EDWARD P. BREWER, M.D., is
an esteemed and successful physician of Norwich, his native town. A son
of Pliny and Ellen M. (Whittemore) Brewer, he traces his descent by both
parents to English colonists who came to New England in the early part
of the seventeenth century. His great great grandfather, Isaac Brewer,
first, died about the time of the Revolutionary War. Isaac Brewer, second,
son of the first Isaac, married in 1747 Sibyl Miller, of Ludlow, Mass.
They had eleven children, five sons and six daughters. Of these one son
died in infancy and one at the age of seventeen. Lyman, the youngest son
and tenth child, married Harriet Tyler, of Norwich, settled there, and
became the father of Arthur Brewer. Isaac Brewer died when forty-seven
years of age. Chauncey Brewer, born about 1776, who was the seventh child
and third son, and who located in Wilbraham, Hampden County, Mass., owned
a large tract of land extending from Ludlow to Springfield. He married
Asenath Mandeville, who, with her father, had recently come from England.
Seven sons and two daughters were born to them, of whom Pliny was the youngest.
The mother, who survived the father several years, died at Norwich in 1871,
over eighty years of age.
Pliny Brewer was born November 27, 1823,
in Ludlow, Mass. When fourteen years of age he left home and came to Norwich.
About the year 1848 he went into the clothing business with his brother,
John M. Brewer. Me was in trade until 1862, when he enlisted for nine months'
service in the Civil War, and went out as Lieutenant of Company G, Twenty-sixth
Connecticut Regiment, which was assigned to the Department of the Gulf.
After an absence of about a year he returned home, and was in active business
until the spring of 1889, when he retired. In or about 1851 he was married
to Ellen M. Whittemore, a native of Providence, K.I. Her ancestry is traced
in England to the year 1211. Samuel Whittemore, the founder of the American
family, came to the country in 1630. He purchased meadow lands along the
Charles River, which were deeded to him by Cotton Mather. These lands,
after having been in the family's possession for about two hundred and
fifty years, were sold within the past twenty-five or thirty years. Several
representatives of the Whittemore family were conspicuous as officers in
the Revolution. Mrs. Ellen M. Brewer's grandfather served as Lieutenant
throughout the war, being in the campaign against Burgoyne. Her greatgrandfather,
Benjamin Cady, and his son joined the Revolutionary army from Killingly,
Conn. Her mother died in 1896, when eighty-five years of age. The children
of Pliny Brewer and his wife were: Mary, now living in Norwich; Florence,
a resident of Wichita, Kan.; Edward P., the subject of this sketch; and
Frank, who was a medical student, and died of diphtheria in New York City.
The mother's death occurred in Norwich, in December 1895, when she was
sixty-four years old.
Edward P. Brewer received the greater part
of his college preparatory education under a private tutor. He then entered
the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia, from which he received
the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Later he graduated from the Dartmouth
Medical College. He continued his studies in New York and Philadelphia
for five years. Then, in 1881, he established himself in Norwich, where
he has since built up a large and successful practice. In 1895 he went
to Europe, and studied under the most celebrated specialists in London,
Paris, and Vienna. Since his return he has devoted himself to special work.
He has been a constant contributor to the medical press, and has occupied
important editorial positions. Possessed of an inventive faculty, he has
devised several important instruments, among which is the torsiometer,
which has attracted much notice.
In 1886 Dr. Brewer was married to Miss Alice
L. Boardman, of Norwich. Her parents were Clement and Louisa (Prentice)
Boardman, of whom the latter is living. Mrs. Brewer's grandfather, General
Mott, a civil engineer, drew the plans for the fortifications at New London,
and accompanied the expedition that captured Ticonderoga. Her greatgrandfather,
General John Tyler, served in the Revolutionary War, having command of
forces in the Newport and Long Island expeditions. Dr. and Mrs. Brewer
have one child, Alice. Dr. Brewer votes with the Republican party. He is
a member of the regular medical asso ciations of the county, State, and
country, and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In religion he is
a Congregationalist and a member of the Broadway Congregational Church.
The family reside at 18 Washington Street, where he built his dwelling
and office in 1891.
Biographical Review Volume
XXVI
Containing Life Sketches of Leading Citizens
of New London County Connecticut
Boston
Biographical Review Publishing Company
1898
pgs 218 - 220
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