Individual Details

WorldConnect database:
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=kings-highway&id=I30207
ADAM BROUWER or BROWER, sometimes written Adam Brouwer Berckhoven or Kerckhoven Born in Hoorn, Berkhovenis probably was his correct surname. Brower - the Dutch for brewer - referring to his occupation which he probably at one time followed. Berkhoven, although occasionally used by some of his children, has been dropped by his descendants , and Brouwernow, written Brower, is used as the surname of the family.

Adam went to work for his father's company, the Dutch West Indies Co. Some sources say that he was the son of Peter Clement Brouwer, (merchant of Hoorn and the first President and General Manager of the Dutch West India Company, org in 1614) and Helena Mey (she was the sister of Peter Cornelise Mey, navigator of the Dutch West Indies Company, for whom Cape May, NJ was named), but this has been disputed because of lack of documentation. In 1641, he sailed on the ship "The Swol" to Brazil, serving as a soldier for the Dutch West India Company, He was back within the year, and then sailed from Cologne, Germany to New Netherlands in 1642, emigrating there.

On February 21, 1645, he bought a house from a blacksmith named Hendrick Jansen, and the following month married Magdalena Jacobs Verdon on March 19, 1645 in New Amsterdam. He was a miller in New Amsterdam until 1647. In 1647, he received a patent for a lot on Manhattan Island, but sold it Aug 19, 1656, to Dirck Van Schelluyne.

Around 1656 he moved to Brooklyn where he built the first flour mill in North America, along with Isaac De Forest (land patented Jul 8, 1645, to Jan Evertsen Bout). Adam was the sole owner from 1663-1693. Memember of Brooklyn Dutch Reformed Church in 1677, on assessment rolls of said town of 1675 and 1683, and the Census of 1698.

On August 20, 1667, Jan Cornelise Buys and Derick Jansen(Hoogland), on inquiry, declared under oath that Jan Evertse Bout, in the house of Jan Damen, tavern-keeper, stated to them that he had not given unto Adam Brouwer the "place and meadow whereon the mill is grounded," but that he had given "the place whereon the mill is grounded, and the corne and the meadow,". It was referred to as "Old Gowanus Mill", Gowanus being a place name in Brooklyn. During the Revolution, much fighting during the Battle of Long Island took place around the mill. It stayed in the Brouwer family until 1798 when Adolphus Brouwer sold it to John C. Freeke. Thereafter, it was referred to as Freeke's Mill and later known as Denton's Mill.

He was arrested for making seditious speeches in 1667 and 1668 and censured by the church.

He died in 1693. His will, dated January 22, 1691-2, was proved March 21, 1692, the executors being Henry Sleght, Cornelis Sebring, and Jan Fredericks. In it he is styled Adam Brouwer Berkhoven and names his wife, Magdalena, and their children, Pieter, jacob, Aaltie, Mattys, William, Adams, Abraham, Nicholas, Mary, Fytie, Helen, Anna, Sara, and Rachel.

Birth	Ca 1621
Marriage	21 Mar 1645	Dutch Reformed Church, New Amsterdam - Magdalena Jacobse Verdon
Burial	26 Mar 1692	Dutch Reformed Church, Brooklyn, Kings County, New York

Spouse	Magdalena Jacobse Verdon (1625 - 1698)
Child	Sophia Fytie Brouwer (1655 - )
Child	Mathys Brouwer (1649 - 1726)