William Brewster (abt. 1535 - abt. 1590)

Born about 1535 in Doncaster, Yorkshire, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Smythe) Brewster — married about 1565 in Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England

Husband of Prudence (Unknown) Brewster — married 1567 in England

Descendants

Died about 1590 at about age 55 in Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England

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Biography

In 1970, John G. Hunt published an account of the family of William Brewster of Duncaster in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register.^[1] This was a follow-up article to his previously published treatment of this family published in 1965 in The American Genealogist.^[2] In 2014, when the General Society of Mayflower Descendants published the latest research on Elder William Brewster, the authors called these two articles the current state of research on this topic.^[3]

Birth and Parents

William Brewster of Scrooby

William Brewster was born in Yorkshire, England.

William Brewster, born about 1535 to William Brewster and Maude Mann, was probably born in Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, where we find the last record of his parents. His father, William Brewster, appears in 1524 when he was taxed in Bentley cum Arksey (near Doncaster), South Yorkshire, England.^[1][4] Doncaster is seven miles North of Scrooby, where this son William later resided. His estimated date of birth is based on the birth date of his son, Elder William Brewster.

A William Bruister witnessed the 1558 will of Christopher Mann with Thomas and John Simkinson of Doncaster. It is probably this same William Brewster who was "dwelling in Scrooby" when he was named in the will of Bartholomew Bryan of Scrooby dated 6 May 1564 [York P&E, 17:389].^[1]

Scrooby records first list William Brewster as one of the three men assessed in 1571.^[2]

Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England is a small village on the River Ryton near Bawtry in the northern part of the English county of Nottinghamshire. Scrooby is located just seven miles South of William's ancestral home in Doncaster.

Marriage to Mary Smythe

William married first to Mary (Smythe) Simkinson, widow of John Simkinson of Wakefield and Doncaster and daughter of William Smythe^[5] of Stainforth parish in Hatfield. With her first husband, Mary had two children,^[2] Thomas Simkinson, who died in 1612 in Hull, and Dorothy Simkinson.^[1]

Mary Smythe and William Brewster had one child:

• "Elder" William Brewster, "Mayflower" passenger, born about 1566, died 10 April 1644;^[5] named with Thomas Simkinson as executor of the will of their uncle, John Smythe of Hull in 1592.^[1] He married Mary, whose parents are unknown, and had "many" children, according to Bradford's History. However, only six children have been verified,^[5][6] and four of those qualify as gateway ancestors for membership in the Mayflower Society: Jonathan, Patience (m. Thomas Prence), Fear (m. Isaac Allerton), and Love.

According to an undated proceeding addressed to Sir Nicholas Bacon, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal (1558-1579), Mary (Smythe) Brewster and William Brewster were involved in a lawsuit against Francis Hobson. Mary was identified in the suit as the former wife of John Symkinson, late of Doncaster, Yorkshire, England. The complaint stated that John Simkinson "was seized of lands in Doncaster and in his lifetime did convey them to the said Mary then his wife for the term of her life and afterwards he died at Doncaster". [Gt. Brit. Public Record Office, ref. C 2 Eliz. B 31/1. "Bill of Complaint by William Bruester and Mary his wife."]^[1] Since the proceeding is undated, we only know that this event occurred prior to her death (estimated to be before 1567) and during the term of Sir Nicholas Bacon (1558-1579).

Marriage to Prudence

William Brewster married second to Prudence _____ shortly after the birth of his first son. It has been postulated that her maiden name may have been Perkins or she may have been a widow of that name, but not with any confidence.^[1][2] William and Prudence had three children:^[1]

• James, born about 1568[?], died 1613;^[1] possibly married Mary Welbeck with whom he had four daughters.^[7]
• Prudence, married Robert Pecke and had children;^[1]
• John.^[1]

Bailiff and Receiver of Scrooby Manor

In 1575, the Archbishop of York made William the Bailiff^[5] of the Manor House and Receiver of Scrooby manor, "and all its liberties in Nottinghamshire", to hold both offices for life.^[8] William, addressed as "our trusty and well-beloved servant," had received "an extensive lordship embracing hundreds of farms and many village round about." He collected manorial fees, rents and fines and could act as magistrate in disputes. He also became master of the local station of the royal post and operated a tavern to refresh the delivery men traveling on the Great North Road. The Scrooby Manor House included a blacksmith shop, stables, kennels, dovecotes and a granary, brewery and bake shop.^[9]

Death

William Brewster of Scrooby died in 1590^[1] in the summer^[8] at Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England. His wife, Prudence, survived him.^[1]

Research Notes

Disputed Origins

A number of unsourced genealogies have been created linking William Brewster, William Brewster, Robert Brewster and Humphrey Brewster, Galfridus Brewster b: 1380, John Brewster, John Brewster b: c.1325 and John Brewster b: c.1299 to create an ancestry for this William Brewster and for his son, Elder William Brewster 1566-1644, who emigrated in the ship Mayflower. Although no sources are offered to support this descent line, we find many unsubstantiated genealogies with a claim for descendants of Elder William Brewster to trace their genealogy from "John I in 1279, who lived in Rushmere, Suffolk, England followed by John II and III; then Galfridus, John IV".

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12} Hunt, John G. "The Mother of Elder William Brewster of the Mayflower" in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Vol. 124 (Oct 1970) pages 250-254. (Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1847-present). Online with subscription at AmericanAncestors.org.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Hunt, John G., "New Light on the Brewsters of Scrooby and New England" in The American Genealogist. Vol. 41, No. 1 (Jan 1965) pages 1-5. (New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-). Online with subscription at AmericanAncestors.org.
3. ↑ Merrick, Barbara Lambert, and E. Virginia Hunt. William Brewster of the Mayflower and his Descendants for Four Generations. (Plymouth, MA: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 2014), pages 1-2. The GSMD "Silver Book" (not available online).
4. ↑ Banks, Charles Edward. The English Ancestry And Homes of the Pilgrim Fathers. (Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1962), online at HathiTrust page 35.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3} Thompson, Roger. "Brewster, William (1566/7–1644), separatist leader." in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. September 23, 2004. Oxford University Press. Accessed 8 Nov 2019 at ODNB with subscription.
6. ↑ Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, 3 vols. (Boston: NEHGS, 1995). Online with subsc. at Ancestry.com and AmericanAncestors.org. Vol 1 (A-F), William Brewster, pages 227-230.
7. ↑ Hunter, Joseph and John Russell Smith, Collections Concerning the Church or Congregation of Protestant Separatists Formed at Scrooby in North Nottinghamshire, (John Russell Smith, 1854). Online at GoogleBooks, pages 74-77 and page 58.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, vol. 12, 1871, online at JSTOR page 102 (death in summer 1590) and page 129 (bailiff & receiver).
9. ↑ Willison, George F. Saints and Strangers. (New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1945). Not available online - this citation was not checked Nov 2019.

See also:

• Find A Grave, database and images (accessed 9 Nov 2019), memorial page for William Brewster, III (24 Jan 1535–10 Aug 1608), Find A Grave: Memorial #135378863, citing St Wilfred Churchyard, Scrooby, Bassetlaw District, Nottinghamshire, England; Maintained by Our Family History (contributor 47719401): bio with online trees for sources, mostly re: his son William; no photo of grave.
• Standish, John, ed. "Transactions of the Thoroton Society," (Cooke & Vowles, 1906). Online at Archive.org, Vol. 9, pages 7-11: info on son, William.
• Cutter, William Richard. Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts. (Boston, MA: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., 1908). Online at HathiTrust, Vol. IV, page 1872: "a favored tenant of the Archbishop of York".
• English Origins of New England Families, Second Series, v. I., selected from the NEHGR, (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1985), online at Ancestry.com: in re: son William.