The Grandsons of Adam Brouwer: (8) Nicholas Brouwer, Son of (1) Adam Brouwer

 (8) Nicholas Brouwer, youngest son, and child, of (1) Adam Brouwer and Magdalena Verdon was baptized 16 April 1672 at the New York Reformed Dutch Church. The sole sponsor/witness was Ariaentie Scherps, an individual of whom I have no further information. Magdalena Verdon is recorded with her patronymic as, Magdalena Jacobs. Nicholas does not appear on the September 1687 Oath of Allegiance roll in Kings County, as he would have only been age 15. He is named in his father's will of 22 January 1692. On 14 May 1693, Nicolaes Brouwer and Rachel Brouwer (his sister) were recorded as witnesses at the baptism of Willemtje, daughter of (3) Mathijs Brouwer and Merritje Pieters.

(8) Nicholas married Jannetje Caljer with banns recorded 15 September 1692 by the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church at Flatbush. The banns record Nicholas as "Niclaes Berckhoven, j.m. op Breukelen," and his wife to be as, "Jannetie Callier, j.d. op Boswijke." Jannetje was a sister of Cornelia Caljer who, seven months earlier, had married Nicholas' brother, Abraham Brouwer. The two couples would own and operate, and expand the mill property at Gowanus, Long Island over the course of the next 20 years or so. [See the previous post in this series, as well as the post of November 23, 2015].

As Nicholaes Brouwer, he is found on the 1698 census of Kings County at Boswick (Bushwick) with a household of 1 man, 1 woman, 1 child, and 1 apprentice. He is recorded between William West (English) and Gabriel Sprong. His brother Abraham Brouwer is also recorded at Boswick on this census. In a deed dated 12 August 1698 (the same year as the census) Magdalena, widow of Adam Brouwer, conveyed to Abraham and Nicholas, her right in the mill property at Gowanus. An Assessment List of "Brooklands Improvable lands & meadows within ffence taken up by the assessors of said towne and peter Cortilleau surveyor December 20, 1706," includes Nicholas Brower, "mill sett down ffor" 30 acres. He is followed by Abraham Brower with 66 acres, Marya Brower with 26 acres, and Annitie Brower with 26 acres [Kings Co. Deeds 3:91]. Nicholas and Jannetje appear to have lived on the Gowanus property at least into 1712. In a deed dated 20 June 1712, Nicholas Brouwer and his wife "Jonica," of Brookland, conveyed their half of the mill property and business to Abraham Brouwer, also of Brookland [Kings Co. Deeds 4:12].

On 15 December 1714, Nicholas Brewer, of the Borough and Town of Westchester, divided a piece of meadow land with Samuel Vail of the same place. This indenture, abstracted in "Westchester County Miscellanea," New York Genealogical Record 60(1929):310, citing "Book 4, p. 146" can be found online at FamilySearch.org in Records of the Town of Westchester, v.56, book 4, p. 146. On 14 February 1715/16, Nicholas Brewer, of the Borough and Town of West Chester, sold to Clement Daniels, cooper of West Chester, two acres of land in Westchester. The deed is only signed by Nicholas [See NYGBR 60(1929):310, citing Book 4:211, which is found online here]. Apparently, (8) Nicholas Brouwer had relocated to the Town of West Chester after conveying their half of the Gowanus mill property to their siblings, Abraham and Cornelia (Caljer) Brouwer in mid 1712. In 1718 and 1719, Nicholas, referred to as of Westchester County, miller, purchased a number of properties in the City of New York [New York Co. Deeds 28:492, 494, 500, 501]. "Nicolaas Brouwer and Jannetje Coljer, his wife, of the Manor of Fordham," were listed among the members of the Refomed Dutch Church of New York City on 26 May 1719. On 1 April 1726, Mary Sinclair bought from Nicholas Brouwer and Jannetje, his wife, a lot in the East Ward of New York City.

We know of seven children of Nicholas Brouwer and Jannetje Caljer, five sons, two daughters, born between the years 1693 and 1707, at which time the couple lived at Gowanus, Long Island. Baptism records for sons (29) Adolphus, (30) Jurge, and (33) Nicholas, as well as daughter Lysbet (Elizabeth) are found in the records of the Old First Dutch Reformed Church of Breuckelen. Son, (32) Cornelis was baptized at the New York Reformed Dutch Church. Records of baptism are not found for daughter Magdalena nor for son (31) Nazareth. Magdalena, who married in 1725, Joost Vredenburgh, and so was likely born between 1700 and 1705, give or take a year. (31) Nazareth, who married Anne Rozell by 1730 would have been born during the first decade of the 1700s. [We will cover each of the sons in future posts]. The children of Nicholas Brouwer would have come of age while their parents lived in Westchester County, apparently at Fordham Manor, and would have reached adulthood between 1714 and 1730 or so. The couple's first known grandchild was born in 1714 and the youngest grandchildren appear to have been born in the late 1730s. It should be noted that today Fordham Manor is within the Bronx, which is now a borough of New York City (which is coextensive with Bronx County). Also note that the 1698 census (mentioned above) records Nicholas with but one child. That would have to be the son Adolphus who was baptized in 1693 and who we know reached adulthood and left descendants. Daughter Lysbet was baptized in 1699, after the 1698 census, which leaves a six year gap between the first and second child. With only one child recorded in 1698, we'd have to assume that if any children were born to Nicholas and Jannetje during this six year period, they did not survive to 1698.

We do not have dates of death, nor of burial, nor estate settlements or wills for either Nicholas or Jannetje. I'd like to search for more land records, but as of this writing, the last record that we have for both Nicholas and Jannetje is the deed of 1 April 1726 mentioned above. But again, I'd like to do some searching here. In a 2007 email from the late William B. Bogardus, I was told, "there was apparently an old bible of Nicholas and Jannetje supposedly at the "Old Stone Dutch Church in NY"; Nicholas, son of Adam, died "in or about the year 1749" and "at the time of his death left no child him surviving, but left his heir-at -law one grandchild, Hannah Brouwer, then the wife of Edmund (not Edward) Turner." Finding documented evidence to confirm this approximate date of death has to date not been successful. 

Contemporaries: Neither Willem Brouwer of Beverwijck, nor Jan Brouwer of Flatlands named sons Nicholas. None of (1) Adam Brouwer's other sons gave the name Nicholas to any of their sons. (8) Nicholas did name a son Nicholas. He was born in 1707. Thus far in my research I have not encountered any records regarding (8) Nicholas that might be confused for records regarding his son (33) Nicholas. As far as I have been able to determine, the given name Nicholas, within the descendants of (1) Adam Brouwer, is only found among the descendants of (8) Nicholas Brouwer, during the colonial period.

Genetic genealogy: As of this writing, and by my count, the Brewer DNA Project has 19 members who are either proved descendants of (8) Nicholas Brouwer, or are certain descendants by virtue of their Y-DNA test results, which match the provable descendants in the Project. More members represent (8) Nicholas Brouwer in the Project, then do any of (1) Adam Brouwer's other sons. The runner up, (2) Pieter Brouwer, has ten descendants in the Project. Of the 19 participants, eight have taken an advanced BigY test. While the test results of the eight have yet to identify a SNP that would separate all male descendants from the other descendants of (1) Adam Brouwer, FTDNA and YFull have identified three SNPs (E-BY52668, E-BY173116, and E-FT90657) that identify sub-branches whose common ancestor is (8) Nicholas Brouwer. We hope that more of the Project's current participants who are descendants of (8) Nicholas Brouwer, upgrade to the BigY-700 test so that an even more complete picture of the genetic descendants can be seen.

William J. Hoffman covers Nicholas Brouwer and his family in "Brouwer Beginnings," at TAG 24(1948):161-5. He mentions the numerous errors found in published accounts and manuscripts covering his children. The son (29) Adolphus is also covered on pages 165-9. Hoffman does not mention the son (31) Nazareth. He apparently was unaware of him.

Nicholas Brouwer and Jannetje Caljer were covered in the pages of this website back on December 14, 2012. Their profiles on the Brouwer Genealogy Database provide source citations.

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The Grandsons of Adam Brouwer: (7) Abraham Brouwer, Son of (1) Adam Brouwer

 As a reminder, the numbers in parenthesis preceding some names refers to that individual's place on the simple chart featured in the Prelude post to this series. I will keep that post as the Featured Post, to the right, during the time that I am working on the posts for this series. Each grandson of (1) Adam Brouwer will have an individual post.

(7) Abraham Brouwer, the sixth of seven sons of (1) Adam Brouwer and Magdalena Verdon, was likely born previous to 1667. He does appear on the Oath of Allegiance taken in September 1687, as "Abram brouwer native," i.e. born in the province. From this it is safe to assume that he was at least age 21 in September 1687. Abraham, along with four of his sisters (Aeltje, Anna, Sara and Rachel) were certainly born during the ten year period between the recorded baptisms of their brother (6) Adam (baptized 6 May 1662) and brother (8) Nicholas (baptized 16 April 1672). 

Marriage banns for (7) Abraham Brouwer and his wife Cornelia Caljer are found in the Flatbush Reformed Protestant Dutch Church records, and dated 6 February 1692. The record reads as, "Abraham Brouwer Berks, young man at Brooklyn, with Cornelia Halsijen, young lady at Bushwick." So, here is another example of the use of the Berckhoven suffix to the Brouwer surname (in this case recorded as "Berks"). Cornelia's surname is probably mis-transcribed. The H may have been a mistake for a K as in "Kaljer" or "Kaller," as the family surname is sometimes recorded. She was a daughter of Jurian Caljer and Lysbeth Cornelis Van der Hoeven of Boswijck (Bushwick), Long Island. A record of her baptism does not survive. Her father was reportedly living in the area of Kinderhook (now in Columbia Co., New York State) during the time she would have been born (we estimate her birth as about 1677). Jurian Caljer was residing at the "Flatts" at Kinderhook in 1682, and only relocated to Boswijck in the early 1690s. He is not found on the Oath of Allegiance roll of Kings County in September 1687. During the 1670s the Kinderhook area would have been serviced by the Albany Reformed Dutch Church. Both Jurian and his wife are found on the members roll of the Albany Reformed Church in 1683 and 1687. Baptism records for that church prior to 1683 have not survived. Seven months after their banns were published, Cornelia's sister, Jannetje Caljer married (7) Abraham's younger brother (8) Nicholas Brouwer. The two families would together operate and expand the Gowanus mill property from the time of (1) Adam Brouwer's death until about 1710. The given name Jurian, also seen as Jurge, Jeury, Jurry and a bit later as Jeremiah, originates with the two Caljer sister's father, and is found exclusively among the descendants of (7) Abraham Brouwer and (8) Nicholas Brouwer through at least the colonial period. If that name is found in your ancestral Brouwer line (during the colonial period) you are near certainly a descendant of either (7) Abraham or (8) Nicholas.

As mentioned, Abraham is found on the September 1687 Oath of Allegiance roll at Brooklyn. He is found on the 1698 census at Boswijck (Bushwick) in Kings County, with a household of 1 man, 1 woman, 2 children and 2 apprentices. He is recorded between Humphrey Clay (English) and Alexandre Coquer (French) who in turn is followed by Abraham's father-in-law, Jurian Coljer (2 men, 2 women, 3 children). Abraham is named in Adam Brouwer's will of 22 January 1692. On August 1698, Magdalena, widow of Adam Brouwer, conveyed to her two sons, Abraham and Nicholas, her right in the dwelling house, mill houses and creeks in exchange for an annual payment of 300 guilders, 10 skipples of wheat, two of Indian corn and two loads of hay. From this point on we find a number of deeds by which the children of Adam Brouwer, and their heirs, convey rights in the Gowanus mill property to Abraham and his brother (8) Nicholas. By about 1710, Nicholas in turn conveyed his share in the properties to Abraham, leaving Abraham, and subsequently his heirs, as the owners of the Gowanus mill property throughout the remainder of just about the entire 1700s. See the post of November 23, 2015, "Documenting the Gowanus Mill Property" for specifics. Abraham Brouwer is on an assessment list at Brooklyn, dated 20 December 1706, with 66 acres.

We know of six children of (7) Abraham Brouwer and Cornelia Caljer, four daughters and two sons. The eldest, Elizabeth, was baptized at the New York Reformed Dutch Church in 1695. Baptism records for daughters Magdalena (1697) and Marytje (1699) as well as youngest child (28) Abraham (1706) are found in the Brooklyn RDC records. No records of baptism survive for daughter Jannetje who was likely born between 1700 and 1705 at Gowanus as she was married (to Johannes Burger) by 1725, and for son (27) Jeury who was also likely born during the years of 1700 and 1705 (he married in 1726). 

In the later part of 1732, (7) Abraham Brouwer married Elizabeth Gerritsen, who appears to be a daughter of Jan Gerritszen and Elisabeth Gysberts, and was a widow of Nathaniel Britton of Staten Island (will dated 1 June 1729, proved 11 November 1729). Elizabeth was Nathaniel's second wife and mother of six of his fourteen children. Abraham and Elizabeth engaged in a marital agreement dated 1 September 1732 and recorded in Kings County Deeds Lib. 5, p. 95. On 5 May 1734, Abraham sold a 135 acre farm on Staten Island to Peter Hagewout (Richmond Co. Deeds, Lib. D:157-161). The deed states that Abraham had acquired the land from Daniel Shotwell and Elizabeth, his wife, by deed dated 7 May 1722. The 1734 deed was not recorded until 7 October 1745, at the request of Peter Hagewout, and was acknowledged at that time by Daniel Corsen, one of the witnesses to the 1734 deed. 

As with his brothers before him, no date of death or burial, and no will or probate file has been found for (7) Abraham Brouwer. In September 1737 he did convey the Gowanus mill property in two separate deeds to each of his two sons (27) Jeury Brouwer and (28) Abraham Brouwer. The last record we have for both (7) Abraham Brouwer is dated 18 February 1739, in which he and his wife, Elizabeth, stood as sponsors/witnesses at the baptism of Abraham, son of (28) Abraham Brouwer and Sara Kimber, at the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church at New Utrecht. The last record we have for Elizabeth (Gerritsen) (Britton) Brouwer is dated 30 November 1743 when she consented to the marriage of her son, William Britton.

Contemporaries: Neither Willem Brouwer of Beverwijck, nor Jan Brouwer of Flatlands gave sons the name Abraham. The Abraham Brouwer closest in age to (7) Abraham would be (10) Abraham Brouwer, son of (2) Pieter Brouwer, who was born about 1675 (married in 1700). The later may have only been about ten years younger than his uncle. The given name Abraham is found not only among the descendants of (7) Abraham, but also among the descendants of (2) Pieter and (5) Jacob Brouwer. Confusing records between a number of various Abraham Brouwers becomes a problem with later generations (I count seven Abraham Brouwers born between 1701 and 1730, and many more throughout the remainder of the colonial period). However, there should be no problem in confusing (7) Abraham Brouwer with any other individual of the same name.

Genetic genealogy: Y-DNA testing (Brewer DNA Project) has given us the clearest picture of a Y-DNA signature for descendants of (7) Abraham Brouwer when compared to that of descendants of his brothers. Three descendants of (7) Abraham, two being descendants of (28) Abraham and one a descendant of (27) Juery have taken advanced BigY tests. The comparative results has allowed the Project to identify the SNP E-BY6312 as a SNP that is unique to descendants of (7) Abraham Brouwer, and not found among descendants of his brothers. If your Y-DNA test results are positive for E-BY6312, then you are a descendant of (7) Abraham Brouwer. We hope that with more participation and future testing the Brewer DNA Project will be able to identify unique SNPs for other sons of (1) Adam Brouwer as well.

(7) Abraham Brouwer was covered by William J. Hoffman in "Brouwer Beginnings" at TAG 24(1948):97-102. He covers some of the conveyances mentioned. 

You can find sources for the above on the Brouwer Genealogy Database profile of (7) Abraham Brouwer, and in this website in the post of December 4, 2012, "Abraham Brouwer of Gowanus, Long Island."

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The Grandsons of Adam Brouwer: (6) Adam Brouwer, Son of (1) Adam Brouwer

 (6) Adam Brouwer, the fifth son of (1) Adam Brouwer and Magdalena Verdon, was baptized 18 May 1662 at the Old First Dutch Reformed Church at Breuckelen (Brooklyn). The sole sponsor/witness was Neeltje Jans who was most likely the wife of Gerrit Dircksen Kroesen (m. 30 Oct 1661) a very near neighbor of the Brouwers, and a daughter of Jan and Elsje (___) Pieterszen (Van Huysen) whose descendants went by the surname, STAATS. They were also nearby neighbors. Neeltje Jans later, in 1680, married Volkert Hendrickszen Bries, another very near neighbor, who may well be the brother of (6) Adam Brouwer's wife, Marretje Hendrickse.

(6) Adam is on one occasion referred to by his patronymic, Adam Adamszen. That time being when recorded as a sponsor for the 29 May 1696 baptism of Helena, daughter of Willem Nazareth and Helena Brouwer. He is twice recorded as Adolph Brouwer, one such instance being as a sponsor for the 28 September 1684 baptism of Aeltje, daughter of Matthys Brouwer and Marietje Pieterse (Wyckoff), here specifically recorded as "Adolph Brouwer, de jonge" (the young, i.e. junior). The second occasion is two months later at the 30 November 1684 baptism of Jannetje, daughter of Evert Hendricksen (Van Gelder) and Fytie Brouwer. The sponsors here being "Adolph Brouwer, de jonge" and Marritje Brouwers. Both of these baptisms were recorded by the Brooklyn Church. His marriage banns, dated 18 May 1690 at Brooklyn, record him as "Adam Adamse (B)erkhoven" and his soon to be wife as Marretje Hendricks. Both resided at Brooklyn, and neither had been previously married. As best I can tell, the name Berckhoven used here is the first such appearance of that name. (1) Adam Brouwer used it, for the only known time, in his January 1692 will. (6) Adam's sister, Anna, is called "Antje Berkove" in her 6 April 1693 marriage record (Albany Reformed Dutch Church). His brother, (8) Nicholas, is called "Niclaes Berckhoven," in his marriage banns dated 15 September 1692 as recorded by the Flatbush Reformed Protestant Dutch Church. This surname of "Berckhoven" only appears to have been used during this short window of time between 1690 and 1693. [See New Insight Into The Origins of Adam Brouwer, pp. 9-10 for a bit more on this name].

(6) Adam Brouwer and Marretje Hendrickse would have married soon after the 18 May 1690 date of their banns. The identity of her parents hasn't been proved with complete certainty but she is most likely a daughter of Hendrick Volckerszen (Bries) and Geertien Claes who are recorded as residing at "the Ferry" in Brooklyn in 1661. [For this family see William J. Hoffman, "The Founders of the Bras(s), Brasser, Bresser, Bries and Brazier Families In America," TAG 21(1944):147-153 where the BRIES family (Long Island, Piscataway) is covered. On page 148 Hoffman very briefly mentions that Marretje "may have been a Bries"]. 

(6) Adam Brouwer and Marretje Hendrickse had four known children for whom we have records of baptism. Daughter Madaleentje was baptized 2 April 1692 at Brooklyn, the sponsors being Volckert Hendrickse and Hillegont Hendrickse, both of whom were children of Hendrick Volckerszen (Bries) and Geertien Claes, reinforcing the belief that Marretje was also a child of this couple. Daughter Marytje was baptized 4 May 1695 at Brooklyn. Sponsors were Willem Nasareth and Lena Nasareth [a.k.a. Helena Brouwer, sister of (6) Adam who married as her second husband, Willem Nazareth]. Daughter Hillegont was baptized 27 December 1696 at Brooklyn with sponsors Arien Claessen and Rachel Brouwer, the later being (6) Adam Brouwer's sister and the former being a brother of the above mentioned Geertien Claes. Both this sponsor and the child's name Hillegont support the idea that Marretje is a daughter of Hendrick Volckertszen and Geertien Claes, with the child being named for her mother's presumed sister Hillegond Hendrickse. The fourth, last known child and only son was (26) Hendrick Brouwer, baptized 15 January 1699 at Brooklyn, sponsors Willem Brouwer and Angenitie his wife. Willem being (6) Adam Brouwer's older brother. (26) Hendrick Brouwer is later found in New Jersey with children baptized at Raratin and at Three-Mile Run (New Brunsawick) between 1721 and 1733. His wife was Elizabeth (____). Her family name has not been discovered. We will cover (26) Hendrick in a future post.

(6) Adam Brouwer took the Oath of Allegiance at Brooklyn in September, 1687, recorded as "Adam brouwer Junior, native." On 11 December 1687 he was sponsor at the baptism of Jan (John) son of Josias Dratz (Drake) and Aeltje Brouwer. Here he is recorded as "Adam Brouwer, de jonge." (6) Adam is mentioned in his father's will of 22 January 1692. On 18 Mar 1694, Volkert Hendrickse Breets (sic) of Brooklyn sold to Adam Brower of Brooklyn, for fifty pounds, a lot of ground situated in Brooklyn towards Gowanus between the lands of Jacob Brower and Volkert Briez, aforesaid. This deed could be considered as another piece that supports the postulation of Marretje Hendrickse's family. (6) Adam Brouwer is on the 1698 census at Brooklyn with a household of 1 man, 1 woman and 4 children. He is enumerated between his brother (5) Jacob Brouwer and Claes Vechten. As this census is previous to the baptism of (26) Hendrick (15 January 1699), and since it records four children, perhaps (6) Adam had another, otherwise unknown child. There is a span of three years and one month between the baptisms of (6) Adam's first two known children. The possibility that (6) Adam Brouwer and Marretje Hendrickse had five, rather than four children, is something to be considered. But, if so, we don't have so much as a name to go on for a further search.

Adam Brower, Jr. is mentioned in a Kings County conveyance dated 23 October 1701: "Volkert Briez and wife Elizabeth of Gowanus deed Coll. Gerardus Beeckman of Kings Co. land in Gowanus bounded by land formerly owned by Adam Brower, Jr." (Kings Co. Deeds 2:344-5). Note that this deed, while mentioning land formerly owned by Adam Brower, Jr., does not state that Adam Brower, Jr. was deceased. It is conceivable that (6) Adam Brouwer sold the land and perhaps moved elsewhere (his widow however, is in Brooklyn in 1708). Gerardus Beekman then turned around and sold this property, seven days later on 30 October 1701, to Nicholas Brouwer and Abraham Brouwer. (Kings Co. Deeds 2:346-7).

As with his brothers, we do not have an exact date of death for (6) Adam Brouwer. There is no extant record of a burial in either the Brooklyn or Flatbush Church records, nor in the records of the New York Reformed Church. We have found no recorded will, appointment of estate administrator, nor of a recorded estate settlement. (6) Adam Brouwer is not found on the 20 December 1706 assessment at Brooklyn. However, "Marya Brower" is listed with 26 acres. This must be (6) Adam's widow. There is no other "Marya," Marretie, Maria, etc. Brouwer that we know of that might fill this role. (3) Matthys Brouwer's wife, Marietje, was living in Westchester County. (6) Adam Brouwer's sister, Marretje appears to have died prior to 1703 when her second husband, Barent Jansen Van Tilburg is on the New York City census with one male 16-60, but no females in his household. There are no other "Marya" Brouwers who could be considered. In 1708, Maritie Browers, along with other members and inhabitants belonging to the "Low Dutch Reformed Congregation at Breukelen," signed a petition asking for a minister from Holland for "whose support we will contribute." Maritie Browers signed with her mark. (6) Adam Brouwer's wife, Marretje Hendrickse, was living in 1708. Her date or place of death has yet to be discovered. It appears that (6) Adam Brouwer died prior to 20 December 1706.

Contemporaries: Neither Jan Brouwer of Flatlands, nor Willem Brouwer of Beverwijck had sons named Adam, and to my knowledge the name Adam does not appear among the descendants of either one at least through the colonial period. Of course, (6) Adam was a contemporary of his father (1) Adam for a period of about 30 years as an adult. There may be some records in which the two might be confused (see the Note following the BGD profile link below). Among the grandsons of (1) Adam Brouwer, we have (24) Adam, born in 1696, so of age in 1717, who is mostly found with his surname spelled as Brewer. There should be no reason to confuse the two. (17) Adolphus, son of (4) Willem was born in 1684, so of age in 1705, and (29) Adolphus, son of (8) Nicholas was born in 1693, so of age in 1714. Again, there should be no reason to confuse records between these two and their uncle (6) Adam Brouwer.

Genetic genealogy: To date no participant in the Brewer DNA Project, who matches the genetic descendants of (1) Adam Brouwer has claimed an ancestry back to (6) Adam Brouwer. (6) Adam Brouwer had only one known son, (26) Hendrick who himself had five sons baptized between 1721 and 1733, four of whom may have survived into adulthood, coming of age between 1742 and 1754 (two different sons were named Hendrick so one died in childhood). Descendants, if any, of the four sons of (26) Hendrick have not yet been identified. This is a family that needs work and we'll get to that when we cover (26) Hendrick Brouwer in a future post. There is a large group of participants in the Brewer DNA Project, found grouped under Adam Brouwer as "Sub-Unit A" (see the public results page) who are certainly genetic descendants of (1) Adam Brouwer, but we have not yet discovered their complete lineages back to (1) Adam. What this group has in common is that 1) they've all taken a BigY test. 2) the results of the tests tell us that they all share a common ancestry with either a son, or grandson of (1) Adam Brouwer. 3) the Earliest Known Ancestors (EKAs) of each participant can be traced back to either West New Jersey and/or Pennsylvania during the colonial period. We also know from the BigY test results that the members of this group cannot be descendants of (7) Abraham Brouwer. That they are very probably not descendants of (8) Nicholas Brouwer. That they are likely not descendants of (4) Willem Brouwer (as he may well not have any living descendants). That they are also less likely to be descendants of (3) Matthys Brouwer. That they could possibly be descendants of (2) Pieter Brouwer or of (5) Jacob Brouwer. Having said all that, right now my hunch is that this group is likely descended from (6) Adam Brouwer though the otherwise not yet traced sons of his son (26) Hendrick Brouwer.

(6) Adam Brouwer is covered by William J. Hoffman in "Brouwer Beginnings" at TAG 24:29-30. There is not all that much there. Hoffman notes that (6) Adam Brouwer died prior to 12 June 1712 as per a deed involving (8) Nicholas Brouwer. This is later than the date suggested above. I'll note that it was Hoffman who first suggested that the given names Adam and Adolph were synonymous (for lack of a better term) in the first two generations of descendants (see TAG 24:163). The fact that (6) Adam is referred to as "Adolph de jonge," in a couple of instances, supports this notion.

For source citations please see the post of November 25, 2012, "The Family of Adam Brouwer and Marretje Hendrickse," and the profile page on the BGD. [Note that the BGD profile shows (6) Adam Brouwer as the sponsor a baptism in 1679 (Hendrick son of Matthys Brouwer and Marietje Pieterse) and in 1682 (Hendrick son of Evert Hendricksen and Fytje Brouwer. In the former baptism (6) Adam would have been age 17, and in the later age 20. In reviewing these records again, I think it more likely that (1) Adam Brouwer, as grandfather of both children, would have been the sponsor].

Kings Co., NY Deeds 3:133 - 1708 petition of the Low Dutch Reformed Congregation at Brooklyn. 

Kings Co. NY Deeds 2:344-5 (old 264-5). Deed of Volkert Briez to Gerardus Beekman

[Please note that the Kings Co. Deed Books images are at FamilySearch.org. You will need to sign into their website to access the images. Access is free].

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The Grandsons of Adam Brouwer: (5) Jacob Brouwer, Son of (1) Adam Brouwer

 (5) Jacob, or Jacobus Brouwer is listed as the fifth child and fourth son of (1) Adam Brouwer and Magdalena Verdon by William Hoffman in "Brouwer Beginnings" (TAG 24:23-28). He is the first child of Adam Brouwer for whom we do not have a surviving record of his baptism. Traditional genealogical evidence places Jacob in the family of Adam Brouwer by virtue of the facts that he is named in Adam Brouwer's will, that he did live at Gowanus, Long Island, and by deeds between his heirs and brothers (7) Abraham and (8) Nicholas Brouwer. Over the past two decades we have been able to add to the traditional research,  evidence from genetic genealogy as four participants of the Brewer DNA Project, who are confirmed as descendants of Jacob Brouwer by their traditional genealogical research, have Y-DNA test results that unquestionably match them with other tested participants who can proof their descent from Adam Brouwer by way of some of Adam's other sons.

Jacob Brouwer was married 29 January 1682 to Annatje Bogardus, a daughter of Willem Bogardus and Wynnetje Sybrants and a granddaughter of Dom. Everardus Bogardus and Anneke Jans. The marriage is recorded in both the records of the New York Reformed Dutch Church with banns dated 8 January 1682 and in the records of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Flatbush (banns 7 January 1682), with the later stating that the couple was married at Brooklyn. Both records place Jacobs place of birth as Gowanus, and Annatje's as New York (she was baptized on 3 October 1663 at the New York Reformed Dutch Church). They lived at Gowanus, Long Island and had nine known children born between 1683 and 1704, seven of whom have surviving records of baptism (five at Brooklyn, two at New York). Baptism records are missing for two children. Of the nine, six are sons. They are (20) Sybrandt Brouwer, (21) Jacob Brouwer, (22) Willem Brouwer, (23) Everardus Brouwer, (24) Adam Brewer, and (25) Pieter Brouwer (see the "Prelude" post to this series). The sons, born between 1683 and 1699 would have reached the age of maturity between 1704 and 1720. 

William B. Bogardus, in his book, Dear "Cousin": A Charted Genealogy of the Descendants of Anneke Jans Bogardus (1605-1663) to the 5th Generation - and of her sister, Marritje Jans, includes a tenth child and seventh son, a so called John Brouwer who married Antje Van Oort, a daughter of Goosen Van Oort and Maria Peeck. Antje's sister, Maritje Van Oort had married (22) Willem Brouwer, while her brother Willem Van Oort possibly married Magdalena Brouwer, who is one of (5) Jacob Brouwer's three daughters (See Chart 7A in Dear Cousin...). Actual records for John (claimed to be Brouwer) including that of his marriage to Antje Van Oort, consistently record his name as Broun (Brown) and not once as Brouwer. He (recorded as John Broun) did in fact witness a baptism in 1712 for a daughter of (22) Willem Brouwer, but his presence as a witness can be attributed to the fact that his wife, Antje Van Oort, was a sister of the child's mother, Maritje Van Oort. There is no direct or convincing evidence that (5) Jacob Brouwer had a son named John, and we do not include him among (1) Adam Brouwer's grandsons.

As mentioned, we do not have a record of baptism for (5) Jacob Brouwer. William Hoffman does not offer an estimate or approximate year for his birth in "Brouwer Beginnings." Hoffman arranges his genealogy with (5) Jacob Brouwer as the fifth child, after Adam Brouwer's fourth child, daughter Maritje who was baptized 4 June 1653 and before the sixth child, daughter Fytje who also does not have a surviving record of baptism. The seventh child, daughter Helena, was baptized 31 October 1660 at Brooklyn. Based on the dates of the marriages for both (5) Jacob and his sister Fytje, it is apparent that both were likely born during the seven year span between 1653 and 1660. I've estimated a date of "abt. 1655." His appearance on the September 1676 assessment roll at Breukelen (Brooklyn) would imply that he was at least age 21 in 1676. It is conceivable that Jacob could have been born earlier, sometime within a window from late 1647 to early 1648, between the baptisms of (2) Pieter Brouwer (23 Sep 1646) and (3) Matthys Brouwer (30 May 1649). (5) Jacob would have been named for his maternal grandfather, Jacob Verdon. The traditional custom of that time and place would have been to name a second son for the maternal grandfather. Although feasible, the widow is tight, and Magdalena Verdon would have been awfully busy with three children under age four in early 1650. Born "abt. 1655" might be the safer placement. It also should be remembered that conventional or traditional naming customs were often not strictly adhered to by many parental couples. In many cases, Adam Brouwer's own children are an example of this. Of Adam Brouwer's 13 children who did have sons, only four gave a son either the name Adam or Adolphus.

First mention of (5) Jacob Brouwer is 1675 and 1676 when Gerrit Kroesen was taxed in Brooklyn for land between the home lots of Jacob Brouwer and Volkert Hendricksen Bries. As mentioned above, Jacob Brouwer is assessed at Brooklyn in September 1676 with 1 poll. He is then assessed at Brooklyn on 26 September 1683 with 2 cows, 1 cow of 2 yrs., and 6 morgens of land and valley (a morgen is about 2 acres) for 42 pounds, 10 shillings. In September 1687 he took the Oath of Allegiance at Brooklyn as a "native," in other words, born in the province. Jacob is mentioned in his father's will dated 22 January 1692. He, along with his brother Pieter and sister Aeltje, being described as disobedient children. While Pieter at least received 3 shillings, Jacob and Aeltie were to receive, "not a penny." Their shares to go directly to their heirs. It's not known just what offense the three siblings committed. Some have speculated that Pieter went wrong by not naming a son for his father. The same cannot be said for Jacob, who did name a son Adam, although he was born in 1696 after his grandfather's death. It is true that Jacob's eldest son was not named Adam. We can never really know for sure, but certainly people will speculate. At a town meeting in Brooklyn on 25 February 1692/93, Jacob Brouwer's lands at Gowanus are mentioned in a "Division of Common lands and woods." [It should be noted for clarity that Gowanus was within the political jurisdiction of the Township of Brooklyn at this time]. He is on the 1698 census of Kings County, at Brooklyn, with a household of 1 man, 1 woman and 6 children. The children would be (20) Sybrandt, (21) Jacob, (22) Willem,, (23) Everardus, Anna, and (24) Adam. On 17 October 1704, "Willem Brower Junr. son of Jacob Brouwer of Brooklyn," put himself as apprentice to Stephen Bedent of Brooklyn, feltmaker. [Note here that the description, "Junr." is not used in regard to a father-son relationship as we would use such a designation today. In that time it referred to the fact that Jacob's son Willem was "junior" to Jacob's brother, Willem, who was also living in Brooklyn at the time. The record is differentiating between two Willems, one older, and one younger, or "junior"]. Both Jacob Brouwer and Willem (Junr.) sign this document (with their marks).

(5) Jacob Brouwer's date of death or burial is not known. Neither are recorded in either the Brooklyn or Flatbush Church records, nor in the records of the New York Reformed Dutch Church. There is no surviving record of a will, nor of a settlement of Jacob's estate, or the appointment of an administrator. It is known that Jacob was living on 17 October 1704 (see above). On 26 December 1706, Annitie Brower is found on the Kings County assessment roll with 26 acres. Jacob Brouwer does not appear on the roll, and Annitie Brower must certainly be his widow. (5) Jacob Brouwer died between 17 October 1704 and 26 December 1706. 

All known evidence tells us that (5) Jacob Brouwer lived his entire life at Gowanus, Long Island. We will look at his six sons in future posts, but for now we'll mention that sons (20) Sybrant, (21) Jacob, (23) Everardus and (25) Pieter lived out their adult lives in New York City, meaning specifically on Manhattan Island. (24) Adam Brewer and (22) Willem lived in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The former joined the Society of Friends (Quakers). Grandsons of (5) Jacob Brouwer were born between the years 1707 and 1745, and would have reached adulthood during the years 1728 to 1763.

Contemporaries: Neither Willem Brouwer of Beverwijck, nor Jan Brouwer of Flatlands, L. I. named sons, Jacob. The grandsons of these two progenitors, as well as grandsons of Adam Brouwer, who were named Jacob were all born too late to cause any type of incorrect identification with (5) Jacob Brouwer.

Genetic genealogy: Four members of the Brewer DNA Project are direct male descendants of (5) Jacob Brouwer. All four are descendants of Jacob's son (24) Adam Brouwer. Three of the four have paternal lineages back to Jacob that are proved by traditional genealogical research. The fourth is a descendant of John G. Brewer of Miami, Greene Co., Ohio. Advanced BigY-700 testing of the descendant has enabled us to conclude that he is a descendant of Jacob Brouwer and combining that conclusion with the known descendants of Jacob Brouwer has led us to place John G. Brewer as a great-great grandson of Jacob Brouwer, his most likely lineage now being John G. Brewer (1795-1886) > George Brewer (1770-1851) > Elazerus Brewer (1731-1820) > Adam Brewer (1696-1768) > Jacob Brouwer. While two of the four participants have taken the BigY test, their test results have not singled out a unique SNP that would identify Jacob Brouwer's descendants from the descendants of (1) Adam Brouwer's other sons. The Brewer DNA Project could use the participation of direct male descendants of some of (5) Jacob Brouwer's other five sons.

Sources for the above can be found on the BGB profile for (5) Jacob Brouwer and on the post of September 20, 2012, "Jacob Brouwer and Annatje Bogardus."

William J. Hoffman covered Jacob Brouwer in "Brouwer Beginnings" at TAG 24:23-28. Hoffman includes accounts of some of the earlier incorrect claims regarding children and grandchildren attributed to (5) Jacob Brouwer and his sons. 

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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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The Grandsons of Adam Brouwer: (4) Willem Brouwer, Son of (1) Adam Brouwer

 Willem, likely the third son of (1) Adam Brouwer and Magdalena Verdon, was baptized 5 March 1651 at the New Amsterdam Reformed Dutch Church. The baptism record only records his father, "Adam Brouwer," as was customary at the time Willem was baptized. The sponsors were Willem Beeckman, Johannes Marcus, Maria int houte paert ("the wooden horse," the name of a tavern) and Lysbeth Cregiers. There is no known family relationship with any of the sponsors with either of Willem's parents families. Lysbeth Cregiers was the wife of Martin Cregier/Kregier. "Maria in the wooden horse," may have been Maria du Trieux who also was a sponsor for Willem's brother (2) Pieter Brouwer.

Willem was married at least twice, and quite likely three times. His first wife, Elizabeth Simpson, was most probably a daughter of Peter Simpson who was one of the first settlers at Gravesend, Long Island, being among the first associates who were granted a patent there in 1645. He died sometime in 1696. Peter Simpson's wife (presumably Elizabeth's mother) survived him. Her name was Grietje, or Greetie, and she was living in 1698 at Gravesend. Her family name has not been learned. T. G. Bergen, in his Early Settlers of Kings County, does not include a daughter (of any name) for Peter Simpson (p. 263) but does list a son, Robert, of whom I have not been able to locate an existing record. There is no surviving record of marriage for Willem and Elizabeth. They were married by 1679, as their first child, daughter Magdalena, was baptized at Brooklyn on 14 September 1679. The record as found in the Old First Dutch Reformed Church of Breuckelen records calls the mother "Betje Brouwer," while the Flatbush church records names her as "Elsje Brouwer." Willem and Elizabeth had five children baptized between 1679 and 1690, the first (1679), third (1684) and fourth (1687) at Brooklyn, the second (1681) and fifth (1690) and the New York Reformed Dutch Church. In no baptism record is either of Elizabeth's presumed parents, Peter or Grietje Simpson, recorded as a sponsor, although both were living during this period. The mother in each record is named as (1) Betje/Elsje Brouwer, (2) Lysbeth, (3) Elisabeth Brouwer, (4) Elisabeth Brouwer, (5) Elisabeth Simpsons. She is called "Lijsbet Pietersen, wife of Willem Brouwer," on 11 June 1677 when she is recorded as a member of the Brooklyn Church. 

There is then a gap of twelve years between 1690 and 1702 before we find the next record of baptism for a child of Willem. This is Jannetje, parents: Willem Brouwer and Marta (no surname), 18 January 1702 at Brooklyn. She was Marthe Boulton, whose parents are not known. There is no surviving marriage record for Willem and Marthe. She is simply recorded as Marte or Marthe in the records of her first three children (1702, 1706, 1709 at Brooklyn), but in the record of her fourth child, Susanne, baptized at the French Protestant Church of New York, she is recorded as Marthe Boulten. Susanne Bourdet was a sponsor for two of Marthe's children, but any relationship between the two is not readily apparent. The Bourdet surname is one to be explored though. 

In the years between 1690 and 1702, Willem is found on the 1698 census for the Town of Brookland, with a household of 1 man, 1 woman, 2 children and 2 apprentices. On 15 January 1699, "Willem Brouwer, Angenietie his wife," are sponsors for Hendrick, son of Adam Brouwer and Marretje (Hendrickse). William Hoffman, in "Brouwer Beginnings" (TAG 23:204 footnote) notes that this is the only mention of Angenietie and "is probably a mistake," but then mentions the gap in baptisms and states, "so that he could have married Angenietje between these years." Considering the fact that records from Brooklyn during this period are incomplete, something Hoffman certainly would have been aware of, I'm not sure why he would write off the baptism record in which they are recorded as "Willem Brouwer, Angenietie, his wife" as a mistake. Although there is no other record to support it, there also is not one that contradicts it. It seems reasonable to me that Willem Brouwer's second wife was Angenietie (___), and that the couple simply did not have any children. By 1702, Willem (age now about 51) married a much younger woman, this being Marthe Boulten, who did have children between the years 1702 and 1712. If about age 40 in 1712, Marthe would have been born around 1672. 

The last record found for Marthe Boulten is the 1712 baptism record of her daughter, Susanne. On 29 May 1705, "Marta Brouwers" was the sole sponsor for the baptism of Sara, daughter of Jan Challwer and Sara Luwis (Brooklyn Church). In 1708, Sara Knight (Willem's sister, then wife of Thomas Knight) and Martha Brouwer were indicted by a grand jury for false swearing with regard to a riot that occurred at a tavern kept by Thomas Knight. When nobody appeared against them at the hearing during the next court session, the charges were dropped. On 7 May 1708, Willem Brower and Martha his wife of Brooklyn conveyed to Cornelius Sleght of Newtown (Queens County), a house and garden spot in Brooklyn (six rods in the front, seven rods in the rear) bounded easterly by "the highway," westerly by George Hanson's land, northerly by Thomas Knight (Sara Brouwer's husband) and southerly by he lot of said Willem Brower bought of Cornelius Vandewater. Willem and Martha both signed with their marks. 

As with his wife, Martha, the last record that we have for Willem is the 1712 baptism of their daughter Susanne in New York City's French Protestant Church. Willem's eldest married daughter, Lysbeth, was the wife of Harmen Gerretz Van Sant and was a member of the Reformed Dutch Church at Bensalem and Sammany in Bucks County, Pennsylvania on 22 June 1710. This couple had a son, William, baptized at the Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia in 1708. Willem's daughter, Catharina (baptized in 1690) married Joshua Cresson, 24 September 1710, at the North and Southampton Dutch Reformed Church at Churchville, Bucks Co., Pennsylvania. On 20 Jan 1701, Willem's son Adolphus, recorded as "Adalfas Bruer," witnessed a deed recorded in Bucks County, for a tract of land in Bensalem conveyed by Thomas Revel of Burlington Co., West New Jersey as administrator of the estate of Elizabeth Tathaem of Burlington, dec'd, relict of John Grey alias Tathaem of Burlington, to Thomas Stevenson (this deed was acknowledged 14 Dec 1704).

All told, Willem Brouwer had nine children, by two wives, who are documented by records of baptisms, six daughters and three sons. The three sons, (17) Adolphus, (18) Johannes and (19) Samuel will be covered in future posts. Three of Willem's children are the first among the descendants of (1) Adam Brouwer to be documented in the area of Bensalem, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, which bounds the city of Philadelphia. They were there during the first decade of the 1700s.

We really do not have any contemporary men to (4) Willem Brouwer who might be confused with him. Willem Brouwer of Beverwijck was deceased in August 1668, and was likely born three or four decades prior to (4) Willem Brouwer. Willem Brouwer of Beverwijck's supposed son, Willem Brower who wrote his will in 1757, was clearly a bit younger and is well documented in Schenectady and the Mohawk Valley region of New York. Records regarding these two cannot reasonably be confused with records that might belong to (4) Willem Brouwer. We also have no record of any sons of Willem, named Willem/William.

Genetic genealogy: The Brewer DNA Project has yet to encounter a member or participant who has claimed to be a direct male descendant of (4) Willem Brouwer. We will see when we look into Willem's sons, that he may well in fact have no direct male descendants living today. At least none that have yet been recognized or documented.

William Brouwer is covered by William Hoffman in "Brouwer Beginnigs" at TAG 23:204-6. 

For more, including source citations see the post of September 2, 2012, "The Family of Willem Brouwer (son of Adam Bouwer), and his profile on the BGD website.

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