William Brewster, IV^{[1, 2, 3]}

1566 - 1644  (78 years)

• Name	William Brewster  [4]
  Suffix	IV
  Birth	24 Jan 1566	Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England   [4, 5, 6]
  Gender	Male
  Arrival	1620	Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA   [7]
  Death	10 Apr 1644	Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA   [4, 5, 8]
  Burial	Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA   [4]
  Person ID	I26544	Master
  Last Modified	18 Feb 2019

  
  

  Father	William Brewster,   b. 1535, Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England d. 10 Aug 1590, Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England (Age 55 years)
  Mother	Mary Smyth,   b. 1535, , Nottinghamshire, England d. Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England
  Marriage	1563	Stainforth, Yorkshire, England
  Family ID	F7609	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Mary Love Wentworth,   b. Sep 1568, Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England d. 17 Apr 1627, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA (Age 58 years)
  Marriage	1592	, Nottinghamshire, England
  Children	1. Elizabeth Brewster (Emerson),   b. 26 Jul 1584, St Michael, Hertfordshire, England d. 10 Aug 1638, Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts, USA (Age 54 years)  [Father: natural]   2. William Brewster,   b. 1585, Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England d. 10 Aug 1608, Jamestown, James City, Virginia, USA (Age 23 years)  [Father: natural]   3. Wrestling Brewster,   b. 1587, , Nottinghamshire, England d. 20 Jun 1609, Leiden, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands (Age 22 years)  [Father: natural]   4. Mary Brewster,   b. 1590, Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England d. 16 Apr 1627, Hol, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium (Age 37 years)  [Father: natural]   5. Sarah Brewster,   b. 1592  [Father: natural] + 6. Jonathan Brewster,   b. 12 Aug 1593, Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England d. 7 Aug 1659, Norwich, New London, Connecticut, USA (Age 65 years) + 7. Patience Brewster,   b. 1600, Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England d. 12 Dec 1634, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA (Age 34 years)   8. Wrestling Brewster,   b. 1605, Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England d. 22 May 1627, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA (Age 22 years)  [Father: natural] + 9. Fear Brewster,   b. 1606, Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England d. 12 Dec 1634, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA (Age 28 years)   10. Abigail Brewster,   b. 1608, Holland, Reusel-de Mierden, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands d. 20 Jun 1609, St Pancras, Leiden, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands (Age 1 year)  [Father: natural]   11. Love Brewster,   b. 20 Jun 1609, Leiden, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands d. 1651, Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA (Age 41 years)  [Father: natural]
  Family ID	F7596	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	19 Apr 2018

  
  

• Event Map		Birth - 24 Jan 1566 - Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England Marriage - 1592 - , Nottinghamshire, England Arrival - 1620 - Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA Death - 10 Apr 1644 - Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA Burial - - Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Notes

  Birth: 1566 Scrooby Nottinghamshire, England Death: Apr. 10, 1644 Plymouth Cemetery: Burial Hill Cemetery Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States Pilgrim colonist, leader and preacher Elder William Brewster came from Scrooby, in north Nottinghamshire and reached what became the Plymouth Colony in the Mayflower in 1620. He was accompanied by his wife, Mary Brewster, and his sons, Love Brewster and Wrestling Brewster. The town of Brewster, Barnstable, MA was incorporated Febr 19, 1803 and was named for Elder William Brewster. A large part of the inhabitants being his descendants William Brewster attended Peterhouse College, Cambridge 1580-1583; was postmaster and baliff-receiver at Scrooby, England 1590-1607. Organized Scrooby congregation 1606-1609; removed his family to Amsterdam and later to Leyden, Holland where he tutored 1609-1616 and was ruling Elder 1616-1619. He was in flight and hiding in England in 1619-1620 while arranging passage to New England. William, his wife and two youngest sons arrived Plymouth via the Mayflower in 1620. At Plymouth, William was Ruling Elder until 1643. He was also purchaser 1626; Undertaker 1627-1641 Spouse: Mary Brewster (1570 - 1627)* Children: Patience Brewster Prence (1590 - 1634)* Jonathan Brewster (1593 - 1659)* Fear Brewster Allerton (1606 - 1634)* Love Brewster (1611 - 1651)* Wrestling Brewster (1614 - ____)* Volume 1: The Brewster Genealogy 1566-1907 http://www.archive.org/details/brewstergenealog190801jone Volume 2 (with name index in the back for research): http://www.archive.org/details/brewstergenealog190802jone William Brewster (c. 1566 – 10 April 1644) was an English official and Mayflower passenger in 1620. In Plymouth Colony he became a Separatists leader and preacher.[1] Contents William Brewster was most probably born in Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England, about 1566, and died at Plymouth, Massachusetts on 10 April 1644. He was the son of William Brewster and Mary (Smythe) (Simkinson) and he had a number of half-siblings. His paternal grandparents were William Brewster (1510–1558), and Maud Mann (1513–1558). His maternal grandfather was William Smythe (1505–1560).[2][3] He studied briefly at Peterhouse, Cambridge before entering the service of William Davison in 1584.[4] Brewster was the only Pilgrim with political and diplomatic experience. With his mentor in prison, Brewster had returned home to Scrooby for a time, where he took up his father’s former position as postmaster.[5] Cambridge was a centre of thought concerning religious reformism, but Brewster had spent time in the Netherlands in connection with Davison's work, giving him opportunity to hear and see more of reformed religion. While, earlier in the 16th century, reformers had hoped to amend the Anglican church, by the end of it, many were looking toward splitting from it.[6] (See Brownist.) Restrictions and pressures applied by the authorities convinced the congregation of a need to emigrate to the more sympathetic atmosphere of Holland, but leaving England without permission was illegal at the time, so that departure was a complex matter. On its first attempt, in 1607, the group was arrested at Scotia Creek, but in 1608 Brewster and others were successful in leaving from The Humber. In 1609, he was selected as ruling elder of the congregation.[5] Life in Holland[edit] A rare 17th-century "Brewster Chair," named after the original owned by William Brewster[7] William lived near Pieterskerk (St Peter’s church] with his wife and children. He taught English to Leiden University students and was also a printer of religious pamphlets. His son, Jonathan, was a ribbonweaver. William was chosen as assistant and later as an elder to Pastor John Robinson. He was still an elder when he travelled to Plymouth Colony in 1620.[3] In Leiden, the group managed to make a living. Brewster taught English and later, in 1616–1619, as the partner of one Thomas Brewer, printed and published religious books for sale in England, though they were proscribed there. In 1619, Brewster and Edward Winslow published a religious tract critical of the English king and his bishops. James ordered Brewster’s arrest, and when the king’s agents in Holland came to seize the Pilgrim elder, Brewster was forced into hiding just as preparations to depart for America entered the most critical phase. The printing type was seized by the authorities from the English ambassador, Sir Dudley Carleton, and Brewster's partner was arrested. Brewster escaped and, with the help of Robert Cushman and Sir Edwin Sandys, obtained a land patent from the London Virginia Company on behalf of himself and his colleagues.[8] With Brewster in hiding, the Separatists looked to their deacon John Carver and to Robert Cushman to carry on negotiations with the appropriate officials in London.[9] In 1620 when it came time for the Mayflower departure, Elder Brewster returned to the Leiden congregation. He had been hiding out in Holland and perhaps even England for the last year. At the time of his return, Brewster was the highest-ranking layperson of the congregation and would be their designated spiritual leader in the New World.[10] Brewster joined the first group of Separatists aboard the Mayflower on the voyage to North America. Brewster was accompanied by his wife, Mary Brewster, and his sons: Love Brewster and Wrestling Brewster.[11] Mayflower voyage[edit] Among children boarding the Mayflower were four children from Shipton in Shropshire placed as indentured servants with senior Separatists with William Brewster, John Carver and Robert Cushman, on behalf of Samuel More, husband of the children’s mother Katherine More. The children were placed without their mother’s permission after four rancorous years between the More adults over charges of adultery against Katherine More with her longtime lover, the children’s alleged father. Two children were placed with William and Mary Brewster – Mary More, age four and Richard More, age five. Mary was to die in the winter of 1620 as did two other siblings. Only Richard survived and lived with them until approximately 1627. The event has become a bizarre 17th century historic incident. It is not known what Brewster knew about the More children.[12] Signing the Mayflower Compact 1620, a painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris 1899 The Mayflower departed Plymouth, England on 6/16 September 1620. The small, 100-foot ship had 102 passengers and a crew of about 30–40 in extremely cramped conditions. By the second month out the ship was buffeted by strong westerly gales. The ship‘s timbers were badly shaken with caulking failing to keep out sea water. Passengers laid wet and ill even when in their berths. This, combined with a poor rations and unsanitary conditions for several months attributed to what would be fatal for many, especially the majority of women and children. On the journey there were two deaths, a crew member and a passenger. The worst was yet to come after arriving at their destination. In the space of several months almost half the passengers perished in the cold, harsh, unfamiliar New England winter.[13] On 9/19 November 1620, after about 3 months at sea, including a month of delays in England, they spotted land, which was the Cape Cod Hook, now called Provincetown Harbor. After several days of trying to get south to their planned destination of the Colony of Virginia, strong winter seas forced them to return to the harbor at Cape Cod hook, where they anchored on 11/21 November. The Mayflower Compact was signed that day.[13][14] Landing and life in the New World[edit] When the colonists landed at Plymouth Colony, Brewster became the senior elder of the colony, serving as its religious leader and as an adviser to Governor William Bradford. Brewster's son Jonathan joined the family in November 1621, arriving at Plymouth on the ship Fortune, and daughters Patience and Fear arrived in July 1623 aboard the Anne.[15] As the only university educated member of the colony, Brewster took the part of the colony's religious leader until a pastor, Ralph Smith, arrived in 1629. Thereafter, he continued to preach irregularly until his death in April 1644. “He was tenderhearted and compassionate of such as were in misery,” Bradford write, “but especially of such as had been of good estate and rank and fallen unto want and poverty.” [16] Brewster was granted land amongst the islands of Boston Harbor, and four of the outer islands (Great Brewster, Little Brewster, Middle Brewster and Outer Brewster) now bear his name. In 1632, Brewster received lands in nearby Duxbury and removed from Plymouth to create a farm there.[17] In 1634, smallpox and influenza ravaged both the English and the Indians in the region. William Brewster, whose family had managed to survive the first terrible winter unscathed, lost two daughters, Fear and Patience, now married to Isaac Allerton and Thomas Prence, respectively.[18] William Brewster died and was buried on 10 April 1644 at Burial Hill, Plymouth, Massachusetts. At present, a gravestone/memorial stone exists there for him. The memorial stone states that it is in honor of "Elder William Brewster Patriarch of the Pilgrims and their Ruling Elder 1609–1644". The burial place of his wife Mary "Mayflower", who died in 1627, is unknown."[19] Family[edit] Title page of a pamphlet published by William Brewster in Leiden Sometime before 1593, in England, William Brewster married Mary "Mayflower" Wentworth, daughter of Thomas Wentworth, Esquire (1522–1574), and Grace Gascoigne (1532–1574).[20][21][22][23][24] She was born in Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England in 1569. She 'dyed at Plymouth, Massachusetts on 17 April 1627.' (Brewster Book).* Bradford says that, though she died ' long before' her husband, 'yet she dyed aged,' but by her affidavit of 1609 she was less than sixty years of age and it is probable that her ' great & continuall labours, with others crosses, and sorrows, hastened it (t. a. old age) before y* time.'[25] The children of William and Mary were: Elder Jonathan Brewster (12 August 1593 – 7 August 1659) married Lucretia Oldham of Derby on 10 April 1624,[23][26][27][28][29] and were the parents of eight children. Patience Brewster (c. 1600 – 12 December 1634)[23] married Gov. Thomas Prence of Lechlade, Gloucestershire, 4 children. Fear Brewster (c. 1606 – before 1634)[23] so called because she was born at the height of the Puritans' persecution. Married Isaac Allerton of London, 2 children. Unnamed child was born, died and buried in 1609 in Leiden, Holland.[23] Love Brewster was born in Leiden, Holland about 1611 and died between 6 October 1650 and 31 January 1650/1, at Duxbury, Massachusetts.[23][30][31] At the age of about 9, he travelled with his father, mother and brother, Wrestling, on the Mayflower to Plymouth, Massachusetts. He married Sarah Collier in Plymouth, Massachusetts on 15 May 1634. Love and Sarah were the parents of 4 children. Wrestling Brewster was born in 1614 in Leiden, Holland; was living in 1627, died unmarried before the 1644 settlement of his father's estate.[23]

  
  

• Sources

  [S761] Yates Publishing, Ancestry Family Trees, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.), Ancestry Family Tree. http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=88989101&pid=13 [S761] Yates Publishing, Ancestry Family Trees, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.), Ancestry Family Tree. http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=116608377&pid=242 [S761] Yates Publishing, Ancestry Family Trees, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.), Ancestry Family Tree. http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=156193840&pid=663 [S751] Ancestry.com, U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.). [S1133] Ancestry.com, North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), Book Title: The Brewster Genealogy : 1566-1907 : A record of the descendants of William Brewster of the "Mayflo. [S57] Ancestry.com, Cambridge University Alumni, 1261-1900, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 1999). [S747] Ancestry.com, U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc), Place: Plymouth, Massachusetts; Year: 1620; Page Number: 177. [S976] Ancestry.com, Connecticut, U.S., Hale Collection of Cemetery Inscriptions and Newspaper Notices, 1629-1934, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), Connecticut State Library; Hartford, Connecticut; The Charles R. Hale Collection of Connecticut Cemetery Inscriptions.