Surname Saturday - BREWSTER

BREWSTER is an occupational surname for a brewer of beer or ale - something my husband can appreciate as he crafts his home brew.  Of Anglo-Saxon origin, the name was derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century verb 'breowan', meaning to brew, and was in Middle English 'brewere', meaning a brewer.  Until the 13th Century, the name 'Brewster' was the feminine equivalent of 'Brewer', but after that date the term was used equally for male and female brewers.

Our personal name bearer was William BREWSTER of the Mayflower who founded New Plymouth, (New England).

It’s a famous yet humbling family story.  They were outcast pilgrims who made a treacherous journey toward religious freedom, a freedom worthy of sacrifice, then landed on an icy Plymouth beach in December, with no shelter, no provisions, nor promises to greet them. My paternal American family is descended from William BREWSTER, the leader of that band of outcasts.

Elder William BREWSTER, my 11th great-grandfather, came from Scrooby, in north Nottinghamshire on the Mayflower in 1620 and reached what became the Plymouth Colony. He was accompanied by his wife, Mary Brewster, and his sons, Love and Wrestling.  My family line follows his daughter, Patience, who came to America later on the ship Anne in July 1623.  She married Thomas PRENCE on 5 August 1624 in Plymouth.

Memorial Photo from Findagrave

IN MEMORIAM

ELDER WILLIAM BREWSTER

PATRIACH OF THE PILGRIMS

AND THEIR RULING ELDER 1609 – 1644

OUTSTANDING LEADER OF PILGRIM MOVEMENT.

THE FOUNDING OF PLIMOTH PLANTATION

AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CIVIL AND

RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IN THE WORLD.

 

B. AT SCROOBY, ENGLAND, CA 1566 7

D. AT PLYMOUTH, N.E. CA APRIL 10, 1644.

A RESIDENT OF PLYMOUTH AND DUXBURY

M. CA 1589 MARY WENTWORTH OF SCROOBY:

B. CA. 1568 9; D. AT PLYMOUTH CA. APRIL 17, 1627

BOTH (MAYFLOWER PASSENGERS) REST

IN UNKNOWN GRAVES IN PLYMOUTH.

POSSIBLY IN OR NEAR BURIAL HILL.

 

ERECTED 1967

THE ELDER WILLIAM BREWSTER SOCIETY

According to the THE ELDERWILLIAM BREWSTER SOCIETY, it is estimated that today there may be as many as 25 million descendants of this little band of Pilgrims that came aboard the Mayflower to the North American shores.

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