Charlotte Wilder was born in Littleton, in what was then the county of Middlesex, but in what is now the county of Surrey, England. Her parents were John and Ann Wilder. She was Christened on Dec. 28, 1794 in Littleton.
Her known siblings were William Frederick Wilder (Chr. Nov. 26, 1786); Thomas Wilder (Chr. Jan. 13, 1788); Leonard Wilder (Chr. Jan. 2, 1791); Rowland Wilder (Chr. Mar. 31, 1793); and Harriet Wilder (Chr. Mar. 13, 1803).
She married William Brotherhood (1788-1839) on July 15, 1811 in the Parish of West Molesey, Surrey, England . They had 12 children: Rowland (1812-1883); Ann (1814-?); Leonard (1815-?); William (1818-1886); Harriet (1820-1897); Thomas (1822-1870); Emma (1825-?); Jane (1827-1853); Sally (1829-1880); Joshua (1832-Aft 1902); John (1834-1835); and Henry (1836-1838).
While residing in Hounslow, Middlesex, England, Charlotte, William and their family lived on Heath Lane in the Parish of Isleworth. Her husband, William, died in 1839 in Hounslow, from injuries suffered in a fall from his horse.
On April 4, 1843, Charlotte sold the family home on Heath Lane, and with her children, William, Harriet, Thomas, Jane, Sally and Joshua, sailed to America on board the ship, Hendrik Hudson, arriving in the Port of New York City on June 26, 1843.
Her son, Rowland, wrote of his mother, Charlotte in his 1881 memoirs the following: "...the line [i.e., railway line] opened to Steventon June 1840...This was the last contract that my brothers worked with me, they did a little further down, but they soon returned home to the old work. Soon after they thought they could do better in the States and made up their minds to go, And our Mother who had worked hard, had been a good wife and a most excellent Mother to us all, against my wishes and remonstrances and that of some of her friends, made up her mind to go with them and did so selling all off, and taking my three youngest Sisters and younger brother a child with them the removal of those three girls from their native homes, under such circumstances, had been a source of trouble to my mind up to the present day, My Mother died at Milwaukee on April 9th (sic) 1859--age 69 (sic)."
On May 7, 1844, Charlotte purchased land in Genesee, Wisconsin and lived there until about 1847-1848. At that time, she and her family moved to the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where they lived on Vliet Street, between 6th and 7th Street. The address was later 712 Vliet Street. Charlotte retained ownership of the land in Genesee for some time and rented out the property to make an income from it.
We do not know the cause of Charlotte's death.
Charlotte is listed under the name, "Brotherwood, Charlotte" in the open notebook series, "Waukesha Co. Pioneers" as having the "1st land grant T[Town]. of Genesee Sec." (Waukesha Co. Museum, Waukesha, WI, call #F587.25.W2P659)Some of Charlotte's descendants live in the Milwaukee, WI area to this day.---bio provided by LilyPondLane.