About Johannes

Johannes (Jan) Brouwer 1632-1702

    PROFILE 

         Name: Johannes (Jan) Brouwer

    Born ca. 1632 Amsterdam, Netherlands

     Died  ca 1702/03 New Amersfoort (Flatlands) New Netherland (New York)

    Married  Jannetje Jans

    Occupation: Blacksmith

    Location: Flatlands, NY

QUICK FACTS

Immigrated to New Amsterdam  1657

7  Children 

    Jannetje 1654, Amsterdam; 

    Johannes Jansz 1658, New Amsterdam; 

    Pieter Janse 1660, New Amsterdam; 

    Hendricus 1663 died in infancy; 

    Hendrick 1665, Flatlands, NY;   

    Derck 1670, Flatlands NY;

    Maghtel 1674 Flatlands, NY

Oath of Allegiance to British King  1687

 Johannes Brouwer immigrated with his wife and daughter to New Amsterdam, New Netherland from Amsterdam, Netherlands in 1656-57.  He is assumed to have been born in Amsterdam circa 1628 - 1632, although some researchers have suggested that he may have been from Germany and immigrated first to Amsterdam before coming to New Amsterdam (New York).

Because he lived in the same locale and during the same period as another 17th century Dutch immigrant, Adam Brouwer Berckhoven, many people have proposed that he may be related to Adam Brouwer.  Recent DNA testing of descendants from both families has proven that the two men are unrelated and have not had a common ancestor in tens of thousands of years.  The analysis and conclusions of the DNA study can be found in the NYG&B RECORD Vol. 138, No.4 (2007). (see the Resources page of this site).

 Johannes Brouwer was a Blacksmith and lived in the Dutch town of New Amersfoort, New Netherland, which became known as Flatlands, New York after the English defeated the Dutch and took control of the area. His wife Jannetje Jans died in 1683. In 1687 Johannes took the oath of allegiance to the King of England and from that point on became a British subject.  It has been claimed that he was the Jan Brouwer who purchased a garden lot in Gravesend from John Gulick and a lot in Gysbert’s Island (Coney Island) from Hendrick Van Pelt of New Utrecht, both of which he sold in 1693, however this is more likely a reference to his eldest son Jan Janz Brouwer.  He appears on the census of 1698 in Flatlands. He deeded his blacksmith tools and his lands to his son Pieter in 1700 and in 1702 established a bond with Pieter to be maintained by him.  After May of 1702, a disease resembling Yellow Fever was imported from St. Thomas into New York City.  The infection spread rapidly and nearly everyone coming down with it died within a few hours.  The epidemic was remembered as “The great sickness of New York.”  The inhabitants fled in terror from the infected city to the Long Island shores and may have brought the disease with them to Flatlands. It is possible that Johannes and Pieter fell victim to it in Flatlands as well as his son Derck, then living in Jamaica, Queens, where Lord Cornbury and his administration fled to in 1702. There are no records of Derck after his move to Jamaica in 1701, and there is no record of either Johannes or Pieter after the date of the bond between them, November 17, 1702. 

He and his wife Jannetje Jans, had at least seven children, of which 5 were males, (one, Aris Jans Brouwer, sex unknown, is questionable as to whether should be included as his child ) however, only Pieter and Derck are known to have had progeny to continue the line.  It is known that Derck is the progenitor of the Elias Brouwer/Phebe Lucas line and it is conjectured that Pieter may be the progenitor of the John Brewer/Elsie Dunbar line.  See discussion on the “Speculation” page.

See the Brouwer Genealogy web page by Chris Chester listed in “Resources” and The Brouwer Genealogy Database for an extensive source of Brouwer family data with detailed references, and click on any of the descendent charts to view detailed documented information on that descendant..  It is also recommended that you consult Chris'  five generation genealogical summery for Jan Brouwer

[NEW! April 19, 2012]  A new document is now available presenting a narrative story of our ancestral patriarch Jan Brouwer and his family.  Recounting their emigration to the New World from Holland in 1656 and their subsequent life in New Amsterdam (1657-1664) and New Amersfoort (called Flatlands by the English after 1665) on Long Island from 1665 -1702, the document is posted on Google-drive and can be accessed on line by clicking the link 

Jan Brouwer Historical narrative.

Although it can be read on-line, the resolution provided by google in this mode is poor, very much poorer than the document itself, so viewing of pictures and text is compromised making it difficult to read.  To bypass this problem you can download the document to your computer where you can read it with crisp, sharp text and pictures, a much more satisfying experience. Click on the above link, select "File" in the upper left corner and click on "Download". It will download as a PDF document. Embedded in the narrative are links to a short video of Amsterdam in the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century, and a video virtual fly-by of old "New Amsterdam" in 1664.  They are an integral part of the story and will enrich your appreciation of the era in which Jan Brouwer and family lived.  It represents the latest information, both historical documentation and my best informed speculation, available to me on the family and their lives.

Johannes Brouwer

    b) ca.1632 Amsterdam, Netherlands d) 1702/03 New Amersfoort (Flatlands), New Netherland (New York)

    Married 1653, Amsterdam, Netherlands to:

Jannetje Jans 

    b) ca.1635, Amsterdam Netherlands d) Sept 1683 New Amersfoort (Flatlands), New Netherland (New York)

NOTE: The source of birth and marriage dates for Johannes and Jannetje Brouwer is J.R.Totten, page 218 (see “Resources”).  The analysis he provides therein, which I have no reason to disagree with, is based on the assumption that their daughter Jannetje Jans, born in Amsterdam about 1654 and who came to America with them in 1657 was their first child. This leads to the presumption that they were married by at least 1653. He then assumes that Jannetje was at least 18 and Johannes at least 21 to come up with birth dates of at least 1635 and 1632 respectively.  It is of course possible that they were older, since the average age of marriage was 22 for the bride and 25 for the groom, so they could have been born as early as 1631 and 1628. The conjecture that they were married and  had their child in Amsterdam is supported by the record of the marriage of their daughter Jannetje to Tuenis Janszen in New York in 1677 where the church record states that she was from Amsterdam. Research into Dutch sources to find the marriage record of Johannes and Jannetje or the birth record of their child Jannetje has failed to turn up anything.  Research on the Brouwer line origins before Johannes is documented at the site navigation link "Origins" on the upper left of this page, however no actionable results have yet been discovered. Some researchers conjecture Johannes may have been originally from Germany and emigrated first to Amsterdam, but no documentation supports this and I have ignored that possibility for the purpose of this narrative, which is primarily to detail the life of our first American ancestor within the context of his life after leaving the old country and arriving here in America. 

Children of Johannes and Jannetje:

    i)   Jannetje Jansz; b. ca.1654-56 Amsterdam, Netherlands

            m. 11 Jun 1677 New Amersfoort to Theunis Janzsen Amack  b.1654 Denmark

            d. by 26 October 1707 

  *  ii)   Johannes Jansz; bp 26 May 1658 New Amsterdam, New Netherland (NY)

            m. 2 September 1683 to Sara Willems of New Amersfoort (Flatlands), NY

            d.  btwn 1 Sep 1712 (will) and 13 Oct 1712 (probate) Hempstead, Queens County, NY

   * iii)  Pieter Janse; bp  20 Oct 1660 New Amsterdam, New Netherland (NY);

            m. 15 Feb 1687 to Annetje Jans of Flatlands, NY

            d.  after 1702 Flatlands, NY

 Possible ancestor of the John Brewer (b. ca. 1733)/Elsie Lewis (Dunbar) line

    iv)  Hendricus; bp 14 Nov, 1663; d. 1663/64 New Amsterdam - infant

   * v)   Hendrick Janse; bp 14 Jan, 1665 Flatlands, NY;

              m. 1)  Maratie (Magteltd) before 1689: assumed his wife as she and he were listed as sponsers at the baptism of his sister Jannetje’s 3d child, 21 April 1689 (Totten pg 224 and Bergen pg.53)  

              m.  2) Cornelia (Barnes or Barentsen?)  after 1698

             d.  ca 12 Sept (will)/ 4 Oct (proved) 1738 Hempstead, Queens Co.,NY

      *vi)  Derck (Dirck) Jansz; b. ca 1666 - 1670 Flatlands, Kings Co., NY;

             m.  6 Oct 1694 in Flatlands  to Hanna Deas (Daws) of Gravesend, Kings Co., NY  

             d. ~ 1702/3, Jamaica, Queens County, NY 

 Direct ancestor of the Elias Brouwer Family Line

    Vii)  Maghtel  b. ca 1674  Flatlands, NY; (assumed in NYG&B Vol 138(2008) p. 252  

    married by 30 Oct 1695 to Cornelis Willemse brother of Sara Willems above.

NOTE: Doubtful ? Aris Jans Brouwer; in 1704 lived in  Flatlands, NY [Uncertain whether Male or Female and questionable as to whether should be included as  a child of Johannes--no evidence found. Included by J.R. Totten NYG&B 67:1986 p. 224 solely based on entry by T. G. Bergen KCo:53. ]

NOTE: Male children marked with (*)above  are discussed further under Tab “Descendants” in the site navigation link on the upper left of this page