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Mrs. Mary Brewster
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| Birth: About
1569, in England, probably in the vicinity of Yorkshire or
Nottinghamshire. |
 Pilgrim:
A Biography of William Brewster, by Mary B.
Sherwood. William Brewster is one of the most interesting of the
Mayflower passengers, and this biography does a nice job telling
the story of his life: from growing up, going to college, becoming
assistant to the Secretary of State, becoming postmaster of Scrooby,
helping to build the Separatist church there, migrating to Holland,
publishing illegal religious pamphlets, and settling in America.
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Marriage:
- William Brewster, about 1592, probably in Scrooby, Nottinghamshire.
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| Death: 17 April
1627, Plymouth. |
| Children:
Jonathan, Patience, Fear, unnamed child who died young, Love, and
Wrestling. |
Biographical Summary
The English origins of Mrs. Mary
Brewster are not known. A number of theories have been proposed
over the years, including maiden names such as Wentworth, Love, Wyrall,
and others. However, no proof to support any of these theories has
been found. We know that Mary was born
about 1569, because she stated she was 40 years old in an affidavit
filed in Leiden, Holland on 25 June 1609. She was presumably from
the vicinity of Doncaster, Yorkshire or Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, as she
married William Brewster there about 1592 and had their first son
Jonathan born there a year later. She next had a daughter
Patience, born about 1600 or somewhat earlier. About 1606, the
church congregation began more formally meeting at the Scrooby manor,
where she and husband William resided. About this time, pressure
from the English authorities was mounting, and the meetings became more
and more secretive. She gave birth to another daughter at this
time, which they named Fear. The couple fled just over a year
later for Holland with the other members of the congregation, and in
Leiden they buried an unnamed child: presumably one that had died in
infancy. In 1611, she gave birth to a son they named Love, and two
or three years later gave birth to their last son, which they named
Wrestling. Mary came to Plymouth on the
Mayflower in 1620 with husband William, and her two youngest
children Love and Wrestling. Mary was one of only five adult women
to survive the first winter, and one of only four women to survive to
the so-called "first" Thanksgiving in 1621. Son Jonathan Brewster
joined the family in November 1621, arriving at Plymouth on the ship
Fortune. Daughters Patience and Fear came on the ship Anne
in 1623. Mary died in 1627 at Plymouth, having reached about the
age of 60. Husband William survived her, and would live another 17
years before he died. |
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