Ambrose Brewer (1753-1855)

Ambrose Brewer’s earthly life began in about 1753 in Brunswick County, Virginia as the son of Howell Brewer Sr and Rebecca Willis. During his very early childhood he remained there south of the James River, a region settled by his courageous forefathers in the early part of the 17th century. Living here were men of fiercely independent hearts and a burning patriotic fever which led them to later oppose their king and fight for freedom.

Along with this love that burned within them for this feral land that was their home, came an ever present desire to see more of it and to stretch the boundaries of the frontier ever further. Ambrose Brewer’s father was one of those fearless men who pushed into largely uncharted territory and faced the numerous dangers that awaited him in the wilds.

The area south of the present day Virginia border, became a royal colony in 1729 when most of the original proprietors sold their land to the king and the area was divided into North and South Carolina. There was one man, however, the future Earl of Granville, who refused to give up his holdings.(1)  In order to retain ownership of his land, the earl had to forfeit his role in the colonial government. The parcel’s boundaries encompassed a sixty mile strip which included the northern half of North Carolina. Because of the political situation in England, his land, which was later known as the Granville Grant or Granville District, was not surveyed until 1742. He gained rights to it two years later and land grants were given out to settlers.(2)  At least one Brewer man by the name of Henry received such a grant from the Earl of Granville. He was deeded this land in 1756 in Orange County. It is my suspicion that the Granville Tract is where Ambrose Brewer’s father was deeded land as well in 1749 and 1754 in the Orange County vicinity.

At any rate, we know that Ambrose came to this new land when very young, likely little more than a toddler if that.(3) The journey, though not a long one by today’s standards, would have been gruelling to a young mother with small children in tow. It seems that Howell returned for his young family in about 1754 or the following year. By then it had been several years since his first land grant of 200 acres was deeded in Bladen County, which later formed Orange County. Perhaps he had decided that he had a home well enough established to warrant the risk of fetching his family, whom he likely missed very much while he was away.

Life was not easy in those early days. Not only was there threats of Indian attacks which necessitated the need for constant vigilance and routine militia training, but there was also the long hours of labor involved in surviving on their humble inland farms. Theirs was not an economy thriving from the sweat and blood of slavery, as was the case in the coastal regions, but these frontiersmen had to instead eke out a living as best they could on smaller plots in the woods. Much of the area was forested but for the occasional meadow burned out by Indian hunters before them.

By the eve of the Revolutionary War, North Carolina was split in its political views. The east, along the coast, supported the British. The western inland farming regions staunchly opposed them. Being right in the middle of the northern part of North Carolina, I think, contributed to some of the skirmishes during the war. Tories, settlers who favored Britain, roamed the countryside reeking havoc in the area where Ambrose and his family lived. Much of the militia activity they engaged in was in pursuit of the troublesome Tories in Orange, Chatham and nearby counties.

Ambrose Brewer enlisted as a ranger or scout when the war broke out (likely he meant when the war became more in the forefront of the south) and served for about two years, mostly in North Carolina including Moore (formerly Bladen then Cumberland) County, in pursuit of the enemy, until peace was established. He served under several officers including Captain Mebane and Colonel Luttrell, so he might have performed part of his service in the same company or regiment as his nephew, Isaac Brewer. Ambrose also served under Captain Tabb, Captain Thurogood and Major Lewis.(4)

Though at one time he had a few slaves, it seems that Ambrose never grew to any great status in the way of material goods, partly due to the fact that his property was taken and destroyed, as he stated, by the enemy. I would assume this to mean that the Tories or British caused substantial damage to his farm in North Carolina and possibly even confiscated it during the war.(4)

After he was discharged, Ambrose migrated west into what is now Tennessee, as indicated by the following enlightening account written in 1924 by George A Williams, a relative of his, from Sanger, Texas:

“Few persons outside of the Masonic fraternity knew that the first Freemason who ever came to Hancock County, lies buried on the farm of Thomas Wilder, in the 2nd District of Hancock County, three miles north of Treadway. He was buried beside his two slaves. 

“Soon after the “Battle of Kings Mountain”, one Ambrose Brewer, who was a Freemason, and a private under Colonel Cleveland in the memorable battle, made his way into what is now Hancock County, and settled on War Creek, three miles north of where Treadway is now located. 

“Ambrose Brewer, then in his twenties, was a relative of the writer, and left many descendants in Hancock County, who are among the best citizens of the county, and are well known for their honesty and integrity. 

“Mr. Brewer was a very enthusiastic Whig, before and after the Revolutionary War, and did his part towards freeing this country from the British Yoke. In doing his duty as an American Soldier, he incurred the hatred and ill will of the numerous Tories that infected that part of North Carolina where he lived, (Catawba County). Shortly after the “Battle of Kings Mountain” in which he took a conspicuous part, he crossed the mountains into what is now Tennessee and stayed about one year. Then he returned to his own home and brought back his young wife and son Joab, and lived to a ripe old age in what is now Hancock County. 

“He came at a time when the Indians roamed this country unmolested, when the wild game of the mountains feared not the crack of the hunter’s gun, when his only neighbors were the Indians, the owls, deer, wild turkey and other wild creatures, and built him a log cabin of the rudest kind on War Creek. By some means, he obtained a large tract of land along this creek at a time when land was worth very little. The lands along the creek were full of swamps, mosquitoes, and malaria. 

“Ambrose was a Freemason, had been a Mason in North Carolina or some other place. It is regretted that his parent lodge is not known to the writer, who is indebted to W.H. Smith; who lived to a great age and died at Treadway several years ago. Mr. Smith was a distant relative of Mr. Brewer and also a Master Mason and a member of Sneedville Lodge No. 277, F. & A.M. He vouched that Mr. Brewer was a Mason, and stated that he had seen Mr. Brewer with receipts for lodge dues and a traveling card; but the name and number of the lodge is unknown to the writer. He will be remembered by Masons in Hancock County for many years after his death. The Masons decorated his grave each year when the flowers bloomed. 

“If Mr. Ambrose Brewer lived here at the time the Indians were here is positively known by many of the oldest relatives, whom are numerous in Hancock county. Some of them relate that a battle between the Whites and the Indians took place on the high lands of Mr. Brewer; (War Creek probably received it’s name from the Indian Battles), and on a high ridge on the farm owned by W. H. Greene of Treadway; which is a part of the lands once owned by Mr. Brewer. It is yet plainly visible, the deep trenches used by the White soldiers in a battle on the farm and in the low grounds and swamps along the bottoms of Mr. Greene. Several years ago a deep ditch or drain was dug up at a depth of two and three feet. In the trenches, which protected the Whites on the ridge, many arrow heads of flint were found. This proves that the Whites were entrenched on the hill and the Indians were down in the swamps in the low grounds where the battle was fought. 

“It is deeply regretted that more is not known of Mr. Brewer’s Masonic connections. It may be that at one time he affiliated with some of the lodges of Tennessee. Most all of the older Masons of Hancock County, who could throw a light on the subject, are long since dead. The lodge at Sneedville has been destroyed. The only data at hand was obtained from the late W. H. Smith. A relative of Mr. Smith remembered that Mr. Brewer was recognized as a Mason and as the first to come to Hancock County. He came when there was no lodge in or about Hancock County. He was a Freemason at a time when Freemasons were few in number and far between. Brother Brewer sleeps in Hancock County among the unnumbered dead. The sunshine and the wind pass over him. He is neither disturbed nor delighted. His spirit has entered that celestial lodge on high, not made with hands, eternally in the heavens. Peace to his ashes.” (5)

This article gives us an inspiring look into the personal life of this fascinating man, though I am wondering if there might be two Ambrose Brewers, as ours does not mention being in the Battle of Kings Mountain or living in Cawtaba County, but rather lived in Orange and Moore County, North Carolina. Either way, this article which is at least in part about our Ambrose Brewer, brings to mind a vision of him fighting for land and country even at the cost of losing what was dear to him. His moving to Tennessee might well have been due to the frontiersman blood that flowed through his veins and caused him to want for a new start in a fresh land when recovery from the devastations of war were slow. Several of his siblings also moved to various parts of Tennessee after the war.

Regardless of his reasons, as mentioned above he crossed over the mountains into what is now the very northeastern corner of Tennessee, and was a part of Hawkins County that would later become Hancock County. This is believed to have been sometime shortly after 1790 since we know he was in Moore County in that census year. He remained in Tennessee for a short time before returning to fetch his young family. He was back in Moore County, North Carolina in the early 1800s. Some presume that because of his enthusiastic Patriot views, that he might have been run out of town or at least encouraged to relocated.(6)  Who knows…

It was in this small corner of Tennessee that he lived out the remainder of his days. Though the contentious winds surrounding the fight for independence eventually blew over, life was not smooth or uneventful for this veteran soldier of the Revolution. As in many frontier settlements, Indians remained a threat at times in the years to come. The above account gives insightful details of the fighting that took place on his very farm during which the settlers were holed up in a fight for their lives. Still the scars of that battle remain gouged into the countryside.(5)

In 1854, at the age of 101, Ambrose applied for a pension in return for his service in the Revolutionary War. He was then living in Hancock County, Tennessee and was widowed, very feeble and in great need of financial assistance. By January 1855 his application had still not been accepted.(4)  Sadly, it was rejected thereafter, though no reason is given that I have discovered. By waiting so long to apply, it would have been very difficult to prove his service.  One of the requirements for acceptance was procuring affidavits from people who had first-hand knowledge of his service.  Many of these men would have likely been deceased by this time.  It is doubtful, if any still lived, that Ambrose would have known where to find them or had the means to do so.

Ambrose strikes me as a man who fervently stood up for what he believed to be the rights of his fellow citizens and his family, willing even to risk his own life to save those around him. Even in death he remained true to his ideals, having been buried, likely at his own request, beside two of his slaves.(5)  What a touching thing that was, in a day when slave and master were not believed to be equals. Less than ten years after his death, the country would again be torn apart by war and neighbor be pitted against neighbor, and brother against brother, over issues of succession and slavery. The expansion of slavery in the south and possible secession were common and often heated topics of conversation during the 1850s and were likely discussed among his contemporaries during the latter part of his life, yet still he chose to have his body laid to rest next to his slaves. This speaks to me of a deep level of kindness that lived within this fascinating man.

Ambrose Brewer died after 25 Jan 1855 at War Creek (named for the Indian skirmishes there) in Hancock County, Tennessee at the ripe old age of about 102 years and was buried on a hill on the slope of a mountain near the Cool Branch Church, overlooking the fields the Brewer family had fought for in days past. His grave is more specifically located 3 miles north of present day Treadway and 11 miles south of Sneedville, Tennessee.(5)

By Mary Andersen (2014)

Sources ~

1 – Wikipedia – Province of North Carolina ➚

2 – Wikipedia – Granville District ➚

3 – Revolutionary War Pension Papers of William Brewer ➚ (Ambrose Brewer’s brother) – William stated that when he was a small boy he was taken from Brunswick County, Virginia to the part of Orange County, North Carolina that later became Chatham County. I would assume that Ambrose was taken there at the same time.

4 – Revolutionary War Pension Papers of Ambrose Brewer ➚

5 – Article written by George A. Williams ➚ 4 Oct 1924, published News-Sentinel in Treadway, TN

6 – Notes for Ambrose Brewer Sr ➚

7 – Marker Placed on Grave of Ambrose Brewer ➚