Nicholas Brouwer

Nicholas Brouwer probably was born in June 1714. Perhaps he was the son of Adolph (or Adam) and Jannetje Verdon Brouwer. Then, he would have grown up the eldest son of a large lower Hudson Valley family.

In June 1743, he is said to have married Mary Dutcher. By 1761, five children had been christened in Dutch churches in Dutchess County. In March 1765, he married Sarah Drake in Poughkeepsie. Over the next decade, she gave birth to at least six more children.

In 1766, his property on the Southside of Albany was valued on city assessment rolls.

In 1767, his name appeared on the roster of a first ward Albany militia company.

During the 1760s and early '70s, his accounts were paid from the city treasury.

"Weak in body," he filed a will in September 1777. At that time, he stated that he was "of Albany." The will mentioned a variety of properties including lots in Albany and a schooner then tied up at the Albany wharf. The witnesses to his will were Albany residents. Nicholas Brouwer was dead by November 15 when the will passed probate.

Those Albany lots were valued under the name of his widow in March 1779. Widow Sarah later re-married and Brouwer's estate was the subject of further litigation.

Sources: The life of Nicholas Brouwer is CAP biography number 7438. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources. Several same-named individuals were alive in New York at the same time. Additional Genealogy.