Brewster, Elder Jonathan
1593 - 1659 (65 years)-
Name Brewster, Elder Jonathan Birth 12 Aug 1593 Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England 
- named for the courageous son of the Biblical King Saul and loyal friend of David; this was not a common Christian name in England during this period.
Gender Male Arrival 1609 Leiden, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands age 16 when arrived w/ parents Occupation 1609 Leiden, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands became a ribbon maker; Leyden was the center of profitable Dutch textile industry Nationality 30 Jun 1617 Leiden, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands became a Dutch citizen Naturalization 30 Jun 1617 Leiden, South Holland, Netherlands Dutch Arrival 9 Nov 1621 Plymouth Colony, British Colonial America came via ship, Fortune. Immigration 9 Nov 1621 Plymouth Colony, British Colonial America - Left England in August of 1621 on the "Fortune"; sighted land from Cape Cod and landed in Plymouth 9 November 1621.
Residence 22 May 1627 Plymouth Colony, British Colonial America Residence 1630 Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States - moved here. He was deputy to the General Court (the earliest assembly of deputies in that colony), Plymouth Colony, 1639, '41, '42, '43 and '44.
Residence 1632 Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States Freeman 1633 Plymouth Colony, British Colonial America Military 1637 Connecticut Colony, British Colonial America Military Commissioner in the Pequot War - military commissioner in the Pequot War; a member of the Duxbury Committee to raise forces in the Narragansett Alarm of 1642, and a member of Captain Standish's Duxbury Co. in the military enrollment of 1643. http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cg
Military 1637 Plymouth Colony, British Colonial America Pequot War Military 1642 Plymouth Colony, British Colonial America Narrangansett Alarm Military 1643 Duxbury, Plymouth Colony, British Colonial America Enlisted under Capt. Myles Standish Occupation Candle manufacturer Occupation Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England Ribbon Maker Residence Aug 1643 Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States Occupation 1650 Preston, Norwich, New London, Connecticut, United States - Farmer as well as deputy to the General Court of the Colony of Connecticut, 1650, '55, '56, '57 and '58.
Will 1659 New London, Connecticut Colony, British Colonial America - Died intestate; had deeded all property in 1658 to son, Benjamin Brewster, and his son-in-law, John Pickett who married his daughter, Mary.
_AMTID 122722689658:1030:207924248 _COLOR 19 _FSFTID L5BC-D56 _UID 1CC632DBD41C4528A0C27016839D47D87318 Burial Aug 1659 Brewster Cemetery, Brewsters Neck, Preston, Connecticut Colony, British Colonial America Death 7 Aug 1659 Norwich, New London, Connecticut Colony, British Colonial America Person ID I998 Charles Banks and Jon Ray Family Tree Last Modified 13 Aug 2025
Father Brewster, Reverend Elder of the Pilgrim's Church William IV, b. 24 Jan 1566, Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England d. 10 Apr 1644, Duxbury, Plymouth Colony, British Colonial America (Age 78 years) Mother Wentworth, Mary Love, b. 1569, Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England d. 17 Apr 1627, Plymouth Colony, British Colonial America (Age 58 years) Marriage 1590 Nottinghamshire, England - see "comment" on her page; 6 children: Jonathan, Patience, Fear, Love, Wrestling, & a child buried at St. Pancras in Leiden, Holland
Family ID F333 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family Oldham, Lucretia, b. 14 Jan 1600 d. 4 Mar 1679, Preston, New London, Connecticut Colony, British Colonial America (Age 79 years) Marriage 10 Apr 1624 Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States Children 1. Brewster, William, b. 9 Mar 1625, Plymouth, Iowa, United States d. Yes, date unknown2. Brewster, Mary, b. 16 Apr 1627, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States d. 23 Mar 1698, Scituate, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States (Age 70 years)3. Brewster, Jonathan, b. 17 Jul 1629, Plymouth, Iowa, United States d. Yes, date unknown4. Brewster, Ruth, b. 3 Oct 1631, Plymouth, Iowa, United States d. 1 May 1677, New London, New London, Connecticut, United States (Age 45 years)5. Brewster, Captain Benjamin, b. 17 Nov 1633, Duxbury, Plymouth Colony, British Colonial America d. 14 Sep 1710, Preston, New London, Connecticut Colony, British Colonial America (Age 76 years)6. Brewster, Elizabeth, b. 1 May 1637, Duxbury, Plymouth Colony, British Colonial America d. Feb 1708, New London, Connecticut Colony, British Colonial America (Age 70 years)7. Brewster, Grace, b. 1 Nov 1639, Maryland, United States d. 22 Apr 1684 (Age 44 years)Family ID F424 Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 27 Jan 2026
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Event Map 
Birth - 12 Aug 1593 - Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England 
Arrival - age 16 when arrived w/ parents - 1609 - Leiden, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands Occupation - became a ribbon maker; Leyden was the center of profitable Dutch textile industry - 1609 - Leiden, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands Nationality - became a Dutch citizen - 30 Jun 1617 - Leiden, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands 
Marriage - 10 Apr 1624 - Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States 
Residence - 1630 - Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States Residence - 1632 - Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States 
Military - Enlisted under Capt. Myles Standish - 1643 - Duxbury, Plymouth Colony, British Colonial America Occupation - Ribbon Maker - - Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England Residence - Aug 1643 - Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States 
Will - 1659 - New London, Connecticut Colony, British Colonial America 
Death - 7 Aug 1659 - Norwich, New London, Connecticut Colony, British Colonial America = Link to Google Earth
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Notes - 1622 - Under occupation he spent most of his life as the Pilgrims' resident agent at trading posts in CT; his trading post is now the site of Norwich, CT. Also set up lab for amateur chemical experiments; conferred with John Winthrop, Jr. who also had a lab.
JONATHAN BREWSTER was born 12 August 1593 at Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England the son and eldest child of elder William Brewster and his wife, Mary. He had two younger sisters, Patience and Fear, and two younger brothers, Love and Wrestling along with an unnamed sibling who was buried, 20 June 1609 at Leyden, Holland.
He accompanied his family to Leiden in Holland around 1608 and accepted citizenship on 30 June 1617. Jonathan Brewster was "Lintwerker" or ribbon maker in Pieterskerhof, Leyden, Holland, and in 1617 he formed a partnership with Thomas Brewer, who later became one of the Adventurers in Plymouth. He was married to his first wife, Betje Rabnitz, on 27 April 1618.
Jonathan did not join his family on the Mayflower in 1620. Instead, he remained in Leiden with his wife, who was expecting at the time. She and their infant son died around 1620. Jonathan came to America on the ship Fortune which docked at Cape Cod on 9 Nov. 1621. He was 27 years old at the time.
Jonathan married Lucretia Oldham, 10 Apr. 1624 in Plymouth. Lucretia was chr. 1 Jan. 1600/1, the daughter of William Oldham and Phillipa Sowter, of Derby, Derbyshire, England. and her brother John Oldham arrived in aboard the ship Ann in 1623; her brother was Captain John Oldham, whose slaying led to the Pequot Indian war. They had eight children.
He moved to Duxbury, Massachusetts around 1630. Jonathan was also one of the men who undertook to discharge the debts of Plymouth Colony. A freeman in 1633,
In 1635 he was in charge of a trading post in Connecticut on behalf of Plymouth Colony In a letter written 18 June 1636 Jonathan gave notice to John Winthrop, Governor of the fort at Saybrook, of the evil designs of the Pequots. On his return to Duxbury, he was active in the settlement of the town. Duxbury, incorporated, 7 June 1637. Records indicate that he served as a surveyor, laid out highways, practiced as an attorney, and was styled a “gentleman.” He served as a military commissioner in the Pequot War of 1637. He was on a committee to raise forces during the Narragansett Alarm of 1642, and was a member of Captain Myles Standish’s Duxbury Company in 1643. He served as Deputy to General Court 1639, 1641, 1643-1644.
In 1638, Jonathan Brewster established a ferry service to transport passengers and cattle across the North River. In 1641, he sold this to Messrs. Barker, Howell and others. He also practiced as an attorney and was the master and owner of a coasting vessel plying as far south as Virginia. This was evidently unprofitable, according to a letter written by Roger Williams to John Winthrop, Jr.:
“Sir, (although Mr. Brewster write me not a word of it) yet in private I am bold to tell you that I hear it hath pleased God greatly to afflict him in the thorne of his life: He was intended for Virginia, his creditors in the Bay came to Portsmouth and unhung his rudder, carried him to the bay, where he was forced to make over house, land, cattle, and part with all to his chest. Oh how sweet is a dry morsel and a handful, with quietness from earth & heaven.”
Sometime before Sept 1649 he moved to Connecticut, being appointed town clerk of Pequot (New London) and obtained a grant of land from the Mohegan Sachem, Uncas, in that town, still known as Brewster's Neck, from which he operated a trading post with the Indians." (Brewster Book, by Milton Terry, 1985.) Because Jonathan had set up his trading post without the authority of the local government, he was censured, but the deed was confirmed by the town on 30 November 1652.
He died 7 Aug. 1659 in New London, Connecticut. His widow, Lucretia died at Parston, New London, Connecticut 4 Mar 1678. Jonathan and Lucretia are both buried in Brewster Cemetery, Brewster’s Neck, Preston, Connecticut. A monument was erected there in their memory by their descendants.
Children of Jonathan Brewster and Luretia Oldham:
1. WILLIAM BREWSTER, born 9 March 1625, at Plymouth and married Mary Peame,
2. MARY BREWSTER, born 16 April 1627, at Plymouth and married John Turner, 10 Nov. 1645 at Plymouth
3. JONATHAN BREWSTER, born 17 July 1629 at Plymouth
4. RUTH BREWSTER, born 3 October 1631, married John Pickett, 14 March 1651, at New London, Connecticut. She died 30 Apr. 1677, at New London, Connecticut.
5. BENJAMIN BREWSTER, born 17 November 1633. At Duxbury, Plymouth and married Ann Adis, 23 Feb 1660, at Norwich, New London, Connecticut. He died 14 Sep. 1710, at Preston, New London, Connecticut.
6. ELIZABETH BREWSTER, born 1 May 1637, at Duxbury, Plymouth. She married 1st Peter Bradley, 7 Sep. 1653 at New London, New London, Connecticut and 2nd Thomas Bowen, abt. 1677 at New London, New London, Connecticut. She died Feb. 1708 at New London, New London, Connecticut.
7. GRACE BREWSTER, born 1 November 1639. At Duxbury, Plymouth and married Daniel Wetherell, 4 Aug. 1664, at New London, New London, Connecticut. She died 22 Apr. 1684, at New London, New London, Connecticut.
8. HANNAH BREWSTER, born 3 November 1641, at Duxbury, Plymouth and married 1st Samuel Starr, 23 Dec. 1664, at New London, New London, Connecticut and 2nd James Morgan Jr., abt. 1690, at New London, New London, Connecticut. She died 11 Dec. 1711, at Gorton, New London, Connectikcut.
- 1622 - Under occupation he spent most of his life as the Pilgrims' resident agent at trading posts in CT; his trading post is now the site of Norwich, CT. Also set up lab for amateur chemical experiments; conferred with John Winthrop, Jr. who also had a lab.