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Show ContentsBrewer History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
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Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

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Brewer is a German occupational surname that evolved in the region known as the Rhineland. Germans at first used only one name, but population growth and increased travel in medieval times caused confusion between people of the same name, forcing them to adopt hereditary surnames. These names often identified people by the kind of work they did. Brewer is a name for a person who made and sold ale or beer.

Early Origins of the Brewer family

The surname Brewer was first found in the Rhineland and Baden, where the name could be considered to make a great early contribution to the feudal society which became the backbone of early development of Europe. The name became prominent in local affairs and branched into many houses which played important roles in the savage tribal and national conflicts, each group seeking power and status in an ever changing territorial profile.

Early History of the Brewer family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Brewer research. Another 147 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1726, 1829, 1842, 1895 and 1925 are included under the topic Early Brewer History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Brewer Spelling Variations

One can encounter great variation in the spelling of surnames: in early times, spelling in general, and thus the spelling of names was not yet standardized; and later, spellings would change with branching and movement of families. Variations of the name Brewer include Brauer, Braur, Brauere, Braure, Brauerre, Braeuer (Silesia and Hessen), Brauers (Rhineland), Breuer, Braeuers, Braeur, Braeurer, Breyer, Breier, Brower (East Friesland), Browers and many more.

Early Notables of the Brewer family

Another 32 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Brewer Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Brewer World Ranking

In the United States, the name Brewer is the 251st most popular surname with an estimated 104,454 people with that name. 1 However, in Newfoundland, Canada, the name Brewer is ranked the 705th most popular surname with an estimated 62 people with that name. 2 And in Australia, the name Brewer is the 704th popular surname with an estimated 5,561 people with that name. 3 New Zealand ranks Brewer as 616th with 1,159 people. 4 The United Kingdom ranks Brewer as 653rd with 10,007 people. 5

United States Brewer migration to the United States +

Hundreds of thousands of Europeans, including many Rhinelanders, made the voyage to North America between the 17th and 20th centuries. It was an escape from religious persecution and poverty and also an opportunity for people to start over and own their own land. Most landed at Ellis Island, off New York before moving on to the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, and California. Some also landed in Canada and settled in Ontario, while others headed west to the prairie provinces. A study of passenger and immigration lists has shown a number of people bearing the name of Brewer, or one of its variants, reaching North America shores very early:

Brewer Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • William Brewer, who arrived in America in 1620 6
  • Mr. John Brewer, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1632 aboard the ship "Lyon", bound for Watertown 7
  • Mrs. Dorothy Brewer, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1632 aboard the ship "Lyon", bound for Watertown 7
  • Miss Mary Brewer, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1632 aboard the ship "Lyon", bound for Watertown 7
  • Mr. John Brewer, Jr., who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1632 aboard the ship "Lyon", bound for Watertown 7
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Brewer Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Henry Brewer, who landed in Virginia in 1701-1702 6
  • Johannes Brewer, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1743 6
  • William Brewer, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1747 6
  • Colonels Daniel Brewer, Jonathon Brewer, and Samuel Brewer all commanded regiments in the American War of Independence in 1776
  • Nehemiah Brewer, who landed in America in 1783 6
Brewer Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • GreenBerry Brewer, who arrived in Texas in 1835 6
  • Greenburry Brewer, who landed in Texas in 1835 6
  • William T Brewer, who landed in Texas in 1835 6
  • Gerh Heinr Brewer, who landed in America in 1845 6
  • Joseph Brewer, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 6
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Brewer Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Mr. Joseph Brewer, (b. 1866), aged 35, Cornish miner, from St. Austell, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "Campania" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 24th August 1901 en route to British Columbia, USA 8
  • Mr. James Brewer, (b. 1877), aged 28, Cornish engine fitter, from Stonehouse, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "Philadelphia" arriving at Ellis Island, New York in 1905 en route to Brooklyn, New York, USA 8

Canada Brewer migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Brewer Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Daniel Brewer, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1749-1752
  • James Brewer, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1750
  • Mr. Aaron Brewer U.E. who settled in Kingston, Ontario c. 1783 9
  • Mr. Aaron Brewer U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1783 9
  • Mr. Aaron Robin Brewer U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1783 9
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Brewer Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Australia Brewer migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Brewer Settlers in Australia in the 18th Century
  • Mr. William Brewer, Cornish settler convicted in Cornwall, UK on 15th April 1790, sentenced for 7 years for stealing a coat from John Pearce, transported Atlantic" on 27th March 1791 to New South Wales, Australia 11
Brewer Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. George Brewer, British convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life, transported aboard the "Calcutta" in February 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, the settlement was listed as abandoned and most of the convicts transported to Tasmania on the "Queen" in 1804 12
  • Robert Brewer, English convict from Wiltshire, who was transported aboard the "Albion" on May 17, 1823, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 13
  • Samuel Brewer, English convict from Norfolk, who was transported aboard the "Albion" on May 29, 1828, settling in New South Wales, Australia 14
  • Mr. Cornelius Brewer, English convict who was convicted in Kent, England for life, transported aboard the "Countess of Harcourt" on 29th April 1828, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 15
  • Mr. Samuel Brewer, (b. 1809), aged 19, English stonemason who was convicted in Bristol, England for 7 years for robbery, transported aboard the "Eliza" on 25th June 1828, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1874 16
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

New Zealand Brewer migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Brewer Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • C B Brewer, who landed in Auckland, New Zealand in 1840
  • William Brewer, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840
  • W V Brewer, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840
  • William Brewer, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Gipsy" in 1854
  • Mr. Brewer, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship 'Merchantman' arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand and Auckland New Zealand on 6th September 1855 17
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

West Indies Brewer migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 18
Brewer Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Daniel Brewer who settled in Barbados in 1680

Contemporary Notables of the name Brewer (post 1700) +

  • Carl Brewer (1957-2020), American politician, 100th Mayor of Wichita, Kansas (2007-2015)
  • Homer E. "Billy" Brewer (1934-2018), American football player and head coach
  • Thomas Austin Brewer (1931-2018), American Major League Baseball player from Wadesboro, North Carolina for the Boston Red Sox (1954-1961)
  • Albert Preston Brewer (1928-2017), American politician, 47th Governor of Alabama (1968-1971), 21st Lieutenant Governor of Alabama (1967-1968)
  • Contessa Brewer (b. 1974), American host for the MSNBC weekend program Caught on Camera
  • Donald George "Don" Brewer (b. 1948), American drummer and co-lead singer for the rock band Grand Funk Railroad
  • James Thomas "Jim" Brewer (1937-1987), American in Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played from 1960 to 1976
  • David Josiah Brewer (1837-1910), American jurist, ssociate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1889-1910)
  • Gay Robert Brewer Jr. (1932-2007), American professional PGA golfer who won the 1967 Masters Tournament
  • William Henry Brewer (1828-1910), American botanist, first Chair of Agriculture at Yale University's Sheffield Scientific School
  • ... (Another 106 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
HMS Hood
  • Mr. George Brewer (b. 1918), Canadian Ordinary Seaman serving for the Royal Navy from Burin, Newfoundland, Canada, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 19
  • Mr. Arthur W Brewer (b. 1920), Canadian Ordinary Seaman serving for the Royal Navy from Burin, Newfoundland, Canada, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 19
HMS Prince of Wales
  • Mr. Edwin Ernest Brewer, British Plumber 1st Class, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and died in the sinking 20
  • Mr. Brewer, British Pay Sub Lieutenant Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 20
HMS Repulse
  • Mr. Arthur James Brewer (b. 1906), English Warrant Mechanician from North End, Portsmouth, England, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and died in the sinking 21
RMS Titanic
  • Henry Brewer (1882-1912), English trimmer, member of the engineering crew aboard the RMS Titanic who died in the sinking 22

Suggested Readings for the name Brewer +

  • The Chauncey Marble Brewer Family of Marshall, Michigan by James DeWolfe.
  • The Genealogy of Daniel P. Brewer by Buel Amos Langdon.
  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
  3. "Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
  4. "Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
  5. "UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
  6. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  7. Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's Retrieved January 6th 2023, retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
  8. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_ellis_island_1892_on.pdf
  9. Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
  10. Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
  11. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 30th May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_australia_convicts.pdf
  12. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/calcutta
  13. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Albion voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1823 with 200 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/albion/1823
  14. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 24) Albion voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1828 with 192 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/albion/1828
  15. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 19th April 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/countess-of-harcourt
  16. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th February 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eliza
  17. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  19. H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm
  20. HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
  21. HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html
  22. Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html
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