Brewster, Reverend Nathaniel
1618 - 1690 (72 years)-
Name Brewster, Nathaniel Title Reverend Birth 1618 Castle Bristol, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England 
Gender Male Arrival Between 1620 and 1650 New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, United States Find A Grave Setauket Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Setauket, Suffolk, New York, United States 31597216 Verified Yes - Research Religion Between 1665 and 1685 Setauket, Suffolk, New York, United States First Minister of Presbyterian Church Will Dated 16 Mar 1684 Suffolk, New York, United States _AMTID 122722688761:1030:207924248 _COLOR 1 _COLOR1 20 _FSFTID 9SF3-41G _UID 73B5C45D9B1644EF974DD9300DF75871E794 Death 18 Dec 1690 Setauket, Suffolk, New York, United States Cause: Age: 71 Burial Setauket Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Setauket, Suffolk, New York, United States Person ID I47 Charles Banks and Jon Ray Family Tree Last Modified 2 Apr 2022
Father Brewster, Doctor Francis C II, b. 1589, Castle Bristol, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England d. 30 Dec 1646, Sulawesi Tengah, Indonesia (Age 57 years) Mother Jones, Lucretia, b. 12 Jan 1599, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England d. 4 Mar 1671, New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, United States (Age 72 years) Marriage 5 Sep 1624 Christchurch, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England Family ID F21 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family 1 Reymes, Abigail, b. 1621, Edgefield, Norfolk, England d. 1658, England (Age 37 years) Marriage 1644 Bristol, Somerset, England Family ID F15 Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 10 Mar 2026
Family 2 Ludlow, Sarah, b. 1639, Fairfield, Connecticut Colony, British Colonial America d. 3 May 1695, Brookhaven, Suffolk, New York Colony, British Colonial America (Age 56 years) Marriage 1656 Dublin, Ireland Children 1. Brewster, Sarah, b. 25 Apr 1656, Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States d. 2 Feb 1743, Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States (Age 86 years)2. Brewster, Daniel I, b. 31 Oct 1662, Abbey, Norfolk, England d. 15 Jun 1748, Brookhaven, Suffolk, New York Colony, British Colonial America (Age 85 years)3. Brewster, Hannah, b. 19 May 1669, Brookhaven, Suffolk, New York, United States d. 11 Nov 1755, Long Island City, Queens, New York, United States (Age 86 years)4. Brewster, Mary Smith, b. 25 Dec 1673, Brookhaven, Suffolk, New York, United States d. 27 Mar 1746, Bedford, Westchester, New York, United States (Age 72 years)Family ID F14 Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 10 Mar 2026
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Event Map 
Arrival - Between 1620 and 1650 - New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, United States 
Find A Grave - 31597216 - - Setauket Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Setauket, Suffolk, New York, United States 
Religion - First Minister of Presbyterian Church - Between 1665 and 1685 - Setauket, Suffolk, New York, United States 
Will Dated - 16 Mar 1684 - Suffolk, New York, United States Death - Cause: Age: 71 - 18 Dec 1690 - Setauket, Suffolk, New York, United States Burial - - Setauket Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Setauket, Suffolk, New York, United States = Link to Google Earth
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Notes - The Rev. NATHANIEL BREWSTER was a son of FRANCIS BREWSTER and LUCY JONES who were married 5-SEP-1624 in Christchurch, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England, and NATHANIEL was born in Bristol sometime after 1624. NATHANIEL BREWSTER was twice married; his first wife being ABIGAIL REYNES; and his second wife was SARAH LUDLOW. Nathaniel Brewster settled his family in Setauket in 1665, and he became the first minister of what was then called the First Presbyterian Church, and his ministry there lasted for twenty-five years. Many of the earlier Brewsters are buried in the Brewster Family Cemetery located in Setauket on Jeffrey Lane, and many of his descendants are buried here in the Presbyterian churchyard.
The headstone says c 1622; He could have been born as early as 1618, if he came to American in 1620.... Actual date of birth is not verified.
Nathaniel Brewster was in the first graduating class at Harvard University in 1642. In 1643 he left for England and labored in the Ministry until 1663. He received his BD in Theology in 1648 from the University of Dublin. He found a Congregational Church in Alby, England in 1650. He was known to be an associate of Lord Oliver Cromwell, and active in the Cromwellian Government. In 1655 he was sent to Ireland by Cromwell.
Received from Dublin the degree of Bachelor of Divinity; returned to America, and settled in 1656, at Brookhaven, L. I.; and died in 1690, leaving 3 sons, John, Timothy, and Daniel, whose descendants are still respectable on Long Island. Hon. Silas Wood, MS letter.
Rev. Nathaniel Brewster was a dissenting minister in England and after his marriage to Sarah Ludlow, they fled from the persecution in England to America for liberty of worship. In 1663, the Brewster family returned to America. Nathaniel Brewster settled his family in Setauket in 1665, and he became the first minister of what was then called the First Presbyterian Church, and his ministry there lasted for twenty-five years.
Nathaniel Brewster was twice married; his first wife being Abigail Reynes; and his second wife was Sarah Ludlow. Brewster was married to Roger Ludlow's daughter Sarah, who is said to have been distinguished for her literary acquirements and domestic virtues.
By 1656-60, Nathaniel had married Sarah Ludlow, daughter of Roger Ludlow (of established royal descent). Most likely having met and/or married her in Dublin, Ireland, as Roger Ludlow and his family are recorded as having been in Dublin at the time of Nathaniel Brewster's and Henry Cromwell's visits there.
It is generally accepted that Nathaniel's first wife, the daughter of John Reymes, was most likely the mother of Nathaniel's first three or four children: John, Abigail, Sarah, and possibly Timothy and that Sarah Ludlow Brewster therefore the mother of the latter children; (possibly Timothy), Daniel (Baptized October 31, 1662 in Alby as the son of Nathaniel and Sarah), Deborah, Dinah, And Hannah.
By September 1663, Nathaniel had returned to america with his family, this time in Boston, Ma. By 1665, they had relocated to Setauket, Brookhaven, Long Island, where Nathaniel and Sarah remained for the rest of their lives.
Many of the earlier Brewster’s are buried in the Brewster Family Cemetery located in Setauket on Jeffrey Lane, and many of his descendants are buried here in the Presbyterian churchyard.
- The Rev. NATHANIEL BREWSTER was a son of FRANCIS BREWSTER and LUCY JONES who were married 5-SEP-1624 in Christchurch, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England, and NATHANIEL was born in Bristol sometime after 1624. NATHANIEL BREWSTER was twice married; his first wife being ABIGAIL REYNES; and his second wife was SARAH LUDLOW. Nathaniel Brewster settled his family in Setauket in 1665, and he became the first minister of what was then called the First Presbyterian Church, and his ministry there lasted for twenty-five years. Many of the earlier Brewsters are buried in the Brewster Family Cemetery located in Setauket on Jeffrey Lane, and many of his descendants are buried here in the Presbyterian churchyard.
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Reference Charles Banks. "Brewster, Reverend Nathaniel". The families of Charles Banks and Jon Ray. https://familytree.banksray.com/getperson.php?personID=I47&tree=banksray (accessed April 24, 2026).