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William Brewster (born 1567, England—died April 1644, Plymouth, Massachusetts [U.S.]) was a leader of the Plymouth Colony in New England. Brewster spent his early life at Scrooby, Nottinghamshire , and acquired his first Separatist ideas while at Peterhouse College, Cambridge , which he attended for a short time.
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English Puritan official William Brewster became one of the...
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William and Mary (Smythe) (Simkinson) Brewster. William Brewster (c. 1566/67 – 10 April 1644) was an English official and Mayflower passenger in 1620. He became senior elder and the leader of Plymouth Colony, by virtue of his education and existing stature with those immigrating from the Netherlands, being a Brownist (or Puritan Separatist).
- Early Life & Diplomatic Service
- Scrooby Congregation & Leiden
- Pilgrim Press & Orders For Arrest
- Negotiations Without Brewster
- Mayflower Voyage & Compact
- Conclusion
Brewster was born in Scrooby, England, son of William Brewster, Sr. and his wife Mary. He had five siblings and the family was well off financially, William Sr. holding the position of postmaster for the village. Nothing is known of Brewster's early life until 1580 CE when he was enrolled at Cambridge University. Sometime afterwards, he began work ...
After his experiences in the Netherlands with the Dutch Reformed Church (and most likely even before), Brewster became disenchanted with the Anglican faith. A former Anglican priest named Robert Browne (l. 1550-1633 CE) had repudiated the Church as unbiblical and corrupt, founding a movement whose adherents were known as Brownists who differed from...
Anti-Anglican literature, of any kind, was banned in England, and its composition and dissemination punishable by fines, imprisonment, torture, and even execution. Brewster's later fellow congregant, Robert Cushman(l. 1577-1625 CE), had been arrested three times between 1603-1606 CE for distributing “libelous literature” critical of the Church, and...
England had established its first successful colony in North America at Jamestownin 1607 CE which, though it struggled through its first years just to survive, was thriving by 1618 CE. After much discussion, the separatists decided to found their own colony above Jamestown in Virginia. They approached various financial institutions before they were...
The two ships left together in July, but the Speedwell began leaking, and they had to return to land twice for repairs before it was finally abandoned. A number of the passengers from the Speedwell, including Brewster and his family, then boarded the Mayflowerwhich left Plymouth, England on 6 September 1620 CE. The Strangers and Saints (as the cong...
Between 11 November and 21 December 1620 CE, the small boats of the Mayflowerexplored the shores, finally settling on an abandoned village of the native Pawtuxet tribe as the site for Plymouth Colony. Brewster led the passengers in prayer, asking for God's blessing on their work, and they began to build the first shelters. Since they had been plann...
- Joshua J. Mark
William Brewster, was the son of William and Mary (Smith) (Simkinson) Brewster, born probably at Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, between June 1566 and June 1567. The family lived at Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, when William, Sr. was appointed by the Archbishop of York as the receiver and bailiff of Scrooby Manor on 4 January 1575.
William Brewster was one of the elders in the new colony of Plymouth, but his history stretches back to a little church in Nottinghamshire. Brewster was born in the 1560s, most likely in the tiny village of Scrooby , where in his early life he was inspired by the words of the radical preacher Richard Clyfton, based at the nearby All Saint's Church in Babworth .
A number of other children have been proposed for William Brewster, although there is no reason to accept any of these proposals. Jacobus in 1936 disposed of the claimed connections between William Brewster of Plymouth and Francis Brewster of New Haven and his son Nathaniel [TAG 12:199-210, 13:8-21, 113-116].
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William Brewster was born about 1566, the son of William Brewster. He was educated in both Greek and Latin and spent some time at Cambridge University, although he never completed a full degree. He went into the service of William Davison, then Secretary of State, while his father back home maintained a position as the postmaster of Scrooby, Nottinghamshire.
