William Thomas Brewer was the son of Penelope "Penny" Brewer. His father was Ruffin Lanier who was half Indian. Penny's father refused to allow her to marry Ruffin. William "Billy" Brewer adopted William Thomas and gave him the Brewer name.
In 1862, William joined the Confederate States Navy (CSN) and served on the ironclad CSS North Carolina. On April 6, 1865, he was taken as a Prisoner of War (POW) and was taken to Point Lookout, Maryland. Point Lookout was deemed the largest and worst Northern POW camp. Approximately 50,000 Confederate enlisted men were contained within the walls of Point Lookout Prison Camp during it's operation 1863-1865. Prison capacity was 10,000 but at any given time, there would be between 12,000 and 20,000 soldiers incarcerated there.
There was a breakout of smallpox and because he was immune to it, he helped treat the other prisoners. On June 23, 1865, he took the Oath of Allegiance and was honorably discharged.
About 19 months after returning home from the war he married Nancy Lewis Nunn Nash, a widow. They had six children, Benjamin Edco Ellis Brewer (my grand father), J R Brewer, Doctor Franklin Brewer, George Thomas Brewer, Nannie Grace Brewer, and Sidney Albert Brewer.
After Nancy died in 1879, he married Mary Blount Swanson who bore him three children, J C (died before he was a month old), Lougenia "Lula", and J Kenneth. Strangely, in 1891 he gathered up the children from the first wife and Lula from the second wife and headed for Arkansas. The mother and son were left behind because he was still nursing, so the story goes. Lula never saw her mother again and Kenneth visited Arkansas only one time. Mary died many years later and never recovered from the loss of her child. William never married again. In his later years he was often seen walking the yard and heard asking for God's forgiveness and pleading for God to come back to him.
In 1862, William joined the Confederate States Navy (CSN) and served on the ironclad CSS North Carolina. On April 6, 1865, he was taken as a Prisoner of War (POW) and was taken to Point Lookout, Maryland. Point Lookout was deemed the largest and worst Northern POW camp. Approximately 50,000 Confederate enlisted men were contained within the walls of Point Lookout Prison Camp during it's operation 1863-1865. Prison capacity was 10,000 but at any given time, there would be between 12,000 and 20,000 soldiers incarcerated there.
There was a breakout of smallpox and because he was immune to it, he helped treat the other prisoners. On June 23, 1865, he took the Oath of Allegiance and was honorably discharged.
About 19 months after returning home from the war he married Nancy Lewis Nunn Nash, a widow. They had six children, Benjamin Edco Ellis Brewer (my grand father), J R Brewer, Doctor Franklin Brewer, George Thomas Brewer, Nannie Grace Brewer, and Sidney Albert Brewer.
After Nancy died in 1879, he married Mary Blount Swanson who bore him three children, J C (died before he was a month old), Lougenia "Lula", and J Kenneth. Strangely, in 1891 he gathered up the children from the first wife and Lula from the second wife and headed for Arkansas. The mother and son were left behind because he was still nursing, so the story goes. Lula never saw her mother again and Kenneth visited Arkansas only one time. Mary died many years later and never recovered from the loss of her child. William never married again. In his later years he was often seen walking the yard and heard asking for God's forgiveness and pleading for God to come back to him.
William Thomas Brewer was the son of Penelope "Penny" Brewer. His father was Ruffin Lanier who was half Indian. Penny's father refused to allow her to marry Ruffin. William "Billy" Brewer adopted William Thomas and gave him the Brewer name.
In 1862, William joined the Confederate States Navy (CSN) and served on the ironclad CSS North Carolina. On April 6, 1865, he was taken as a Prisoner of War (POW) and was taken to Point Lookout, Maryland. Point Lookout was deemed the largest and worst Northern POW camp. Approximately 50,000 Confederate enlisted men were contained within the walls of Point Lookout Prison Camp during it's operation 1863-1865. Prison capacity was 10,000 but at any given time, there would be between 12,000 and 20,000 soldiers incarcerated there.
There was a breakout of smallpox and because he was immune to it, he helped treat the other prisoners. On June 23, 1865, he took the Oath of Allegiance and was honorably discharged.
About 19 months after returning home from the war he married Nancy Lewis Nunn Nash, a widow. They had six children, Benjamin Edco Ellis Brewer (my grand father), J R Brewer, Doctor Franklin Brewer, George Thomas Brewer, Nannie Grace Brewer, and Sidney Albert Brewer.
After Nancy died in 1879, he married Mary Blount Swanson who bore him three children, J C (died before he was a month old), Lougenia "Lula", and J Kenneth. Strangely, in 1891 he gathered up the children from the first wife and Lula from the second wife and headed for Arkansas. The mother and son were left behind because he was still nursing, so the story goes. Lula never saw her mother again and Kenneth visited Arkansas only one time. Mary died many years later and never recovered from the loss of her child. William never married again. In his later years he was often seen walking the yard and heard asking for God's forgiveness and pleading for God to come back to him.
In 1862, William joined the Confederate States Navy (CSN) and served on the ironclad CSS North Carolina. On April 6, 1865, he was taken as a Prisoner of War (POW) and was taken to Point Lookout, Maryland. Point Lookout was deemed the largest and worst Northern POW camp. Approximately 50,000 Confederate enlisted men were contained within the walls of Point Lookout Prison Camp during it's operation 1863-1865. Prison capacity was 10,000 but at any given time, there would be between 12,000 and 20,000 soldiers incarcerated there.
There was a breakout of smallpox and because he was immune to it, he helped treat the other prisoners. On June 23, 1865, he took the Oath of Allegiance and was honorably discharged.
About 19 months after returning home from the war he married Nancy Lewis Nunn Nash, a widow. They had six children, Benjamin Edco Ellis Brewer (my grand father), J R Brewer, Doctor Franklin Brewer, George Thomas Brewer, Nannie Grace Brewer, and Sidney Albert Brewer.
After Nancy died in 1879, he married Mary Blount Swanson who bore him three children, J C (died before he was a month old), Lougenia "Lula", and J Kenneth. Strangely, in 1891 he gathered up the children from the first wife and Lula from the second wife and headed for Arkansas. The mother and son were left behind because he was still nursing, so the story goes. Lula never saw her mother again and Kenneth visited Arkansas only one time. Mary died many years later and never recovered from the loss of her child. William never married again. In his later years he was often seen walking the yard and heard asking for God's forgiveness and pleading for God to come back to him.
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