AMERICA THE GREAT MELTING POT
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Direct descendant is highlighted in red
Jonathan Brewster |
see FAMILY TREE | |
Born: 12 Aug 1593 Scrooby, Nottingham, England
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Married: 10 Apr 1624 Plymouth, MA
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Died: 07 Aug 1659 New London, CT |
FATHER
William Brewster
WIFE
CHILDREN
1. William Brewster
2. Mary Brewster b. 16 Apr 1627
3. Jonathan Brewster
4. Ruth Brewster b. 03 Oct 1631
5. Benjamin Brewster b. 17 Oct 1633
6. Elizabeth Brewster b. 01 May 1637
7. Grace Brewster b. 01 Nov 1639
8. Hannah Brewster b. 03 Nov 1641
The oldest son of Elder William and Mary Brewster, Jonathan arrived at
Plymouth in 1621 on the Fortune. The Brewster Book, a part of which contains
family birth, marriage, and death records, was begun by Jonathan Brewster and
continued by members of his family, and it is transcribed in MD 1:1 and
continuing issues.
The first family entry is 'Johnnathan Brewster was borne at Scroby in
Nottinghamshyre the 12th of August 1593 yeaes.' He lived in Leiden with his
parents, and considerable informationon his life there can be found in Jeremy D.
Bangs, 'Jonathan Brewster in Leiden Documents,' MQ 51:161, 52:6, 57. He was a
ribbon maker and exporter in Holland, and in 1617 he formed a partnership with
Thomas Brewer, who later became one of the Adventurers.
In this series of articles, Dr. Bangs effectively counters the claim of the
Dexters that Jonathan Brewster had a wife and child who died in Holland. In
Plymouth, Jonathan engaged in various activities, acting at times as an
attorney, starting a ferry service, and engaging in coastal shipping to
Virginia. In 1635 he was in charge of a trading post in Connecticut on behalf of
Plymouth Colony, later returning to Plymouth. In 1652 he started his own trading
post in Connecticut, and was censured by the local government for doing it
without permission, but was allowed to keep his post. He was a close friend of
Connecticut Gov. John Winthrop, Jr. and a fellow experimenter and scientist with
his own laboratory at his trading post(Morison, Builders, p. 283). He married
Lucretia Oldham, q.v., at Plymouth 10 April 1624 and they had William, Mary,
Jonathan, Ruth, Benjamin, Elizabeth, Grace, and Hannah. (See also Barbara
LambertMerrick, 'Jonathan Brewster and His Family,' MQ 52:72-83.)
Source: Plymouth Colony: Its History and People 1620-1691 Part Three:
Biographical Sketches: Love Brewster