William Brewster (Pilgrim)

Reverend William Brewster (1567 – 1644), was a Pilgrim leader who came to the American colonies from Scrooby, Nottinghamshire on the Mayflower in 1620, along with his wife, Mary Brewster, and his sons Love Brewster and Wrestling Brewster. He studied briefly at the University of Cambridge and became leader of a small Puritan congregation at Scrooby. Government persecution forced Brewster and his followers to emigrate to Holland in 1608, and he printed religious books in Leiden. In 1620 he joined the first group of Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower on the voyage to North America. When the colonists landed at Plymouth, Brewster became the senior elder of the colony, serving as its religious leader and as an adviser to Gov. William Bradford.

There are many notable descendants of William Brewster including William Howard Taft, Zachary Taylor, Roger Nash Baldwin, and Katherine Hepburn.

External Links

• For more information see Family History of Elder William Brewster
• Family tree of descendants of William Brewster