William Brewster

A press, a congregation and a room of books

William Brewster's estate contained books in English and Latin, religious commentaries and works reaching beyond the immediate concerns of his congregation. The inventory includes a Latin entry for Machiavelli's Prince alongside the Bibles and theological works. Appraisers also listed clothing, a desk, household possessions and livestock. Books belonged to a household with cows and oxen, rather than to a life separate from ordinary work.

The Mayflower Society places Brewster’s birth between June 1566 and June 1567; earlier accounts gave a broader 1560–1566 estimate. He studied at Cambridge without taking a degree and entered the service of William Davison, accompanying him on diplomatic business in the Netherlands. After that employment ended, Brewster returned to Scrooby, a village in Nottinghamshire, England, where he succeeded his father in responsibility for the post. His home became a meeting place for a Separatist congregation.

Leaving England was difficult. A failed attempt in 1607 brought imprisonment; the congregation's migration continued in 1608 and led eventually to Leiden, in the Netherlands. Brewster became its elder. His wife Mary and their children shared the dislocations of these years, although the family's later migration to America would be divided among several ships.

In Leiden, Brewster also entered the printing business. Working with John Reynolds and with financial backing from Thomas Brewer, he produced books that crossed national and religious boundaries. Publications associated with the press included David Calderwood's attacks on the religious policies of James I. English diplomatic pressure brought searches and the seizure of type; Brewster went into hiding. The press was therefore part of his religious work and a source of direct political danger.

He sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 while the congregation's pastor, John Robinson, remained in the Netherlands. Brewster's position as elder gave Plymouth Colony, on the coast of present-day Massachusetts, an experienced religious leader, though he was not its ordained pastor. Bradford also places him among the small group of healthy people who cared for the sick during the first winter. The account describes collective work fetching wood, preparing food, tending fires, washing clothes and nursing people unable to help themselves.

Mary died in 1627. William lived until April 10, 1644. The inventory made after his death was assembled in stages, with different men involved in valuing goods and books. Among its more ordinary entries were an old gown, a blue cloth suit, a black coat and a violet coat. These survive beside the much more celebrated library.

The papers connect several forms of work that are sometimes treated separately: government service, management of a post, the production of controversial books, leadership of a displaced congregation and care during a lethal winter. His employment, publications and possessions supply a substantial record of what he actually did.

The account dates the Leiden settlement to 1609 and records his work teaching English. Love and Wrestling travelled with William and Mary; Jonathan, Patience and Fear arrived later, while another child had died young. He signed the Mayflower Compact.