BREWER FAMILY and extended families

3/7/09 Just uploaded Brewer history see it on Brewer Genealogy page

.  The following is an oral history of the Brewer family, Ringwood, Hampshire, England as told to my Mother Alice May (Brewer) Covell by Emily (Ford) Brewer her mother. Keep in mind this is a oral history, and everything is subject to verification

Jesse Brewer wed Mary Ann Lockyer

Jesse was a roof thatcher, made fences and laid brick walls. Did good work so never lacked work.  He was happy go lucky and would leave his work to race after the hounds if they went anywhere near him.  Loved people and would stop in the public house for a mug of beer and play skittles. Someone was always getting him to race, as he could out run men half his age. By doing so lost time and money from work which upset his wife.

  Mary Ann (Lockyer) his wife was a very good woman and kept the children together. They had nine children plus brought up her daughters child as her own.

The children's names were:

William b.1859

Julia      b.1861

David    b.1862

Walter   b.1864

Edith     b.1866

Unice    b.1868 (Eunice)

Albert    b.1870

Sidney  b.1872

Enos     b.1877

Herbert  b.1882

Fred      b.1883* Eunice son

Brewer family in England

*note this writing is not accurate but it will be corrected in red later 

Best-Ford family

As told to Alice May (Brewer) Covell by her mother Emily Jane Brewer

Elizabeth Best's mother died when she was young and her father married again and had several children. Two of her half brothers were over six feet tall and were metropolitan policeman in London. Her half sister married a gentleman's man (valet) and she was a lady's maid and they traveled over Europe. Elizabeth Best married Thomas Ford he was a tailor and died of pneumonia when Emily Ford, his daughter was ten? years old. Emily was an only child. She spent a lot of time with an aunt who was a midwife and also married a Ford, they lived nearby and Elizabeth visited them as a child. After Emily's father died her aunt wished to adopt her and leave her what she had in her will as she had no child of her own.

Elizabeth Best was engaged to a young man when she was very young. She had helped him save money to be married. He skipped out on her and went to America because he gambled all the money they had saved. He worked his way over to the USA. (years later he in Plymouth he came to see Emily)

BREWER FAMILY  

Emily Ford married David Brewer in 1886 in Edinburgh Scotland. They had eight children.

The dates and names below are not correct but I will correct them later.

Jesse Brewer about 1841 married Mary Ann Lambert Jesse was a stone mason and roof thatcher. Never took life to seriously, stopped at at the pubs and drank beer. He could out run young men half his age. He lived to be 90+. Mary Ann was a fine woman and she died of cancer in 1898. They had ten children. William, David, Julia, Enos, Sidney, Amos (died young), Gertrude, Hubert, Walter, Fred**.

William had four children, David had eight, Julia ?, Enos three or four? Sidney one, Gertrude? nine, Hubert ?, Walter ?, Fred ?. Gertrude* She had Fred when she was fifteen and her mother brought him up with her children.

Gertrude?(Eunice) went to work at about thirteen for a gentleman's estate as a chamber maid. The son raped her and when she told the housekeeper they wrote Jesse and Sid her brother went to get her. Because they were wealthy they were afraid to make a fuss about it. When the baby was born Mary Ann brought him up as her own. His name was Fred Brewer. A few years after Fred was born Gertrude? married Thomas Andrews. They had ten children. Her eldest son Jesse Andrews came to the U.S. When he turned twenty one. He stayed with Emily Brewer and family. He was not a likable young man, small and felt so important. Two of his sisters came to the U.S. some years later, Eva and husband lived and worked in N.Y. Gertrude lived in Beverly Cove, MA. Neither had children and don't know there husbands names.

Fred Brewer came to the U.S. when he turned 19 and stayed with Emily and David Brewer for a few months but decided he would rather try to get ahead in Australia. He became a sheep man and drove them into the Freeland for two years. He and another man made a fortune after a few years. As far as I know he always lived there.

William Brewer the oldest son went to work at ten yrs old. He worked on a big estate and walked and fed the dogs. When he was waiting between feedings he tried to read any piece of paper or book that he saw. The lady of the house saw him and asked him if he would like to learn to read. She sent him to a night school for several years. He finally worked in a public house and ended up owning it in his 30s. He had four children, one was retarded and the others were very bright.

David Brewer married Emily Jane Ford and had eight children. Jesse the first born was born in Scotland, Hubert, Ada, Charles (died young) and David were born in England. When Jesse was nine, Hubert five, Ada four, David six mo. David had a chance to come to the U.S.

Mr. Jorden had a sister who married someone of money in England. So the sister was asked to find a man who could raise pheasant and work as a game warden on his estate . She picked David Brewer. He came to the U.S. Three months before his wife Emily, to see if he would care to stay. They built a five room home for him inside the bird farm. He liked it here so much he sent for Emily, She had the job of breaking up the home and getting four children on the ship for the U.S.

The baby David was six months old. When she arrived in Boston everyone got off the ship but no one was there to pick them up. She was so frightened for fear that they would send her back. Finally a young clerk from Jorden Marsh store came for her. He told her they had word that Mr Brewer couldn't leave and to put her and family on the train for Plymouth and he would be waiting for her there. The clerk took them to a nice restaurant and got them a good meal. He then ordered a big box of sandwiches and cookies for the children to eat on the train. David met them at the Plymouth station. Emily said later she scolded him for not meeting and said it was the last time she would follow him around all over kingdom come. She didn't stay mad long and the children were so happy to see there father. Emily was only 5' tall and weighed 95# at that time.

* No Gertrude in any records I can find, but Fred is. I suspect it was Eunice and not Gertrude who had child