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The surname BREWSTER is defined on page 49 of “A Dictionary of British Surnames,” by P.H. Reaney, 2nd edition, published 1976.

It means "a woman brewer." The earliest example given in the book is Roger Breuestere, A.D. 1221.

The author Mark Antony Lower adds, "The business of brewing was formerly carried on by women, and hence the A.-Sax. feminine termination stre [sic], in Brewster."

Reg Niles
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