John George and Jane Isabella Brew were married on 15 July 1872 in Newcastle, England. Jane gave birth to 7 children, all boys, between 1872 and 1887. Of these, only 3 lived until their adulthoods: John George, who died in France in 1918 during World War 1, Albert, who died in Sydney, Australia, in 1948, and Leonard Septimus, who died in an accident on a ship off the north east coast of Ireland in 1947. The remaining four died in infancy. They were William, John, Thomas and Ernest.
Their father, John George snr., a marine engineer, was mostly away at sea. The family would only see him for a short time every few months; for the rest of the time the family lived on what little it had. On one period of leave, John George came home in time to bury one child, witness the birth of another, and bury it too before he rejoined the ship for his next voyage. Doubtless, the family lived in virtual poverty and this is confirmed by the fact that the children's causes of death were the result of a poor diet and diet related problems. See also SS Castleton... Just Tears in her Wake.
Their birth and death certificates give the following information:
1872 Birth in Gateshead Registration District, Durham County.
31 October 1872, 108 Somerset Street, William, Boy, son of John George Brew, Engine Fitter, and Jane Isabella Brew, formerly Chater, Informant: John George Brew, father, 108 Somerset Street, Gateshead, registered 6th December 1872, Registrar: John Pattison.
1874 Death in Gateshead Registration District, Durham County.
18 June 1874, 37 Chichester Street, William Brew, Male, 1 year, Son of John Brew, Mechanical Engineer, Cause: Tabes Mesenterica 12 months, Informant: John Brew, present at the death, 37 Chichester Street, Gateshead, Registrar: John Pattison.
1874 Birth in Gateshead Registration District, Durham County.
10 July 1874, 37 Chichester Street, John, Boy, son of John George Brew, Mechanical Engineer, and Jane Isabella Brew, formerly Chater, Informant: John George Brew, father, 37 Chichester Street, Gateshead, registered 22 July 1874, Registrar: John Pattison.
1874 Death in Gateshead Registration District, Durham County.
21 July 1874, 37 Chichester Street, John Brew, Male, 1 Week, Son of John Brew, Mechanical Engineer, Cause: Hydrocephalus 1 week, Informant: John Chater, present at death, 1 Durham Terrace, Gateshead, Registrar: John Pattison.
1878 Birth in Gateshead Registration District, Durham County.
1 April 1878, 18 Chichester Street, Thomas, Boy, son of John George Brew, Marine Engineer, and Jane Isabella Brew, formerly Chater, informant: J. I. Brew, mother, 18 Chichester Street, Gateshead, registered 13 May 1878, Registrar: John Pattison.
1878 Death in Gateshead Registration District, Durham County.
24 June 1878, 18 Chichester Street, Thomas Brew, Male, 3 Months, son of John George Brew, Steamboat Engineer, Cause: Diarrhoea certified by Benjn. Barkus, M.D., Informant: Jane Chater, grandmother, present at death, 1 Durham Terrace, Gateshead, Registrar: John Pattison.
1883 Birth in Gateshead Registration District, Durham County.
8 December 1883, 36 Blyth Terrace, Ernest, Boy, son of John George Brew, Marine Engineer, and Jane Isabella Brew, formerly Chater, Informant: J. I. Chater, mother, 36 Blyth Terrace, Gateshead, registered 19 January 1884, Registrar: Thomas [illegible].
1884 Death in Gateshead Registration District, Durham County.
6 March 1884, 36 Blyth Terrace, Ernest Brew, Male, 3 Months, son of John George Brew, Marine Engineer, Cause: Marasmus 1 month certified by Wm. Mearns, M.D., Informant: Elizabeth Chater, Great-Aunt, in attendance, 37 Cramer Street, Gateshead, Registrar: Thomas [illegible].