Mayflower Families: William Brewster

2020 marks the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower voyage and the founding of Plymouth Colony. Commemorative publications, programs, and tours are planned in the US, the UK, and the Netherlands by various organizations, including the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, the New England Historic Genealogical Society, and Plymouth 400, Inc.

In preparation for the festivities, we will be blogging about our resources for different Mayflower families throughout the year. This week we’ll explore the descendants of William Brewster!

William Brewster was born ca. 1566 near Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England. He married Mary [surname unknown] ca. 1592 near Scrooby. Brewster died on April 10, 1644, in Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Brewster was one of the church elders, leaving England for Amsterdam in 1608 and settling in Leiden, Holland in 1609. While in Holland he operated a printing press and published religious books and pamphlets which were illegally distributed in England.

The first generation of William Brewster descendants:

1. Jonathan, born 12 August 1593 near Scrooby, married Lucretia Oldman of Darby on 10 April 1624 in Plymouth.
2. Patience, born ca. 1603 near Scrooby, married Thomas Prence on 05 August 1624 in Plymouth, the 9th marriage at New Plymouth.
3. Fear, born ca. 1605 near Scrooby, married Isaac Allerton ca. 1627 in Plymouth.
4. Love, born ca. 1607 near Scrooby, married Sarah Collier on May 15, 1634, in Plymouth.
5. [unknown], died 20 June 1609, buried in St. Pancras, Leiden, Holland.
6. Wrestling, born ca. 1611 in Leiden, Holland; died between 1627-1651.

Want to learn more about William Brewster’s descendants? Stop by the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center and browse through SC 929.2 May

• Merrick, Barbara Lambert. William Brewster of the Mayflower and His Descendants for Four Generations. Plymouth, MA: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 2000.
• Merrick, Barbara Lambert compiled by. Mayflower Families in Progress: William Brewster of the Mayflower and the Fifth Generation Descendants of His Son Jonathan. Plymouth: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1999.
• Merrick, Barbara Lambert. Mayflower Families in Progress: William Brewster of the Mayflower and the Fifth Generation Descendants of His Daughter Patience. Fremont, CA: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 2001.
• Merrick, Barbara Lambert, and Virginia Hunt Moulton. William Brewster of the Mayflower: and the Fifth Generation of Descendants of His Son Love. Plymouth, MA: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 2003.
• Sherwood, Mary B. Pilgrim: a Biography of William Brewster. Falls Church, VA: Great Oak Press of Virginia, 1982.
• Steele, Ashbel. Chief of the Pilgrims: or, The Life and Time of William Brewster, Ruling Elder of the Pilgrim Company That Founded New Plymouth, the Parent Colony of New England, in 1620. Freeport, NY: Books for Libraries Press, 1970.
• Merrick, Barbara Lambert, and Scott Andrew Bartley. Mayflower Families through Five Generations: Descendants of the Pilgrims Who Landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts, in December 1620: the Descendants of Elder William Brester, Part 1, Generations 1 through 4. Plymouth, MA: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 2014.

Weblinks:

• American Ancestors, William Brewster biography
• Caleb Johnson’s Mayflower History
• The Elder William Brewster Society
• Pilgrim Hall Museum, Beyond the Pilgrim Story
• Find A Grave memorial: Elder William Brewster, IV

(posted by Cristina)