Our Ancestry through
BROER SINEX

Broer Sinex was one of three sons of Sinnick Broer, the progenitor of the Sinex and Sinnickson family lines.  The other two sons being Anders and Jan, whose names when anglicized to the English version became Andrew and John, respectively.

We first read of Broer Sinnick and/or Broer Sinexe in various and sundry court records of New Castle County, Delaware, in the mid to late 1600s.  According to a record found indicating that Hendrick Jacobsson Falkenberg along with Broer & Anders Seneke sold Broer Sinnex' plantation on Appoquinimick Creek to Justa Anderson on 12 October 1672 for 930 gilders, describing themselves as the "heirs of Seneca Brewer".  This is an indication that there was also a daughter who evidently was married to this Falkenberg.  To date there is nothing known of her except that they had a son named Henry.

Anders  & Jan left Delaware and "crossed over the River" into New Jersey.   Anders married (1) Margriet Poulson with whom he had 2 children; (2)  Sarah Gilljohnson with whom he had 5 children.  Anders will was dated 17 June 1696 and proved 4 April 1700.

Jan married once, to Gertrude (aka Hiertrud and/or Greta) Savoy and they had eight children.  Only one son had male offspring and then one generation only.  To the best of our knowledge, all Sinnickson named descendants are through Anders.

Broer, being our direct ancestor, married Sophia Jurianson, the widow of his late business partner Anders Jurianson.  Sophia had 5 sons of this first marriage and whom Broer agreed to raise and to divide the inheritance from their father as they each came to the age of 21.  Sophia & Broer had one son only, named James.  Sophia's sons were Christiern Joransson aka Christiern Andersson; Joran Andersson; Erick Joransson aka Eric Andersson; Jons Joransson aka Jons/James Andersson;
and Peter Andersson.

There has been much controversy or speculation as to the age of the sons of  our progenitor, Sinnick Broer.  According to the ages of  the five sons of Sophia's first marriage, the eldest became of age in 1685 so was born about 1664.  If we take 20 years off that bringing us to a possible birth year of 1644 for Sophia and possibly 1640 - 1644 for Broer.  Although there remains the possibility that Broer was a much younger man than his wife Sophia, especially she being a widow with five children.  But we can't age them too much as their son James, our next direct descendant,  was born about 1678 and this would put Sophia about 38 years of age.

Broer & Sophia's son James married Darcus Harmonsen, and evidently there was some conflict between her & her father-in-law since according to the Will of Bruer Sinexen (Broer Sinex) she was not to have or receive anything of his Estate, it was to go to James and then to James & Darcus eldest son Bruer.  James & Darcus also had sons James Jr & John.  There was a first born son also named Bruer who died prior to the birth of the second son so named Bruer.

Bruer who has also been shown as Brewer, being the eldest son of James & Darcus married Brita Hendricksson and they were the parents of  five children, the youngest born November 26, 1735.  We find that on 29 August 1744 Breur Sinnex purchased a lot in Newport from John and Mary Chappel of Philadelphia.  (Recital, New Castle County deeds, Q:338-339) On 28 Sept. 1744, Brewer Seneke, "intending to move to another country", sold his and his wife's pews to his brother John Seneke and his wife.  (Burr, 390)  He had been sued, we discover, by his brother James.  On 16 Sept. 1745 the sheriff sold Breur Sinnex's home plantation, on a court judgment by James Sinnexon, to John Chapell, who sold the same to Joshua and Ebenezer Woolaston.  (New Castle County deeds, P:383, as recited in B2:481-484).  On 20 August 1746, on the basis of the same judment by James Sinnex vs. Breur Sinnex for L 105.10, plus 37 shillings 6 pence interest, the sheriff also sold Broer's Newport lot to Thomas Reece. (New Castle County deeds, Q:338-339)  Bruer/Brewer, true to his word did "go out of the country", but evidently alone, as we next find him in the Pee Dee River area of Anson County and on February 27, 1748 according to the Register Book, Parish of Prince Frederick, Winyaw, South Carolina, he married the widow, Anne DeWitt.  There are no known children of this union at this time, however.  The wife that Brewer left behind was very much alive during this time and did not die until  March 27, 1755 and is buried at Old Swedes Cemetery.  Thus, with this in mind,  Breur or Brewer, this eldest son of James & Darcus,  was indeed very much a
bigamist.

James Jr married Margaret Werdman (or Werdeman) and they had 10 children.  For the many years that I had researched this line we believed James & Margaret to be our next direct line ancestor and
through their son Henry and his wife Anne Stalcup.  It was not known by other researchers even, that Anne was the young widow of Israel Stalcup, being borne Sinex herself, a daughter of  John Sinex (a brother to James Jr and Brewer [the bigamist]) and his wife Ingeborg nee Tossawa/Tussey.   So here we have a double line, with James & Margaret's son Henry marrying John & Ingeborg's daughter Anne.

Henry & Anne had, amongst their other children, a son Henry who continued our line of decendancy.  This was all taking place in Delaware.

In the early 1800s three sons of Henry Jr & his wife Rachel migrated to New Albany, Indiana.  These sons were John, Thomas aka Thomas William & Brewer.  John Sinex married Mary Stetzer with whom he had 5 children.  He was also the Coroner of Floyd County, IN for either 18 or 20 years.
Brewer Sinex married twice - first to Mary Selvy with whom he had 7 children and 2nd to Rachel Thompson with whom he had 2 children.  Thomas William Sinex was our next direct line ancestor.  Thomas married Flora West and they had 7 children.  Thomas William & Flora's son Elisha West
Sinex married Caroline Kerns and continued our line through their son Thomas Sinex.  Thomas Sinex married Lieuella Ozena Walker and they became the parents of Beulah Chomial who died at age 10; Mabel Gertrude (my grandmother); Reuben Thomas; Ella Ruth; Elisha Ford, Joyce Leola;
Lena Fern; Paul (stillborn) and Melvin Leroy, being their only child born in the State of Washington who died at age 12 in 1920.

My grandmother Mabel Gertrude Sinex has 5 generations of descendants but since the majority are still living, I cannot at this point continue to list them.  In my immediate lineage there are 13 generations of this family line in America.

Some information of these descendants of Sinnick Broer can be viewed in my Wilcox/Sinex genealogy data base.  I do not claim in any way that it is entirely accurate since it  has been accumulated through family tradition, and the many, many SINNICKSON and SINEX researchers that I
have had the privilege of researching with and/or exchanging research information with, over the years.  I have tried to obtain documents and have been able to do so in many instances but with an open mind leave it open for use as a guideline to your own research.

Broer Sinnick or Broer Sinex as he was also known, was buried on the 2nd of December 1709 under his own pew at the south side of the Alter of Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church.  This was an honor held for him as being a very faithful vestryman of the Church.

From another researcher through the SINEX/NEBEKER line comes the following and I quote -- "We had a chance to stop in Wilmington and visit the "Old Swedes church".  It's a beautiful building, and we were able to go through it and the surrounding area.  Our guide confirmed the story that I had heard previously - perhaps from you - that Brewer Seneca was buried beneath the floor of the church.  He said the exact location was unknown, but he did show us the approximate area.  He said that this  "honor" was reserved for the clergy and their family, but that Brewer was buried in the church since he was the first sexton there.  He is apparently the only one buried under the church who was not clergy or clergy family.  It was exciting to see the location where so much of our
family history had occurred." -- unquote
 

OLD SWEDES CHURCH or HOLY TRINITY CHURCH Wilmington, Delaware - "click" to enlarge

This lovely picture is by the Courtesy of Donald R. Sinex, Blanding, Utah

Among the original colony of Swedes who settled in Delaware and built Fort Christina in 1638 was Rev. Reorus Torkillus, who established religious worship in the fort, the first meeting-place for Christians on the Delaware, and there it was continued until the church at Tinicum was erected in 1646.  Crane Hook Church is said to have been built in 1667, probably by the united efforts of the Dutch congregation and the Swedes.  It was used for public worship until the "Old Swedes' Church" was built in 1698 on the present site.  Lutheran in denomination the church was the religious center for not only the Swedes but English and persons of various ethnicity and religious affiliation, as evidenced the by the names of those who were baptized, married or buried.  Eventually Swedish ministers were replaced by English ministers under cordial circumstances.