There is a problem with the "Search This Blog" feature (Blogger calls them "gadgets") on this website (immediately to the right). The search does not work for the Brouwer Genealogy blog site itself, although it still does pick up searches from linked websites. Apparently this problem is occurring with other blogs created by Blogger as evident from this blog I found when searching on Google Web for answers to this problem (see the March 5, 2013 entry here).
Hopefully, someone with the power, will have realized this and it will be fixed. I, for one, used the Search This Blog feature a lot. If anyone has any insight into this issue, I (and I'm sure others) would be like to be informed. In the meantime, sorry for the inconvenience.
BGB 260
Sunset at Gowanus Bay
Sunset at Gowanus Bay, Henry Gritten, 1851
Friday, March 8, 2013
Peter Brewer and Hannah Sanborn of Highgate, Vermont
Peter Brewer was the eldest confirmed son of Jeremiah Brouwer and Hannah Thomas. He is a direct ancestor, the great-great-grandfather, of Ruth Catherine Brewer.
Peter was baptized on 29 December 1781. The records of the Gilead Evangelical Lutheran Church at Center Brunswick, New York, record him as Petrus, the son of Jeremias Brower and his wife Hanna. The same record records his date of birth as 27 May 1779. Peter was baptized at the age of two and a half years, which was a bit out of the norm for the that time. Most children were baptized within a few weeks, at most a few months, after their birth in pre-1800 America. Another unusual aspect of Peter's baptism is that his parents were also recorded as the sponsors. Whether or not that baptism actually took place at the physical location of the church, or whether the minister traveled to the location where the Browers lived, is not known from the record. The fact that Jeremiah and Hannah were themselves the sponsors for their own child's baptism leads me to believe that the Browers may have been living in some relatively remote location of Albany County, and there was just no one else available to stand as sponsors. The same scenario occurred with the baptism of Peter's brother, Jacob, only six months later in June 1782. The sponsors were the child's parents. Few other baptism records from the Gilead Evangelical Lutheran Church from this time, follow this pattern.
Jeremiah Brower is believed to have taken his family to the Missisquoi Bay area in 1786. Peter would have been aged seven at this time. He would remain in Highgate, Vermont for his entire life, dying there are on 2 December 1844.
Peter first appears in the Highgate Town Records in 1800, when he is listed on the Grand List (an assessment or tax roll) in succession with his father, Jeremiah Brower. He is recorded as Peter BROWER. Peter, however, is not found as a head of household on the 1800 U. S. census at Highgate. I would assume form this, that he was likely living, as an adult son, probably with his wife, in the household of his father. On 12 February 1800, Peter BREWER, had his mark for cattle, sheep and swine, recorded in the Highgate records, "a cross off the right ear." In April of 1800, Peter BROWER, together with Matthew Saxe, witnessed the will of Lawrence Croy at Highgate. Peter BREWER appears on the Grand List at Highgate in 1801, and on the U. S. census records there in the years 1810, 1820, 1830 and 1840. He served in the Vermont Militia as a private during the War of 1812.
Peter Brewer is found in a number of deeds recorded in the Town Records of Highgate. In 1809, for $315, he purchased of John Wilson, a parcel of land in that part of Highgate that was formerly in Alburgh. The property was bounded by William Hefflon and James Wilson. In 1813, Peter Brewer, for $100 received from George Brewer of Westford, Chittenden Co., Vermont, "conveyed and forever quitclaim unto him, the said George, his heirs and assigns all my right in the interest estate property...parcell of land lying and being in the town of Highgate in that part formerly called Alburgh." Peter Brewer signed the deed. In 1813, Peter Brewer also bought land of John Barr, while in 1814 he bought land of Edward Raskin and sold land to Sarah Ann Wilson. In 1826, Peter Brewer bought land in Highgate from Alfred Keith of Sheldon, Vermont. In 1827, Peter made the first sale of land to one of his sons. In a deed of 12 March 1827, Peter Brewer, sold to Jacob Brewer, both of Highgate, 100 acres in Highgate, with the stipulation that should Jacob Brewer die without heirs, the land would be returned to Peter Brewer, or his heirs, with an allowance for the support of Jacob's widow. While no family relationship is actually stated clearly in the deed, it is hard to imagine a purchaser accepting such a contingency unless the seller was an immediate family member. In 1834, Peter bought land at Highgate from Abel Drury, and in April 1843 sold this property to his youngest son, Rensselaer Brewer. A month later, Peter sold the property bought in 1826 to his son Schuyler Brewer. A year and a half later Peter Brewer died. There is no estate or probate record known for Peter Brewer, and it appears that he distributed his estate to his two youngest sons while anticipating that the end of his life was near.
I have online abstracts of the deeds involving the members of Peter Brewer's family:
Peter Brewer to Jacob Brewer, 1827
Peter Brewer to Rensselaer Brewer, 1843
Peter Brewer to Schuyler Brewer, 1843
Rensselaer Brewer to Jacob Brewer, 1847
Rensselaer Brewer to Schuyler Brewer, 1844
Schuyler Brewer to Rensselaer Brewer, 1844
Peter Brewer's wife was Hannah Sanborn. They were probably married in 1799 or 1800. No record of their marriage is found, and as there is no record of the births of any of their children, she is only identified as Hannah Sanborn (Sandborne) by the certificate of death of her son Rensselaer Brewer which occurred in 1897 in Richland County, Wisconsin. Hannah is found on the 1850 census at Highgate, Vermont, age given as 71 (thus born ca. 1778 or 1779), birth place stated as Vermont. She is enumerated in the household of her son Schuyler Brewer (family relationships were not specifically recorded in 1850). She is said to have died 25 February 1852. There is no record of her death and this date (as with Peter's date of death) were apparently taken from readings of their gravestones some decades ago, with the dates being perpetuated over the years by descendants. They were buried on the family property, the location today is off of Rollo Rd. in Highgate, on the property often referred to as Fortin Farm. The gravestones have since been obliterated and I have a photo taken in the early 2000s by Ross Shoemaker (a descendant) and passed to me by Karen B. Sims (another descendant).
The identity of Hannah's parents and her ancestry, has not been determined. Assuming that the identification of her surname as Sanborn is correct (remember the death certificate of Rensselaer was recorded in 1897, forty-five years after Hannah's death, and possibly reported by someone who never knew her personally) it is probable that she is a member of the large Sanborn family whose progenitors were among the first settlers in New Hampshire. The family of Josiah (1769-1831) and Sarah (Shepard) Sanborn were among the first settlers in the area of Sutton and St. Armond, Canada, towns directly over the border from Highgate, Vermont. While Hannah, cannot be a child of Josiah and Sarah, she could possibly be a yet unknown sister. Josiah Sanborn, who found his way to the Eastern Townships, was a son of Josiah Sanborn (1747-1817) and Lucy Swain of Sanbornton, New Hampshire. This Josiah Sanborn is a descendant of William Samborne who was at Hampton, New Hampshire in 1639, and his wife, Mary Moulton. I would note, however, that the very comprehensive Genealogy of the Samborne or Sanborn Family in England and America, by V. C. Sanborn (1899) makes no mention of our Hannah Sanborn, and it's account of the family of Josiah Sanborn and Lucy Swain, assuming it is correct, leaves little room (if any) for an additional child named Hannah born in 1778 or 1779. William Samborne came to New England (in or by 1639) with his two brothers John and Stephen, and their widowed mother, Anne (Bachiler) Samborne. William and John both left large families and by the late 1700s there were dozens of Sanborn families in existence in northern New England. Perhaps Hannah's place is somewhere else among the large Sanborn family. Or perhaps, the claim that her surname was Sanborn was incorrect, and has distracted descendants from discovering her true identity for many years.
Peter Brewer and Hannah Sanborn had ten children born between 1801 and 1820. They will be covered in a separate post.
Added March 25, 2013: Jacob Brewer, son of Peter Brewer & Hannah Sanborn
Added April 10, 2013: Schuyler Brewer, son of Peter Brewer & Hannah Sanborn
Added April 20, 2013: Sylvester Brewer, son of Peter Brewer & Hannah Sanborn
Added May 15, 2013: Peter Earl Brewer, son of Peter Brewer & Hannah Sanborn
Added May 20, 2013: Thomas Brewer, son of Peter Brewer & Hannah Sanborn
Added June 8, 2013: Daughters Samantha Brewer, Martha Brewer and Rozilla V. Brewer
Added July 5, 2013: George G. Brewer, son of Peter Brewer & Hannah Sanborn
Added July 12, 2013: Rensselaer Brewer, son of Peter Brewer & Hannah Sanborn
BGB 259
Peter was baptized on 29 December 1781. The records of the Gilead Evangelical Lutheran Church at Center Brunswick, New York, record him as Petrus, the son of Jeremias Brower and his wife Hanna. The same record records his date of birth as 27 May 1779. Peter was baptized at the age of two and a half years, which was a bit out of the norm for the that time. Most children were baptized within a few weeks, at most a few months, after their birth in pre-1800 America. Another unusual aspect of Peter's baptism is that his parents were also recorded as the sponsors. Whether or not that baptism actually took place at the physical location of the church, or whether the minister traveled to the location where the Browers lived, is not known from the record. The fact that Jeremiah and Hannah were themselves the sponsors for their own child's baptism leads me to believe that the Browers may have been living in some relatively remote location of Albany County, and there was just no one else available to stand as sponsors. The same scenario occurred with the baptism of Peter's brother, Jacob, only six months later in June 1782. The sponsors were the child's parents. Few other baptism records from the Gilead Evangelical Lutheran Church from this time, follow this pattern.
Jeremiah Brower is believed to have taken his family to the Missisquoi Bay area in 1786. Peter would have been aged seven at this time. He would remain in Highgate, Vermont for his entire life, dying there are on 2 December 1844.
Peter first appears in the Highgate Town Records in 1800, when he is listed on the Grand List (an assessment or tax roll) in succession with his father, Jeremiah Brower. He is recorded as Peter BROWER. Peter, however, is not found as a head of household on the 1800 U. S. census at Highgate. I would assume form this, that he was likely living, as an adult son, probably with his wife, in the household of his father. On 12 February 1800, Peter BREWER, had his mark for cattle, sheep and swine, recorded in the Highgate records, "a cross off the right ear." In April of 1800, Peter BROWER, together with Matthew Saxe, witnessed the will of Lawrence Croy at Highgate. Peter BREWER appears on the Grand List at Highgate in 1801, and on the U. S. census records there in the years 1810, 1820, 1830 and 1840. He served in the Vermont Militia as a private during the War of 1812.
Peter Brewer is found in a number of deeds recorded in the Town Records of Highgate. In 1809, for $315, he purchased of John Wilson, a parcel of land in that part of Highgate that was formerly in Alburgh. The property was bounded by William Hefflon and James Wilson. In 1813, Peter Brewer, for $100 received from George Brewer of Westford, Chittenden Co., Vermont, "conveyed and forever quitclaim unto him, the said George, his heirs and assigns all my right in the interest estate property...parcell of land lying and being in the town of Highgate in that part formerly called Alburgh." Peter Brewer signed the deed. In 1813, Peter Brewer also bought land of John Barr, while in 1814 he bought land of Edward Raskin and sold land to Sarah Ann Wilson. In 1826, Peter Brewer bought land in Highgate from Alfred Keith of Sheldon, Vermont. In 1827, Peter made the first sale of land to one of his sons. In a deed of 12 March 1827, Peter Brewer, sold to Jacob Brewer, both of Highgate, 100 acres in Highgate, with the stipulation that should Jacob Brewer die without heirs, the land would be returned to Peter Brewer, or his heirs, with an allowance for the support of Jacob's widow. While no family relationship is actually stated clearly in the deed, it is hard to imagine a purchaser accepting such a contingency unless the seller was an immediate family member. In 1834, Peter bought land at Highgate from Abel Drury, and in April 1843 sold this property to his youngest son, Rensselaer Brewer. A month later, Peter sold the property bought in 1826 to his son Schuyler Brewer. A year and a half later Peter Brewer died. There is no estate or probate record known for Peter Brewer, and it appears that he distributed his estate to his two youngest sons while anticipating that the end of his life was near.
I have online abstracts of the deeds involving the members of Peter Brewer's family:
Peter Brewer to Jacob Brewer, 1827
Peter Brewer to Rensselaer Brewer, 1843
Peter Brewer to Schuyler Brewer, 1843
Rensselaer Brewer to Jacob Brewer, 1847
Rensselaer Brewer to Schuyler Brewer, 1844
Schuyler Brewer to Rensselaer Brewer, 1844
Peter Brewer's wife was Hannah Sanborn. They were probably married in 1799 or 1800. No record of their marriage is found, and as there is no record of the births of any of their children, she is only identified as Hannah Sanborn (Sandborne) by the certificate of death of her son Rensselaer Brewer which occurred in 1897 in Richland County, Wisconsin. Hannah is found on the 1850 census at Highgate, Vermont, age given as 71 (thus born ca. 1778 or 1779), birth place stated as Vermont. She is enumerated in the household of her son Schuyler Brewer (family relationships were not specifically recorded in 1850). She is said to have died 25 February 1852. There is no record of her death and this date (as with Peter's date of death) were apparently taken from readings of their gravestones some decades ago, with the dates being perpetuated over the years by descendants. They were buried on the family property, the location today is off of Rollo Rd. in Highgate, on the property often referred to as Fortin Farm. The gravestones have since been obliterated and I have a photo taken in the early 2000s by Ross Shoemaker (a descendant) and passed to me by Karen B. Sims (another descendant).
.JPG) |
| What is left of the gravemarker of Peter Brewer (photo Ross Shoemaker) |
Peter Brewer and Hannah Sanborn had ten children born between 1801 and 1820. They will be covered in a separate post.
Added March 25, 2013: Jacob Brewer, son of Peter Brewer & Hannah Sanborn
Added April 10, 2013: Schuyler Brewer, son of Peter Brewer & Hannah Sanborn
Added April 20, 2013: Sylvester Brewer, son of Peter Brewer & Hannah Sanborn
Added May 15, 2013: Peter Earl Brewer, son of Peter Brewer & Hannah Sanborn
Added May 20, 2013: Thomas Brewer, son of Peter Brewer & Hannah Sanborn
Added June 8, 2013: Daughters Samantha Brewer, Martha Brewer and Rozilla V. Brewer
Added July 5, 2013: George G. Brewer, son of Peter Brewer & Hannah Sanborn
Added July 12, 2013: Rensselaer Brewer, son of Peter Brewer & Hannah Sanborn
BGB 259
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Brower Gravestone Photos
The photos below of Brower gravestones were sent to me a few years ago by Mary Kay McDowell. They were taken at the Mennonite Cemetery at Parker Ford, Chester County, Pennsylvania. I do not know when they were taken. The community of Parker Ford is in East Coventry Township, Pennsylvania, and so I suspect that the gravestones belong to members a family, or families, descended from Hubert Brower. I am not, however, certain of this. As I do not see myself spending any time trying to track down just who these persons are, I figured I would simply make them available online to anyone who may be interested. If any one who does come across them believes they know just who these individuals are, please feel free to leave that information using the Comments section for this entry (below). And feel free to download the images for your own use.
BGB 258
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| Abraham Brower |
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| Hannah Brower |
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| Isaac Brower |
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| Magdalena Brower |
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Passenger and Immigration Lists Index
Passenger and Immigration Lists Index: A Guide to Published Arrival Records of About 500,000 Passengers Who Came to the United States and Canada in the Seventeenth, Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, First Edition, edited by P. William Filby with Mary K. Meyer (Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1981), is an incredibly large collection of names, places, dates and sources of persons who are found in North America prior to the 20th century. William B. Bogardus, in his collection of Brouwer material, included the pages containing the surnames Brewer, Brouwer and Brower, as well as the all important opening pages which provide the list of sources and which are represented by numbers in the lists of "passengers" and "immigrants." Supplements to the original were published in subsequent years, and the pages covering Brewer, Brouwer and Brower, for supplements to the year 1990, along with the initial 1981 pages, have been scanned into one PDF.
Passenger and Immigration Lists Index
While there is no doubt that this index is very useful, the title and premiss of the volume is somewhat misleading. It might be natural for someone picking up this volume for the first time to assume that the dates listed next to each individual's name was the date of immigration to North America, and might assume that all those listed were in fact immigrants. But this is not the case. The "sample entry" (which you can find on the second page of the PDF) explicitly states that the place and date provided in each entry, refers to the "place of arrival" and "year of arrival." In some cases, this may be correct, but in many cases it is not. In many of the entries, the place and date simply refer to a record of some type (marriage, court record, etc.), which would of course imply that the person named in the entry was at the location listed on the date recorded, but does not necessarily mean that he immigrated, or arrived there, on that date. In many cases the "immigrant" was there earlier than the date given.
For example, on page 231 (page 8 in the PDF) we find five entries for "Brouwer, Adam" either in New Netherland or New York. The five entries give the years 1642; 1620-1664; 1647; 1687; and 1687 again. These entries all refer to the same Adam Brouwer, the only one of two, the second being his son of the same name, known to be in New Netherland/New York in the 17th century. While the 1642 date may or may not be accurate as a date of arrival, the other dates certainly are not dates on which Adam Brouwer "arrived" at New York, as might be surmised from the book's title and "sample entry."The last entry, 1687, would refer to the year he took the oath of allegiance at Gowanus.The second entry of 1687, pertains to Adam Brouwer's son, also named Adam Brouwer, who was not an immigrant.
This misleading title also applies to the database found at Ancestry.com titled, "Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s." This database is based upon Gale Research's, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, the same book from which the Brower pages have been extracted, and the same warning applies. Contrary to the title, his database is not an actual database of immigrants and the dates of their arrival.
An example from the Ancestry.com is that of Cornelia Roos. If you have a subscription to Ancestry.com, look her up and you might come away believing that Cornelia immigrated to New Netherland in 1659 at the age of 4. The specific source given is, SCOTT, KENNETH. "Early New Yorkers and Their Ages." In National Genealogical Society Quarterly, vol. 57:4 (Dec. 1969), pp. 274-297. The important thing to do here is to look up this original source that Ancestry.com is citing. This source is not a list of immigrants at all, and it never pretends to be. What it is, is simply a list of New Yorkers and their ages, as found in various records from the early years of New York City (New Amsterdam). The unaware, however, because of the title that Ancestry.com gave to this database, would come away with the belief that Cornelia Roos immigrated to New York in 1659. In actuality, not only did Cornelia not immigrate to New York in 1659, she was not an immigrant at all. She was born in and baptized at New Amsterdam on 1 January 1665, and she was a second generation American. Her father, Gerrit Roos, was one of the earliest persons born in New Netherland (probably born about 1626), his mother, Maria Vigne, was the actual immigrant ancestor of this family. Cornelia Roos does not belong in a database titled, "Passenger and Immigration Lists." No doubt there are other cases similar to Cornelia's.
While these published indexes and databases are certainly valuable, it's important to understand just what exactly they represent (despite what their titles might imply) and it is equally important to follow through and look up the original source that is being cited by the index or database.
BGB 257
Passenger and Immigration Lists Index
While there is no doubt that this index is very useful, the title and premiss of the volume is somewhat misleading. It might be natural for someone picking up this volume for the first time to assume that the dates listed next to each individual's name was the date of immigration to North America, and might assume that all those listed were in fact immigrants. But this is not the case. The "sample entry" (which you can find on the second page of the PDF) explicitly states that the place and date provided in each entry, refers to the "place of arrival" and "year of arrival." In some cases, this may be correct, but in many cases it is not. In many of the entries, the place and date simply refer to a record of some type (marriage, court record, etc.), which would of course imply that the person named in the entry was at the location listed on the date recorded, but does not necessarily mean that he immigrated, or arrived there, on that date. In many cases the "immigrant" was there earlier than the date given.
For example, on page 231 (page 8 in the PDF) we find five entries for "Brouwer, Adam" either in New Netherland or New York. The five entries give the years 1642; 1620-1664; 1647; 1687; and 1687 again. These entries all refer to the same Adam Brouwer, the only one of two, the second being his son of the same name, known to be in New Netherland/New York in the 17th century. While the 1642 date may or may not be accurate as a date of arrival, the other dates certainly are not dates on which Adam Brouwer "arrived" at New York, as might be surmised from the book's title and "sample entry."The last entry, 1687, would refer to the year he took the oath of allegiance at Gowanus.The second entry of 1687, pertains to Adam Brouwer's son, also named Adam Brouwer, who was not an immigrant.
This misleading title also applies to the database found at Ancestry.com titled, "Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s." This database is based upon Gale Research's, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, the same book from which the Brower pages have been extracted, and the same warning applies. Contrary to the title, his database is not an actual database of immigrants and the dates of their arrival.
An example from the Ancestry.com is that of Cornelia Roos. If you have a subscription to Ancestry.com, look her up and you might come away believing that Cornelia immigrated to New Netherland in 1659 at the age of 4. The specific source given is, SCOTT, KENNETH. "Early New Yorkers and Their Ages." In National Genealogical Society Quarterly, vol. 57:4 (Dec. 1969), pp. 274-297. The important thing to do here is to look up this original source that Ancestry.com is citing. This source is not a list of immigrants at all, and it never pretends to be. What it is, is simply a list of New Yorkers and their ages, as found in various records from the early years of New York City (New Amsterdam). The unaware, however, because of the title that Ancestry.com gave to this database, would come away with the belief that Cornelia Roos immigrated to New York in 1659. In actuality, not only did Cornelia not immigrate to New York in 1659, she was not an immigrant at all. She was born in and baptized at New Amsterdam on 1 January 1665, and she was a second generation American. Her father, Gerrit Roos, was one of the earliest persons born in New Netherland (probably born about 1626), his mother, Maria Vigne, was the actual immigrant ancestor of this family. Cornelia Roos does not belong in a database titled, "Passenger and Immigration Lists." No doubt there are other cases similar to Cornelia's.
While these published indexes and databases are certainly valuable, it's important to understand just what exactly they represent (despite what their titles might imply) and it is equally important to follow through and look up the original source that is being cited by the index or database.
BGB 257
Sunday, March 3, 2013
A New Transcription of Adam Brouwer's Will
I've placed online a new transcription of Adam Brouwer's will (dated 22 Jan 1691/92). This transcription was done by Steven Matthew Hahn.
Transcription of the will of Adam Brower Berkhoven, 22 Jan 1691/2 (by Steven Matthew Hahn)
This can be compared with my own transcription which was placed online a few years back. Although the substance is no different, the new transcription by Steve does a better job of transcribing details of the original, such as capitalization, punctuation and spelling. The names in the will have been published in bold print and are therefore easier to find.
Thanks to Steve Hahn for the contribution.
BGB 256
Transcription of the will of Adam Brower Berkhoven, 22 Jan 1691/2 (by Steven Matthew Hahn)
This can be compared with my own transcription which was placed online a few years back. Although the substance is no different, the new transcription by Steve does a better job of transcribing details of the original, such as capitalization, punctuation and spelling. The names in the will have been published in bold print and are therefore easier to find.
Thanks to Steve Hahn for the contribution.
BGB 256
Friday, March 1, 2013
Better Images of Adam Brouwer's Will
Some time ago I had made digital images of Adam Brouwer's will available online. These images were taken with a hand held digital camera off a microfilm reader. That technique is admittedly amateurish, but at the time was the only option. Fortunately, since then, the Family History Library, as a part of their efforts to digitize, index, and make available all of their microfilmed collection, has placed images of New York Probate records online. I have downloaded the images for Adam Brouwer's file which is found at the Albany, New York Clerk's Office, as file AB 3.
The above images can be found at the Family Search website under New York Probate Records, 1629-1971, Albany, then scroll down to Wills 1629-1802, AA-AB. There is no search capability for the images in this database and it can be tedious and time consuming to locate any particular will. Adam Brouwer's will begins with image no. 189 and ends with image no. 193. For those interested, the will of Hendrick Brouwer of Schenectady, is also available in this file beginning with image no. 200.
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| Adam Brouwer Will (image 189) |
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| Adam Brouwer Will (image 190) |
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| Adam Brouwer Will (image 191) |
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| Adam Brouwer Will (image 192) |
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| Adam Brouwer Will (image 193) |
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