I no longer believe we are connected to the Brewsters, but if you've got it, flaunt it. Please ignore the bits that refer to anyone as one of "our" ancestors.
There was a Brewster on the Mayflower - (the Elder William, who did his best to supply spiritual guidance in the absence of the Pilgrims' beloved minister, John Robinson, who had remained in Leiden). We are not related to him. An article in The American Genealogist, by Donald L Jacobus apparently scotched that rumor. (I haven't read the article, but I assume it is the one mentioned by Hook as being in vols 12, 13 & 14, and I will look it up next time I'm at the library.) According to Gary Skarka (message #275, Brewster Family Genforum, 2 Dec 1998), our earliest Brewster was Galfridus, born 1350, Rushmere, Somerset, England. From him, the line goes:
John 1380 Rushmere
Humphrey 1410 Rushmere
Robert 1440 Rushmere
William 1470 Rushmere m Mary Harvey b 1470 Olton, Suffolk, England
Robert 1484 Rushmere
Humphrey 1526 Rushmere d. 6/29/1593, Wrentham, Somerset, Eng
m. Alice Foster, b. 1530, "Goboke", Somerset, Eng, d. 1611.
(Her parents were William Foster, b. abt. 1504 Marilyn Spencer, b. abt. 1508)
Francis ~1556,Wrentham Hall, Somerset, England, d. 10/16/1632, Bristol, Somerset, England
m. Elizabeth Snelling, b. 1568, Bristol
Francis 1598/1600, Castle Bristol, England. He probably died at sea in 1646
m. Lucretia (?), who was born 1599, England and died betw. 1664-1669 in New Haven, CT.
This Francis is where Cal Owen's genealogy begins, and he apparently had not heard about the death at sea.
Nathaniel 1618/1623 Bristol, England, d 12/18/1690 in Setauket, Brookhaven Town, LI, NY.
There is a very nice site by Judy Parsons Smith which has some information on Nathaniel's grandfather and father: Brewster. The information is neatly summarized by John Scott Hoff (message #1995, Brewster Genforum, 16 Mar 2003), with additional messages about Nathaniel (message #1994)and about Sarah Ludlow (message #2003). To summarize again:
Francis Sr (~1556) was collector of rents for Sir John Stafford. His wife was Elizabeth Snelling and apparently Francis Jr (1598) was his only son.
Francis Jr (1598-1648) began life as a buttermaker, but was apprenticed 12 Mar 1614/15 to Edward Harris and became a member of the guild of barber-surgeons in March 1622. He married Lucy (Lucretia) Jones on 5 Sept 1624 (Parish records of Christchurch, Bristol, Glou., England). On 23 Aug 1626 he received a lease of the Castle of Bristol from King Charles I, for a period of 80 years "if John Brewster, Gillian Brewster and Nathaniel Brewster so long live." (It was the custom of the time that a property could only be leased during the lifetime of three people living when the lease was made.) Despite the lease, he and his family emigrated to New England sometime before 1639 (son Nathaniel matriculated at Harvard in that year). He died on board Lamberton's ship (aka the "Phantom Ship") in 1646-7 while enroute from New Haven to England. His widow remarried a Thomas Pell before 1647; she died in 1668, Thomas in 1669. He (Francis Brewster, not Thomas Pell) left an estate valued at 1000 pounds.
He was said to have had nine children, but only I've only found six names: John, Gillian, Nathaniel (all mentioned in the lease), Joseph, Elizabeth and Mary. And it seems to me possible that Lucy was a 2nd wife, since son Nathaniel is sometimes said to have been born in 1617/8
Nathaniel
. . . born, according to some, 1618, Bristol - according to others, 1623, Bristol. I am not sure of the reason for the disparity, but I suspect the date of his father's marriage to Lucy Jones (1624) and the date of his matriculation at Harvard (1639) had something to do with the calculations.He emigrated to America with his parents (or his father and step-mother) between 1626 and 1639. He entered Harvard in 1639 and was a member of its first graduating class in 1642. In 1643 he went back to England - (7 of the 10 members of his graduating class did the same - to lend support to the Puritan cause in the confrontations with the King). He remained in England for about 20 years, ministering mostly in Norfolk - at Neatishead and Irstead - and later at Alby (one source says he founded the church at Alby in 1650). His first wife, Abigail Reymes, was from Norfolk. They had at least 2 and possibly 4 children, John b ~1745, Abigail b ~1747, Sarah ~1656 and possibly Timothy ~1658. [This is according to the Jacobus article, paraphrased by John Carter on a website devoted to "America's First Families." Most of the genealogies posted at Rootsweb only mention the first two children.] Abigail died sometime before 1662 - the will of her father, John Reymes of Edgefield, Norfolk, England, mentions her, but in a manner that implies she was already deceased.
In 1655 and 1656 he made trips to Ireland with Henry Cromwell. Also possible is that during or before 1658 he made another trip to New England, based on a reference to him in a petition there in 1658, but Nathaniel may have headed this petition without leaving England, via a written request through his stepfather Dr. Pell in Fairfield, CT. [This paragraph is lifted directly from the John Carter page.]
The time-line is a little confused after this. He received his BD (whatever that is) from Dublin University - but the date is in question. Judy Parsons Smith says it was in 1648; John Scott Hoff says 1655 (presumably on one of those Cromwellian trips?). He married his second wife, Sarah Ludlow, in Dublin, but again there is disagreement about the date - Judy Parsons Smith says it happened "after Feb.1660" [but also says their first child, Sarah, was born ~1656 and son Timothy ~1658, while John Carter says these two children are possibly Nathaniel and Abigail's]. John Carter says they married by 1656-60, Nathaniel having "most likely" met and/or married her during one of the Cromwellian visits, since her father, Roger Ludlow, was in Dublin at that time. Son Daniel was definitely the child of Nathaniel and Sarah - he was baptized back at Alby in Norfolk 31 Oct 1662.
Things were not so comfortable for dissenting ministers in England after the restoration, and in 1663 Nathaniel and family returned to America. (Eldest son John may have stayed behind with his mother's relatives.) He preached in Boston for several months, then in Eastchester (Westchester Co), NY, before he was called (in 1665) to be the first minister or the Setauket Presbyterian Church in Brookhaven, Long Island, New York. He remained there for the rest of his life. His will, dated 16 March 1684/5 was proved 3 May 1695. He died ~18 Dec 1690. Sarah died in 1695, either in Brookhaven or back in Connecticut (daughter Mary was married in Connecticut in 1689). They were both buried in Brookhaven.
Nathaniel's Children
with first wife Abigail Reymes
1. John b ~1645 - possibly remained in England (mentioned in Nathaniel's will)
2. Abigail b ~1647 - bef.11 Dec 1678
m ~1668 (Stamford, CT) Daniel Burr - children Abigail, Daniel (mentioned in Nathaniel's will)
3. (possibly) Sarah ~1656 -
m ~1674 Jonathan Smith
4. (possibly) Timothy ~1658 - bef 1749 (mentioned in Nathaniel's will)
m ~1685 Mary Hawkinswith second wife Sarah Ludlow (wife Sarah mentioned in Nathaniel's will)
3. (possibly) Sarah ~1656 -
m ~1674 Jonathan Smith
4. (possibly) Timothy ~1658 - bef 1749 (mentioned in Nathaniel's will)
m ~1685 Mary Hawkins
Served as town clerk of Brookhaven for 23 years
1705 May 23- Inventory of William Smith's estate taken by Timothy, Daniel and Benjamin Smith
5. Daniel bap. St Ethelbert's Church, Alby, Norfolk, England, 31 Oct 1662 - 15 June 1748
(mentioned in Nathaniel's will)
m ~1693 to Anna Jayne
Served as town clerk of Brookhaven for 26 years after his brother Timothy
1705 May 23 - Inventory of William Smith's estate taken by Timothy, Daniel and Benjamin Smith
1707 Sept 7 - Martha Smith will - witnessed by Thomas Helme, Daniel Brewster, Dorothy Woodhull
6. Dinah ~1666 - aft 1741
m 6 April 1685 (Brookhaven, LI) Joseph Tooker (or Tucker)
7. Deborah ~1668
8. Hannah ~1669 - 11 Nov 1755
m (1st) ~1680 (Brookhaven) John Muncy - d 1690 - 3 ch - John, Francis, Nathaniel
m (2nd) 28 Apr 1699 Samuel Thompson
9. Mary ~1671 Brookhaven - 1746
m 9 Aug 1689 (Windham, Windham, CT) Jonathan Owen
NOTE - many genealogies do not include daughter Mary. (Apparently Nathaniel's will mentioned "all my daughters" but not by name.) Hook spends a good deal of time arguing the case in favor of her being Nathaniel's daughter (pp 137-8 in v. 30 of The American Genealogist) - and at this point, I have no reason to doubt him.
There are some family trees on Rootsweb that have more information than this.
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