her marriage, may be helpful in locating Richard's parents. Richard and Mary were said to have had fourteen children. If this is correct, then we still have ten children who have not yet been discovered.

The descendant who participated in the Brewer DNA Project is descended from the above son Derick, who was known in adulthood as Richard Brewer. In 1817 Richard, and his brother Peter, relocated to what was known as the "Firelands" in northeastern Ohio along the south shore of Lake Erie. The "Firelands" were in a larger area that was originally under the jurisdiction of the State of Connecticut and was known as the Connecticut Western Reserve. Richard Brewer settled near Florence in Huron Co., Ohio. In 1838, Erie County was formed from Huron County and Richard is found on the U.S. Federal census records of 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880 at Florence, Erie Co., Ohio. His wife was Nancy Schaeffer and they had eight children born between 1821 and 1844. In 1889, Howard Tuttle presented a sketch of Richard Brewer before the Firelands Pioneer Society. It was published in The Firelands Pioneer and can be found online at Google Books. Richard Brewer apparently developed a legend, to some extent, as an early pioneer. A number of statements with regards to his age and date and place of birth were exaggerated and/or in error. In 1889, Richard was still alive, and he was stated to be aged 105 years, was given a birth date of May 1, 1783, and stated to have been born at "Greenbush, Delaware Co., New York." Of course we know from his baptism record that Richard was actually born on May 1, 1790, and Greenbush is a town, not in Delaware Co., but in Albany County (now in Rensselaer Co.), New York. Richard would have lived for some years during his childhood in Delaware County, but he was not born there. Richard's brother Peter was also said to have gone to Ohio, however, a family and what became of him, has not yet been found.

The above mentioned account by Howard Tuttle stated that Richard Brewer's father (Richard Brouwer) had fourteen children. Whether or not this too was an exaggeration we do not know. As mentioned, only four have thus far been identified. From the baptism of George Washington Brouwer in January 1779, we can assume that Richard and Mary were married prior to that year. If we then assume that Richard was at least twenty years old we can state that he was born prior to 1759. We do not know whether George Washington Brouwer was the first child of Richard and Mary. They may have been earlier children who have yet to be discovered. As of now, all we can possibly say is that Richard Brouwer was probably born sometime between 1730 and 1759. With this large range for a birth date, there are two known Dirck Brouwers who might be Richard Brouwer. They are Dirck, son of Pieter Brouwer and Susanna Titsoort, baptized on September 1, 1743 at Readington, New Jersey, or Dirck, son of Jacob Brouwer and Marike, baptized on May 29, 1737 at Readington, New Jersey. A third possibility is that Richard is an otherwise unknown son of Dirck Brouwer who himself was baptized August 15, 1732. This last possibility is the least likely as Dirck's believed family is in itself speculative. (This last Dirck Brouwer I am referring to is #4 in Six Derck/Dirck Brouwers).

It should also be noted that the 1830 U.S. census at Tompkins, Delaware Co., New York, records a Jacob Brewer with a household of 1 male aged 50-60, 1 female 5-10 and 1 female 40-50, and a John Brewer with a household of 1 male under 5, 1 male 5-10, 1 male 50-60, 1 female under 5, 1 female 5-10, 1 female 30-40. Richard Brouwer (Brewer) is not found on the 1830 census and is presumed to have died between 1820 and 1830. Jacob Brewer and John Brewer, each of who would have been born in the decade of 1770-1780 (assuming the census record is correct) may have been additional sons of Richard Brouwer and Mary Blann. John Brewer is found on the 1840 census at Tompkins, New York. Jacob is not found in 1840. No persons named Brewer (or Brower) are found at Tompkins, New York in 1850.

We would like to hear from anyone with any additional documented records or information. Any direct male Brewer or Brower descendants of Richard Brouwer are encouraged to participate in the Brewer DNA Project. As usual, source citations can be found at the Brouwer Genealogy Database website. A chart of known descendants, with links, of Richard Brouwer can also be found at the BGD.

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Unplaced: John J. Brewer of Wayne Co., New York

John J. Brewer died at Williamson in Wayne County, New York on March 20, 1848, aged 57 years and 6 months. That, according to his gravestone at Lakeview Cemetery in Pultneyville, Wayne Co., New York. If correct, it would place his birth at September, 1790. A descendant has stated that he was born in New Jersey. This same descendant has participated in the Brewer DNA Project and his Y-DNA test results confirm that he and therefore his direct male Brewer ancestors, including John J. Brewer, are descendants of Jan Brouwer of Flatlands, Long Island.

The wife of John J. Brewer was named Elizabeth. Her surname is believed to be WATERS, although the identity of her parents and whether or not this is correct has not been determined with certainty. Elizabeth died on July 1, 1875 and his buried in Lakeview Cemetery. Her date of birth has been given as October 29, 1795. The 1860 U.S. Federal census states that she was born in New York, while the 1870 U.S. Federal census states that she was born in New Jersey.

John J. Brewer and Elizabeth had five known children. The first four are believed to have been born in New Jersey. They are Cornelius (b. 27 March 1816, d. 8 Sept. 1872 at Sanborn, Niagara Co., NY); Alice A. (b. 22 April 1821, d. 13 July 1896 at Williamson, m. Benjamin Waters); Almira (b. ca. 1824, living in 1870 at Williamson, age 46, in the household of her brother Cornelius); and Britton B. (b. ca. 1825, living in 1860 at Williamson, age 35, a sailor, with a wife and son aged four). The fifth child, Aaron (b. 4 Jan 1831 at Williamson, NY, d. 13 Mar 1899 at Pultneyville, NY, m. Sarah Cole and had two sons Frederick and George) is the ancestor of the participant in the Brewer DNA Project. A chart of descendants of John J. Brewer can be found online at the Brouwer Genealogy Database.

Wayne County, New York is found along the southern shore of Lake Ontario. It is the county immediately to the east of Monroe County which is the location of the city of Rochester, New York. Settlement in the area began in the 1790s. Wayne County was formed in 1823. Throughout its history and still today it is a largely rural county. John J. Brewer is found there first on the 1840 census, at Williamson, with a household of 1 male under five, 2 males 10-15, 1 male 20-30, 1 male 50-60, 1 female under 5, 1 female 5-10, 1 female 15-20, 1 female 20-30, 1 female 40-50. The makeup of this household might imply that John and Elizabeth had more children than the five that are known. It may be helpful to look among the land records and deeds for Wayne County to see if John J. Brewer is found in any deeds and if so, if his mention provides any clues to his (or his wife's) origins.

Clues to John J. Brewer's origins are few. We of course know that he must descend from Jan Brouwer of Flatlands, L. I. Born in 1790, he probably was a fifth or sixth generation descendant. His "middle initial" J may not be a name in the way we think of middle names today. In 1790, few children were given middle names. The practice did not become common until later in the 19th century. The "J" in John J. Brewer may well stand for John's father's name (which was more common at the time John was born), and my first guess would be that John's father may have been named John as well. The names of John and Elizabeth's children might also be clues. Cornelius and Aaron (Arie) are both names that are found in numerous New York and New Jersey families of Dutch ancestry during the 1700s. Another son is named Britton, and that name certainly must be a clue. The Britton family was a prominent colonial family of English ancestry that was found at Kings County, Long Island, Staten Island, New York City and New Jersey during the 1600s and 1700s. The Britton family may be a part of either John or Elizabeth's immediate heritage (parents or grandparents).

We would be interested to hear from anyone with additional information and records pertaining to John J. Brewer and his wife, Elizabeth. The participation of additional descendants in the Brewer DNA Project is also welcomed.

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