By By LYDIA GRIMES – Features writer
I had an interesting experience this week and it just lets me know once again that we live in a small world.
I called a young man about being the subject of a profile and noticed that his name was very familiar. I asked him where he was brought up and got an answer that surprised me.
My husband is descended from a Henry Brewer who was born in 1850. He married Martha Boyette and the two are buried at Pleasant Home Church Cemetery in Crenshaw County.
Among their children were a daughter, Emma Elizabeth, and a son, Andrew. The son and daughter married Worley siblings; Emma Elizabeth to Jefferson Gillispie Worley and Andrew to Jodi Worley.
Emma Elizabeth and her family moved into Covington County and raised a large family of children while Andrew and his family stayed in Crenshaw County. He, too, raised a large family of children.
One of Emma Elizabeth's children was a daughter, Reedie Estelle Worley, who married Lucious Wilson Grimes. They were the parents of my husband. One of Andrew and Jodi's children was a son, Robert, who married, I think, a Jackson and had several children.
Robert Brewer had a son, Paul, who is the father of the young man, Robert Brewer, that I interviewed.
My husband's family and the Brewer family were never very close.
Several years ago I was invited to a Brewer family reunion by Robert's uncle, Walter Brewer. Being the type person that I am, it did not deter me that I would know absolutely nobody at this family reunion. I just wanted to meet someone else who might help me on the family tree.
I showed up all by myself and visited with these total strangers, who were very kind and welcoming to me. After we had talked for a while, Walter offered to take me to his father's house and let me quiz him a little bit.
Now, even though I hardly knew Walter, I figured he would be safe to follow as he had his whole little family with him. We were off into the woods near the Pataliga River in Crenshaw County. We traveled so far back in the woods that I would never have gotten out without a guide. I visited with Robert Brewer and got some really good pointers as to family connections.
When I arrived back home at the end of the day, I told my husband what I had done and he told me I was crazy to have gone without knowing anybody. I couldn't understand what he was talking about. I had a perfectly good time and once again, I had not run into an axe murderer as my husband believes I will someday.
I look forward to filling in some blanks as I get a chance to talk to Robert. You see, information is out there, and sometimes it comes to you out of the blue.