 |
| A page from the Brewster family Bible. http://mayflowerhistory.com/brewster-william/ |
William and Mary Brewster were founding members of the separatist congregation at the heart of the Mayflower voyage. They were in Scrooby until 1608, when they fled with other members of the congregation to Leiden, where William became an elder, teacher, and printer. They were a leading family among those who undertook that first voyage to Plymouth.
William was born around 1566, probably in Scrooby, Nottinghamshire. His father's name was also William Brewster. Mary's maiden name is unknown. They were married by 1593.
William was well educated. He entered Peterhouse, Cambridge, in 1580, although he did not graduate. At the time of his death, an inventory of his estate found nearly 400 books, in English and in Latin, worth 42 pounds.
The Massachusetts colony did not have a formal minister, so William took on many of those duties, including preaching. He continued to do so after the family moved to Duxbury, after Mary's death on April 17, 1627. William died in Duxbury, April 10, 1644. They had six children, one of whom died in infancy. The surviving children were: Jonathan (born in 1593, clearly named before his parents converted), Patience, Fear, Love, and Wrestling. We are descended from his daughter Patience.
William Brewster -- Mary (unknown)
- Patience Brewster -- Thomas Prence
- Mercy Prence -- John Freeman
- Edmund Freeman -- Sara Mayo
- Ruth Freeman -- Israel Doane
- Edmund Doane -- Elizabeth Osborn
- Israel Doane -- Desire Nickerson
- Israel Doane -- Mehitable Kinney
- Olive Doane Kinney -- Simeon Kinney
- Thomas Kinney -- Mary Houghton Kinney
- Julia Kinney Hancock -- Ernest Hancock
References:
Anderson, Robert Charles 1995 The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633. New England Historic Genealogical Society.
No comments:
Post a Comment