The
next Brewer Reunion will be August 9-12, 2012 at the Renaissance Charlotte
Suites Hotel in Charlotte, N.C. Go To 2012
Reunion link above
The
next Brewer Family Reunion will be
held on August 9th-12th at the
Renaissance Suites Hotel in
Charlotte, North Carolina.
The
Brewers with the Watts,
descendants of Thomas H. Watts,
Emiline's slave owner at Emiline's
grave.
On
a balmy Sunday in October, the descendants
of Emiline Watts Brewer met with
family members of Thomas H. and
Andrew Watts at the Wesley Chapel
Church (fondly known as the Brewers'
chapel) in Pageland, South Carolina. It
was not far from the Watts' farm where Emiline Brewer,
our beloved ancestor worked as a slave
for Thomas H. Watts.
Cynthia
Porcher, the great-great
granddaughter of Thomas Watts, an author and
genealogist found Emiline's
obituary at her aunt's house.
Afterward, Nancy Merriman, a member of
the Andrew Watts family contacted
a Brewer family member regarding
this finding through this
website.
Both the Brewers and
Watts came together for a historic meeting on October
16th....the same day
that the Dr. Martin Luther King's
memorial was dedicated. For
it was Dr. King's dream that the sons
and daughters of slave owners and
slaves would come together at the
table of brotherhood. Last
October, the Brewers
and Watts actualized this dream
some eighty-six years after
Emiline's death.
Over
the years and after this historic
meeting, a great deal of Brewer History
has been uncovered. Through the efforts of
Nancy Gathings Bunch, Arthur Brewer, Jr.,
Vanessa Brewer Tyson and Nelda
Brewer Davis, we have been able to
thread together a powerful story
about Robert and Emiline Brewer. We will discuss
these findings at the Reunion
banquet and on the historic tour
of Pageland....our
birthplace.
Brewers
and Watts at the Chesterfield
District Chapter, South Carolina
Genealogical Society.
After
that historic meeting, Vanessa
Brewer Tyson, Nelda Brewer Davis
and Dr. Arthelia Brewer Wright
made contact with other Watts
family members.
Brewers
and Watts family member
Brewer
and Watts family member
Brewer
and Watts family member
Brewer
and Watts family member
We
are collecting
Family History.
Please write
something about
your great-great
grandparents,
grandparents or
parents. If you
have family
obituaries or
other information outlining your
relative's
history, contact
us!!
THE
GREAT AND
AMAZING BREWER
LEGACY
Mary
Emiline Watts
Brewer
(click on
image
for larger view)
“Bringing the gifts that my
ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope
of the slave.
I rise. I
rise.
-Dr. Maya Angelou
Emiline
and
Robert
were
ex-slaves
who
created
a
lasting
legacy
in
generations
of
Brewers.
They
stressed
the
value of
education
and
doing
well in
one's
profession
to
their 11
children...
Vinnie,
William, Joseph, Lula
(Huntley), Isaiah, Effie
(Nivens), Robert, Sarah
(Robinson), Thomas,
Houston and Jaby.
Subsequent
generations
of Brewer
children began
excelling in many
fields. They passed this
great legacy on to their
children and
grandchildren who have
graduated from
college/graduate/professional
schools. Today,
they are doctors,
lawyers, architects, an
urban planner,
engineers, writers, a
television producer, a
puppeteer, filmmaker,
singers, educators,
ministers, actresses,
teachers, computer
specialists, a former US Army
colonel, government
workers and other
professionals.
1850
Slave
Schedule..Thomas
H. Watts'
slaves
Robert
Brewer's grave (click on picture
for larger view)
BREWER
FAMILY MEMBERS
Building
of new Wesley Chapel Church.
Uncle
Isaiah Brewer
Dora
("Sis") Brewer and Winnie
Brewer
Brewers
and children
including Vanessa Brewer-Tyson at
Wesley Chapel Church
(Click
on image for more
information)
Wesley
Chapel Church
today
(Picture of Brewers and Watts at
Emiline's grave is courtesy of Ethel
Buskey.
Brewer
pictures courtesy of Arthur
Brewer, Jr.)
Web
Site design and concept by Beatryce Nivens. Writers include the
late Lillie Brewer Atkinson, Arthur Brewer, Jr., Dr. Arthelia
Brewer-Wright, the late Vashti Brewer Dargan, Vanessa
Brewer-Tyson, and Beatryce Nivens. The Brewer Crest was designed
by James and William Whitley. This web site is dedicated to the
late Thomas "Snooks" Nivens who organized the first
Brewer Reunion, the late Joyce Whitley who wrote the first Brewer
Reunion Book and Dr. Arthelia Brewer-Wright who brilliantly carried on the
tradition.
Thanks
to Arthur Brewer, Jr. for the Brewer pictures.
