Mary
Emiline Watts
Brewer; (click on
image
for larger view)
Robert Brewer was born a slave
in South Carolina in
1840 and remained in
Chesterfield County
after slavery.
He married Emiline
Watts, a mulatto and
former slave who was
born in Anson County, North Carolina
in 1842 but moved to Mt.
Croghan, South
Carolina.
After
slavery officially
ended, the Brewers had
to determine which path
their lives should take.
These brave
ex-slaves rejected
becoming sharecroppers
and enduring
another form of slavery.
Instead, they decided to forge
down a more independent
road. In the end, they chose freedom.
According to
research by
Nancy Ann
Gathings Bunch,
Robert and Lee,
his brother
purchased 48.33
acres of land
for $50 from the
State of South
Carolina in 1874
or less than ten
years after the
end of slave.
They gave a plot
of land to each of their 11
surviving
children...
Vinnie,
William, Joseph, Lula
(Huntley), Isaiah, Effie
(Nivens), Robert, Sarah
(Robinson), Thomas,
Houston and Jaby. But they gave these
children much more than the
benefit of owning land.
Each child was taught a
sense of love,
responsibility and quest
for education that they
took to heart.
With
their parents'
inspiration, the Brewer
children began
excelling in many
fields. They passed this
great legacy on to their
children and
grandchildren who have risen to become
some of America's most
accomplished African
Americans.
The remarkable
thing about this
family is the number of
outstanding people who
have become successful.
The Brewers have
become doctors,
lawyers, architects, an
urban planner,
engineers, writers, a
television producer, a
puppeteer, filmmaker,
singers, educators,
ministers, actresses,
teachers, computer
specialists, US Army
colonel, government
workers and other
professionals.
Read
Robert and Emiline's
amazing story.
|
The
Wesley Chapel
Church and its
School
The
Wesley Chapel
Church built a
two-room school
for Black
children. This
school was
eventually funded
by the Julius
Rosenwald
Foundation. These
famous rural
schools were
started as a
result of Booker
T. Washington's
relationship with
Julius Rosenwald,
the president of
Sears and Roebuck
in Chicago.
According to Voices
of Pageland,
the school's first
teacher was a
Brewer...Robert
Gathings. Mary
Gathings Francis,
another Brewer
became a
teacher.
Subsequently, the
school was torn
down. The late
Arthur Brewer
sought to preserve
the school and
built his house on
its
foundation.
We
need of a Picture of
Robert Brewer, our
great grandfather!
If anyone has one,
please contact
careermarkets@aol.com!
|
