USA > Connecticut > A catalogue of the names of the early Puritan settlers of the colony of Connecticut, with the time of their arrival in the country and colony, their standing in society, place of residence, condition in life, where from, business, &c., as far as is found on record, No. 1 > Part 33
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91
BREWER, DANIEL, of Middletown, Ct., (son of Thomas Sen.) m. Elenor Goodwin, (or Goodrich,) of Middletown, Jan'y 19, 1719; purchased 1 acre of land (near the Plains and adjoining the River at Churchell's Landing,) of Joanna Wilcox, 1727, paid £10. They had 9 children, 1st, HEZEKIAH, b. Sept. 26, 1725; 2d, ELE- NOR, b. Jan'y 2, 1727 ; 3d, EDWARD, b. Aug. 24, 1728 ; 4th, RICHARD, b. Feb. 21, 1730; 5th, DANIEL, Jr., b. May 3, 1731, m. Ruth Strickland, of Glastenbury, Jan'y 9, 1752, and had two children, Richard, 1753; William, 1756. 6th, DAVID, b. 28
326
GENEALOGY OF THE PURITANS.
Feb. 15, 1736 ; 7th, SETH, b. May 21, 1738; 8th, Remembrance, b. March 2d, 1741 ; 9th, JOANNA, b. June 29, 1743.
BREWER, JOSEPH, (3d son of Thomas, Sen'r,) m. Dinah Smith, May 29, 1727, and settled in Glastenbury. They had 6 children, Ist, DORATHY, b. March 15, 1727-8 ; 2d, RUTH, b. May 30, 1730 ; 3d, COMFORT, Nov. 14, 1732 ; 4th, JOSEPH, b. Ap'l 24, 1735 ; 5th, ISRAEL, b. Sept. 18, 1737, and 6th, ELLIM, b. Feb. 2, 1739-40.
BREWER, ALEXANDER, 6th and youngest son of Thomas Sen., resided in Glastenbury, m. Thankful - -, and had 9 children, 1st, Thomas ; 2d, Hezekiah ; 3d, Joseph; 4th, Benjamin ; 5th, Daniel ; 6th, Mary, who m. Mr. Dix ; 7th, Sarah Goodale ; 8th, Lydia Loveland ; 9th, Amy Porter. Alexander Brewer, died 1750, and left widow Thankful. Son Joseph, Administrator, Estate £109,8s. 6d.
BREWER, DANIEL, son of Daniel Brewer, Junior, of Mid- dletown, by Anna Vanzant ; before he m. Ruth Strickland, this Dan- iel had a son DANIEL, who m. MARY RISLEY, and removed and settled in East Hartford, had 10 children, Ist, Capt. SAM- UEL, long a prominent man of E. Hartford, b. Feb. 18, 1776, d. Ap'l 8, 1847, m. Prudence Damon Oct. 4, 1797, and had 11 chil- dren, Samuel, 1798; Selden, 18 -; Mary, 1803; Philura, 1806 ; Samuel, 1808; Selden 2d, 1811; Hamilton, 1813; Adeline, A. 1816 ; Mary, 1818 ; Electa, P., 1821 ; Aleaty A., 1823. 2d, REU- BEN; 3d, ALLEN; 4th, DANIEL; 5th, GEORGE of E. H. ; 6th, ANNA, who m. Smith of E. Hartford ; 7th, ABIGAIL, the wife of James Hills, E. H. ; 8th, BETSEY, the wife of Russell . Taylor of Glastenbury ; 9th, LUCY, the wife of Matthias Treat, E. H., and 10th, EMILY, the wife of A. Vibbert of E. Hartford.
There is another family of Brewers living at East Hartford, who tradition says, descended from a DANIEL who came from Glasten- bury, whose son DANIEL, m. a Miss Slate, of Oxford society, now Manchester, about 1800. who had DAVID, CHAUNCEY, JOSEPH, JULIUS, and perhaps others who are living and have families in E. Hartford, Hartford and Glastenbury.
BREWER, CAPT. CHARLES, of Middletown, (grandson of Charles, of Springfield, the son of Rev. Daniel,) b. March 24, 1778, at Springfield, a Jeweller and Merchant, m. Hannah Fairbanks of Middletown and removed to Middletown, Oct. 13, 1800. They had 9 children, 1st, CHARLES, b. 1799, Merch't N. Y., d. unmarried, 1837 ; 2d, GEORGE, b. 1803, m. Mary Harris 1829 ; 3d, EDWIN,
327
GENEALOGY OF THE PURITANS.
b. 1805, m. Elizabeth Warner, 1830, and had two children, Emma and Edwin; 4th, Henry, b. 1807, m. Eliza Bridgham, 1841, and had two children, Charles and Mary Jane ; 5th, MARIA, b. 1809, m. Hon. Edwin Stearns of Middletown, the present Treasurer of Conn., in 1828, and had five children, William E., Charles E., William S., George F. and Mary J. ; 6th, FREDERICK, b. 1811, m. Clarissa M. Mather, 1845, have had 4 children, Frederick, Clara M., Fred'k B., and Mary M .; 7th, WILLIAM, b. 1814, d. 1821 ; 8th, Samuel, b. 1816, d. same year : 9th, Samuel, 2d, b. 1820, m. 1st, Lucy Dan- forth, 1846, and had a son William, 2d wife, Susan T. Baldwin of N. H., 1851, and had a daughter Maria S., b. June, 1852, &c.
Number of Coats of Arms.
Brewer or Bruer, (Devonshire) one Coat of Arms. Brewer or Bruer, (Kent,) one. Brewer, (London and Somsersetshire Her.' off. London) one. Brewer, (Bermondsey and Norfolk,) one, and one other. Brewers, Company (of London and Exeter,) one. Brew. ers, 1. Brune, 2. Bruers, 2. Records, His. Gen. and Stearns.
BREWSTER, ELDER WILLIAM, was b. in England, in 1559 or '60, and d. April 16, 1644, at Duxbury. He was one of the 101 signers of the contract forming themselves into a civil body politic, at Cape Cod, Nov. 11, 1620 : all passengers in the May Flower.
Gov. Bradford stated upon the church record of Plymouth, "that Elder Brewster was the chief of those that were taken at Boston in Lincolnshire, and suffered the greatest loss ; and one of the seven who was kept longest in prison, and after bound over to the assizes." (Gui. Ply. note, p. 14.) To say that Elder Brewster was one of the oldest and principal Puritan passengers in the May Flower, and landed on Plymouth Rock, Dec. 21, 1620, is giving no historical in- formation, for he was as far, and as familiarly known, as the vessel in which he came, or the event of which he was a principal actor. He had been fortunately educated and graduated at Cambridge, in England, when young-was married and had a family of children ; and his character established before he left England. The May Flower was chartered by the merchant adventurers of London, to transport a part of the Leyden church to this country ; and she sailed from Southampton for the eventful voyage on the 5th day of Aug., 1620, and anchored at Cape Cod, Nov. 11, 1620, after a voyage of ninety-eight days. They left Cape Cod and anchored on the 16th of Dec., in Plymouth Harbor ; and became with Carver, Bradford, Winslow, Alden, Allerton and others of the May Flower, the found- ers of the religious and civil Gov't in this country, and especially in
328
GENEALOGY OF THE PURITANS.
New England ; and the first founders of the first real Republic on earth. His wife was a passenger with the Elder ; also his son Love, son Wrestling, Lucretia wife of Jonathan, and William, son of Jon- athan.
Patience and Fear, daughters of Elder W'm, were left at Ley- den by their parents, and did not arrive in this country until 1624, when they came in the ship Ann. (Jonathan his eldest son came in the Fortune, in 1621.) Children of Elder W'm were :
1. Jonathan, m. Lucretia before he came to Plymouth, and had a son W'm, b. in England, and had Mary, Jonathan and Benjamin, born in this Country. Jonathan was for a time at Duxbury, and removed to New London about 1648, and was a townsman at New London in 1649.
2. Love, m. Sarah, daughter of Hon. W'm Collier, of that Colony.
3. Wrestling.
4. Patience, m. Gov. Thomas Prince, Aug. 5, 1624, and d. 1634.
5. Fear, m. Isaac Allerton as soon as 1627, and d. 1633.
In 1627 his wife was deceased, and Elder William had other children, viz., 6 Lucretia, 7 Mary and 8 William ; being eight child- ren by both wives. (See Thatcher's His. Ply., p. 268.) Elder William d. April 16, 1644, aged 83.
BREWSTER, JONATHAN, son of Elder William: his son William, b. in England, d. in the Indian war, in 1645. His daugh- ter Mary m. John Turner, of Scituate, Nov. 12, 1645. His son Jonathan, b. about 1627. Benjamin, his youngest son, m. Anna Dart, at New London, in 1659, and had issue ; Anna b. Sept. 1662; Jonathan, b. 1664; Daniel, b. 1667; William, b. 1669 ; Benjamin ; b. 1673. Perhaps others.
BREWSTER, LOVE, son of Elder W'm, m. Sarah Collier, May 15, 1634, and d. in 1650 ; he had children :
1. Sarah, m. Benjamin Bartlett, 1656.
2. Nathaniel, d. 1676.
3. W'm, m. Lydia Partridge, and d. Nov. 3. 1723 : She d. Feb. 2, 1742.
4. Wrestling, m. Mary, and had a family, and d. 1696. (Guide to Plymouth, p. 241. +
BREWSTER, JONATHAN, son of Elder W'm, is found in Court, in Conn., in 1648, with Elias Parkman his partner, and was made a freeman in Conn., in May, 1650. He probably came to Conn., between 1648 and '49; first to New London. He had been an efficient and active man at Duxbury for some years before he went to New London.
Mrs. Whiting of Hartford, plaintiff against Jonathan Brewster in 1648. The latter was called in court, or Elias Parkman his part-
329
GENEALOGY OF THE PURITANS.
ner. Neither appeared and forfeited their recognizance. (Elias Parkman of Windsor, in 1636.) He set up a trading-house at Mo- hegan, which the Gen'l Court considered disorderly, but suffered him to go on in May, 1650. Mr. Jonathan Brewster made free, 1650-was deputy to the Gen'l Court in Conn, Sept., 1650-May, 1656. Mr. Brewster was Deputy, May, 1655, (but absent.) Dep- uty, Aug., 1657, and Oct. 1, 1657-and chosen an assistant for Pequett in May, 1657-Deputy, May, 1657 and '8 .- He was ap- pointed by the Gen'l Court May, 1658, with Esq. Winthrop, Maior Mason and Mr. Allyn, to hold a court at Pequett, "to settle affayrs of ye place," and Mr. Winthrop to designate the time. The Gov'r," Mr. Willys, Mr. Allyn, Mr. Treat and Mr. Brewster, were ordered to assist each other in holding Court at New London, the 1st day of June, 1659. Mr. Benjamin Brewster was Deputy to the Gen'l Court at Hartford, May, 1668. (As the Christian name is not always re- corded, perhaps Benjamin might have been the Deputy in some in. stances before 1668.)
Mr. Benjamin Brewster had 200 acres of land granted to him by the Gen'l Court, by Poccotanock Brook. Perhaps at Wisquades. " The sayd land joynes to Norwich bownds ;" laid out 1669 __ grant- ed 1668. Mr. Benjamin confirmed Lieut. of the New London troops, 1673. Mr. Benjamin Brewster in the list of freemen at Norwich,
1669. Elder Sam'l Fuller remembered Mr. W'm Brewster in his will dated July 30, 1633, by giving him " my best hat and band wch I never wore." The inventory on the estate of Thomas Evans, de- ceased, made by Mr. John Howland and Jona. Brewster, Feb. 18, 1634. The Inventory of the estate of W'm Kemp of Duxbury, Sept. 23, 1641, was made by Jona. Brewster and others. Jona. and Love, sons of Elder Brewster, took letters of administration on the estate of Elder Brewster, (Duxbury,) their father, June 5, 1644. Jonathan Brewster is found in the list of those at " Duxborrow," able to bear arms from sixteen years old to sixty years old. In 1643 also W'm and Love.
BREWSTER, MR. BENJAMIN, son of Jonathan, and grand- son of Elder William Brewster, came to New London with his fa- ther. fle m. Anna Dart of New London, in 1659, and is found soon after at Norwich, (where Miss Caulkins says,) the birth of his daughter Annie is recorded, Sept. 1662, and notes his sons Jonathan, b. 1664 ; Daniel, b. 1667; William, b. 1669; and Benjamin, b. 1673. In 1693, he was a Commissioner at Norwich. In the list of freemen there, Oct. 9, 1669, where he proved one of the leaders of 28*
330
GENEALOGY OF THE PURITANS.
the town, and enjoyed many of its offices and honors, as have his numerous generations after him.
BREWSTER, NATHANIEL, D. D., a grandson of Elder W'm, settled at Brookhaven, L. Island, where he d. in .1690: His sons were John, Timothy and Daniel.
BREWSTER, SEABURY, a son of Wrestling, was born in the Plymouth Colony, Oct. 21, 1754; supposed at Kingston, (P.) He went to Norwich from Mass., soon after the war of the Revolution, and m. Sally Bradford of Montville, in 1785, and settled at Norwich, and had by her a son W'm, (who settled in Ohio.) After the death of his wife Sally, he m. for his 2d wife Lucy Leffingwell, and had two sons; and his 2d wife died in 1797, and he m. for his 3d wife Fanny Starr, of Norwich, in 1798; she died in 1833. By the last marriage he had three children, viz., Dr. or Sir Christopher S., of Paris in France, who report says was honored with the title of Knighthood by Emperor Nicholas of Russia, also dentist for Louis Philippe, late King of France ; 2d, Lucy L., who died young ; and 3d, Seabury Brewster, of the City of New York.
The Brewster family of New Haven are also descendants of El- der William, of Plymouth and Duxbury.
BREWSTER, JONATHAN, and his wife Mary were of Wind- ham, where his son Elijah was born, March 12, 1731 ; Jonathan, Jr., b. May 1, 1737 : Jonathan the father d. Nov. 24, 1753.
BREWSTER, JAMES, of Windham, m. Faith Ripley, March 15, 1737; issue, Lydia, b. March 18, 1740; Faith, b. May 30, 1742 ; d. 1745; Olive, b. June 18, 1744; 2d Faith, b. Nov. 18, 1746; James, b. Jan. 8, 1749 ; Mary, b. 1751; David, b. Dec. 21, 1753 ; Capt. James d. Oct. 2, 1755, aged 40.
BREWSTER, JONAH, of Windham, m. Joanna Waldo, Jan. 25, 1744 ; issue, Jonathan, b. Aug. 25, 1744; Nathan, b. Jan. 31, 1746 ; Ezekiel, b. July 19, 1747 ; Ann, b. 1749; and 2d Jonah, b. 1750 : Jonah the father d. June 3, 1750.
BREWSTER, WILLIAM and Esther, of Windham, had issue, Benjamin, b. Feb. 6, 1753; Hannah, b. 1754; Esther, b. 1756 ; Elizabeth, b. 1759; Cyntha, b. July 25, 1762; William, b. Jan. 21, 1765 ; Cyrus, b. Aug. 5, 1769; Bowen, b. April 19, 1773.
BREWSTER, DR. JOHN, was the first physician who settled at Hampton, Conn. He was peculiarly skillful in healing wounds ; he educated his sons W'm and Augustus. His son John was a portrait painter. Royal was a physician and settled in the state of Maine. Dr. John Brewster m. Mary, daughter of William Durkee, Nov. 6,
331
GENEALOGY OF THE PURITANS.
1760, and had issue, Mary, b. Sept. 9, 1762; W'm, b. June 17, 1764 ; John, b. May 30, 1766, (deaf and dumb ; ) Augustus, b. May 30, 1768 ; Royal, b. July 13, 1770 : Mary, wife of Dr. John, d. June 4, 1783, and he m. Ruth Avery of Brooklyn, June 4, 1789, and had children, W'm Augustus, b. Dec. 10, 1791, (an Apothecary at Kil- lingly ;) Sophia, b. April 9, 1795; d. April 24, 1800; Betsey A., b. Sept. 11, 1798 ; m. Joseph Prentis, Esq .; she d. Oct. 17, 1833 : Dr. John d. Aug. 18, 1823, aged 84. His wife Mary d. May 18, 1823, aged 69.
Coats of arms. Brewster ( Northamptonshire ) one. Brewster (Withfield Co., Essex) one. Brewester (Suffolk ) one.
One by this name had graduated at Harvard College in 1850, sev- en at Yale before 1851, and five at Williams College.
BREWEN, BRUEN, OBADIAH, EsQ., was one of the early and most active and useful settlers at Pequet, (N. London ; ) as early as 1653, he was the town Recorder. In April 11, 1660, he was ap- pointed Commissioner until the Court of Election, in May, then next, also James Rogers, Lt. Smith, John Smith, as Commissioners, who with the aid of Maior (Major) Mason to hold a Court of an inferior nature at Pequett, to try the business respecting Waterhouse, &c. In May, 1660, Mr. Bruen, J. Rogers and John Smith, were appoint- ed Commissioners, and Mr. John Tinker, assistant, for N. London. In May, 1662, Mr. O. Bruin was empowered by the Gen'l Court to administer oaths and grant warrants at N. L., as occasions should require. To prove his exalted standing in the Conn. Colony, I need only to mention the fact, that Obadiah Bruen was one of the impor- tant men in the Colony, who petitioned King Charles II., for the Charter of Ct., and one of the grantees to that instrument. In May, 1663, the Gen'l Court appointed him with Mr. Chapman and John Smith, of N. London, a committee to hear and determine the differ- ences, between the Indians at Niantick, and the English, for burn_ ing fences, or any other complaints against the Niantick Indians. An assistant in 1662. In 1664, he with Mr. Palmes and Ensign Avery, were Commissioners for N. London, invested with the pow- er of Magistrates in N. L. Commissioner with John Smith in 1663, and he was ordered by the Gen'l Court to give the freeman's oath to S. Rogers, Miles More, Rice, &c., the same Court. Mr. Brewen the Mayor, [ Mason,] and Hon. John Allyn, Oct., 1663, were appointed by the Gen'l Court to hold a Court at N. London, and the Judges to fix on the time for holding it. James Avery was appointed a Com- missioner to join Mr. Bruen at N. L., Oct., 1663. He was a Com-
332
GENEALOGY OF THE PURITANS.
missioner for N. L., May, 1665. In July, 1665, Mr. Bruen and others were ordered to hold a Court at N. L., on the 2d Wednesday of Nov., 1665. He was directed in March, 1662-3, to administer the oath to such persons as should be elected Constables for the year. He was Commissioner for N., London in 1666. Mr. Bruen was chosen a representative from N. L., to the Gen'l Court, in Oct., 1665, but was absent; also in Oct., 1666. Notwithstanding the fore- going and many other honors, which had been conferred upon Mr. Bruen by Conn., he became dissatisfied with his location, and with many others of the Colony from N. L., Branford, N. Haven, Mil- ford &c., entered into a written contract, to remove from the Conn. Colony to Newark, New Jersey. Whitehead, in his History of N. Jersey, says " Newark, (N. J.,) was first settled in 1666, and on the 11th day of July, 1667, Obadiah Bruen, Michael Tompkins, Samu- el Ketchell, John Browne and Rober: Denison, from N. London, pur- chased of the Indians a tract of land in N. Jersey, bounded with the Bay eastward, and the Great River Pesayak northward, the Great Creek or river in the meadow, to the head of the cove, then bearing a west line for the south bounds, &c. ; on the west line back into the country to the foot of the great mountain." Mr. Bruen probably about this time removed with his family to the new settlement, (at first called Milford,) afterwards named " Newark," in N. J. Who or when Hon. Obadiah Bruen married, I cannot say, and know of but two of his children, John and Hannah.
The Milford record says that John Baldwin, Sen., of Milford, m. Marie, daughter of John Bruen of Pequet, (N. L .; ) also says that John, son of John Baldwin, Sen., m. Hannah Bruen, daughter of Obadiah, Oct. 30, 1663, of N. London. As there was no John Bruen of N. London, except John the young son of Obadiah, it is probable that Marie Bruen, who m. John Baldwin, Sen., was a sister of Obadiah. John, son of Obadiah, went with his father to Newark, and he, John, m. Esther Smith and settled in Newark. Esther wid- ow of John Bruen, planter, " received a grant of land from the Lords Proprietors" of New Jersey, in 1696. Cong.
As Mr. Bruen was in authority in Conn., Mathew Camfield one of the Gen'l Court, and Robert Treat, afterwards Gov. of Conn., it has often been a matter of conjecture why these men should have left New England for the banks of the Passaic, without a govern- ment, except the contract signed at Branford, yet such was the fact, and united with the first company of Mr. Treat, &c. Conger says " Bruen, Kitchell, Tompkins and Co., having purchased of Wekapro-
333
GENEALOGY OF THE PURITANS.
kikan, Wamesane, Mamistonne, and Co., for themselves and asso- ciates, we find Mr. Bruen, when Ab. Pierson, Jr., was called ' to be helpful to his father,' with Sam'l Kitchell, appointed to assist the Deacons in making the rate for their maintenance. On Jan. 1, 1669-70, ' John Bruen had granted to him upon his father's motion, the five acres of upland next Mr. Bruen's lot, that was formerly laid out as a part of Mr. Leet's lot, and the other was promised to him. He is to take it up with his father Bruen's next division of upland.' John Bruen married Hannah, a daughter of Deacon Richard Lau- rence, (born at Branford in 1657,) and the name of her brother, Eleazer, was borne by three generations of the Bruens. Eleazer, who early in this century manufactured cut nail, on the home-lot of his English ancestor, opposite the N. J. R. R. depot, and demonstra- ted the truth of the ancient saying, that talent belonged to the Bru- ens, is remembered by many.
BRUEN, ELEAZER, Joseph and John, were grandsons of Oba- diah. One of the daughters of John, by a familiar process became a Durand, another a Hayes, two of them Balls, and another a Headly.
John Baldwin's, Sen's second wife was Ruth, daughter of Henry Botsford, of Milford, and was the mother of Samuel, Daniel, Joseph, Timothy, Elnathan, Nathaniel, Jonathan and Ruth, the second wife of Eleazer Bruen. This Ruth died about 1717, and in her will, names Eleazer, her husband's son by his first wife, and her own sons Timothy and Obadiah, who seem to have been twins, as Obadi- ah died in 1774, at 64, and Timothy in 1778, aged 68. Obadiah, married Dorcas, a daughter of Daniel Brown, a son of John Brown, Sen., who is also named in the deed from the Indians. She died in 1741, aged 31. On the N. corner of Hill and Broad, on the orig- inal home-lot of John Browne, her descendants still retain their in- heritance, and drink from the old well."
* Mr. Obadiah Bruen continued his usefulness at Newark, until his death, where he yet has several descendants now living.
* In " Clark's Marrow of Ecclesiastical History," (London, 1650.) (says Conger,) we have to- gether with notices of Constantine, Justinian, Edward VI., and Queen Elizabeth, a biography of John Bruen, Esq., the representative of the family in the 16th century, who, says one, was " one of the few individuals whose private virtues alone, in the rank of a country gentleman, have obtained a place in the annals of biography. His tenets were those of the Calvinistic Puritans, but his goodness of heart would have reflected honor on any rank and any religion.
He was born in 1560. His earlier years were passed in private education, after which he was sent to Oxford. Having married in 1580, he returned to his father's seat at Bruen Staple-
334
GENEALOGY OF THE PURITANS.
Bruen (Stapleford, Co. Chester,) has one coat of arms. Bruin or Bruen has one. Bruin two. Brewin two.
ford, and entered into all the amasements to which his youth and fortune prompted him. This career of pleasure, which. notwithstanding the animadversions of his biographer, appears to have been a very moderate one terminated with the life of his father in 1587, who "together with his tands, left Irim charged with the portions of twelve children." To relieve himself from these incumbrances, the park of Bruen Stapleford, "well furnished with deer," was im- mediately dis-parked ; the hawks, and hounds, and every unnecessary expense were cut off, and the whole mind of the new proprietor turned to the formning within his family a pattern of' re- ligions economy which was certainly eccentric, but appears to have originated solely in the un- affected piety of its master The benevolence and piety of Mr. Bruen had rendered him such an object of respect in the country, that many of the most distinguished families were among the constant inmates of his house, and begged that their children might be brought up under his directions. He cl ved his career of active goodness by a death, in every respect conformn- able to it, in 1625." The particulars of his marriages, connexions, and pedigree, may be found in "Ormerod's Cheshire." No 6607, Harl. MSS., is entitled, " A godly profitable collection of divers sentences out of Holy Scripture, and variety of matter out of several divine authors." By John Bruen, "commonly called his cards, being 52 in number."
For the edification of his descendants we quote from "Clark's Marrow" as follows: While at Oxford " being familiar with one John Breerwood. his Countriman, This Breerwood observ- ing in him some Popish practices and opinions, set upon him by Scripture arguments to con- vince and reform him. whereupon this young Gentleman (through God's mercy,) was so wrought upon. that as himself wrote it down in his Book; I was, saith he, then inflamed with zeal against the prophane beast of Rome, and all Popery, both persons and things, with all their Monuments, Rites and Ceremonies. &c. After a while his father sent for him home, that he might dispose of him in marriage, and provided for him the daughter of one Mt. Hardware, (a worthy and wise Gentleman.) to whom he was married with consent of Parents, and in the fear of God. and lived very comfortably with ber for 17 years, seeing his sons and daughters as Olive plants round about his Table. Then, being in the prime of his youth, he spent too much time in hunting, hawking and such carnal delights."
" Anno, 1590. Having provided for his Parish a worthy preacher, the people, though they adinired his gifts. yet they would not so much as thank him for his pains, which was a great discouragement to the Minister. Hereupon, Master Brnen withdrew his Preacher into his own Chapel, to make the people more to prize the Word by the want of it. Then resorted many to him. some to the Chapel to feed their souls, and many into the Hall to feed their bellies, to his no small cost, and yet great comfort, because Religion increased thereby. But after a while, at the importunit, of Christian friends he restored him to the publike Congregation, maintain- ing hiin and other Preachers after him. till by the death of the Incumbent, God established a faithful Pastor amongst them. And whereas the people at Tarvin had a bad custom of keeping Wakes npon the Sabbath l'ay, at which time there was much profaneness practised, to the dis- honor of God, by banqueting. drinking, dancing, &c. This godly Gentleman, studying to rem- edy this great evil, against that time, every year, provided three of the best affected Ministers in the Country, who spent most part of three days in preaching and praying in the Church, so that the Pipers. Fidlers. Bearwards Players and Gamesters, had no time left them for their van- ities, but went away with great fretting. And for the preventing of these mischiefs, and to exercise the heads and hearts of his Family, and of such as came occasionally to his house, he bought two goodly fair Bibles, and set them upon two Desks, one in his Hall, the other in his Parlonr." and " Being on a time at the Sheriff's Table. there was a health begun to the Prince, and there were great Lords present but when it came to Master Bruen, he said, You may drink his Health. and I will pray for his health, but drink for mine own health, and so wish you may do for yours, and so he passed it over, not yielding to any of the solemn Cerimonies in that act."
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.