Overview
The region around Birkenfeld, near the modern-day border between the states of Rheinland-Pfalz and Saarland, was home to a number of Bruch families. These families, possibly all related in some way, were likely the source of some of the Bruch families that appear in other parts of the Palatinate in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Several immigrants to the Americas, including Matthias Bruch of Pennsylvania, were descended from these families.
To the extent that these families have been studied by historians or genealogists, it is usually as a possible source of the prominent Bruch families of Zweibrücken. Though I have found very little evidence that this family of surgeons and pharmacists can trace their origins to the villages around Birkenfeld, this region is, I argue, the source of my own family, as well as that of the Bruch family of Alsenz. Many branches of these Bruch families remained in the Birkenfeld region for centuries.
When church records for the region around Birkenfeld begin in the second half of the 16th Century, we find that the Bruch surname is already well-established. There were at least five adult men using the Bruch surname living in Birkenfeld or its surrounding villages at the time: Hanssen, Georg, and Jacob Bruch of Feckweiler; Claus Bruch of Achtelsbach; and Nicolaus Bruch of Birkenfeld. While we cannot definitively say that they were all related to each other, most were probably related in some way, meaning that the extended family had lived in the area for at least one or two generations before records began.
For more information on what we know about the earliest members of the Bruch families of the Birkenfeld region, click here.
Genealogies
Jacob Bruch of Feckweiler is the earliest known ancestor of Matthias Bruch of Northampton County. Of all of the early Bruchs of Birkenfeld, Jacob has the largest number of known descendants.
Claus Bruch of Achtelsbach, known during his lifetime as “Baker Claus,” is perhaps the best-known to family historians. He was prominent in Achtelsbach as the village baker and he was the proprietor of the village tavern. He is also sometimes credited with being the father of Thomas Bruch, who founded at least some of the Bruch families of Zweibrücken. This Thomas was also allegedly the ancestor of the composer Max Bruch. Thomas was a church official (Amtmann), perhaps first serving in the village of Bennsdorf in Lorraine. Some say that his father was a baker from Achtelsbach, leading many genealogists to assign Claus to be his father, but Claus was born too late. He could, however, be Thomas’s brother, and it would make sense if Claus’s father, of whom we have no information, was also a baker.
Nicolaus Bruch of Birkenfeld was also known as Nicolaus Krauss. Whether Bruch or Krauss was his real surname is uncertain. Most of his known descendants continued to use the Bruch surname, although his son Nicolaus ultimately adopted Krauss.
Michael Bruch of Rinzenberg belongs to a later generation. He had many descendants, but it is unclear how he relates to the other Bruch families of the region.
Resources
For a discussion of the historical sources of information on these Bruch families, check out this post.
Bruch Family History 