Record of Burial

James Brewster (1788–1866)—carriage maker, railroad builder, philanthropist, and civic leader.

Spouse Mary Hequembourg 1789 – 1868

Children
    Mary Elizabeth Brewster 1812 – 1886
    Rebecca Doggett Brewster 1814 – 1890
    James Benjamin Brewster 1817 – 1902
    Joseph Brewster , Rev. 1822 – 1895
    Henry Brewster 1824 – 

Married at New Haven Conn., September 18, 1810, Mary Hequembourg of New Haven, whose father was a French Revolutionary soldier. She died at New Haven, in 1867. He died at New Haven November 22, 1866, and he and his wife are buried there.

He became, as was said at his death, “the pioneer of the carriage business.”

Although Mr. Brewster had no schooling in his youth, save that of a common school, he was always deeply interested in educational matters. He founded the Mechanics’ Institute of New Haven, providing courses of popular lectures on science, etc., by Professor Benjamin Silliman and others of the faculty of Yale College. Thus he anticipated the principles of modern “University Extension.” He also purchased and presented to Yale College a Mineralogical Cabinet; built and endowed the New Haven Orphan Asylum, at a cost of over $20,000, and moreover, he made himself the personal friend of all the children in the institution. When the Civil War broke out he was an ardent supporter of the Union and fitted out, at his own expense, a company of volunteers. Mr. Brewster furnished most of the funds for publishing the book Chief of the Pilgrims, or Life and Times of William Brewster. He was one of the first directors of the New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company and for its success he risked nearly his entire fortune. He served one term as mayor of New Haven.
During the hours of the funeral services of Mr. Brewster, places of business were closed by common consent and citizens displayed their flags at half-mast. The New Haven Palladium of November 26, 1866, at the close of a long article upon his funeral obsequies, says: “Thus has gone to rest one of the vest citizens of New Haven or any other city ever had. ‘He, being dead, yet speaketh, his deeds do follow him.’ Hundreds about our city called him blessed, and a hundred households are happier and better today for his having lived. The public blessings, which he was instrumental in obtaining, are lasting mementos to his worth-more enduring than tablets of stone or graven memorials of ever-during brass.”

http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1989/1/89.01.14.x.html
 James Brewster is known as the symbol of the New Haven carriage industry. His shop was located in a one story building at the corner of Elm and High Streets. He later moved his business to Elm and Park Streets. This second location proved to be too small for his growing business. He found a larger location on Orange Street to satisfy his needs. He became known for his production method of dividing the work of the factory into different departments. This assembly line production was beneficial to persons involved.

In 1832, Brewster moved to an even larger factory at the foot of Wooster Street. Concurrent with the moving of the factory, he assisted in developing the new neighborhood by the creation of new streets and the widening of older ones. As a result, this area came to be known as Brewsterville. It no longer is referred to by that name but is called Wooster Square. The rise of the railroad industry forced Brewster to abandon the carriage business and focus his attention on building railroads.

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http://www.grovestreetcemetery.org/self_guided_grove_street_cemetery_tou…
Number 51 Cedar Avenue is the site for James Brewster (1788-1866). Brewster opened a shop in New Haven in 1810 to build horse-drawn carriages at a time when only heavier vehicles were being built in this country. He produced a varied line that was widely sold and became well known as “Brewster wagons.” Presidents Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren purchased Brewster carriages. Carriage building flourished in New Haven for the entire nineteenth century, and disappeared abruptly with the coming of the automobile.

Brewster was one of a group that started the first railroad for the area, running between New Haven and Hartford. The present railroad follows the same route. The cost was estimated at $830,000. Construction took place during a national financial panic, and completion was possible only because of the resources provided by Brewster.

Brewster was civic minded, extending and widening city streets. He tried to create better working conditions for those who worked in his factory and in other similar establishments, and he established an orphanage. At his death he was described as “one of the best citizens New Haven or any other city ever had.”
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