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Jonathan Brewster was the son of Mayflower passengers Elder William Brewster and his wife Mary. He was not the husband of Betie Rabnitz
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Brewster
Elder Jonathan Brewster (August 12, 1593 – August 7, 1659) was an early American settler, the son and eldest child of elder William Brewster and his wife, Mary. Brewster had two younger sisters, Patience and Fear, and two younger brothers, Love and Wrestling along with an unnamed brother who died young.[1]
He married Lucretia Oldham in Plymouth, Massachusetts on April 10, 1624. They had eight children:
He died August 7, 1659 in New London, Connecticut. Jonathan and Lucretia are both buried in Brewster Cemetery, Brewster’s Neck, Preston, Connecticut. A monument was erected there in their memory by their descendants.
Coming to America
His family came to America on the Mayflower in 1620. Jonathan came to America on the ship Fortune on November 9, 1621 which docked at Cape Cod.
He moved to Duxbury, Massachusetts around 1630. Jonathan was also one of the men who undertook to discharge the debts of Plymouth Colony. A freeman in 1633, he was active in the settlement of the town of Duxbury, incorporated 7 June 1637. Records indicate that he served as a surveyor, laid out highways, practiced as an attorney, and was styled a “gentleman.” He served as Deputy to General Court 1639, 1641, 1643-1644. He was on a committee to raise forces during the Narragansett Alarm of 1642, and was a member of Captain Myles Standish’s Duxbury Company in 1643. He served as a military commissioner in the Pequot War of 1637. In 1638, Jonathan Brewster established a ferry service to transport passengers and cattle across the North River. In 1641, he sold this to Messrs. Barker, Howell and others. He also practiced as an attorney and was the master and owner of a coasting vessel plying as far south as Virginia. This was evidently unprofitable, according to a letter written by Roger Williams to John Winthrop, Jr.:
“Sir, (although Mr. Brewster write me not a word of it) yet in private I am bold to tell you that I hear it hath pleased God greatly to afflict him in the thorne of his life: He was intended for Virginia, his creditors in the Bay came to Portsmouth and unhung his rudder, carried him to the bay, where he was forced to make over house, land, cattle, and part with all to his chest. Oh how sweet is a dry morsel and a handful, with quietness from earth & heaven.”
He also had a trading post in Connecticut in 1635.
"Sometime before Sept 1649 he moved to Connecticut, being appointed town clerk of Pequot (New London) and obtained a grant of land from the Mohegan Sachem, Uncas, in that town. By Nov. 30, 1652 a large tract, still known as Brewster's Neck, from the Mohegan tribe was confirmed to him from which he operated a trading post with the Indians." (Brewster Book, by Milton Terry, 1985)
Because Jonathan set up a trading post without the authority of the local government, he was censured, but the deed was confirmed by the town on 30 November 1652.
The Brewster Book
Jonathan Brewster left an invaluable legacy to the Brewster family known as "The Brewster Book," a record in his own handwriting of the deaths of his mother and father, the birth dates of each of his children, and the marriage dates of his daughters, Mary and Ruth, his son, William, as well as his own birth and marriage dates. He apparently began the record after the marriage in Plymouth of his daughter, Mary, to John Turner in 1645, perhaps after he moved to Connecticut, leaving Mary and his grandchildren behind in Plymouth Colony, but before the date of his second entries, which follow the 1651 marriage of his son William. All of the entries in this book were contemporary and made by three persons, Jonathan, his son Benjamin, and Benjamin’s great-grandson Jabez Fitch, Jr. The book has been of inestimable value to the Brewster family.
https://mayflower.americanancestors.org/william-brewster-biography
In 1985 and 1986 Jeremy D. Bangs published a three-part article presenting and discussing all known documents naming Jonathan Brewster in Leiden [MQ 51:161-67, 52:6-16, 57-63]. Bangs examined the claim made by the Dexters that Jonathan Brewster had an earlier wife and child while residing in Leiden and determined that the records cited by the Dexters did not pertain to Jonathan Brewster.
Sources:
Unverified sources:
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Brewster-3
Jonathan Brewster
Born 12 Aug 1593 in Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England
Son of William Brewster and Mary (Unknown) Brewster [uncertain]
Brother of Patience (Brewster) Prence, Fear (Brewster) Allerton, Unknown Brewster, Love Brewster and Wrestling Brewster
Husband of Lucretia (Oldham) Brewster — married 10 Apr 1624 in Plymouth, New England
Father of William Brewster, Mary (Brewster) Turner, Jonathan Brewster, Ruth (Brewster) Hill, Benjamin Brewster, Elizabeth (Brewster) Christophers, Grace (Brewster) Wetherell and Hannah (Brewster) Morgan
Died 7 Aug 1659 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut
Profile last modified 2 Dec 2019 | Created 5 Apr 2009
Jonathan Brewster was related to a passenger on the Mayflower.
Biography
Jonathan Brewster was born August 12, 1593 in Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England to Elder William Brewster and his wife. [See profile Brewster-4 for discussion of William and his disputed wife.]
Jonathan moved with his parents and siblings in 1608 to Leyden (Leiden) in Holland to escape religious persecution. There he supposedly married his first wife whose name is not known.[1] The source has been determined to not pertain to Jonathan Brewster. [2]
Jonathan’s name was recorded in the Leyden records several times. He was a ribbon weaver. He became a Dutch citizen 30 June 1617. He was a witness to the reading and signing of the will of Thomas Brewer and his wife Anna Offley on 7 December 1617. He also was a witness to the betrothal banns of John Reynolds entered 28 July 1617 and to the betrothal banns of Edward Winslow entered 27 April 1618. Styled “Lintwercker” or ribbon maker, he lived in Pieterskerhof while in Holland.
When the family came to America on the Mayflower in 1620. Jonathan stayed behind in Holland. [Some say he stayed to be "with his first wife who with their infant son died. See entry for disputed wife/child below.] Jonathan came to America in 1621 on the ship Fortune, joining his parents, William and Mary, at Plymouth Colony.
Jonathan Brewster and Lucretia Oldham of Darby were married in Plymouth, New England, 10 Apr 1624.
Jonathan was one of the men who undertook to discharge the debts of Plymouth Colony. A freeman in 1633, he was active in the settlement of the town of Duxbury, incorporated 7 June 1637. Records indicate that he served as a surveyor, laid out highways, practiced as an attorney, and was styled a “gentleman.” He served as Deputy to General Court 1639, 1641, 1643-1644. He was on a committee to raise forces during the Narragansett Alarm of 1642, and was a member of Captain Myles Standish’s Duxbury Company in 1643. He served as a military commissioner in the Pequot War of 1637. In 1638, Jonathan Brewster established a ferry service to transport passengers and cattle across the North River. In 1641, he sold this to Messrs. Barker, Howell and others. He also practiced as an attorney and was the master and owner of a coasting vessel plying as far south as Virginia.
Sometime before Sept 1649 Jonathan moved to Connecticut, being appointed town clerk of Pequot (New London), and obtained a grant of land from the Mohegan Sachem, Uncas, in that town. By Nov. 30, 1652 a large tract, still known as Brewster's Neck, from the Mohegan tribe was confirmed to him from which he operated a trading post with the Indians. (Brewster Book, by Milton Terry, 1985)
Because Jonathan set up a trading post without the authority of the local government, he was censured, but the deed was confirmed by the town on 30 November 1652.
Jonathan Brewster died on August 7, 1659 in New London, Connecticut, [3] at the age of 65 and Lucretia died twenty years later. Both Jonathan and Lucretia are buried in Brewster Cemetery, Brewster's Neck, Preston, Connecticut, where a monument has been erected to their memory by their descendants.
Jonathan Brewster left an invaluable legacy to the Brewster family known as "The Brewster Book," a record in his own handwriting of the deaths of his mother and father, the birth dates of each of his children, and the marriage dates of his daughters, Mary and Ruth, his son, William, as well as his own birth and marriage dates. He apparently began the record after the marriage in Plymouth of his daughter, Mary, to John Turner in 1645, perhaps after he moved to Connecticut, leaving Mary and his grandchildren behind in Plymouth Colony, but before the date of his second entries, which follow the 1651 marriage of his son William. All of the entries in this book were contemporary and made by three persons, Jonathan, his son Benjamin, and Benjamin’s great-grandson Jabez Fitch, Jr. The book has been of inestimable value to the Brewster family. It is online at The Mayflower Descendant, Volume 1, p 1 (in TAG), membership required.
This publication lists Patience, Fear, unnamed child d 1609, Love, and Wrestling as his siblings. What this means is that there is primary source iron clad proof and if you want to join the Mayflower Society, it is through one of these children.
Wife and Children
Jonathan Brewster married Lucretia Oldham, originally of Derby on 10 April 1624 in Plymouth their eight children were:
William Brewster (born March 9, 1625) Mary Brewster (born April 16, 1627) Jonathan Brewster, Jr. (born July 17, 1629) Ruth Brewster (born October 3, 1631) Benjamin Brewster (November 17, 1633 - September 14, 1710) Elizabeth Brewster (born May 1, 1637) Grace Brewster (November 1, 1639 - April 22, 1684) Hannah Brewster (born November 3, 1641) Research Notes
Did Jonathan marry in Holland?
The Mayflower Society has published biographies of the Mayflower Passengers as they prepare for the 2020 anniversary of the voyage. The profile on William Brewster includes a note about his son Jonathan. Citing Mayflower Quarterly magazine [MQ 51:161-67, 52:6-16, 57-63], it appears that Jonathan did not marry and have a child while they were in Holland. The records cited for that have been determined to not apply to Jonathan Brewster.
Disputed Wife & Child
The following is no longer accepted as part of Jo0hathan Brewster's biography! Jonathan Brewster supposedly married Betje Rabnitz as a very young man in Holland, and they had: An "unknown" named child - unknown Brewster who died young in Leyden. See Research Notes - this is disputed by Mayflower Society.
Sources
↑ More recent sources have noted that there is no documentation for this wife and their still born child ↑ William Brewster, his wife and children at AmericanAncestors.org ↑ Merrick, Barbara Lambert, p. 39, Mayflower Families in Progress, William Brewster of the Mayflower and his Descendants for Four Generations, General Society of Mayflower Descendants, Plymouth, MA., Revised Third Edition, 2006 Wikipedia: Fortune_(Plymouth_Colony_ship) Wikipedia: Passengers_of_1621_Fortune_voyage Jones, Emma C. Brewster. The Brewster Genealogy, 1566-1907:a record of the descendants of William Brewster of the "Mayflower." ruling elder of the Pilgrim church which founded Plymouth colony in 1620 (The Grafton Press, New York, 1908) Page 11 Brewster, William The Brewster Book, Vol 1, page 1 Mayflower Descendant: A Magazine of Pilgrim Genealogy and History. Boston, MA: Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1899- . (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010) Benton, Charles Edward, Ezra Reed and Esther Edgerton: Their Life and Ancestry (A.V. Haight Company, 1912) Page 34 Merrick, Barbara Lambert, and edited by Scott Andrew Bartley, Mayflower Families through Five Generations, The Descendants of Elder William Brewster Part 1, (General Society of Mayflower Descendants, Plymouth, MA., 2014), pp 39 Find A Grave memorial #11415606 The Mayflower Descendant (Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants) Vol. 1, Pages 7-8 Bowman, George Ernest. "Jonathan's Brewster Family Record", The Mayflower Descendant (Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, Boston, 1934) Vol. 32, Page 2 Caulkins, Frances Manwaring. History of Norwich, Connecticut: From Its Possession by the Indians to the Year 1866 (Friends of the Author, New London, 1874) Page 211 The Family Record: Devoted for 1897 to the Sackett, the Weygant and the Mapes Families, and to Ancestors of Their Intersecting Lines Publisher C. H. Weygant, 1897 page 144 Stark, Charles. Groton, Conn., 1705-1905 (Palmer Press, Stonington, Conn., 1922) Page 66 Brewster Book, Milton Terry, 1985 Jonathan Brewster http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db... http://www.magma.ca/~mmackay/wc02/wc02_293.html http://www.carlcarlsson.com/JonathanBrewster.htm Avery, John. History of The Town of Ledyard, 1650-1900 (Noyes & Davis, Norwich, Conn., 1901) Page 116 Hotten, John Camden, The Original Lists Of Persons Of Quality (John Camden Hotten, 1874) Page xxviii
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Brewster His dad came over on the mayflower he came over later Brewster was born in Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, on August 12, 1593. In around 1610, he accompanied his family to Leiden in Holland, where he married his first wife.[2] Brewster did not join his family on the Mayflower in 1620, however. He stayed behind in Leiden instead with his wife, who died soon after, and their infant son, who also died. Brewster would have been 27 at the time. Brewster came to America on the ship Fortune in 1621
h/o Lucretia Oldham; s/o William & Mary Brewster
Burial: Brewster Cemetery, Brewster's Neck, Preston, CT Citizen: 30 June 1617, Became Dutch Citizen Immigration: 09 November 1621, On "Fortune" "Lintwerker" or ribbon maker in Pieterskerhof, Holland Surveyor (laid out highways) Military commissioner in the Pequot War in 1637 Tradesman Started a Ferry company Lawyer
Elder Jonathan Brewster (12 Aug 1593 – 7 Aug 1659) was an early American settler, the son and eldest child of elder William Brewster and his wife, Mary. Brewster had two younger sisters, Patience and Fear, and two younger brothers, Love and Wrestling along with an unnamed brother who died young. Brewster was born in Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, on 12 Aug 1593. In around 1610, he accompanied his family to Leiden in Holland, where he married his first wife. Jonathan’s name was recorded in the Leyden records several times. He was a ribbon weaver. He became a Dutch citizen 30 June 1617. He was a witness to the reading and signing of the will of Thomas Brewer and his wife Anna Offley on 7 December 1617. He also was a witness to the betrothal banns of John Reynolds entered 28 July 1617 and to the betrothal banns of Edward Winslow entered 27 April 1618. Styled “Lintwercker” or ribbon maker, he lived in Pieterskerhof while in Holland. Brewster did not join his family on the Mayflower in 1620, however. He stayed behind in Leiden instead with his wife, who died soon after, and their infant son, who also died. Brewster would have been 27 at the time. Brewster came to Plymouth on the ship Fortune arriving 9 Nov 1621. On 10 Apr 1624 in Plymouth, Brewster married Lucretia Oldham, the daughter of William Oldham and Phillipa Sowter. Lucretia came over on the Anne with her brother, John Oldham, arriving about 10 July 1623. It was the murder of fiesty John Oldham that precipitated King Phillip's (Pequot Indian) War. Jonathan was one of the men who undertook to discharge the debts of Plymouth Colony. A freeman in 1633, he was active in the settlement of the town of Duxbury, incorporated 7 June 1637. Records indicate that he served as a surveyor, laid out highways, practiced as an attorney, and was styled a “gentleman.” He served as Deputy to General Court 1639, 1641, 1643-1644. He was on a committee to raise forces during the Narragansett Alarm of 1642, and was a member of Captain Myles Standish’s Duxbury Company in 1643. He served as a military commissioner in the Pequot War of 1637. In 1638, Jonathan Brewster established a ferry service to transport passengers and cattle across the North River. In 1641, he sold this to Messrs. Barker, Howell and others. He also practiced as an attorney and was the master and owner of a coasting vessel plying as far south as Virginia. Sometime before Sept 1649 Jonathan moved to Connecticut, being appointed town “clarke” (clerk) of Pequot (New London), and obtained a grant of land from the Mohegan Sachem, Uncas, in that town. By 30 Nov 1652, a large tract, still known as Brewster's Neck, from the Mohegan tribe was confirmed to him from which he operated a trading post with the Indians. (Brewster Book, by Milton Terry, 1985) Because Jonathan set up a trading post without the authority of the local government, he was censured, but the deed was confirmed by the town on 30 Nov 1652. Brewster died intestate on 7 Aug 1659 in New London, Connecticut, at the age of 65. He was buried in Brewster's Neck, Preston, Connecticut. Jonathan Brewster left an invaluable legacy to the Brewster family known as "The Brewster Book," a record in his own handwriting of the deaths of his mother and father, the birth dates of each of his children, and the marriage dates of his daughters, Mary and Ruth, his son, William, as well as his own birth and marriage dates. He apparently began the record after the marriage in Plymouth of his daughter, Mary, to John Turner in 1645, perhaps after he moved to Connecticut, leaving Mary and his grandchildren behind in Plymouth Colony, but before the date of his second entries, which follow the 1651 marriage of his son William. All of the entries in this book were contemporary and made by three persons, Jonathan, his son Benjamin, and Benjamin’s great-grandson Jabez Fitch, Jr. The book has been of inestimable value to the Brewster family. Jonathan Brewster married Lucretia Oldham, originally of Derby on 10 April 1624 in Plymouth. Their eight children were: William Brewster (born 9 Mar 1625) Mary Brewster (born 16 Apr 1627) Jonathan Brewster, Jr. (born 17 Jul 1629) Ruth Brewster (born 3 Oct 1631) Benjamin Brewster (17 Nov 1633 – 14 Sep 1710) Elizabeth Brewster (born 1 May 1637) Grace Brewster (1 Nov 1639 – 22 Apr 1684) Hannah Brewster (born 3 Nov 1641) Source Link: https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000175875251855label=@S489@
came in the ship 'Fortune'to America 10 Nov 1621 Military Commissioner 1643, Miles Standish Company, Pequot War, Deputy to General Court 1650-1655-1658, Connecticut also assistant to the Governor 1657, and the first Town Clerk of New London, Connecticut. Over the past two centuries, many people have--either deliberately or because of poor research--published accounts of Mayflower ancestry that are completely false. Here is a collection of the most commonly known false and faked Mayflower lines. This list is based on a series of articles appearing in the Mayflower Descendant, volume 20, 21, 23, 34 titled "False and Faked Mayflower Lines"; the Mayflower Descendant article in volume 43 entitled "A Mayflower Hoax Resurfaces"; published articles in the Mayflower Descendant, The American Genealogist, the New England Historic and Genealogical Register, Mayflower Families and Mayflower Families in Progress series of books, and my own experiences answering visitor questions. The list is organized alphabetically by the surname involved. Source abbreviations are as follows: MD = Mayflower Descendant; MQ = Mayflower Quarterly, NEHGR = New England Historic and Genealogical Register; MF = Mayflower Families for Five Generations; MFIP = Mayflower Families in Progress, TAG = The American Genealogist, NYGBR = New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, and TG = The Genealogist BREWSTER. Jonathan2 Brewster, son of Elder William Brewster, did not marry a first wife in Holland as has been claimed. [MQ 51:161-167; MQ 52:6-16]
In a 2023 episode of the PBS series Finding Your Roots, < link Henry Louis Gates revealed to Angela Y. Davis that she is a descendant of William Brewster, a passenger on the Mayflower. (relationship path)
1593 |
August 12, 1593
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Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England (United Kingdom)
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1600 |
January 4, 1600
Age 6
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Derby, England (United Kingdom)
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1621 |
November 9, 1621
Age 28
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Plymouth Colony
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November 1621
Age 28
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Plymouth, Massachusetts
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1621
Age 27
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1621
Age 27
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Ship: Fortune
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1625 |
March 9, 1625
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Plymouth, Plymouth Colony, Colonial America
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1627 |
April 16, 1627
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Duxbury, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Colonial America
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