

'Elder' William Brewster was born about 1566, probably in Doncaster, Yorkshire, England. His birth is also seen as Scrooby, Bassetlaw District, Nottinghamshire, England. He died on 10 Apr 1644 at the Plymouth Plantation, Massachusetts, and is buried at Burial Hill there.
Parents: William Brewster and Mary (Smythe) (Simkinson) Brewster.
Married:
6 children of William Brewster and Mary:
From William Bradford’s Memoir on the Life and Death of Elder William Brewster
"I am to begin this year [1643] with that which was a matter of great sadness and mourning unto them all.
About the 18th of April died their Reverend Elder and my dear and loving friend Mr. William Brewster, a man that had done and suffered much for the Lord Jesus and the gospel's sake, and had borne his part in weal and woe with this poor persecuted church above 36 years in England, Holland and in this wilderness, and done the Lord and them faithful service in his place and calling. And notwithstanding the many troubles and sorrows he passed through, the Lord upheld him to a great age.
He was near fourscore years of age (if not all out) when he died. He had this blessing added by the Lord to all the rest; to die in his bed, in peace, amongst the midst of his friends, who mourned and wept over him and ministered what help and comfort they could unto him, and he again recomforted them whilst he could.
From page 57 of Collections Concerning the Church Or Congregation of Protestant Separatists Formed at Scrooby in North Nottinghamshire, in the Time of King James I: The Founders of New-Plymouth, the Parent-colony of New-England by Joseph Hunter. John Russell Smith, 1854 - Pilgrims (New Plymouth Colony) - 237 pages
A conjecture only, or rather a probable inference, can be made as to the time of his birth; for Bradford elsewhere tells us that "their reverend elder, our dear and loving friend, died on the 16th of April, 1644, being near fourscore years of age if not all out."36 This would carry back his birth to about the year 1564, which would make him only twenty-three at the time of Davison's fall. But 1560 is probably nearer the truth: for Morton, in his New England's Memorial, speaks of him as being eightyfour at the time of his death, which he places in 1643, not 1644; and Morton was the nephew of Bradford, and had papers of his now lost.
From page 53 of "The Brewster Genealogy: Pilgrim Notes (1904)
Elder William Brewster's affidavit made at Leyden, June 25, 1609, states that he was then 42 years of age. [born 1567]
(NEHGS articles) excerpt from: Pilgrim Village Families Sketch: William Brewster by Robert Charles Anderson
Family: William married a woman named Mary _____ by 1593. She died in Plymouth in April 1627.William Bradford in writing of William Brewster’s life and death wrote, that Brewster had “many children.” If so, there may be others besides those listed below as yet unidentified.
Children of William and Mary Brewster:
William Brewster was born about 1566, the son of William Brewster. He was educated in both Greek and Latin and spent some time at Cambridge University, although he never completed a full degree. He went into the service of William Davison, then Secretary of State, while his father back home maintained a position as the postmaster of Scrooby, Nottinghamshire. Under Davison, Brewster first traveled to the Netherlands. After Davison's departure as Secretary of State, Brewster worked himself into his father's postmaster duties and maintained Scrooby Manor. Brewster was instrumental in establishing the small Separatist church with Richard Clyfton, and they often held their meetings in the Manor house. Brewster and the others were eventually found and forced out, and fleeing prosecution and persecution they headed to Amsterdam in 1608, and moving to Leiden, Holland in 1609. Brewster became the church's Elder, responsible for seeing that the congregation's members carried themselves properly, both helping and admonishing them when necessary.
Chest thought to have been brought to America by William Brewster on the Mayflower. Photo courtesy of the Pilgrim Hall Museum.
In Leiden, Brewster working with Thomas Brewer became working a printing press and publishing religious books and pamphlets which were then illegally conveyed into England. Brewster also employed himself teaching University of Leiden students English. By 1618, the English authorities were onto him and his printing press, and had the Dutch authorities in pursuit of him. Thomas Brewer was arrested and held in the University of Leiden's prison, but Brewster managed to evade the authorities and went into hiding for a couple years.
When the Leiden church congregation decided to send the first wave to set up and establish a colony that everyone could eventually move to, their pastor John Robinson decided to remain behind in Leiden with the majority of the congregation, intending to come later. The smaller group that went on the Mayflower desired the next highest ranking church official, Elder Brewster, go with them; so he agreed. He brought his wife Mary and two youngest children, Love and Wrestling, on the Mayflower with him.
Brewster continued his work as Church Elder throughout his life at Plymouth Colony. His wife Mary died in 1627, and he never remarried. He lived to be nearly 80 years old, dying in 1644. Shortly after he died, William Bradford wrote a short but concise biography of Brewster, just a couple pages, in his history Of Plymouth Plantation.
from Mayflower website:
http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/Passengers/WilliamBrewster.php
--------------------------------------
From another website: William Brewster
BORN: c1566/7, probably Scrooby, Nottingham, England, son of William Brewster and Mary (Smythe) Simkinson DIED: 10 April 1644, Plymouth MARRIED: Mary (---)
ANCESTRAL SUMMARY: (1) William Brewster, taxed 1524, Bently cum Arksey, York, England; m. Maude Man bef. 1558; children: William and Henry.
(2) William Brewster II, b. c1535, d. 1590, living in Scrooby, York, England in 1564; m. Mary (Smythe) Simkinson, dau. of William Smythe of Stainforth, Hatfield, England, widow of John Simkinson of Doncaster, York, England.
(3) William Brewster of the Mayflower
On 12 June 1609, a Leyden record shows that William Brewster and Ann Peck gave power of attorney to Thomas Simkinson, merchant of Hull. Presumably Thomas Simkinson has some relation to Brewster's mother's first husband John Simkinson.
Will of Love Brewster
BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY: William Brewster was the Reverend Elder of the Pilgrim's church at Plymouth, since their pastor John Robinson remained behind in Leyden, Holland with the majority of the congregation which planned to come to America at a later time. Brewster was a fugitive from the King of England, because he had published a number of religious pamphlets while in Leyden which were critical or opposed the tenets of the Church of England. He had been a member of the Separatist church movement from its very beginning, and was the oldest Mayflower passenger to have participated at the First Thanksgiving, in his early fifties.
William Bradford wrote a lot about William Brewster in Of Plymouth Plantation, some of which follows:
After he had attained some learning, viz. the knowledge of Latin tongue, and some insight in the Greek, and spent some small time at Cambridge, and then being first seasoned with the seeds of grace and virtue, he went to the court, and served that religious and godly gentleman, Mr. Davison, divers years, when he was Secretary of State; who found him so discreet and faithful as he trusted him above all other that were about him, and only employed him in all matters of greatest trust and secrecy . . . he attended his mr. when he was sent in ambassage by the Queen into the Low Countries . . . And, at his return, the States honored him with a gold chain, and his master committed it to him, and commanded him to wear it when they arrived in England, as they rid through the country, till they came to the court . . . Afterwards he went and lived in the country, in good esteem amongst his friends and the gentlemen of those parts, especially the Godly and religious. He did much good in the country where he lived, in promoting and furthering religion not only by his practise and example, and provocating and encouraging of others, but by procuring of good preachers to the places thereabouts, and drawing on of others to assist and help forward in such work; he himself most commonly deepest in the charge, and sometimes above his ability. . . . They ordinarily met at this house on the Lord's day, (which was a manor of the bishops) and with great love he entertained them when they came, making provision for them to his great charge. He was the chief of those that were taken at Boston, and suffered the greatest loss; and of the seven that were kept longest in prison, and after bound over . . . After he came into Holland he suffered much hardship, after he had spent the most of his means, having a great charge, and many children; and, in regard of his former breeding and course of life, not so fit for many employments as others were, especially as were toilsome and laborious. But yet he ever bore his condition with much cheerfulness and contention. Towards the later part of those 12 years spent in Holland, his outward condition was mended, and he lived well and plentifully; for he fell into a way to teach many students, who had a desire to learn the English tongue, to teach them English; . . . He also had means to set up printing, by the help of some friends . . . and by reason of many books which would not be allowed to be printed in England, they might have had more then they could do. . . . And besides that, he would labor with his hands in the fields as long as he was able; yet when the church had no other minister, he taught twice every Sabbath . . . For his personal abilities, he was qualified above many; he was wise and discreet and well spoken, having a grave and deliberate utterance, of a very cheerful spirit, very sociable and pleasant amongst his friends, of an humble and modest mind, of a peaceable disposition, undervaluing himself and his own abilities . . . inoffensive and innocent in his life and conversation . . . he was tender-hearted, and compassionate of such as were in misery, but especially of such as had been of good estate and rank, and were fallen into want and poverty, either for goodness and religions sake, or by the injury and oppression of others; . . .
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE ON WILLIAM BREWSTER'S WIFE: The maiden name of William Brewster's wife has not been proven. The claim it was Mary Wentworth rests solely on the fact that Mary Wentworth happened to live somewhat close to William Brewster in Scrooby, Nottingham. That is very shaky evidence to say the least. Further, it has been proposed that William Brewster may have married Mary Wyrall, but the evidence is just as flimsy for that marriage. There are no fewer than seven marriages from 1590-1610 that have been located in parish registers showing a William Brewster marrying a Mary. All, however, have been satisfactorily eliminated as probable candidates for the William and Mary (Brewster) who came on the Mayflower. So at present, there is no evidence to document who William Brewster's wife Mary actually was.
from http://members.aol.com/calebj/passenger.html
William Brewster (pilgrim)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Brewster_(pilgrim)
Elder William Brewster (c. 1560 or 1566 – April 10, 1644) was a Pilgrim colonist leader and preacher born in Doncaster, England and raised in Scrooby, in north Nottinghamshire, who reached what became the Plymouth Colony in the Mayflower in 1620. He was accompanied by his wife, Mary Brewster, and his sons, Love Brewster and Wrestling Brewster. Son Jonathan joined the family in November 1621, arriving at Plymouth on the ship Fortune, and daughters Patience and Fear arrived in July 1623 aboard the Anne.
Biography
Origins
He was born probably at Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, circa 1566/1567, although no birth records have been found, [1][2][3][4][5] and died at Plymouth, Massachusetts on April 10, 1644 around 9 or 10pm.[1][2][3][4][5] He was the son of William Brewster and Mary (Smythe) (Simkinson) and he had a number of half-siblings. His paternal grandparents were William Brewster and Maud Mann. His maternal grandfather was Thomas Smythe.
Scrooby Manor was in the possession of the Archbishops of York. Brewster's father, William senior, had been the estate bailiff for the archbishop for thirty-one years from around 1580. With this post went that of postmaster, which was a more important one than it might have been in a village not situated on the Great North Road, as Scrooby was then.
William Junior studied briefly at Peterhouse, Cambridge before entering the service of William Davison in 1584.[6] In 1585, Davidson went to the Netherlands to negotiate an alliance with the States-General. In 1586, Davison was appointed assistant to Queen Elizabeth's Secretary of State Francis Walsingham, but in 1587 Davison lost the favour of Elizabeth, after the beheading of her cousin (once removed) Mary, Queen of Scots.
Dissent
Cambridge was a centre of thought concerning religious reformism, but Brewster's time in the Netherlands, in connection with Davidson's work, gave him opportunity to hear and see more of reformed religion. While, earlier in the sixteenth century, reformers had hoped to amend the Anglican church, by the end of it, many were looking toward splitting from it.
On Davidson's disgrace, Brewster returned to Scrooby. There, from 1590 to 1607, he held the position of postmaster. As such he was responsible for the provision of stage horses for the mails, having previously, for a short time, assisted his father in that office. By the 1590s, Brewster's brother, James, was a rather rebellious Anglican priest, vicar of the parish of Sutton cum Lound, in Nottinghamshire. From 1594, it fell to James to appoint curates to Scrooby church so that Brewster, James and leading members of the Scrooby congregation were brought before the ecclesiastical court for their dissent. They were set on a path of separation from the Anglican Church. From about 1602, Scrooby Manor, Brewster's home, became a meeting place for the dissenting Puritans. In 1606, they formed the Separatist Church of Scrooby.
Emigration
Restrictions and pressures applied by the authorities convinced the congregation of a need to emigrate to the more sympathetic atmosphere of Holland, but leaving England without permission was illegal at the time, so that departure was a complex matter. On its first attempt, in 1607, the group was arrested at Scotia Creek, but in 1608 Brewster and others were successful in leaving from The Humber. In 1609, he was selected as ruling elder of the congregation.
Initially, the Pilgrims settled in Amsterdam, and worshiped with the Ancient Church of Francis Johnson and Henry Ainsworth. Offput by the bickering between the two, though (which ultimately resulted in a division of the Church), the Pilgrims left Amsterdam and moved to Leiden, after only a year.
In Leiden, the group managed to make a living. Brewster taught English and later, in 1616-1619, printed and published religious books for sale in England though they were proscribed there, as the partner of one Thomas Brewer. In 1619, the printing type was seized by the authorities under pressure from the English ambassador Sir Dudley Carleton and Brewster's partner was arrested. Brewster escaped and, with the help of Robert Cushman, obtained a land patent from the London Virginia Company on behalf of himself and his colleagues.
In 1620 he joined the first group of Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower on the voyage to North America. When the colonists landed at Plymouth, Brewster became the senior elder of the colony, serving as its religious leader and as an adviser to Governor William Bradford.
As the only university educated member of the colony, Brewster took the part of the colony's religious leader until a pastor, Ralph Smith, arrived in 1629. Thereafter, he continued to preach irregularly until his death in April 1644.
Brewster was granted land amongst the islands of Boston Harbor, and four of the outer islands (Great Brewster, Little Brewster, Middle Brewster and Outer Brewster) now bear his name. In 1632 Brewster received lands in nearby Duxbury, and removed from Plymouth to create a farm in Duxbury.[7]
Brewster died in 1644 and was likely buried in Plymouth, possibly upon Burial Hill; however his place of burial is unknown.[1][2][3][4][5][8]
Children
William Brewster married, sometime before 1593, in England, Mary, whose maiden name and parentage have not yet been proven; it has been speculated that it could be either Wyrall or Wentworth, but there is no compelling evidence for either assumption.[1][2][3][4][5] She was probably born in England circa 1568-1569. She 'dyed at Plymouth, Massachusetts on April 17, 1627.' (Brewster Book).* Bradford says that, though she died ' long before' her husband, 'yet she dyed aged,' but by her affidavit of 1609 she was less than sixty years of age and it is probable that her ' great & continuall labours, with others crosses, and sorrows, hastened it (t. a. old age) before y* time.'[9]
The children of William and Mary were:
Elder Jonathan Brewster (August 12, 1593 - August 7, 1659) married Lucretia Oldham of Derby on 10 April 1624,[4][10][11][12][13] and were the parents of eight children:
Patience Brewster (c. 1600 - December 12, 1634)[4] married Gov. Thomas Prence of Lechlade, Gloucestershire, 4 children
Fear Brewster (c. 1606 - before 1634)[4] so called because she was born at the height of the Puritans' persecution. Married Isaac Allerton of London, 2 children.
Unnamed child was born, died and buried in 1609 in Leiden, Holland.[4]
Love Brewster was born in Leiden, Holland about 1611 and died between October 6, 1650 and January 31, 1650/1, at Duxbury, Massachusetts.[4][14][15] At the age of about 9, he traveled with his father, mother and brother, Wrestling, on the Mayflower to Plymouth, Massachusetts. He married Sarah Collier in Plymouth, Massachusetts on May 15, 1634. Love and Sarah were the parents of 4 children:
Wrestling Brewster was born in 1614 in Leiden, Holland; was living in 1627, died unmarried before the 1644 settlement of his father's estate.[4]
Landing of the Pilgrims led by William Brewster give thanks to God for their safe voyage in this scene depicting Plymouth Colony.
Image provided by Architect of the Capitol: https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/landing-pilgrims ARTIST: Constantino Brumidi
1560 |
January 24, 1560
|
Yorkshire, Scrooby, Nottingham, England
|
|
1560
|
Doncaster, Yorkshire, England
|
||
1571 |
1571
Age 11
|
Scrooby, England
|
|
1580 |
December 3, 1580
- 1582
Age 20
|
Peterhouse, University of Cambridge, England (United Kingdom)
|
|
1580
Age 20
|
Peterhouse College as a pensioner (a student who paid rent for his lodgings)
|
||
1580
Age 20
|
Scrooby, England
|
||
1585 |
1585
Age 25
|
Netherlands
|
|
1590 |
1590
Age 30
|
Scrooby, England
|
|
1590
Age 30
|
Scrooby, England
|