AMERICA THE GREAT MELTING POT
Contact information on HOME page
Direct descendant is highlighted in red
| Barnett Verbryck Brewer | ||||||||
| Born: 27 Jan 1808 Harrodsburg, Mercer Co., KY |
|
|
|
|||||
| Married: 22 Sep 1836 Mercer Co., KY |
|
|
||||||
| Died: 30 Dec 1895 Harrodsburg, Mercer Co., KY |
|
.jpg) |
||||||
| Bible Records showing deaths |
FATHER
MOTHER
WIFE
Margaret Tewney
b. 07 Dec 1822
d. 08 Nov 1886
CHILDREN
1. William Brewer b. 18 Jul 1837
2. John Wesley Brewer b. 29 Sep 1839
3. Winter Smith Brewer b. 31 Aug 1841
4. Mary Elizabeth Brewer b. 10 Jun 1844
5. Garret Comingore Brewer b. 13 Apr 1846
6. Ophelia Brewer b. 16 Apr 1849
7. Elbridge Brewer b. 19 Aug 1851
8. Margaret Ann Brewer b. 12 Dec 1853
9. Thomas M Brewer b. 03 Nov 1856
10. Dorinda Brewer b. 19 Jun 1862
11. Minerva Brewer b. 16 Nov 1858
"The Brewer Family Ancestors and Descendants of Barney Verbryck Brewer and His Son John Wesley Brewer Also Maternal and Allied Lines" compiled by Roselyne Watts Jones, 1982
"Barney Verbryck Brewer was born in Mercer County, Kentucky, January 27, 1808. His obituary states he was born in Greenwood, Indiana, but this is an error. He may have lived in Greenwood in his adolescence, but his father, Garret C. Brewer, was in Indiana by 1825, and most of his children were born by then, no doubt, as he married in 1804, and Barney was his oldest son. Barney had land in Greenwood in 1833. He was listed in the Black Hawk War there, in 1832 and was given a land grant by the government certificate of entry tract book, page 39, September 17, 1833, 60.74 acres. He sold the land to Cynthia Cumingore Brewer, widow of his brother Daniel who died in 1849.
Margaret Tewmey and Barney Brewer were married September 22, 1836, in Mercer County, Kentucky. They lived about ten miles from Harrodsburg near Cornishville, Kentucky. Their home was spacious, in a nice setting near the Chaplain River. Across the road in front of their home was their flour and grist mill. Barney was following in his ancestors footsteps. Most of them were millers. He evidently did not build the mill as he and William Tewmey, Margaret's brother, bought the mill from L. D. Cornish in 1839 for $3,000. Two tracts of land, 45 acres and 281/2 acres and all the appurtenances, mill and etc. I don't know whether the house was already there or not.
I believe the mill was built much earlier than 1839. I have traced it back to about 1828 to a deed of a John Horn who bought it from a John Echols, mentions mill tract, including grist and saw mill. It may go back to the Carey's as there was a Carey mill in that vicinity at one time. A Carey road is right next to Brewer's Mill road. My great grandfather, James H. Carey, owned the homeplace in 1919. A Daniel Carey and M. J. Carey were on boundaries of Barney's land. In 1853 Barney bought out his brother-in-law's half of the mill. In a letter written to his parents, January 10, 1869, he tells about installing a new steam mill which cost him $3,000. He probably built on to the mill to do this. In a picture in the Harrodsburg Herald of the mill, it shows plainly how much older the rear portion of the building appears to be than the front end. Inside the old mill today, there is a huge hand hewn post that has the initials B. V. B. carved on it. He probably did this at the time he enlarged it. The mill had a front porch on it at one time.
According to a news item in the paper here in 1941 an older man, William Adkinson, who lived near the mill states that Barney was a splendid miller and he built up a business over a territory that would surprise the young generation.
Barney gave the people good flour meal and feed. The public stood by him year after year. He was a good business man and honest in his dealings with everyone. His patrons would come and bring their corn and wheat to the mill to be ground and would take their turn which would sometimes take a day or two. Eventually, his son, John Wesley, went into business with him.
In 1888, Barney sold his part of the mill to Wilham and Hutchinson for $4,700. He specifies that one half of the steam engine and steam works and fixtures belonged to his son, John Wesley, and was not included in the sale.
At one time, Barney owned a lot of land near Brewer's mill, but unfortunately, he lost it due to signing a note for someone. He had to pay off the note himself as he was too honest to try to get out of it by signing over his own property to his wife like some of the other cosigners did. This is the reason he had to sell his mill and home, as well as his personal watch.
In 1851, Barney was one of the Trustees who bought land to erect the Christian Church in Cornishville. Like his father before him, he was instrumental in starting a place of worship for his family and neighbors. The old Dutch tradition of establishing a place of worship was engrained in him. He was a very devout man and believed in Christian principals. In some of his letters to his father and mother, his prayer to his Heavenly Father was that if we shall never see each other again that we may be permitted to meet in heaven to part no more. He was 75 years of age at the time he wrote this letter. In most of his letters, he always quoted the prices of grain, cattle and land to his relatives. On one trip to Greenwood to visit his parents, he mentions bringing back some apples that were so good and quite a rarity around here. Deaths of members of his family were mentioned and tells about Margaret being ill very often with a throat disease.
Barney had four brothers and four sisters. They were John, Daniel, David V., Elizabeth, Jane, Sarah, Mary Ann, and Abraham. Garrett C. and Mary Verbryck Brewer were his mother and father. Mary was a daughter of Barney and Catherine Verbryck. I do not know Catherine's maiden name as yet. Garrett C. Brewer's father and mother were John and Jennie Vanarsdale Brewer.
On Monday morning, December 30, 1895, Barney Brewer died at the home of his son, John Wesley. He had been ill for a year and was very ill on Thanksgiving Day, but seemed to recover. On Thursday, he partook of a hearty meal and had a stroke a few hours later.
Margaret Tewmey Brewer, wife of Barney was born December 7, 1822. Her parents were William and Elizabeth McGinnis Tewmey. She had several brothers and sisters. One sister, Manerva, was afflicted and died rather young. Others were William, Mary, Elizabeth, John, Jeremiah and Dorinda. I believe John McGinnis was her father. In his will, made in 1814, there is a Polly and Elizabeth mentioned as his daughter and in a settlement of the same estate William Tewmey is mentioned. Margaret was troubled with a throat ailment for some time. She died in 1886. Her son, John Wesley, and his wife, Emma Askins Brewer, moved into the old home place with Barney after she died. They had been living down the road about a mile from them. Some time later, after Barney had sold the mill and home place in 1888, they all moved to Harrodsburg and lived in the old Nannie Priest house across the street from John Augustus Williams. I believe the house is on Factory Street today. This is where Barney died.
Together Margaret and Barney reared nine children. Several of them died rather young. Most of them lived around Mercer County. Barney was the only child of his parents that came back to Mercer County from Greenwood, Indiana to stay. It was quite a task to discover who his parents were. Had it not been for an answer to an ad I put in the 'Genealogical Helper', I might never have known. A Mr. Wilbur Sebern of Davenport, Iowa wrote to me and told me he saw the ad. He had some papers of an aunt that mentioned a Barney Brewer born in Kentucky that married a Margaret. Could this be our Barney? Indeed it was! Mr. Sebern went to Greenwood himself and discovered his ancestors and mine. Directly after this he came to Harrodsburg and told me of his discovery. A Mrs. Stella Mae Toombs came to visit me later and brought me five letters from Barney to his father in Greenwood. Pictures of Barney and Margaret, Garret C. and Mary Verbryck Brewer also. What a thrill! I couldn't believe it. Almost like hearing from the dead. To my sorrow, Mrs. Toombs, a very kind and wonderful person has since died. She saved those letters all those years knowing someday she would find someone who would want them. She was also a descendent of Garret Brewer through Barney V. Brewer's brother, Abraham. She and her husband, Harold, and her brother Clarence Bishop were still living on land that had belonged to Garrett Brewer. Clarence has died too. Mr. and Mrs. Toombs were in charge of the Sesquicentennial observances of Greenwood in 1973. They invited Wilburn Sebern and I to unveil two historical markers that were dedicated to the early pioneers. Garrett Brewer was one of the first settlers in Greenwood. He donated land for the First Presbyterian Church of Greenwood and was one of the first nine members as well as a ruling elder. Mr. Sebern is a descendant of Garrett Brewer through Barney's brother David V. and Clarinda Smock Brewer. His ancestors the Smocks, were among the first settlers of Greenwood and built the frist log cabin there. Wilbur and his wife, Barbara, are fine folks and we all enjoy ancestor hunting together.
Most all of my grandmother's children lived at the old home place at one time or another. My mother and father, John Dee and Ammie Carey Watts lived there in 1919, shortly after my great aunt Shannon and her husband, B.H. Britton bought it from James H. Carey. They spent a lot of time in Canada and our families would stay on the place for them. The mill was still running and a Mr. John Burns was the miller. My Aunt Azile and Uncle Cecil Yates lived there in 1921 and then my grandmother and grandfather, Francis Brewer Carey and Frank Carey took care of the place. ---------
In March, 1982, I went to see Mrs. Carl E. Brewer, wife of Barney's grandson. She had in her possession a large portrait of Barney V and several other smaller pictures of Barney and Margaret and their children. I was unable to get any copies of these but she kindly gave me a picture of Garrett C. Brewer, son of Barney and father of Carl e. Brewer. In 1973, shortly before Carl died, I talked to him on the telephone. Wish I had gone to see him then. He told me his grandfather Barney was quite a walker in his day. He walked from Philadelphia to Louisville at one time. I'm sure I could have found out a lot more about Barney had I gone to see him.
The old gentleman must have been broken-hearted when he had to give up his life time possessions and savings to pay off some one else's debt. It undoubtedly hastened his death. Most anyone else would have taken bankruptcy or turned his possessions over to someone else to get out of it. He was too honest to do either and died a pauper, evidently on account of it. When he signed the note he knew he was obligated and to live up to his Christian principles, he payed it off. Can anymore be said about the character of our ancestor, Barney Verbyrck Brewer?" Written by Roselyne Watts Jones
|
|
.