Bruch Genealogy – Bruch Family History

Bruch Families of Birkenfeld – Gedcom

A Gedcom file for the Bruch families of Birkenfeld is now available.

Thomas Bruch’s Second Wife – Katharina Lentz of Züsch

Thomas Bruch of Ellweiler’s second wife has traditionally been identified as Katharina Jung, daughter of Philip of Züsch. However, this is based on an inaccurate transcription of her surname: she was actually Katharina Lentz.

The Bruch Families of Birkenfeld

The Bruch Families of Birkenfeld, now available.

Birkenfeld Resources – Name Indices

Indices of inhabitants of the villages of Feckweiler and Ellweiler.

Early 18th Century Leistadt

Leistadt was the home village of Matthias Bruch of Pennsylvania. His father, Matthes Bruch, had moved to Leistadt to help rebuild following Leistadt’s destruction in 1689. Matthes was one of several immigrants to Leistadt, including the Hoffmann Andreas Neu and the huntsman Andreas Federkeil. In the early 18th Century, about half of Leistadt’s population were immigrants orContinue reading “Early 18th Century Leistadt”

Historical Sources and Records of the Bruch Families of Birkenfeld

As one would expect, the most important source of information on the early Bruch families in the Birkenfeld region are the records kept by the churches of births, marriages, burials, and sometimes confirmations. The Birkenfeld Church Book is one of the oldest in existence, with records starting in 1568, not long after the Reformation wasContinue reading “Historical Sources and Records of the Bruch Families of Birkenfeld”

The Origins of Matthes Bruch of Leistadt

We have known for some time that Matthias Bruch, who arrived in Philadelphia on the Harle in 1736, had come from the village of Leistadt. He was the third child and second son of Matthes Bruch, a master cooper. But, like many in Leistadt at the time, the elder Matthes was an immigrant to Leistadt, arriving atContinue reading “The Origins of Matthes Bruch of Leistadt”