The Bruch Families of Birkenfeld – New Findings

Recently, I figured out how to access archival material from the State Archives in Koblenz and Speyer. For the Birkenfeld region, a remarkable number of documents have been preserved, such as records of the Coopers Guild, church land inventories, tax registers, and, perhaps most interesting, court minutes from the numerous cases adjudicated by the Birkenfeld Amtmann (the Birkenfeld Amtsprotokolle). Taken together, these new sources flesh out the details of the lives of the people we find in the Church Books. Even better, they even allow us to identify family relationships not identified in the Church Books including, in the case of Jacob Bruch of Feckweiler, the name of his father and grandfather.

Important additions are coming to the genealogies of the Bruch families of Birkenfeld. In the meantime, here is a quick summary of the most important discoveries I have recently made:

1. Jacob Bruch was a cooper, a miller (he built his own mill!), and a salt merchant. He was also a Church Censor. 
2. Thanks to an inventory of church land that Jacob Bruch held, we can see that he inherited the tenancy of a field from his father, “Bruch Peters Hans,” which means his father was Hansen Bruch who, in turn, was the son of a Peter Bruch. This Peter Bruch is found in the 1500 tax list for Feckweiler. Hansen was also the father of Georg Bruch of Feckweiler. Hansen was probably married twice and Nicolaus Bruch, who was a cook in Birkenfeld Castle, is possibly a son of his second marriage. 
3. We also know the identity of Jacob’s two wives thanks to the Amtsprotokolle. Michel and Nicolaus Praumen of Buhlenberg were identified as Jacob’s brothers-in-law. Maria, therefore, was likely a daughter of Peter Praumen. Jacob’s second wife, Adelheit, was the sister of Schu Hans of Birkenfeld. 
4. Claus Bruch of Achtelsbach had a brother named Peter who had been a soldier in Spanish pay who fought at the siege of Maastricht in 1579. He also had a sister named Anna who was the first wife of Nicolaus Krauss who settled in Birkenfeld and adopted the Bruch surname. We’re still trying to figure out who their father was, but there are clues.   
5. The 1465 tax lists for Birkenfeld and Feckweiler show several heads of household with the surname “Bruchmann.” Even better, there is a document from 1366 that mentions a man named “Henkin Bruchmann” of Feckweiler. Clearly, “Bruchmann” was an earlier variant of the Bruch surname in this region; in fact, it was probably the original version. 
6. The identity of Michael Bruch of Rinzenberg, who, as far as I can tell, is the progenitor of the Bruch family that remained in Birkenfeld itself into the 18th Century, is no longer a mystery. The Birkenfeld Amtsprotokolle confirms that he was indeed the son of Peter Bruch
7. Jacob’s son Michael of Brücken had a mill called the “Hennen Mill.” This explains his nickname, “Hennen Michel.” Because of its resemblance to the name of a more famous mill in Brücken, historians have confused the few mentions of Michael’s mill with the Herrenmühle. Michael, probably thanks to the influence of his father, secured this mill in the 1590s. 

As my research progresses, I will be making updates to the genealogy of these families. In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to me with questions.