The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
He served as a Private in the Minuteman Company of Major Thomas Brown of the Coventry, Windham County, Connecticut Militia, Lexington Alarm, April 1775
Additional References:
Johnston, Henry Phelps, Record of Service of Connecticut Men in the Military and Naval Services During the War of the Revolution 1775-1783, Connecticut. Harford: Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co., 1889, pg 7
This biography was edited and augmented by PRS, adding to the information originally supplied by Paul Burright.
Israel Brewster was born about 1736 in Lebanon, New London County, Connecticut. His parentage has been attributed in a Find-a-Grave memorial as the son of Peter and Mary (Lee) Brewster.1,2
He is listed in the muster roll for the Lexington Alarm of 19 April 1775, from the town of Coventry, in Major Thomas Brown's unit, for a term of three days.4
It’s attributed that Israel married a woman named Abigail on 6 May 1773,2 is the same man as the Patriot. However, this is problematic, as more than one man named Israel was married to a woman named Abigail during this time period. Second, the source of the marriage date is, in fact, an unsourced book. Also, several genealogists record her surname as Shaw, which is unproven by contemporary records and, in fact, incorrect.
Since we know Israel’s service was from Coventry, Connecticut, we looked in the immediate vicinity for any information regarding the family. On 29 July 1768, Elizabeth Fowler of Lebanon, Windham County, Connecticut, made her Last Will and Testament. She named her heirs as her “beloved daughter, Abigail Brewster,” her grandchildren Benjamin Brewster, Elizabeth Brewster, Justin or Justus Brewster, and Israel Brewster, and as executor of her Will, son-in-law Israel Brewster. The Will was proven in court in February 1769. Another record regarding Elizabeth’s death was from John Fowler, who stated he approved of Israel Brewster as his late wife’s executor of her will.
This strongly suggests that the surname of Abigail, wife of Israel, is Fowler, and they had the following known children:
Benjamin was born before 29 July 1768 [grandmother’s Will] and died in 1791.
Elizabeth was born before 29 July 1768 [grandmother’s Will] and had three daughters, Polly Hammond, Betsey Davis, and Persa Curtis.[3]
Justin3 was born before 29 July 1768 [grandmother’s Will].
Israel Jr. was born about 17653; his gravestone lists his age as 80. He married Eleanor [surname unknown].
Potter [or Peter] was born in 17743 and is thought to be the man who married Charlotte Towne. That man died in 1831 in St Lawrence County, New York.
Perca3 There is a marriage record in Pittsford between Abner Curtis of Dunham, Lower Canada, and Percy Brewster, dated 9 June 1801.
Israel of Coventry, Tolland, Connecticut, was the executor of the estate of Benjamin Brewster, who died in Hebron, Tolland County, Connecticut, in 1791. Could this be his son, Benjamin?
By 1800, he appears to have moved to Pittsford, Vermont. He made his Last Will and Testament in 1812 but died in 1822. Both his probate file and the notice of Probate in the Rutland Weekly Herald [30 September 1822, page 3] show the year as 1822, not 1823, as stated in the Find-a-Grave memorial.
The Patriot died on 3 September 1822, in Rutland County, Vermont, at 87 years of age and was buried in Meeting House Cemetery in Pittsford.1 His wife, Abigail, died on 7 March 1823 in Pittsford and was buried in the same place.
Sources:
Find-a-Grave, Memorial #107989217, Israel Brewster
North American Family Histories, 1500, 2000, Brewster Family Genealogy, p77.
Vermont, U.S., Wills, and Probate Records, 1749-1999, Israel Brewster
Connecticut Men in the Revolutionary War, Lexington Alarm List, p7.
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