By By Lydia Grimes Feature Reporter
I am continuing with the family of Brewton/Bruton. Please remember that the name has been interchangeable for many years. It is said that the Edmund Troupe Bruton, who was the railroad station manager, changed the spelling of his name to Brewton when the sign that went on the railroad station was spelled that way.
John and Isabella Brewton's children included Clarissa Brewton and Nathan Jackson Brewton, who married Fontaine siblings, the children of Francis Fontaine and Jemima Johnson.
Clarissa Brewton and Thomas Fontaine's son was Benjamin Fontaine (30 Dec. 1795).
Nathan Jackson Brewton, Sr. (1765 in Dobbs County, N.C.-25 Nov. 1855 married Nancy Fontaine 18 May 1794 in Warren County, Ga.. He is buried in Brewton Cemetery in Evans County, Ga
Nathan Jackson Brewton, Sr. was the founder of the large Georgia Brewton family which makes up a vast majority of this family history. He was born in 1765 in Dobbs County, N.C., and moved to Georgia along with his family. It is possible that he lived for a short time near Charleston, S.C., as did many members of this family, but no records have been located to substantiate this theory.
On April 3, 1794, he and his fiancee, Nancy Fontaine Thompson obtained a marriage license in Warren County, Ga. Nancy, a young widow, was born around 1780. She was one of at least three children of Francis Fontaine, III and Jemima Johnson. Francis died during the Revolutionary War. Nancy's mother, Jemima, remarried to Benjamin Bruton, Nathan's brother. Jemima was, therefore, both Nancy's mother and her sister-in-law. Nathan and Nancy were married on May 18, 1794.
A few weeks later ( on June 4, 1794) Nathan bought 350 acres of land in what was then Liberty County, on the south side of the Canoochee River.
Later, Nathan and Nancy moved across the bay, where Nathan built a grist mill. On May 6, 1810, Nathan served as a petit juror in Tattnall County. He continued to purchase property there and in adjoining areas; by 1837 he is known to have owned 10,874 acres in Bulloch, Liberty and Tattnall Counties. In 1835 a church was built near Claxton and named for the Brewton family, as was the local school. Nathan also appears on tax lists in Tattnall County in 1802 and 1804.
Nathan Brewton died on November 25, 1855. In his will, he appointed his sons, Benjamin Brewton and Nathan Jackson Brewton Jr., as the executors of his estate.
Nathan was the first person to be buried in the Brewton Cemetery, near the Brewton Church, in a community now part of the town of Hagan. Nathan's wife, Nancy, lived with Simon after Nathan's death. Then, in 1864, she moved in with her daughter, Martha Brewton Rogers, and lived there until her death on July 7, 1864. Nancy is buried next to her husband. The Brewton Cemetery is today one of the largest and oldest cemeteries still in use in Evans County (a county created from parts of Bulloch and Tattnall Counties).
On April 8, 1863, the final distribution of Nathan Brewton's estate was made by W.R. Frier, J.D. DeLoach, James H. Wilkinson, W.N. Moore, and James Anderson. The estate was divided into eleven shares. Numbers were placed in a hat; the names of the heirs were placed in another hat. A slip of paper was then drawn from each hat; this was how Nathan's estate was divided among the heirs. Nathan's oldest surviving son, Benjamin, refused to draw, as he had notes in the estate that were about equal to his share of the estate.
Nathan and Nancy had at least these children:
i. Emanuel Brewton (d. bef. 1855).
ii. Benjamin Brewton
iii. Nathan Jackson Brewton, Jr.
iv. Simon Johnson Brewton
v. Elmira Jemima Brewton who married ??? Hendricks.
vi. Samuel Brewton
vii. Martha Brewton who married ??? Rogers.
viii. Nancy Brewton who married ??? Miller
ix. Clarissa Brewton who married ??? Smith.
x. Elizabeth Brewton (d. bef. 1855) who married ??? Sikes
The oldest son, Emanuel, and his uncle, Joseph, are the ancestors of most of the Brewtons living in this area.
I will continue with the Brewton (Bruton) material next week.