Descendants of Jacob Bruch of Feckweiler

Jacob Bruch of Feckweiler and, later, Birkenfeld, was born no later than 1535, based on the ages of his children. He would have been in his 20s or 30s when the Reformation was introduced to the County of Sponheim. Jacob was presumably born in Feckweiler, and he is very likely closely related to his contemporaries Hanssen and Georg Bruch of Feckweiler, but the exact relationship is unknown. Jacob was married to Maria, surname unknown, who died 23 Oct 1581.[1] Jacob then married Adelheit, the widow of “Tilman” (Thielmann), who had been an innkeeper in Birkenfeld, on 28 Oct 1583.[2] Adelheit had previously been married to Jacob Scherer. After his marriage to Adelheit, Jacob seems to have left Feckweiler as subsequent mentions of him refer to him as living in Birkenfeld. There is no surviving record of Jacob practicing a particular profession.  

Based on baptismal records of his children or other baptismal records where sponsors are identified as his children, Jacob had the following known children, probably all with Maria:

  1. Barbel: b. abt. 1555; d. aft. 14 Mar 1579; baptismal sponsor for:
    1. Barbara, daughter of “Philipsen of Feckweiler,” on 29 Sep 1577[3]
    2. Barbara, daughter of Claus Braum, on 14 Mar 1579[4]
  2. Nicolaus: b. abt. 1558;[5] m(1). Elsa Kühn, daughter of Hanssen of Hoppstädten, 26 Jan 1589;[6] probably m(2). Maria Schu, widow of Peter Schu, 1 Nov 1604;[7] d. bet. 1617 and 1623
  3. Michael:[8] b. abt. 1560; m. Anna _ bef. May 1588; bur. 1 Jan 1612 in Brücken[9]
  4. Thomas:[10] b. abt. 1567; m(1). Appel (Apollonia) _ abt. 1598; m(2). Katharina Lentz, daughter of Philip Lentz of Züsch, 25 May 1613;[11] d. bet. 1630 and 31 Mar 1640
  5. Veltenn[?]: bap. 7 Apr 1571 (sponsors were Hans Niclass; “Weyrich [der] Wagner;” Maria, wife of Peter Meyer, all of Feckweiler);[12] the name is difficult to read in his baptismal record. There is no subsequent mention of him; deaths were not recorded in 1571, so it is possible he died shortly after birth.

Jacob Bruch sponsored the following baptisms:

  1. Jacob, son of Nicolaus Buttel and Gertraudt, 13 July 1569 (with Hans Schneider of Ellweiler and Margretha, wife of Peter Engel of Rinzenberg)[13]
  2. Thomas, son of Jacob Lannen (or Lehnen) and Margretha, 9 Nov 1570 (with Thomas Hoffmann of Buhlenberg and Anna, wife of Nicolaus Schneider of Feckweiler)[14]
  3. Jacob, son of Peter (son of Nicolaus Schneider as the record indicates) and Agnes Schneider of Feckweiler, 30 May 1573.[15] Peter Schneider was a tavern keeper in Feckweiler.
  4. Gertraudt Jacobs, daughter of Petgenn (Peter) and Eva, 20 Feb 1575 (with Margretha, the wife of Nicolaus Hanssen and Gertraudt, the daughter of Thomas Brenner, all of Feckweiler)[16]
  5. Jacob Cuntz, son of Thomas of Traunen, 4 Apr 1577 (with Michael [Raub?] and “the oldest daughter of Peter Brenner of Traunen)[17]
  6. Clara, daughter of Jacob Lehnen (same as Jacob Lannen above), 6 Jan 1580 (with [?] Johann of [?]; Clara, the wife of “Schneider Nicolaus Georg” of Feckweiler; Gertraudt, wife of “Classen Classgens” of Feckweiler)[18]
  7. Margretha, daughter of Claus Hanssen, 12 Mar 1580 (with Maria, the wife of the bailiff of Birkenfeld, and Margreth the wife of the Ampt[keller])[19]
  8. Peter, son of Nicolaus Georg of Feckweiler, 24 Nov 1580 (with Peter “Waldförster” [Peter Thielmann] and Margretha, widow of Thomas G[?])[20]
  9. Jacob, son of Fritten [Friedrich] Scherer of Dambach, 19 Dec 1585 (the other sponsors are not clear, one might have been a Cuntz, and the godmother was a Scherer from Achtelsbach).[21] Friedrich Scherer might have been related to Adelheit’s first husband Jacob Scherer.

Maria sponsored the following baptisms:

  1. Johann, son of Margreth, daughter of “Hanssen der Schneider” of Feckweiler, 23 Aug 1576 (with Peter Meyers)[22]
  2. Maria, daughter of “Schneider Nicolaus Georg” of Feckweiler, 3 Sep 1579 (with Peter Dillman [Thielmann] the forester and Catharina, wife of Thomas Brenner of Feckweiler)[23]

Jacob Bruch died 17 Jun 1601 and was buried the following day in Birkenfeld, described as “Jacob Bruch Senior.”[24] We do not know when Adelheit died. 

Second Generation

Nicolaus Bruch (Jacob) was born about 1558. It is difficult to distinguish Nicolaus, son of Jacob, from others of that name living in Feckweiler and Birkenfeld. Often, the name of the mother was not given in a baptismal record, further complicating matters. He is occasionally mentioned as a baptismal sponsor, usually as “Bruch Jacobs Nicolaus”, as in “Nicolaus, the son of Jacob”. There is also one child born to a person of that description. There are, however, several children born to a Nicolaus Bruch “of here,” meaning Birkenfeld. The dates of birth of these children do not overlap with “Nicolaus, son of Jacob,” so they are probably the same person. Nicolaus’s wife Elsa sponsors the baptism of a son of Nicolaus Cleen of Dienstweiler in 1592; Cleen had been a sponsor for a child of “Nicolaus of Here” in 1591. Cleen was also connected to Adelheit, Nicolaus’s stepmother. Also, a child of “Jacob’s son” died in 1592. This child could only be Johann Nicolaus, son of “Nicolaus Bruch of here.” In 1584, Nicolaus Bruch, son of Jacob, was recorded as a baptismal sponsor in the Achtelsbach records and was described as being from Birkenfeld.[25]

Nicolaus’s known and probable children with Elsa Kühn were:

  1. Bartholomeus (Bartel) [probable]: b. abt. 1590; m(1). Anna, daughter of Bernhardt Haasen of Buhlenberg, 17 Jun 1617;[26] m(2). Maria Reiss or Reuss, daughter of Emich of Brücken, 3 May 1631.[27] d. (probably) Nov or Dec 1635[28]
  2. Johann Niclass [probable]: bap. 9 Aug 1591 (sponsors were “Johan der Schafer”; Niclass [Cleen] of Dienstweiler; Barbel, wife of Johann Weissgerber of Birkenfeld);[29] probably the “child of Jacob Bruch’s son” who was bur. 24 Nov 1592[30]
  3. Hans Frantz [probable]: bap. 2 Oct 1592 (sponsors were Frantz Philip the innkeeper; Hans Müller; Margretha, the widow of the former potter of [?Eisen]);[31] bur. 8 Sep 1602[32]
  4. Niclass [probable]: bap. 15 Dec 1596 (sponsors were Nicolaus Wart; Nicolaus Schneider [?]; [illegible]);[33] m. (probably) Otilia Meiers [?], daughter of Hans of Desloch, near Meisenheim, 21 Oct 1623;[34] no known issue, although he possibly moved outside the region
  5. Margretha [certain]: bap. 13 Dec 1598 (sponsors were Adam Lorentz of Feckweiler; Margretha, wife of Bastian Weyrich [Margretha Bruch, daughter of the elder Nicolaus of Birkenfeld]);[35] bur. 1 Jun 1604, age 6[36]
  6. Friedrich [probable]: bap. 8 Jul 1601 (sponsors were Friedrich Kellner the scribe; Johann Weissgerber; Nicolaus Spengler; Maria, daughter of Maria Bartz);[37] m. Eva, widow of the late Michel Eitzart [?] of Heimbach, late 1628;[38] no known issue
  7. Hans Jacob [probable]: b. abt. 1604; bur. 10 Apr 1604, age 10 weeks[39]

It is probable that Nicolaus is the same person as the Nicolaus Bruch who married Maria, widow of Peter Schu, on 1 November 1604.[40] There is no death record for Nicolaus’s wife Elsa, but the death record of Hans Jacob in April of 1604 uses the word kindbetter[in] (mother who just gave birth), perhaps suggesting that the mother died not long before the baby, or died in childbirth. If the Nicolaus who married Maria in 1604 is the same as Jacob’s son, it would explain why Thomas Bruch of Ellweiler was a baptismal sponsor for the couple’s first child in 1605. It also would mean that Nicolaus was a cooper, like his brother, since the father of Anna Maria in 1605 was described as such (Bartel’s marriage record also describes Nicolaus using what appears to be an abbreviated word that the record keeper often used when discussing coopers). Peter Schu, Maria’s late husband, ran in the same circles as the Bruch family, with common connections that included Ludwig Becker and Johann Weissgerber. Peter’s daughter Elisabetha married the smith Claus Schu, relation unknown, from Oberbrombach. He later appears in the Birkenfeld records described as the son-in-law of Nicolaus Bruch,[41] suggesting that Nicolaus was indeed older, further strengthening the case that he was Jacob’s son.  

If Nicolaus did marry Maria in 1604, they had only one known child:

  1. Anna Maria [possible]: bap. 24 Sep 1605 (sponsors were Thomas Bruch of Ellweiler, married son of the late Jacob; Anna, wife of Hans Platz of Birkenfeld);[42] bur. 21 Sep 1607, age 2, of dysentery.[43]

Nicolaus Bruch sponsored the following baptisms:

  1. Elisabetha, daughter of “Georg Jacobs” (probably Jacob Georg), on 3 Sep 1579[44]
  2. Margretha, daughter of Hanssen Weyrich of Feckweiler, 2 Oct 1583[45]
  3. Nicolaus, son of the “Schaufhirts zu Ellweiler” [shepherd of Ellweiler], on 25 Aug 1584[46]
  4. Niclass Helman, son of Classen of Brücken, 3 Jan 1585 (with Nicolaus Bruch of Birkenfeld)[47]
  5. Bernhardt Müller, son of Hanssen of Birkenfeld, 28 Apr 1585[48]
  6. Anna, daughter of Wendel Peters (or Peter Wendel) of Birkenfeld, 15 Jun 1585[49]
  7. Johannes, son of Nicolaus Wart of Feckweiler, 29 May 1589[50]

Elsa Kühn sponsored the following baptism:

  1. Johannes Cleen, son of Niclass of Dienstweiler, 26 Feb 1592[51]

Maria Schu sponsored the following baptism:

  1. Susanna Maria Ruppenthal, daughter of Johann, a wool weaver, and Maria of Birkenfeld, 24 Apr 1608[52]

Nicolaus likely died between 1617, when Bartel married and was described as the son of Nicolaus (not the “son of the late Nicolaus”), and 1623, when Nicolaus married and was described as the “son of the late Nicolaus.”

Michael Bruch (Jacob) was born about 1560 and settled in Brücken by 1585 when he sponsored a baptism and was described as living there. Michael married Anna, surname unknown, by May 1588 when she sponsored a baptism and was described as his wife. He might have had some association with the iron works at Abentheuer (see the baptismal sponsor of the second Nicolaus). He might have had the same nickname as his son Peter; in one record, Michael is recorded as “Bruch Michels oder Herre Michels [or Henne/Hemme, but less likely].” This is the only known instance of him having this nickname whereas his son Peter is consistently referred to as such. The name likely refers to the Herrenmühle in Brücken, which is perhaps where Michael and Peter worked. Michael’s known children with Anna were:

  1. Nicolaus: bap. 3 Sep 1585 (sponsors were Claus Rausch [?] of Brücken; Conradt Hoffmann of Brücken; Margretha, the wife of Hanssen, Hoffmann of [?]);[53] d. presumably before 1594
  2. Johannes: bap. 25 Sep 1586 (sponsors were Kühler [?] of Burbach [?]; Johann Scherer of Brücken; daughter of Emmich Fritzen [?]);[54]
  3. Peter: bap. 28 Nov 1587 (sponsors were Peter Schmidt of Heimbach; Hans Schumacher of Brücken; Engel, the old Pfarrin of Buhlenberg);[55] m. Catharina, daughter of Lorentz Hoffman of Brücken, 26 Oct 1613;[56] bur. 8 Jun 1622.[57]
  4. Elisabetha: bap. 30 Mar 1589 (sponsors were Niclass Helm, son of the late Emich…Elsa, daughter of Classen Brenner[?]; Margretha, wife of Hans Becker of Brücken);[58] m. Johannes Lang of Buhlenberg, 23 Apr 1614[59]
  5. Catharina: bap. 7 Mar 1591 (sponsors were Lorentz Hof[man?] of Brücken; the father’s stepmother Adelheit, the wife of Jacob Bruch; Catharina, wife of Claus Helman);[60] d. presumably before 1597
  6. Maria: bap. 5 Jul 1592 (sponsors were Johann [Birken?] of [?]; Maria, [wife?] of Emich Reuss of Brücken; Maria, wife of Thomas Kuntz of Traunen);[61] m. Bastian Burbach of Siesbach, 2 Nov 1617;[62]
  7. Nicolaus: bap. 11 Mar 1594 (sponsors were “Rudolph mauerer;” Niclass Brenner; Agnes, the daughter of the master iron cutter of Abentheuer);[63] m(1). Catharina Bender, daughter of the late Hanssen, 30 Jan 1621;[64] m(2). Anna Maria Haasen, widow of the late Hans of Buhlenberg, 19 Feb 1639;[65] bur. 30 Jul 1643;[66]
  8. Margretha: bap. Jan 1596 (sponsors were Georg Enders of Brücken; Margretha, wife of Ludwig Becker of Birkenfeld; Anna, wife of [Helle?] of Brücken)[67]
  9. Catharina: bap. 28 Mar 1597 (sponsors include Nicolaus Braum of Buhlenberg);[68] m. Nicolaus Jeckels, son of Dietrich of Güdesweiler, 24th Trin. Sunday, 1616;[69] no known issue
  10. Reinhardt: bap. 30 Oct 1601 (sponsors include Reinhardt Ruppenthal, the bailiff in Birkenfeld);[70] m. Catharina _ before 1627; d. bef. 22 Feb 1632 in Niederbrombach[71]
  11. Daughter: b. abt. 1603; bur. 19 Dec 1613, age 10[72]
  12. Susanna: bap. 2 Oct 1608 (sponsors were Peter Kussler of Birkenfeld; Anna, the wife of Claus Rausch the tanner [Weissgerber] in Brücken; Katharina, the wife of Hans Brenner of Eisenhütten)[73]

There are records of three of Michael’s children dying, presumably young, but their names and ages were not recorded:

  • Child: d. 15 Nov 1588[74]
  • Child: d. 3 May 1589[75]
  • Child: d. Aug 1592[76]

Michael Bruch sponsored the following baptisms:

  1. Margreth, daughter of Frantz Kohlenbrenner of Brücken, on 12 May 1585[77]
  2. Barbara, daughter of Thomas Conrad, 20 Apr 1599[78]
  3. Nicolaus Heie, son of Johannes and Maria of Buhlenberg, 17 Sep 1606[79]
  4. Katharina Lang, daughter of Reinhardt and Maria of Brücken, 20 Mar 1611[80]

Anna sponsored the following baptisms:

  1. Anna Weyrich, daughter of Hanssen of Brücken, 19 May 1588[81]
  2. Anna Margretha Sprien, daughter of Claus and Maria of Brücken, 6 Feb 1607[82]
  3. Caspar Kulmer, son of Petigen and Sünge of Buhlenberg, 31 Mar 1608[83]
  4. Hans Melchior Brenner, son of Hans and Katharina of Brücken, 9 Feb 1610[84]
  5. Anna Enders, daughter of Claus and Anna of Brücken, 21 Sep 1611[85]

Michael was buried 1 Jan 1612.[86] He was one of three people buried that day. We do not know when Anna died.

Thomas Bruch (Jacob) was born about 1567, likely just before records began in the Birkenfeld parish in 1568. We know he was the son of Jacob because he was described as such when he sponsored the baptism of Anna Maria Bruch in 1605 (see below). At some point, Thomas moved to Ellweiler. Records were not kept in the Achtelsbach parish, to which Ellweiler belonged, between 1590 and 1609. It would have been during this period that Thomas was first married and started having children.

During the church visitation of 1609, Thomas was described as a cooper in Ellweiler. In the 1609 record, Thomas is married to “Appel” (Apollonia) and has one son, three daughters, and a male servant, who was probably a cooper’s apprentice.[87] In most records that mention him, he is referred to as “Leaning Thomas (Lehnen Thomas),” and variations thereof, suggesting he walked with a limp.[88]  

Based on her age at death, his wife Apollonia was born about 1572. She died of plague and was buried 21 Jan 1613, age 40 years.[89] Thomas and Apollonia had the following children, presumably all born in Ellweiler:

  1. Barbel: b. abt. 1599; bur. 7 Jan 1613 (died of plague), age 13[90]
  2. Hans: b. abt. 1600; bur. 2 Feb 1613 (died of plague), age 12[91]
  3. Rosina: b. abt. 1604; bur. 21 Jan 1613 (died of plague, buried the same day as her mother), age 9[92]
  4. Maria: b. abt. 1606; bur. 12 Jan 1613 (died of plague), age 6[93]
  5. Johannes: b. abt. 1610;[94] d. aft 18 Mar 1632; sponsored the following baptisms:
    1. Margretha Neu (Nau), illegitimate daughter of a daughter of Thomas of Ellweiler, on 6 Feb 1630[95]
    2. Johannes Klein, son of Andreas and Susanna of Dambach, on 20 Mar 1631[96]
    3. Hans Andreas Bruch, son of Sebastian and Maria of Achtelsbach, on 13 Nov 1631[97]
    4. Hans Nicolaus Rausch, son of Wendel and Apollonia of Ellweiler, on 18 Mar 1632[98]
  6. Agnes: bap. 9 Aug 1612 (sponsors were Peter Weber of Nohfelden; Agnes, the wife of the pastor Caspar Christophorus; Anna, the wife of Simon Kessell of Ellweiler);[99] bur. 1 Dec 1612[100]

Almost all of Thomas’s family with Apollonia died in the plague that reached Ellweiler in early 1613. The Bruch household seems to have been the first one stricken in the village. Only Thomas himself and Johannes survived.

On 25 May 1613, Thomas married Katharina Lentz, the daughter of Philip Lentz of Züsch (note that her surname has traditionally, and incorrectly, been transcribed as “Jung” – I also made this mistake).[101] She was almost certainly related to Claus Lentz, originally from Züsch, who had settled in Feckweiler around 1605 when he married Maria, widow of Nicolaus Jacobs.[102] Claus and Maria served as baptismal sponsors for two of Thomas and Katharina’s children.  

Thomas and Katharina had the following children, all born in Ellweiler:

  1. Apollonia: bap. 11 Feb 1614 (sponsors were Matthes Melchior, Schultheiss of Achtelsbach; Maria Lentz, wife of Claus of Feckweiler; Appel, daughter of Caspar Lorch [a carpenter] of Ellweiler);[103] bur. 24 Feb 1614[104]
  2. Claus: bap. 22 Dec 1614 [sic] (sponsors were Jacob Schmeyer, son of Peter of Ellweiler; Claus Schwenk, son of Hans; Barbell Schuch, daughter of Nickel of Ellweiler);[105] d. presumably before 1620
  3. Barbara: bap. 3 Nov 1615 (sponsors were Michael, son of Melchior Schwenk of Achtelsbach; Barbell, wife of Johannes Lauer of Nohfelden; Barbell, wife of “Baker Johannes” [Johannes Aysell] of Ellweiler);[106] d. aft. 31 Mar 1644; baptismal sponsor for Hans Georg Prossen, son of Hans and Maria of Nohfelden, 31 Mar 1644[107]
  4. Ulrich: bap. 10 Aug 1617 (sponsors were Rudolph Schuster of Ellweiler; Michael Schmidt of Achtelsbach; Christina [Schwenk], wife of “Baker Theiss” [Theiss Bruch, son of Claus] of Achtelsbach);[108] m(1). Elisabetha Leissmann, daughter of the late Matthes of Nohfelden, 28 Sep 1647;[109] m(2). Apollonia _; d. before 23 Jan 1697[110]
  5. Hans: b. abt. 1618;[111] m. Susanna Glock, daughter of Velten of Nohfelden, 28 Sep 1647[112]
  6. Hans Claus (is this Hans?): bap. 15 Oct 1620 (sponsors were Claus Lentz of Feckweiler and [the wife of?] Hans Schuch of Achtelsbach)[113]

Thomas Bruch sponsored the following baptisms:

  1. Anna Maria Bruch, daughter of Nicolaus Bruch and Maria of Birkenfeld, on 24 Sep 1605[114]
  2. Matthes and/or Anna Maria Cuntz (twins), children of Bastian and Barbell [of Ellweiler], on 5 Jan 1616[115]
  3. Maria Anthes, daughter of Hamann and Margretha of Traunen, on 14 Apr 1620[116]

Apollonia Bruch sponsored the following baptism:

  1. Margretha Müller, daughter of Nicolaus and Maria of Ellweiler, on 7 Jan 1610[117]

Katharina (Lentz) Bruch sponsored the following baptisms:

  1. Katharina Weiss, daughter of Nicolaus and Barbara of Ellweiler, on 2 Dec 1619[118]
  2. Katharina Krieger, daughter of Hans of Ellweiler, on 24 Dec 1619[119]
  3. Katharina (Heinrichs?), daughter of Rudolph and Elsa of Ellweiler, on 21 Apr 1630[120]

Thomas Bruch was dead by 31 March 1640 when his daughter Barbara sponsors a baptism and is recorded as the daughter of “the late Leaning Thomas.”[121] Records were not kept in the mid-1630s when there was active campaigning in the region during the Thirty Years War. Thomas, and probably Katharina as well, likely died during this period.

Third Generation

Bartholomeus (Bartel) Bruch (Nicolaus, Jacob) was born about 1590 and was a wool weaver in Buhlenberg. He first married Anna, daughter of Bernhardt Haasen of Buhlenberg (she was baptized 30 Oct 1594,[122]). In the baptisms of his children, her name is given as Barbell, so her full name was likely Anna Barbell. They had the following children:

  1. Gertraudt: bap. 2 Apr 1618 (sponsors were Johannes, son of the stone mason Georg Kässers [?] of Birkenfeld; Anna, wife of Hans Weber of Buhlenberg; Gertraudt, daughter of Johann Lang, the smith in Birkenfeld)[123]
  2. Johannes: bap. 31 May 1620 (sponsors were Peter Bruch of Brücken; Johannes Weber of Buhlenberg; Catharina, the wife of Hans Haasen the younger of Buhlenberg);[124] d. presumably before 1625
  3. Catharina: bap. 14 Sep 1623 (sponsors are unclear);[125] bur. 3 Jan 1624[126]
  4. Johannes: bap. 15 Nov 1625 (sponsors include the wife of Jacob Praum of Buhlenberg);[127] bur. 22 Mar 1636[128]
  5. Anna Margretha: bap. 30 Apr 1628 (sponsors were Kloss [?] of Buhlenberg; …; Margret, wife of Nickels Loch);[129] bur. 20 Oct 1635[130]

Bartel’s first wife died 17 Mar 1629.[131] He then married Maria Reiss or Reuss of Brücken on 3 May 1631.[132] She was baptized 25 May 1607.[133] They had the following children:

  1. Catharina: bap. 5 Feb 1632 (sponsors were Wilbert Schwarzbacher; Nickel Bruch of Brücken; Catharina, wife of Mathes Brenner)[134]
  2. Hans Nickel: bap. 18 Jun 1633 (sponsors were [?] Johannes; Nickel, son of Hans Reiss; the wife of the Schultheiss of Birkenfeld)[135]

Bartel Bruch sponsored the following baptisms:

  1. Bartolomeus Lang, son of Johannes and Els of Buhlenberg, 19 Dec 1616[136]
  2. Peter Krauss, son of Johann and Barbel of Buhlenberg, 7 Jun 1619[137]
  3. Ursula, daughter of Jacob [Praum?], 13 Dec 1619[138]
  4. Bartel Hey, son of Johannes the shepherd of Buhlenberg, on 11 Jan 1623[139]
  5. Anna Catharina Hey, daughter of Nickel of Abentheuer, on 3 Sep 1624[140]
  6. Hans Bartel Haasen, son of Hans, 10 Apr 1625[141]
  7. Anna Barbel Bruch, daughter of Nickel of Brücken, 24 Apr 1625[142]
  8. Nickel Wolf, son of Johann of Buhlenberg, 12 Jul 1627[143]
  9. Maria Weber, daughter of Hans of Buhlenberg, on 14 Sep 1627[144]
  10. Jacob, son of Peter [Ding?] of Rinzenberg, on 7 Mar 1630[145]
  11. Georg Flaschen, son of Kloss of Buhlenberg, 1630[146]
  12. Bartel Weber, son of Bastian of Buhlenberg, 30 Dec 1632[147]

Anna Barbel (Haasen) Bruch sponsored the following baptisms:

  1. Maria Casper, daughter of Johannes of Ellenberg, on 13 Jan 1626[148]
  2. Anna Catharina Forster, daughter of Johann of Birkenfeld, on 20 Aug 1626[149]
  3. Nickel Wolf, son of Johann of Buhlenberg, on 12 Jul 1627[150]

Maria (Reiss) Bruch sponsored the following baptism:

  1. Anna Maria Schmidt, daughter of Peter of Buhlenberg, on 20 Feb 1635[151]

On a very faded and worn page of the death records for 1635 in Birkenfeld, there is a reference to Bartel Bruch being buried in November or December.[152] His wife was buried 18 Jan 1636.[153]

Peter Bruch (Michael, Jacob) was born in 1587 and became a miller in Brücken. He was known as “Herre Peter [or it could be Henne/Hemme, but less likely] The nickname probably referred to the mill in which he worked (the Herrnmühle). He married Catharina, daughter of Lorentz Hoffman, in 1613. Catharina was baptized 15 Feb 1597 .[154]  Peter and Catharina had the following children:

  1. Nicolaus: bap. 10 Jun 1615; (sponsors were Nicolaus, son of Hans Brenner, vulgo “Miller Johannes” of Eisenhütten; Bastian Cuntz, the merchant (Kaufmann) of Traunen; Emiche[?], the wife of Johann Cuntz, another merchant of Traunen)[155]
  2. Hans Michael: bap. 26 Jan 1617 (sponsors were Jörg [Georg] Enders; Hans Michel, a wool weaver, son of Rausch Turck[?]; Ketter, the wife of Hans Brenner; all of Brücken);[156]
  3. Maria: bap. 10 Nov 1618 (sponsors were Johannes [?] of [?]; Maria, wife of [?] Helme of Brücken; Maria, the daughter of the bailiff Bernhardt Gerloss of Birkenfeld)[157]
  4. Johannes: bap. 16 Jan 1621 (sponsors were Johannes, son of Claus Enders of Brücken; Anna, the daughter of Peter [Schreiner?] of Brücken);[158] bur. 12 Sep 1622[159]

Peter sponsored the following baptism:

  1. Peter Schreiner, son of Fritz and Catharina of Brücken, 17 Feb 1614[160]
  2. Peter Kulmann, son of Petgen and Barbel of Buhlenberg, 31 Jul 1618[161]
  3. Johannes Bruch, son of Bartel of Buhlenberg, 31 May 1620[162]
  4. Christina Fritzen, daughter of Johannes of Brücken, 23 Aug 1620[163]

Catharina Hoffmann sponsored the following baptism:

  1. Nicolaus Meyer, son of Claus of Brücken, 31 Jul 1621[164]

After Peter died and was buried on 8 June 1622, Catharina Hoffman married Michael Diel of Deckenhardt on 9 Jan 1623.[165] Diel settled in Brücken where he became a miller in the Herrnmühle, probably taking over from Peter Bruch. Catharina and Michael Diel had one known child:

  • Margretha Diel: bap. 19 Jun 1624 (sponsors included the wife of the Bürgermeister of Birkenfeld and Margretha, the wife of Nicolaus Brenner of Brücken)[166]

Elisabetha Bruch (Michael, Jacob), born in 1589, married Johannes Lang of Buhlenberg in 1614. They had the following children, all born in Buhlenberg:

  1. Hans Peter: bap. 11 Oct 1615 (sponsors were Hans Jacob Schapff, school master in Buhlenberg; Peter Lang, a wool weaver in Buhlenberg; Ketter, daughter of [?])[167]
  2. Bartholomeus: bap. 19 Dec 1616 (sponsors were Bartel Bruch, a wool weaver and son of Niclass Bruch of Birkenfeld; Peter, son of “Schuster”, or Enders Peter of Buhlenberg; Barbel, wife of Wilhelm Schu of Buhlenberg)[168]

Elisabetha Bruch sponsored the following baptism:

  1. Els Helman, daughter of Imich [Emich] and Maria of Brücken, 20 Aug 1609[169]

Maria Bruch (Michael, Jacob), born in 1592, married Bastian Burbach of Siesbach in 1617. He had evidently been married before, since he had a child baptized in 1615. The mother of the following children was not listed, but there is no reason to believe that Maria was not their mother (note that early Niederbrombach records are in poor condition):

  1. Stephan: bap. 11 Nov 1618 (sponsors are unclear)[170]
  2. Johannes: bap. 9 Jan 1620 (sponsors were [Johannes?] Lang of Buhlenberg; Bast Hans of Siesbach…)[171]
  3. Hans Jacob: bap. 4 Jun 1623 (sponsors are very faded; one appears to be Margretha Ruppenthal of Rinzenberg)[172]
  4. Elisabeth[a]: bap. 2 Mar 1628 (sponsors were Elisabetha…[faded])[173]
  5. Hans Reinhardt: bap. 31 May 1631 (sponsors were Johannes Naurs [?] of Nockenthal; Reinhardt Bruch, miller in Brombach; Maria, wife of Nicolaus Cromals [?] of Siesbach);[174] m. Elisabetha Catharina Fickeysen, daughter of Nicolaus, 1658[175]
  6. Anna Maria: bap. 5 Jul 1635 (sponsors are unclear);[176] m. Hans Schiffhauer, 28 Feb 1671[177]
  7. Nicolaus: bap. 22 Aug 1637 (sponsors were Nicolaus Sting of Schwollen; Jacob H[?] of “Mackhardt;” Catharina, the wife of Jacob Mühlers of Siesbach)[178]

Bastian Burbach was buried 20 Sep 1668, age 80.[179] We do not know when Maria died.

Nicolaus Bruch (Michael, Jacob), born in 1594, became a Gerichtsschöffe in Brücken. In 1621, he married Catharina Bender, daughter of Hansen, and had the following children:

  1. Margretha: bap. 2 Jun 1622 (sponsors were Nickel Ruppenthal of Birkenfeld; Bastian Schu of Brücken; Margretha, the miller’s wife);[180] probably the daughter who died of plague 14 Nov 1634, age 12[181]
  2. Anna Barbel: bap. 24 Apr 1625 (sponsors were Johann Eisenschmidt of Abentheuer; Barbel, the wife of the smith of Brücken; Bartel Bruch of Buhlenberg)[182]
  3. Maria: bap. 3rd Trinity Sunday 1628 (sponsors were Johann Faber, secretary; Klos Schwenk [?]; the wife of Hans [Herman Bohm?])[183]

A child of Nicolaus died of plague and was buried 2 Dec 1634.[184]

Catharina sponsored the following baptisms:

  1. Sebastian Ruppenthal, son of Endres (Andreas) of Brücken, 7 Sep 1625 (probably with Sebastian Bruch of Achtelsbach)[185]
  2. Andreas Schwarzbach, son of Hans of Brücken, 4 Sep 1635[186]
  3. Elisabetha Catharina Helm, daughter of Emich, 2 Feb 1636[187]

Catharina was buried 7 Jul 1638.[188] On 19 Feb 1639, a Nickel Bruch, identified as a Gerichtsschöffe of Brücken married Anna Maria Haasen, widow of the Hans of Buhlenberg.[189] This is probably the same Nickel, not his nephew, the son of Peter. Records of Nickel after his second marriage describe him as being from Buhlenberg, suggesting he moved there.

Nicolaus Bruch sponsored the following baptisms:

  1. Elisabetha Hodt [?], daughter of Bastian of Brücken, on 26 Dec 1621[190]
  2. Matthias, son of “Fritz Johannes…the shepherd” of Brücken, on 13 Sep 1624[191]
  3. Johanna Lang, daughter of Johann of Brücken, in early 1628[192]
  4. Catharina Bruch, daughter of Bartel of Buhlenberg, 5 Feb 1632[193]
  5. Hans Nickel Lang, son of Jacob of Brücken, 23 Aug 1632[194]
  6. Anna Maria Reiss, daughter of Hans of Buhlenberg, on 16 Dec 1640[195]
  7. Anna Maria Kreiss, daughter of Jacob of Buhlenberg, on 21 Jun 1641[196]
  8. Hans Matthes Petgen, son of Jörg, on 24 Aug 1642[197]
  9. Hans Nickel Metz, son of Hans Nickel, 12 Jan 1643[198]
  10. Friedrich Sohns, son of Friedrich and Barbara, on 12 Jun 1643[199]

Anna Maria Haasen sponsored the following baptisms:

  1. Anna Maria Schwarzenbach, daughter of Peter of Buhlenberg, on 7 Sep 1627[200]
  2. Anna Margretha Wardt, daughter of Hans Heinrich of Feckweiler, on 13 Jan 1628[201]

Nicolaus was buried 30 Jul 1643.[202]

Reinhardt Bruch (Michael, Jacob), born 1601, was a miller in the “Hahnesmuhl” according to the baptismal record of Hans Nicolaus. Later, he is described as a miller in Niederbrombach. No marriage record has been found for him, but his wife’s name was Catharina. They had the following known children:

  1. Hans Nicolaus: bap. 2 Jan 1627 (sponsors were Nickels Schneid of Brombach; Johannes, the miller’s son; [?])[203]
  2. Anna Maria: bap. 11 Apr 1631 (sponsors were Anna, daughter of Hans Gauner of Niederbrombach; Maria, daughter of Bernhardt Scherer of Brombach; Daniel Freyhoff[?])[204]

Reinhardt sponsored the following baptism:

  1. Hans Reinhardt Burbach, son of Bastian [and Maria Bruch] of Siesbach, on 31 May 1631[205]

Reinhardt died before 22 Feb 1632, when his wife Catharina sponsors a baptism and is described as the widow of Reinhardt Bruch.[206] Catharina later married Johannes Weber of Allenbach in 1633.[207] There are a couple of contemporary men by the name Johannes Weber who have children in the late 1630s, but it is not clear if any of these are Catharina’s second husband. Presumably, any surviving children of Reinhardt would have grown up in the Weber household.  

Ulrich Bruch (Thomas, Jacob) of Ellweiler was baptized on 10 August 1617. His baptismal sponsors were Rudolph Schuch (or Schuster)[208] of Ellweiler; Michael Schmidt of Ellweiler; and Christina, the wife of Theiss Bruch (“Baker Theiss,” son of Claus) of Achtelsbach.[209]

Ulrich married Elisabetha Leissmann on 28 September 1647, the same day as his brother Hans married. She was the daughter of Matthes Leissmann of Nohfelden, who was a lay member of the court (Gerichtsschöffe).[210] She first appears in the historical record in 1644 as a baptismal sponsor. She was perhaps born about 1625.

There are significant gaps in the Achtelsbach church records; in fact, baptisms skip from 1656 to 1687, so many of Ulrich’s later children are known only from later records and some might be missing. His known children, all born in Ellweiler, were:

  1. Sophia: bap. 14 Dec 1648 (sponsors were Sophia, the wife of Nickel Gatz [of Ellweiler]; Magdalena, “Schmeyer’s wife” of Ellweiler; and “Johann Schultheiss of Achtelsbach” );[211] probably m. Hans Welsch of Langenbach, abt. 1675;[212] bur. 1 Apr 1686[213]
  2. Nickel [probable]:[214] b. abt. 1650; m. Anna Maria Winckenbacher, daughter of Hans of Wolfersweiler, 13 Apr 1675;[215] probably d. 23 Apr 1703 in Alsenz, age 52 years, 6 months[216]
  3. Matthes: b. abt. 1652 (see also Hans Michael below);[217] m(1). Anna Lies (Elisabetha) _ bef. 1691;[218] m(2). Anna Catharina Freiermuth, daughter of the late Wolfgang Adam Freiermuth of Leistadt, abt. 1700; d. bet. 1713 and 1716 in Leistadt
  4. Hans Michael (is this Matthes?): bap. 27 Aug 1654 (sponsors were Theiss Anthes and Matthes Brenner, both of Ellweiler; Susanna, wife of Johann Cuntz);[219] no subsequent mention
  5. Johannes: bap. 5 Oct 1656 (sponsors were Susanna Bruch, the wife of Hans of Nohfelden; Johann Scherer of Dambach; Nickel Matthes of Meckenbach);[220] he is possibly the “Johannes Bruch of Ellweiler” who froze to death near the mill in Sötern in Mar 1695;[221]
  6. Friedrich: b. abt. 1660;[222] conf. Pentecost 1675;[223] d. aft. 22 Jan 1683; sponsored the following baptisms:
    1. Maria Matthes, daughter of Nickel and Maria of Meckenbach, 7 Mar 1680[224]
    2. Johann Friedrich Welsch, son of Hans, Censor in Langenbach, and Sophia [prob. Bruch], on 22 Jan 1683[225]
    3. [probable] Anna Esther Bruch, daughter of Nickel and Anna Maria of Alsenz, on 21 Mar 1685[226]
  7. Anna Eva: b. abt. 1665; m. Ulrich Anthes, son of Theiss Anthes of Ellweiler, 2 Apr 1687;[227] d. aft. 19 Jun 1711

An unnamed son of Ulrich was confirmed at Pentecost 1668 in the Wolfersweiler parish. This son could be Matthes, Michael (if he existed), or another unknown son.[228]

Ulrich Bruch sponsored the following baptisms:

  1. Elisabetha Rosen, daughter of Jacob and Eva of Nohfelden, on 8 Feb 1641[229]
  2. Maria Margretha Cuntz, daughter of Johannes and Anna Maria of Ellweiler, on 8 Feb 1642[230]
  3. Hans Ulrich Gatz, son of Nickel and Sophia of Ellweiler, on 11 Jun 1648[231]
  4. Ulrich Schuch, son of Frantz and Barbara of Dambach, on 11 Nov 1653[232]
  5. Anna Barbara Brenner, daughter of Matthes Brenner of Ellweiler, on 28 Mar 1655[233]
  6. Ulrich Anthes, son of Theiss and Margretha of Ellweiler, on 29 Apr 16_[234]

Elisabetha (Leissmann) Bruch sponsored the following baptisms:

  1. Barbara Elisabetha Müller, daughter of Michel and Eilen [?] of Nohfelden, on 11 Jun 1644[235]
  2. Hans Michael Bruch, son of Hans and Susanna of Nohfelden, on 13 May 1655[236]
  3. Johannes Keller, son of Hans and Barbara of Dambach, on 13 May 16_[237]

Elisabetha seems to have died and Ulrich remarried someone named Apollonia. The only record of her comes when she died on 23 Jan 1697 and was described as the widow of the late Ulrich Bruch.[238] Ulrich himself seems to have been dead by 1686 when his daughter Anna Eva sponsors a baptism and is described as the daughter of the late Ulrich Bruch.[239]

Hans Bruch (Thomas, Jacob) of Nohfelden married the same day as his brother Ulrich. It is unclear if Hans is the same as the “Johannes Bruch, son of Thomas of Ellweiler” who was sponsoring baptisms in the early 1630s and was likely a child of Thomas’s first marriage to Appel. He could also be the “Hans Claus” born in 1620, or another son for whom there is no birth record. Hans married Susanna Glock, daughter of Velten of Nohfelden (a forester), and moved to that village. He was probably still alive as late as 1684, when his daughter Catharina married.

Hans and Susanna had the following children:

  1. Margretha: b. abt. 1650; m(1). Jacob Bungart of Nohfelden, 20 Aug 1672;[240] m(2). Dietrich Sohns of Steinburg, 16 Apr 1687[241]
  2. Gertraudt [probable]: b. abt. 1652; sponsored the baptism of Wilhelm Jacob [surname illegible], 20 Feb 1668 and was described as “Gertraudt Bruchin zu Nohfelden,” strongly suggesting she was an early daughter of Hans.[242]
  3. Susanna: b. abt. 1654; m. Wendel Burg, 28 Nov 1676[243] (no known issue); bur. 7 Jun 1722, age 69 years 4 months;[244] sponsored the following baptisms:
    1. Hans Stophel Schank, son of Peter, on 25 Aug 1684[245]
    2. Johann Francis (Franz) Schmeyer, son of Franz and Anna Elisabetha, on 2 Nov 1693[246]
    3. Johann Jacob Bruch, son of Friedrich of Richweiler, 23 Dec 1714[247]
  4. Hans Michael: bap. 13 May 1655 (sponsors were Michael Hornberger of Nohfelden; Johannes Geisler of Hahnweiler; Elisabetha, wife of Ulrich Bruch of Ellweiler);[248] conf. 25 Dec 1670;[249] m. Elisabetha Burg, daughter of Hans Nickel of Richweiler, 9 Feb 1675;[250] bur. 21 Apr 1722, age 67[251]
  5. Andreas: bap. 15 Mar 1657 (sponsors were Matthes Melchior of Achtelsbach; Andreas Scherer of Dambach; Catharina, wife of Johann Nickel Faber, Wachtmeister of Nohfelden);[252] conf. Pentecost 1674;[253] m. Barbara Bungert, daughter of the late Jacob, 17 Feb 1680;[254] bur. 29 Apr 1730 in Nohfelden[255]
  6. Maria: b. abt. 1658; conf. Pentecost 1674;[256] m(1). Michael Lauer of Hirstein, 2 Feb 1683;[257] m(2). Jacob Heinrich of Hirstein, 17 Jan 1699[258]
  7. Catharina: b. abt. 1662; conf. Easter 1677;[259] m. Johannes Schweickhart Friess, 17 Oct 1684;[260] bur. 13 Apr 1698[261]

Hans Bruch sponsored the following baptisms:

  1. Hans Ruppenthal, son of Michel and Barbell of Ellweiler, on 11 Feb 1649[262]
  2. Johann Heinrich Schmeyer, son of Benedict and Elisabetha of Nohfelden, on 30 Apr 1675[263]
  3. Anna Catharina, daughter of Anna Catharina Tauber (?), on 21 Feb 1676[264]

Susanna (Glock) Bruch sponsored the following baptism:

  1. Ulrich Anthes, son of Theiss and Margretha of Ellweiler, on 29 Apr 16_[265]

Fourth Generation

Sophia Bruch (Ulrich, Thomas Jacob), born 1648. probably married Hans Welsch, a Censor in Langenbach (modern Berglangenbach) near Baumholder. Two of Sophia’s siblings sponsored the baptisms of children of Hans and a daughter of Hans later sponsored a baptism of a child of her sister Anna Eva. Sophia herself sponsored the baptism of a child of Nickel Bruch. The best explanation for these connections is that Sophia Bruch married Hans Welsch. Sophia is also a relatively uncommon name, strengthening the case. Records in the Baumholder parish start in 1679, by which point Sophia would have married and settled in Langenbach, so many of her early children are not documented.

Sophia and Hans Welsch had the following known children:

  1. Maria Catharina: b. about 1674; m. Hans Nickel Meiss, son of Nickel of Linden, 2 Dec 1695[266]
  2. Anna Maria: b. about 1675; sponsored the baptism of Matthes Anthes, son of Ulrich and Anna Eva (Bruch), on 18 Mar 1694[267]
  3. Laux (Lucas): b. about 1680; m(1). Anna Eva, daughter of Conrad Hammen, Censor in Ruschberg, 28 Jun 1707;[268] m(2). Anna Margretha, daughter of Matthes Cuntz of Gimbweiler, 14 Jan 1721;[269] a daughter of his first marriage married Johann Jacob Bruch, son of Friedrich of Richweiler, later Ruschberg, in 1736. Ironically, Jacob’s sister married a son of Conrad Hammen the same day.
  4. Johann Friedrich: bap. 22 Jan 1683 (sponsors were Johannes Köhe; Friedrich Bruch of Ellweiler; Eva, daughter of the late Jacob [?]);[270] d. 20 Jul 1745, age 62 and a half[271]
  5. Anna Eva: bap. 25 Mar 1686 (sponsors were Hans Nickel Welsch of Baumholder; Eva, daughter of the late Ulrich Bruch of Ellweiler; Anna Maria, daughter of Nickel Kraudt)[272]

Sophia sponsored the following baptisms:

  1. Hans Bernhard Schweig, son of Johannes, on 23 Apr 1668[273]
  2. Hans Michel Bruch, son of Nickel and Anna Maria of Wolfersweiler, on 19 Jun 1680[274]
  3. Hans Laux Hauch, son of Hans Nickel and Anna Maria of Langenbach, 30 Jan 1684[275]

Sophia died a few weeks after the birth of Anna Eva and was buried 1 Apr 1686.[276]

Nickel Bruch (Ulrich, Thomas, Jacob), born about 1650, was probably the eldest son of Ulrich. When Nickel first appears in the historical record as a baptismal sponsor, he is described as being from Ellweiler, strongly suggesting that he was Ulrich’s son. Though he had connections to both Ulrich and Hans’s families, the Ellweiler references argue in favor of Ulrich being his father, as does the instance of a Friedrich Bruch being described as his brother (see below). Nickel married Anna Maria Winkenbacher, daughter of Hans of Wolfersweiler, 13 Apr 1675.[277] Nickel moved to Wolfersweiler where he had the following children:

  1. Maria Catharina: bap. 5 May 1676 (sponsors were Maria Geiss of Gimbweiler; Matthes Bruch of Ellweiler; Catharina Baum of Mosberg)[278]
  2. Hans Michel: bap. 19 Jun 1680 (sponsors were Johannes Müller, Schultheiss [of Wolfersweiler]; Michael Bruch of Richweiler; Sophia [prob. Bruch], [wife of] Hans Welsch of Langenbach [see also baptismal sponsorship of Friedrich]);[279] probably m(1). Johanna Margretha Schworm, daughter of Wentz, the Pfalz-Zweibrücken Schultheiss, 26 Nov 1715 in Alsenz;[280] m(2). Anna Catharina, daughter of the late Mattheis D[?] of Wonsheim[?], 1727;[281] d. 30 Jan 1734; bur. 1 Feb 1734 in Alsenz[282]

Nickel sponsored the following baptisms while living in Ellweiler or Wolfersweiler:

  1. Hans Nickel Brenner, son of Johannes and Barbel of Ellweiler, on 19 Jan 1674[283]
  2. Eva, daughter of Johannes [Schwab?] and Margretha of Dambach, on 4 Feb 1675[284]
  3. Hans Nickel Bruch, son of Michael Bruch and Elisabetha of Richweiler, on 22 Apr 1676[285]

Anna Maria sponsored the following baptism in Wolfersweiler:

  1. Anna Lies Bungert, daughter of Jacob and Margretha (Bruch), on 14 Mar 1675[286]

There is no mention of anyone in Nickel’s family group after the birth of Hans Michael in 1680, suggesting that the family migrated. It is highly probable that he moved to the village of Alsenz. There is no explicit mention of the origins of Nickel Bruch of Alsenz, but there are many coincidences between Nickel of Wolfersweiler and Nickel of Alsenz, leading to the likely conclusion that they are the same person. Nickel of Alsenz first appears in the Alsenz records in 1685. He is married to an Anna Maria, just like Nickel of Wolfersweiler. In 1685, Nickel has a daughter whose baptismal sponsor is Friedrich Bruch, described as a single journeyman, or bachelor (“lodiger gesell”), and brother of the child’s father. Nickel of Wolfersweiler did indeed have a younger brother named Friedrich. Friedrich also disappears from the Wolfersweiler records in 1683, so he could have left during his journeyman period. Nickel Bruch of Alsenz was a cooper, and though there is never an indication of Nickel of Wolfersweiler’s occupation, he came from a family of coopers. Nickel Bruch of Alsenz had a son named Michael who, based on his age at death, was born in 1680. Nickel of Wolfersweiler had a son Michael born in 1680. When Nickel Bruch of Alsenz died in 1703, his age suggests that he was born in November 1650, which falls within the range of possible dates of birth for Nickel of Wolfersweiler.

The large number of coincidences makes a very strong case that Nickel of Wolfersweiler moved to Alsenz with his family between the birth of Michael in 1680 and the birth of Anna Esther in 1685. Although we do not have an explicit mention of him emigrating, as in the case of his younger brother Matthes, it seems likely that he did leave considering there is not a single mention of anyone in his immediate family after 1680 in the Wolfersweiler records.

The fact that Nickel’s son Michael Bruch later had connections to at least one of the members of the Bruch families of Zweibrücken might suggest that the Alsenz family instead came from Zweibrücken. However, these contacts start many years after Nickel died and only occur once one or two members of that family moved to the region around Meisenheim. It seems unlikely that Michael, who was at most five when the family settled in Alsenz, would have remembered or maintained connections to his father’s family. The connections to Zweibrücken can be explained by the proximity of Meisenheim to Alsenz and perhaps a bond forged by the curiosity of a common surname. Therefore, I argue that the Nickel Bruch of Alsenz was most likely the Nickel Bruch of Wolfersweiler, and I include the Alsenz Bruch family among his descendants.

In Alsenz, Nickel Bruch was described as a cooper and later became a Gerichtsschöffe, per his death record and the marriage record of his son Michael.

The following children were born to Nickel Bruch and Anna Maria of Alsenz:

  1. Anna Esther: b. 8 Mar 1685 in Alsenz; bap. 21 Mar 1685 (sponsors were Friedrich Bruch, the father’s brother; Anna Esther Becker, daughter of Wenz);[287] d. 1 Apr 1685; bur. 2 Apr 1685[288]
  2. Wilhelm Ludwig: b. 13 Mar 1689 in Alsenz; bap. 19 Mar 1689 (sponsors were Wilhelm Ludwig Becker; Rebecca, daughter of Sebastian Baum)[289]

Nickel Bruch sponsored the following baptisms in Alsenz:

  1. Johann Carl Becker, son of Wilhelm Ludwig and Maria Apollonia, on 21 Nov 1686. He is described as a cooper.[290]
  2. Johann Ludwig Rapp, son of Hans Peter and Anna Catharina, on 28 Oct 1690[291]
  3. Johann Hermann Winold, son of Friedrich Otto and Apollonia, on 8 Jan 1696 (with Anna Maria)[292]
  4. Johann Caspar Schick, son of Johann Peter and Anna Angelica, on 26 Jul 1702[293]

Anna Maria sponsored the following baptisms in Alsenz:

  1. Johann Hermann Winold, son of Friedrich Otto and Apollonia, on 8 Jan 1696 (with Nickel)[294]
  2. Johann Sebastian Schworm, son of Wentz and Rebecca, on 13 Feb 1697[295]

Nickel Bruch died 23 Apr 1703, age 52 years and 6 months.[296]

Matthes Bruch (Ulrich, Thomas, Jacob) was born about 1652, when baptismal records in the Wolfersweiler parish were sporadic. Alternatively, he could have been the child baptized in 1654 under the name “Hans Michael;” considering that child’s baptismal sponsors were all named Matthes, not Michael, the name could have been recorded in error. Regardless, we know that he was the son of Ulrich of Ellweiler since he was described as such when he sponsored the baptism of Susanna Catharina Bruch in 1681.

Matthes Bruch evidently married while in Ellweiler. The only record we have of his first marriage was when his wife, recorded as “Anna Lies [Anna Elisabetha]” sponsored the baptism of Anna Eva Bürger, daughter of Peter and Anna Martha. Peter was a miller in Ellweiler at the time. We do not know anything about Anna Lies or what her maiden name was. There is no marriage record and no death record, which is not surprising considering the sporadic nature of those type of records at the time in the Wolfersweiler parish. Presumably, she died before Matthes left Ellweiler. There is no record of them having children.

Per later tax records, we learn that Matthes Bruch moved away “during the French period,” which meant he left before the French occupation ended in 1697. He did not sell anything, so there were no taxes to collect on the sale of his property, and he did not pay the fee to be manumitted. He only took his clothes and his cookery with him.[297] The last record of him in Ellweiler was from January of 1696. Matthes Bruch’s departure from Ellweiler was contemporaneous with the departure of Andreas Neu and Andreas Federkeil from nearby Remmesweiler for Leistadt. Therefore, it is highly probable that Matthes Bruch of Ellweiler is the Matthes Bruch who appears in Leistadt around the same time.

In Ellweiler, he was a popular choice for baptismal sponsorship:

  1. Maria Catharina Bruch, daughter of Hans Nickel and Anna Maria of Wolfersweiler, on 5 May 1676.[298] This is the first unambiguous record of Matthes Bruch.
  2. Susanna Catharina Bruch, daughter of Andreas and Barbara of Nohfelden, on 7 Aug 1681.[299]  In this record, he is described as the son of Ulrich Bruch of Ellweiler.
  3. Maria Susanna Sohn, daughter of Thomas of Dambach, on 11 Jun 1684 in Birkenfeld[300]
  4. Matthes Fries, son of Schweickhart and Catharina [Bruch], on 17 Feb 1687[301]
  5. Matthes Anthes, son of Johann and Anna Gretha, on 8 May 1689 in Achtelsbach[302]
  6. Johann Matthes Schumacher, son of Nickel and Maria Christina [Schwenck] of Rinzenberg, on 2 Jan 1692 in Birkenfeld[303]
  7. Matthes Anthes, son of Ulrich and Anna Eva [Bruch] of Ellweiler, on 8 Mar 1694[304]
  8. Hans Bernhard Böss, son of Georg Wilhelm and Anna Barbara [Leister] of Ellweiler, 2 Jan 1696.[305] This is the last record of Matthes Bruch in Ellweiler.

His wife “Anna Lies” sponsored the following baptism:

  1. Anna Eva Bürger, daughter of Peter (miller in Ellweiler) and Anna Martha, 25 Mar 1691[306]

In Leistadt, he married Anna Catharina, probably the daughter of the late Schultheiss Wolfgang Adam Freiermuth, and had the following children, all born in Leistadt:

  1. Johanna Margretha: b. 1 Feb 1703; bap. 4 Feb 1703 (sponsors were Felicitas Margretha, the wife of the cowherd Hans Peter Keiser; Johannes Gesell, widow from Kallstadt);[307] bur. 1 May 1709 in Leistadt[308]
  2. Andreas: b. 1 Sep 1705; bap. 6 Sep 1705 (sponsors were Andreas Federkeil, the court huntsman; the child’s mother’s sister, serving in Dürkheim);[309] conf. Easter 1719 in Freinsheim Reformed;[310] m. Anna Maria Müller of Neusaarwerden, 10 Nov 1739 in Kallstadt;[311] d. 6 Jan 1780; bur. 7 Jan 1780 in Kallstadt[312]
  3. *Johann Matthäus (Matthias): b. 28 Jul 1708; bap. 29 Jul 1708 (sponsors were Matthäus Mildenberger of Katzweiler, who was represented by Andreas Neu, the innkeeper; Catharina, his wife [unclear whose wife]);[313] m. Anna Barbara _ in Pennsylvania; d. Nov 1797; bur. 30 Nov 1797[314]

 Matthes Bruch sponsored the following baptisms while living in Leistadt:

  1. Andreas Närgang, son of Johannes, on 17 Jul 1701[315]
  2. Johann Matthes Hanewald, son of Nicolaus and Elisabetha [Weihe], 13 Jul 1713 in Hardenburg (while taking refuge from a French army).[316] This is the last record of Matthes Bruch.

Anna Catharina (Freiermuth) Bruch sponsored the following baptisms:

  1. Anna Catharina Nolt, daughter of David and Anna Barbara, on 24 Aug 1709 in Leistadt[317]
  2. Tobias Böckel, son of Gotthardt and Maria Sibylla, on 19 Feb 1712 in Kallstadt[318]
  3. Justina Catharina Nolt, daughter of Melchior and Anna Margretha, on 14 Jun 1716 in Leistadt.[319] She is described as a widow. This is the last record of Anna Catharina.

Matthes Bruch died at some point between his sponsorship of Johann Matthes Hanewald in July 1713 and June 1716 when Anna Catharina sponsored the baptism of Justina Catharina Nolt and was described as a widow. Death records were not kept in Leistadt between 1710 and some of 1722. Anna Catharina also likely died during this period.

Anna Eva Bruch (Ulrich, Thomas, Jacob), born about 1665, married Ulrich Anthes, the godson of her father, and the son of Theiss (sometimes “Anthes Theiss”) and Margretha Anthes of Ellweiler. They had the following children, all born in Ellweiler:

  1. Catharina Elisabetha: bap. 22 Feb 1688 (sponsors were Hans Bernhard Leisters, son of Thomas of Ellweiler; Anna Catharina, wife of Peter Toll(?) of (?); Elisabetha Barbara, daughter of Stophel Spengler of Richweiler);[320] m. Johann Martin Schuch, son of Philip of Dambach, 21 Apr 1716[321]
  2. Johann Schweickhart: bap. 21 Jan 1691 (sponsors were Johannes Anthes of Achtelsbach; Schweickhart Friess of Nohfelden; Anna Maria, daughter of Hans Bern(hardt) Scherer of Achtelsbach);[322] m. Anna Margretha Leister, daughter of Bernhard of Ellweiler, 21 Apr 1716[323]
  3. Matthes: bap. 18 Mar 1694 (sponsors were Matthes Bruch of Ellweiler; Johann Matthes Hains of Baumholder; Anna Maria, daughter of Hans Welsch of Langenbach);[324] m(2). Elisa Dorotha, daughter of Matthes Gisch of Eitzweiler, 23 Feb 1734[325]
  4. Johann Christian: bap. 27 Jan 1697 (sponsors were Hans Michael Brenner of Ellweiler; Christian Kuntz, son of Matthes Kuntz, miller in Ellweiler; Susanna Leister, daughter of the late Thomas)[326]
  5. Hans Peter: bap. 21 Apr 1700 (sponsors were Peter Weber of Meckenbach; Hans Philip Schuch of Dambach; Susanna Magd(alena) Kessler(?) of Ellweiler)[327]
  6. Hans Nickel: bap. 23 Jan 1703 (sponsors were Hans Wendel Burg of Nohfelden; Johann Schweig of Dambach; Anna Catharina, daughter of Hans Nickel Hornberger of Nohfelden)[328]

Anna Eva Bruch sponsored the following baptisms:

  1. Georg Wilhelm Leister, son of Thomas of Ellweiler, on 22 Aug 1680[329]
  2. Jacob Bruch, son of Andreas and Barbara of Nohfelden, on 21 Feb 1685[330]
  3. Anna Eva Welsch, daughter of Hans and Sophia [prob. Bruch] of Langenbach, 25 Mar 1686[331]
  4. Anna Eva Bürger, daughter of Hans Peter (miller in Ellweiler) and Anna Martha, on 25 Mar 1691[332]
  5. Anna Barbel Schul or Schal, daughter of Johann Georg (miller in Ellweiler) and Liessen Appel, on 10 Apr 1703[333]
  6. Georg Wilhelm Gondhert, son of Wilhelm (a miller) and Anna Maria, on 19 Apr 1711[334]
  7. Johann Georg Hoth[?], son of Jacob and Anna Magdalena of Ellweiler, on 19 Jun 1711[335]

We do not know when Anna Eva died.

Margretha Bruch (Hans, Thomas, Jacob), born about 1650, married Jacob Bungert in 1672. Jacob died before the birth of their second child. Margretha then married Dietrich Sohns of Steinburg in 1687, with no known issue from her second marriage. We do not know when she died.

The children of Jacob Bungert and Margretha Bruch were:

  1. Anna Lies (Elisabetha): bap. 14 Mar 1675 (sponsors were Anna Maria Winckenbacher of Wolfersweiler; Michael Bruch of Richweiler; Liesenbeth Schweig of Richweiler);[336]  
  2. Anna Catharina: bap. 7 Aug 1679 (sponsors were Hans Michael Hornberger of Wolfersweiler; Anna Clara, wife of Frantz N. [sic] of Nohfelden; Catharina, wife of Fritz Bungert);[337] m. Peter Pirot, son of the late Herman, 28 Sep 1706[338]

Michael Bruch (Hans, Thomas, Jacob) Based on his age at death, shared connections with other children of Hans Bruch of Nohfelden, and the dubious nature of the baptismal record of Ulrich’s son in 1654, Michael Bruch of Richweiler is probably the son of Hans of Nohfelden born in 1655. He married Elisabetha Burg, daughter of Nickel Burg of Richweiler, in 1675. Michael then settled in Richweiler where he was recorded as a Gerichtsschöffe (juryman)[339] and Church Censor.

Michael Bruch appears in 1704 tax records in Richweiler; he paid the largest amount of tax of anyone in that village.[340] Based on the number of baptisms he sponsored, he was clearly prominent.

Michael and Elisabetha had the following children, all born in Richweiler:

  1. Hans Nickel: bap. 22 Apr 1676 (sponsors were Hans Nickel Bruch of Wolfersweiler; Susanna Bruch of Nohfelden; Hans Georg Geiss of Gimbweiler);[341] m. Maria Engel, widow of the late Jacob Koltz of Wolfersweiler, 9 Jan 1697;[342] bur. 18 Mar 1701, age 25[343]
  2. Maria Margretha: bap. 13 Dec 1677 (sponsors were Andreas Bruch, son of Hans of Nohfelden; Maria, Johannes [?]; Margretha, daughter of Johannes Müller);[344] m. Johann Balthasar Decker, son of Heinrich of Mosberg, 22 May 1703[345]
  3.  (Georg) Michel: bap. 4 Sep 1681 (sponsors were Michael Georg[?]; Michel, son of Hans Jacob Baum of Mosberg; Maria, daughter of Hans Bruch of Nohfelden);[346] m. Maria Elisabetha, daughter of Johannes Loch of Walhausen, 13 Jul 1724;[347] d. 30 Dec 1760; bur. 31 Dec 1760, age 79[348]
  4. Friedrich: bap. 11 Oct 1683 (sponsors were Frantz Faber of Nohfelden; Friedrich Bruch of Ellweiler; Elisabetha Catharina [sic]);[349] m. Anna Johanna, daughter of Johannes Loch of Walhausen, 21 Feb 1713;[350] bur. 21 Oct 1756, age 73[351]
  5. Catharina: b. about 1685; m. Johann Frantz Hornberger, son of Hans Nickel, Church Censor and Gerichtsschöffe in Nohfelden, 1 Feb 1707;[352] d. 24 Feb 1766; bur. 25 Feb 1766, age 81[353]
  6. Hans Martin: bap. 9 Jan 1688 (sponsors were Martin Kuntz of Gimbweiler; Johannes Luder of Wolfersweiler; Catharina [Bruch], wife of Schweickhart Friess of Nohfelden);[354] m. Anna Catharina, daughter of Johannes Thomas of Hirstein, 28 Jan 1716;[355] bur. 14 Oct 1731, age 43 years, 9 months[356]
  7. Maria Barbara: bap. 2 Dec 1690 (sponsors were Matthes _ of Gimbweiler; Barbara, wife of Jacob Schweig of Hirstein; Maria Lies…)[357]

Michael Bruch sponsors the following baptisms:

  1. Anna Lies Bungert, daughter of Jacob and Margretha (Bruch) of Nohfelden, on 14 Mar 1675[358]
  2. Hans Jacob Schweig, son of Jacob and Barbara of Hirstein, on 6 Feb 1679[359]
  3. Hans Michel Bruch, son of Nickel Bruch and Anna Maria of Wolfersweiler, on 19 Jun 1680[360]
  4. Hans Nickel (or Michel) Hornberger, son of Nickel and Maria, on 27 Jun 1680[361]
  5. Anna Maria Schweig, daughter of Michael and Elisabetha, on 5 Jun 1681[362]
  6. Anna Margretha Niekum, daughter of Hans Leonhard and Barbara, on 3 Feb 1684[363]
  7. Hans Michael Saar, son of Johannes and Elisabetha of Steinberg, on 9 Jun 1686[364]
  8. Hans Michael Foos, son of Martin and Susanna of Walhausen, on 9 Jun 1686[365]
  9. Johann Michael Friess, son of Schweickhart and Catharina [Bruch], on 23 Mar 1693[366]
  10. Anna Barbel Lauer, daughter of Michel and Maria [Bruch] of Hirstein, on 13 May 1693[367]
  11. Maria Barbel Meist, daughter of Hans Peter (a swineherd) and Anna Gertraudt of Richweiler, on 11 Nov 1703[368]
  12. Eva Barbara Cuntz, daughter of Matthes and Maria Margretha of Gimbweiler, on 2 Feb 1710[369]
  13. Johann Michael Staudt, son of Johannes and Engel of Wolfersweiler, on 9 Oct 1712[370]
  14. Johann Bernhard Pöes (Böss?), son of Hans Peter and Magdalena of Wolfersweiler, on 22 Sep 1714[371]
  15. Hans Michael Lauer, son of Jacob and Maria Barbara of Hirstein, on 17 Jan 1715[372]
  16. Anna Barbara Baum, daughter of Johannes and Eva of Mosberg, on 4 Dec 1715[373]
  17. Johann Jacob Britzius, son of Jacob and Anna Maria of Wolfersweiler, on 31 Jan 1717[374]
  18. Johann Jacob Kuble, son of Johann Jacob and Elisabetha Barbel of Steinberg, on 29 Aug 1717[375]
  19. Wilhelmina Sophia, daughter of Theobald Wentz and Maria Margretha (Bruch) of Nohfelden, on 12 May 1718[376]

Elisabetha (Burg) Bruch sponsored the following baptisms:

  1. Christian Baum, son of Michael and Barbara of Mosberg, on 9 Jun 1686[377]
  2. Maria Elisabetha Schwab/Schwob, daughter of Michel and Anna Barbara of Steinberg, on 5 Feb 1687[378]
  3. Liesebetha Margretha Clossmann, daughter of Michael and Anna Margretha of Gimbweiler, on 12 Jul 1692[379]

Elisabetha Burg, was buried 30 August 1718, age 67 and a half.[380] Michael was buried 21 Apr 1722, age 67.[381]

Andreas Bruch (Hans, Thomas, Jacob), born 1657, became a church Censor in Nohfelden, probably after the death of his brother-in-law Wendel Burg in 1726. In 1680, he married Barbel (Barbara) Bungert, daughter of the late Jacob. Andreas Bruch appears in 1704 tax records in Nohfelden.[382]

Andreas and Barbel had the following children, all born in Nohfelden:

  1. Susanna Catharina: bap. 7 Aug 1681 (sponsors were Matthes Bruch, son of Ulrich of Ellweiler; Susanna, [Nickel?] Hornberger’s daughter; Catharina, Hans Bruch’s daughter);[383] conf. 1696;[384] m. Michael Hornberg[er], son of the late Nickel of Nohfelden, 17 Feb 1724;[385] bur. 18 Apr 1748, age 66 and a half[386]
  2. Anna Catharina: bap. 21 Apr 1683 (sponsors were Friedrich Bungert of Nohfelden; Anna Clara, the wife of Frantz Faber of Nohfelden);[387] probably is Clara Bruch who m. Johann Michael Geiss, son of the late Johannes of Wolfersweiler, 5 Nov 1709;[388] bur. 2 Sep 1727, age 45[389]
  3. Jacob: bap. 21 Feb 1685 (sponsors were Jacob Wentz of Wolfersweiler; Hans Michael Bruch of Richweiler; Anna Eva Bruch, daughter of Ulrich of Ellweiler);[390] conf. 1699;[391] m. Anna Margretha _;[392] d. between 3 Apr 1725 and 27 Nov 1736;[393]; he sponsored the following baptisms:
    1. Johann Jacob, son of the unmarried Catharina Bungert, daughter of Friedrich of Nohfelden, on 28 Feb 1703[394]
    2. Christina Magdalena Susanna Hornberger, daughter of Nickel and Eva Barbara of Nohfelden, on 17 Apr 1709[395]
    3. Maria Elisabetha Schmeyer, daughter of Johannes and Elisabetha of Walhausen, 26 Jan 1710;[396]
    4. Maria Barbara Schmeyer, daughter of Frantz and Anna Elisabetha of Nohfelden, on 17 Mar 1715;[397]
    5. Maria Catharina Geiss, daughter of Michael and Clara (Bruch) of Nohfelden, on 6 Apr 1718;[398]
    6. Elisabetha Catharina Hornberger, daughter of Michael and Susanna Catharina (Bruch), on 3 Apr 1725[399]
  4. Anna Maria: bap. 19 Feb 1687 (sponsors were Hans Michael Bungert, son of Friedrich of Nohfelden; Susanna, the wife of Martin Foss of Walhausen; Martha, widow of Hans Michel Burg of Richweiler);[400] bur. 18 Jan 1733, age 46 (unmarried);[401] sponsored the baptism of Johann Nicolaus Bruch, son of Christian and Anna Maria of Nohfelden, on 30 Jul 1730[402]
  5. Maria Margretha: b. about 1689;[403] m. Theobald Wentz, 17 Sep 1714[404]
  6. Juliana Anganetha [sic]: bap. 4 Mar 1691 (sponsors were Johanna, wife of H[err] Hautz, Kellner of Nohfelden; Matthes Kuntz of Nohfelden; Anganetha Friess, daughter of [?]);[405] d. after 28 Jan 1735; she sponsors the following baptisms:
    1.  Johann Laurentz Schwab, son of Otto and Maria Catharina of Steinberg, on 23 Oct 1718[406]
    2. Anna Juliana Geiss, daughter of Michel and Anna Clara (Bruch) of Nohfelden, on 12 Sep 1722;[407]
    3. Johann Michel Albert, son of Lucas and Anna Catharina of Walhausen, on 5 May 1726;[408]
    4. Anna Elisabetha Wentz, daughter of Theobald and Maria [Margretha Bruch] of Nohfelden, on 7 Mar 1728;[409]
    5. Anna Maria Wentz, daughter of Theobald and Maria [Bruch] of Nohfelden, on 27 Aug 1730;[410]
    6. Anna Julianna Schmeyer, daughter of Frantz and Maria Barbel of Nohfelden, on 4 Oct 1733;[411]
    7. Johann Andreas Bruch, son of Christian and Anna Maria of Nohfelden, on 28 Jan 1735[412]
  7. Hans Nickel: bap. 6 Sep 1693 (sponsors were Johannes Luder of Wolfersweiler; Hans Nickel Bruch, son of Michael of Richweiler; Maria, wife of Hans Bernhardt Brenner of Traunen);[413] bur. 10 Dec 1698, age 5[414]
  8. Johannes: bap. 29 Feb 1696 (sponsors were Hans Nickel Leissmann of Hahnweiler; Johannes Baum of Mosberg; Maria, wife of Jacob Bungert of Wolfersweiler; Catharina, daughter of Carl Kuntz of [?]);[415] bur. 29 Dec 1716, age 20 years 10 months[416]
  9. Johann Christian: bap. 22 Jan 1698 (sponsors were Johann Michael Luder, baker in Sötern; Johann Christian Baum of Wolfersweiler; Dorothea, the wife of Jacob Geiss the Schultheiss);[417] m(1). Elisabetha Catharina Hornberger, daughter of the late Nickel of Nohfelden, 17 Feb 1724;[418] m(2). Anna Maria, daughter of Nicolaus Schotz [?] of Meckenbach, 4 Oct 1729[419]
  10. Anna Elisabetha: bap. 2 Mar 1701 (sponsors were Hans Wendel Burg of Nohfelden; Anna Maria, wife of Matthes Scherer of Ellweiler; Anna Elisabetha, wife of Hans Melchior Hornberger);[420] bur. 14 Oct 1731, age 30 years, 7 months;[421] sponsored the baptism of Johann Jacob Burger, son of Nickel and Maria Lis of Nohfelden, on 10 Jul 1729[422]
  11. Hans Michael: bap. 24 Jun 1703 (sponsors were Frantz Schmeyer of Nohfelden; Hans Michel Bruch, son of Michel Bruch of Richweiler; Anna Elisabetha, wife of Schweickhart Friess of Nohfelden);[423] m. Anna Barbara Seibert, daughter of the late Johannes of Wolfersweiler, 13 Feb 1731;[424] d. 1777[425]

Andreas Bruch sponsored the following baptisms:

  1. Maria Margretha Bruch, daughter of Michael and Elisabetha of Richweiler, on 13 Dec 1677[426]
  2. Maria Catharina Hornberger, daughter of Nickel and Maria, on 2 Dec 1678[427]
  3. [probable] Hans Andreas Foos, son of Martin of Walhausen, 2 Jan 1681[428]
  4. Johann Mattheis Hornberger, son of Frantz and Anna Catharina (Bruch), on 15 Feb 1718[429]

Barbara (Bungert) Bruch sponsored the following baptisms:

  1. Hans [?] Bungert, son of Friedrich, on 1 Oct 1682[430]
  2. Maria Barbara Geiss, daughter of Jacob and Dorothea of Wolfersweiler, on 15 Aug 1684[431]
  3. Hans Frantz Kuntz, daughter of Matthes and Maria of Ellweiler, on 19 May 1685[432]
  4. Hans Nickel Lauer, son of Michael Lauer and Maria (Bruch), 22 Jul 1695[433]
  5. Anna Barbel Bungert, daughter of Jacob and Maria Catharina of Wolfersweiler, on 26 Aug 1703[434]

Barbel was buried 21 April 1705, age 43.[435] Andreas was buried 29 Apr 1730.[436]

Maria Bruch (Hans, Thomas, Jacob), born about 1658, married Michael Lauer of Hirstein in 1683 and had the following children, born in Hirstein:

  1. Elisabetha Catharina: bap. 19 Jan 1684 (sponsors were Hans Leonhard Nickum of Hirstein; Elisabetha Lauer of Hirstein; Catharina Bruch of Nohfelden)[437]
  2. *Jacob: b. about 1686; m. Maria Barbara Steffans, daughter of Hans Jacob, 29 Oct 1709[438]
  3. Hans Michael: bap. 16 Feb 1688 (sponsors were Hans Gloss of Hirstein; Hans Michael of Hirstein; Maria Catharina, wife of Frantz [faded])[439]
  4. Margretha: bap. 8 Sep 1690 (sponsors were Philip Lauer of Hirstein; Maria, the wife of Hans Nickel Hornberger of Nohfelden; Margretha, wife of D… Saar of Nohfelden);[440] m. Christian Schweig, son of Michael of Richweiler, 28 Jan 1710;[441] bur. 16 Dec 1720, age 30[442]
  5. Anna Barbel: bap. 13 May 1693 (sponsors were Michael Bruch of Richweiler; Anna Catharina, wife of Hans Jacob Steffen; Maria Barbara, wife of Peter Lauer of Nohfelden);[443] m. Johannes Loch, son of Jacob Loch of Ruschberg, 19 Jan 1719[444]
  6. Hans Nickel (twin): bap. 22 Jul 1695 (sponsors were Hans Nickel Kuntz, son of Bernhardt of Hahnweiler; Hans Michael G_, son of Philip of Hahnweiler; Barbara, wife of Andreas Bruch of Nohfelden)[445]
  7. Anna Catharina (twin): bap. 22 Jul 1695 (sponsors were Hans Jacob Geiss of Wolfersweiler; Catharina, wife of Johannes Baum of Mosberg; Anna Barbara, daughter of Hans Jacob Schweicher [Schweig?] of Hirstein);[446] m. Johannes Schweig, son of Michael of Richweiler, 28 Jan 1716[447]

After Michael Lauer died on 25 Feb 1698,[448] Maria then married Jacob Heinrich of Hirstein on 17 Jan 1699.[449]

Catharina Bruch (Hans, Thomas, Jacob), born about 1662,married Johannes Schweickhart Friess in 1684. Friess became a Gerichtsschöffe and Censor in Nohfelden. Catharina died about a week after the birth of Peter, and Schweickhart married Anna Elisabetha, daughter of the late Friedrich Bungert of Nohfelden, on 16 August 1698.[450]  

Catharina and Johannes had the following children, born in Nohfelden:

  1. Hans Wendel: bap. 1 Sep 1685 (sponsors were Wendel Burg; Hans Leonard of Nohfelden; Anna _);[451] m. Anna Elisabetha, daughter of the late Martin Britzius of Achtelsbach, 14 Apr 1716[452]
  2. Hans Mattheis: bap. 17 Feb 1687 (sponsors were Matthes Bruch of Ellweiler; Hans Bernd Brenner of Nohfelden; Elisabetha, wife of Hans Michel Spengler of Nohfelden);[453] conf. 1704;[454] m. Catharina [Wentz, daughter of Sebastian],[455] the widow of Wendel Burg, 22 Apr 1727[456]
  3. Johann Michael: bap. 23 Mar 1693 (sponsors were Michael Bruch of Richweiler; Johann Friedrich, son of Hans Leissmann of Hahnweiler; Susanna, daughter of Peter [unclear]);[457] conf. 1707;[458] m. Anna Catharina Welcher, daughter of Peter of Achtelsbach, 14 Apr 1716[459]
  4. Johann Peter: bap. 6 Apr 1698 (sponsors were Hans Peter Lauer of Hirstein; Hans Melchior Hornberger, son of Hans Nickel of Nohfelden; Anna Margretha, wife of Michel Seibert of Mosberg)[460]

Catharina Bruch sponsored the following baptisms:

  1. Johannes Nicolaus Leister, son of Thomas and Barbara of Ellweiler, on 30 Jun 1683[461]
  2. Elisabetha Catharina Lauer, daughter of Michael and Maria [Bruch] of Hirstein, on 19 Jan 1684[462]
  3. Hans Martin Bruch, son of Michael and Elisabetha of Richweiler, on 9 Jan 1688[463]
  4. Maria Catharina Schmeyer, daughter of Frantz and Anna Elisabetha of Nohfelden, on 17 Aug 1692[464]

[1] Birkenfeld Church Book, deaths, 1581.

[2] Birkenfeld Church Book, marriages, 1583.

[3] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1577.

[4] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1579.

[5] Nicolaus first appears as a baptismal sponsor in 1579, described as the son of Jacob Bruch. He appears in the historical record before Michael, and is therefore listed first, although it is not certain that he was born first.

[6] Birkenfeld Church Book, marriages, 1589. Described as the son of Jacob Bruch.

[7] Birkenfeld Church Book, marriages, 1604.

[8] Jacob Bruch’s second wife Adelheit was a baptismal sponsor for one of Michel’s children and was described as the father’s stepmother. Michel was also described as the son of Jacob when he was a baptismal sponsor.

[9] Birkenfeld Church Book, deaths, 1612.

[10] Thomas Bruch sponsored the baptism of Anna Maria Bruch in 1605 and was described as “Thomas Bruch of Ellweiler, married son of the late Jacob Bruch.” See Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1605. See also Anna Maria Bruch (1.2.8) below.

[11] Achtelsbach Church Book, marriages, 1613.

[12] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1571.

[13] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1569.

[14] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1570.

[15] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1573.

[16] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1575.

[17] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1577.

[18] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1580.

[19] Ibid.

[20] Ibid.

[21] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1585.

[22] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1576.

[23] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1579. Her son Nicolaus was also a sponsor on that day.

[24] Birkenfeld Church Book, deaths, 1601.

[25] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1584.

[26]  Birkenfeld Church Book, marriages, 1617. He is described as the son of [a living] Nicolaus Bruch of Birkenfeld. Nicolaus, son of Jacob, was the only Nicolaus Bruch of the right age still alive in 1617 (excluding Nicolaus Krauss, see Part Five).

[27] Birkenfeld Church Book, marriages, 1631.

[28] Birkenfeld Church Book, deaths, 1635. The number of deaths in 1635 meant the records were quite sloppy. There are a few references to Bartel Bruch and one of them appears to be his death record. No date is given, but it is toward the end of 1635 and might be November.  

[29] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1591.

[30] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1592.

[31] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1592.

[32] Birkenfeld Church Book, deaths, 1602.

[33] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1596.

[34] Birkenfeld Church Book, marriages, 1623.

[35] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1598.

[36] Birkenfeld Church Book, deaths, 1604.

[37] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1601.

[38] Birkenfeld Church Book, marriages, 1628. The date is not given, but it is the last marriage record for that year.

[39] Birkenfeld Church Book, deaths, 1604.

[40] Birkenfeld Church Book, marriages, 1604.

[41] See the baptismal records of Claus’s early children in the Birkenfeld Church Book.

[42] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1605.

[43] Birkenfeld Church Book, deaths, 1607.

[44] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1579. Described as “Niclaus Bruch Jacobs son.”

[45] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1583. Described as “Bruch Niclas Jacobs son zu Feckweiler.”

[46] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1584. Described as “Nicolaus, son of Jacob Bruch of Birkenfeld.” The identity of this child is unclear, but it was the father’s first born (primogenitus). The minister could not find the names of the other sponsors amongst his papers (“in omnibus pagi collecti…patrini ignot[i]”); Nicolaus Bruch must have been memorable. This record is an early indication that Jacob Bruch’s family had connections to Ellweiler that might explain why Thomas moved there in the 1590s.

[47] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1585.

[48] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1585. Described as “Niclas Bruch Jacobs son alhier [of Birkenfeld].” By this point, Jacob had married Adelheit and the family seems to have relocated to Birkenfeld.

[49] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1585.

[50] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1589.

[51] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1592.

[52] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1608.

[53] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1585.

[54] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1586.

[55] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1587.

[56] Birkenfeld Church Book, marriages, 1613.

[57] Birkenfeld Church Book, deaths, 1622.

[58] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1589.

[59] Birkenfeld Church Book, marriages, 1614.

[60] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1591.

[61] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1592.

[62] Birkenfeld Church Book, marriages, 1617.

[63] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1594.

[64] Birkenfeld Church Book, marriages, 1621.

[65] Birkenfeld Church Book, marriages, 1639. In this record, Nicolaus is described as a Gerichtsschöffe.

[66] Birkenfeld Church Book, deaths, 1643.

[67] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1596.

[68] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1597.

[69] Birkenfeld Church Book, marriages, 1616.

[70] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1601.

[71] Niederbrombach Church Book, baptisms, 1632. Catharina, described as the widow of Reinhard Bruch, was a baptismal sponsor for Catharina “Grub” (indexed as “Bruch” but the first letter looks more like a “G”). Later, Catharina marries Johannes Weber of Allenbach on 14 Feb 1633 and was described as the “widow of Reinhard Bruch, miller of here.”

[72] Birkenfeld Church Book, deaths, 1613. She is described on as a daughter of Michel Bruch, or “Herre Michels” of Brücken. Her age at death suggests her birth took place in the two-year gap of baptismal records before Adam Colby took over in Birkenfeld in 1604.

[73] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1608.

[74] Birkenfeld Church Book, deaths, 1588.

[75] Birkenfeld Church Book, deaths, 1589.

[76] Birkenfeld Church Book, deaths, 1592.

[77] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1585.

[78] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1599.

[79] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1606. Michael is described as “Bruch Jacobs Michel.”

[80] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1611.

[81] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1588.

[82] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1607.

[83] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1608.

[84] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1610.

[85] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1611.

[86] Birkenfeld Church Book, deaths, 1612.

[87] Palatine Church Visitations, Deanery of Kusel, 1609.

[88] There is a Thomas Lehnen, or Lannen, born to Jacob Lehnen of Feckweiler in 1570. One of this child’s baptismal sponsors was Jacob Bruch of Feckweiler. I considered the possibility that this child was the person later known as Thomas Bruch of Ellweiler, with Jacob Bruch perhaps being his adopted father, and that his nickname did not refer to a physical trait, but his original surname. However, records show that Thomas Lehnen survives into adulthood and remains in Feckweiler.  

[89] Achtelsbach Church Book, deaths, 1613.

[90] Achtelsbach Church Book, deaths, 1613.

[91] Achtelsbach Church Book, deaths, 1613.

[92] Achtelsbach Church Book, deaths, 1613.

[93] Achtelsbach Church Book, deaths, 1613.

[94] A “Johannes, son of Thomas Bruch of Ellweiler” sponsors baptisms recorded in the Achtelsbach Church Book starting in the early 1630s. It is unclear if Johannes is the same as Hans, the son of Thomas who marries on the same day as Ulrich and moves to Nohfelden. The Johannes sponsoring baptisms in the 1630s must have been born after the 1609 visitation, since all of the children mentioned in that record are accounted for (and died in the 1613 plague).

[95] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1630.

[96] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1631.

[97] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1631.

[98] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1632.

[99] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1612.

[100] Achtelsbach Church Book, deaths, 1612.

[101] Achtelsbach Church Book, marriages, 1613.

[102] See Birkenfeld Church Book, marriages, 1605.

[103] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1614.

[104] Achtelsbach Church Book, deaths, 1614.

[105] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1614.

[106] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1615.

[107] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1644.

[108] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1617. The parents are described as “Lehnen Thomas…undt Katharin…zu Ellweiler.”

[109] Achtelsbach Church Book, marriages, 1647. Described as the son of the late Thomas Bruch.

[110] In the Wolfersweiler Church book, Apollonia dies and is described as Ulrich’s widow.

[111] Hans of Nohfelden may be the same as the “Johannes Bruch, son of Thomas of Ellweiler” sponsoring baptisms in the 1630s. See children of Thomas and Apollonia. He may also be the same as Hans Claus, born in 1620.

[112] Achtelsbach Church Book, marriages, 1647. Described as the son of late Thomas Bruch.

[113] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1620. Parents are listed as what looks like “Bakers Thomas…Katharina.” It is clearly meant to be Thomas Bruch, but perhaps the record keeper was echoing what he wrote for the contemporary Theiss and Sebastian Bruch who were known as “Baker.” A faded note under the child’s name seems to read “Claus Bruch.”

[114] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1605. This record describes Thomas as “Thomas Bruch of Ellweiler, the married son of the late Jacob Bruch.”

[115] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1616.

[116] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1620.

[117] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1610.

[118] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1619.

[119] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1619. Described as the wife of “Lame Thomas of Ellweiler.”

[120] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1630.

[121] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1644.

[122] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1594.

[123] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1618.

[124] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1620.

[125] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1623.

[126] Birkenfeld Church Book, deaths, 1624.

[127] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1625.

[128] Birkenfeld Church Book, deaths, 1636.

[129] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1628.

[130] Birkenfeld Church Book, deaths, 1635.

[131] Birkenfeld Church Book, deaths, 1629.

[132] Birkenfeld Church Book, marriages, 1631.

[133] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1607.

[134] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1632.

[135] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1633.

[136] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1616.

[137] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1619.

[138] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1619.

[139] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1623.

[140] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1624.

[141] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1625.

[142] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1625.

[143] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1627.

[144] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1627.

[145] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1630.

[146] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1630. Date unspecified.

[147] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1632.

[148] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1626.

[149] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1626.

[150] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1627.

[151] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1635.

[152] Birkenfeld Church Book, deaths, 1635. “…word begrab Bartel Bruch zu Bulenberg.”

[153] Birkenfeld Church Book, deaths, 1636. “word begrab Bruch Bartels Ef [Ehefrau] zu Bulenberg.”

[154] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1597.

[155] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1615.

[156] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1617.

[157] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1618.

[158] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1621.

[159] Birkenfeld Church Book, deaths, 1622.

[160] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1614.

[161] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1618. Described as “Peter Bruch, vulgo henne Pete.”

[162] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1620.

[163] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1620.

[164] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1621.

[165] Birkenfeld Church Book, marriages, 1623.

[166] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1624.

[167] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1615.

[168] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1616.

[169] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1609.

[170] Niederbrombach Church Book, baptisms, 1618.

[171] Niederbrombach Church Book, baptisms, 1620.

[172] Niederbrombach Church Book, baptisms, 1623.

[173] Niederbrombach Church Book, baptisms, 1628.

[174] Niederbrombach Church Book, baptisms, 1631.

[175] Niederbrombach Church Book, marriages, 1658.

[176] Niederbrombach Church Book, baptisms, 1635.

[177] Niederbrombach Church Book, marriages, 1671.

[178] Niederbrombach Church Book, baptisms, 1637.

[179] Niederbrombach Church Book, deaths, 1668.

[180] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1622.

[181] Birkenfeld Church Book, deaths, 1612.

[182] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1625.

[183] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1628.

[184] Birkenfeld Church Book, deaths, 1634.

[185] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1625.

[186] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1635.

[187] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1636.

[188] Birkenfeld Church Book, deaths, 1638.

[189] Birkenfeld Church Book, marriages, 1639.

[190] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1621.

[191] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1624.

[192] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1628. Date is unspecified, but falls between 24 Feb and 6 Mar.

[193] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1632.

[194] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1632.

[195] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1640.

[196] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1641.

[197] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1642.

[198] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1643.

[199] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1643.

[200] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1627.

[201] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1628. Described as “Anna Maria Haasen, wife of Hans of Buhlenberg.”

[202] Birkenfeld Church Book, deaths, 1643.

[203] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1627.

[204] Niederbrombach Church Book, baptisms, 1631.

[205] Niederbrombach Church Book, baptisms, 1631.

[206] Niederbrombach Church Book, baptisms, 1632. Catharina, described as the widow of Reinhard Bruch, was a baptismal sponsor for Catharina “Grub” (indexed as “Bruch” but the first letter looks more like a “G”).

[207] Niederbrombach Church Book, marriages, 1633. The date was 14 Feb 1633 and Catharina was described as the “widow of Reinhard Bruch, miller of here.”

[208] The 1609 Visitation records show a “Rudolph Schuster”; other records suggest the name was “Schumacher.” Ulrich’s baptismal record looks like “Schuhs” with some faded, illegible scribble following it.

[209] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1617.

[210] Achtelsbach Church Book, marriages, 1647. Ulrich is described as the son of the late Thomas Bruch of Ellweiler.

[211] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1648.

[212] There is no marriage record for Sophia, but two other children of Ulrich Bruch, Nickel and Friedrich, sponsor baptisms of children of Hans Welsch and his wife Sophia. A daughter of Hans Welsch sponsored a baptism of a child of Anna Eva Bruch. Sophia is a relatively uncommon name, and a marriage to Hans Welsch would explain the otherwise inexplicable connection to the Welsch family in Langenbach.

[213] Baumholder Church Book, deaths, 1686.

[214] The earliest mentions of Nickel as a baptismal sponsor describe him as being from Ellweiler, which would strongly suggest that Ulrich was his father. He has numerous connections with other known children of Ulrich, although he has some with children of Hans as well.

[215] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1675.

[216] Alsenz Church Book, deaths, 1703.

[217] Matthes Bruch is always described as “Matthes Bruch of Ellweiler”, which strongly implies he is the son of Ulrich. Based on his first appearance as a baptismal sponsor in 1676, he was likely born in the 1650s. He is explicitly described as the son of Ulrich in the baptismal record of Susanna Catharina Bruch, daughter of Andreas of Nohfelden, in 1681.

[218] An “Anna Lies, wife of Matthes Bruch of Ellweiler” sponsors the baptisms of Anna Eva Burger on 25 Mar 1691. This is the only known reference to a first wife of Matthes Bruch. See Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1691.

[219] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1654. The names of the baptismal sponsors, as well as the lack of a Michael Bruch of Ellweiler in the next generation, suggests that this might actually be the baptismal record for Matthes and that the minister wrote the wrong name down. Death records were unreliable, so it is possible that this was indeed a Michael and that he was not named for his sponsors.

[220] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1656.

[221] Wolfersweiler Church Book, deaths, 1695.

[222] One of the only references to Friedrich comes when he sponsors the baptism of Friedrich Bruch, son of Michael and Elisabetha Bruch of Richweiler. In this record he is described as “Friedrich Bruch of Ellweiler” with no mention of paternity. Also, a Fritz Bruch of Ellweiler is confirmed in 1675, and these two records likely refer to the same person.

[223] Wolfersweiler Church Book, confirmations, 1675.

[224] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1680. Described as “Fritz Bruch son of Ulrich of Ellweiler.”

[225] Baumholder Church Book, baptisms, 1683. Described as “Friedrich Bruch of Ellweiler.”

[226] Alsenz Church Book, baptisms, 1685.

[227] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1687. Anna Eva is described as a daughter of Ulrich Bruch.

[228] Wolfersweiler Church Book, confirmations, 1668.

[229] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1641.

[230] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1642.

[231] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1648.

[232] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1653.

[233] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1655.

[234] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 16_. The year is not labeled on this page, which seems to be missing its surrounding pages. It is later than 1655.

[235] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1644. She is described as “Elisabetha, daughter of Mattes Leissmann of Nohfelden.”

[236] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1655.

[237] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 16_. The year is not labeled on this page, which seems to be missing its surrounding pages. It is later than 1655.

[238] Wolfersweiler Church Book, deaths, 1697.

[239] See the baptism of Anna Eva Welsch, Baumholder Church Book, baptisms, 1686.

[240] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1672.

[241] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1687.

[242] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1668.

[243] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1676. She is described as the daughter of Hans Bruch of Nohfelden.

[244] Wolfersweiler Church Book, deaths, 1722.

[245] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1684. She is described as “Susanna, daughter of Hans Bruch of Nohfelden” even though she was married by this point.

[246] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1693.

[247] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1714.

[248] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1655.

[249] Wolfersweiler Church Book, confirmations, 1670.

[250] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1675.

[251] Wolfersweiler Church Book, deaths, 1722. He was buried the same day as Jacob Luder, whose name is first in the entry.

[252] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1657.

[253] Wolfersweiler Church Book, confirmations, 1674.

[254] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1680.

[255] Wolfersweiler Church Book, deaths, 1730.

[256] Wolfersweiler Church Book, confirmations, 1674.

[257] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1683.

[258] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1699.

[259] Wolfersweiler Church Book, confirmations, 1677.

[260] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1684.

[261] Wolfersweiler Church Book, deaths, 1698.

[262] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1649. Described as Hans Bruch of Nohfelden.

[263] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1675. The surname in the baptismal record looks more like “Schreyer,” but the marriage record of the parents from 1674 is clearly “Schmeyer.”

[264] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1676.

[265] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 16_. The year is not labeled on this page, which seems to be missing its surrounding pages. It is later than 1655.

[266] Baumholder Church Book, marriages, 1695. Described as daughter of Hans Welsch, Censor of Langenbach.

[267] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1694. Described as daughter of Hans Welsch of Langenbach.

[268] Baumholder Church Book, marriages, 1707.

[269] Baumholder Church Book, marriages, 1721.

[270] Baumholder Church Book, baptisms, 1683.

[271] Baumholder Church Book, deaths, 1745. Described as son of the late Hans of Langenbach.

[272] Baumholder Church Book, baptisms, 1686.

[273] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1668.

[274] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1680.

[275] Baumholder Church Book, baptisms, 1684.

[276] Baumholder Church Book, deaths, 1686.

[277] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1675.

[278] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1676.

[279] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1680.

[280] Alsenz Church Book, marriages, 1715.

[281] Alsenz Church Book, marriages, 1727. Date is unspecified.

[282] Alsenz Church Book, deaths, 1734.

[283] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1674. Described as “Hans Nickel Bruch daselbst.” “Daselbst [from there]” would mean he was from Ellweiler where the previously-listed sponsor, Matthes Cuntz, was from.

[284] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1675. Described as “Hans Nickel Bruch von Ellweiler.”

[285] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1676,

[286] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1675.

[287] Alsenz Church Book, baptisms, 1685.

[288] Alsenz Church Book, deaths, 1685.

[289] Alsenz Church Book, baptisms, 1689.

[290] Alsenz Church Book, baptisms, 1686.

[291] Alsenz Church Book, baptisms, 1690.

[292] Alsenz Church Book, baptism, 1696.

[293] Alsenz Church Book, baptisms, 1702.

[294] Alsenz Church Book, baptism, 1696.

[295] Alsenz Church Book, baptisms, 1697.

[296] Alsenz Church Book, deaths, 1703.

[297] Heimatbuch des Kreises St. Wendel, 1955, p. 153, citing tax records in the Landesarchiv Speyer. He left “during the French period.” The French withdrew after the treaty of Ryswick in 1697.

[298] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1676.

[299] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1681.

[300] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1684.

[301] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1687

[302] Achtelsbach Church Book, baptisms, 1689.

[303] Birkenfeld Church Book, baptisms, 1692.

[304] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1694.

[305] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1696.

[306] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1691.

[307] Leistadt Church Book, baptisms, 1703.

[308] Leistadt Church Book, deaths, 1709.

[309] Leistadt Church Book, baptisms, 1705.

[310] Freinsheim Reformed Church Book, confirmations, 1719.

[311] Kallstadt Church Book, marriages, 1739.

[312] Kallstadt Church Book, deaths, 1780.

[313] Leistadt Church Book, baptisms, 1708.

[314] Records of the First Reformed Church of Easton, in Kieffer, Rev. Henry Martyn.  Some of the First Settlers of the Forks of the Delaware…, p. 287.

[315] Leistadt Church Book, baptisms, 1701.

[316] Hardenburg Church Book, baptisms, 1713.

[317] Leistadt Church Book, baptisms, 1709.

[318] Kallstadt Church Book, baptisms, 1712.

[319] Leistadt Church Book, baptisms, 1716.

[320] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1688.

[321] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1716.

[322] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1691.

[323] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1716.

[324] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1694.

[325] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1734. He was described as a widow.

[326] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1697.

[327] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1700.

[328] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1703.

[329] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1680. Described as daughter of Ulrich Bruch of Ellweiler.

[330] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1685.

[331] Baumholder Church Book, baptisms, 1686.

[332] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1691.

[333] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1703.

[334] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1711.

[335] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1711.

[336] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1675.

[337] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1679

[338] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1706.

[339] See the marriage record of his son Hans Nickel, Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1697.

[340]  Oberamt Lichtenburg Schatzungs und Kreisgeldheberegister aus dem Jahre 1704.

[341] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1676.

[342] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1697.

[343] Wolfersweiler Church Book, deaths, 1701.

[344] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1677.

[345] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1703.

[346] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1681.

[347] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1724.

[348] Wolfersweiler Church Book, deaths, 1760.

[349] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1683.

[350] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1713.

[351] Baumholder Church Book, deaths, 1756.

[352] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1707. She was described as the daughter of Michel Bruch of Richweiler, Church Censor and Gerichtsschöffe.

[353] Wolfersweiler Church Book, deaths, 1766.

[354] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1688.

[355] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1716.

[356] Wolfersweiler Church Book, deaths, 1731.

[357] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1690. The part of the record that records the sponsors runs into the binding.

[358] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1675.

[359] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1679.

[360] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1680.

[361] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1680.

[362] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1681.

[363] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1684.

[364] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1686.

[365] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1686.

[366] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1693. This record is out of order.

[367] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1693.

[368] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1703.

[369] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1710.

[370] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1712.

[371] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1714.

[372] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1715.

[373] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1715.

[374] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1717.

[375] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1717.

[376] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1718.

[377] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1686.

[378] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1687.

[379] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1692.

[380] Wolfersweiler Church Book, deaths, 1718.

[381] Wolfersweiler Church Book, deaths, 1722. He was buried the same day as Jacob Luder, whose name is first in the entry.

[382] Oberamt Lichtenburg Schatzungs und Kreisgeldheberegister aus dem Jahre 1704.

[383] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1681. This record is hard to read and it runs into the book’s binding.

[384] Wolfersweiler Church Book, confirmations, 1696.

[385] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1724.

[386] Wolfersweiler Church Book, deaths, 1748.

[387] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1683.

[388] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1709.

[389] Wolfersweiler Church Book, deaths, 1727.

[390] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1685.

[391] Wolfersweiler Church Book, confirmations, 1699.

[392] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1733. See the baptism of Johann Georg Bruch, son of Christian; an Anna Margretha, wife of Jacob Bruch of Ellweiler, is the sponsor.

[393] On 27 Nov 1736, his Anna Margretha, described as the widow of Jacob Bruch of Ellweiler, married Andreas Coburger. See Nohfelden Church Book, marriages, 1736.

[394] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1703.

[395] Nohfelden Church Book, baptisms, 1709.

[396] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1710.

[397] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1715.

[398] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1718.

[399] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1725.

[400] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1687.

[401] Wolfersweiler Church Book, deaths, 1733.

[402] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1730.

[403] There are some gaps in the Wolfersweiler Church Book during this period. The gap between the births of Anna Maria in 1687 and Juliana in 1691 is the only likely time frame for Maria Margretha to have been born.

[404] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1714.

[405] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1691.

[406] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1718.

[407] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1722.

[408] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1726.

[409] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1728.

[410] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1730.

[411] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1733.

[412] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1735.

[413] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1693.

[414] Wolfersweiler Church Book, deaths, 1698. Described as a five-year-old son of Andreas Bruch of Nohfelden.

[415] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1696.

[416] Wolfersweiler Church Book, deaths, 1716.

[417] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1698.

[418] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1724. Per Wolfersweiler records, she is buried 21 Feb 1729, age 23.

[419] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1729.

[420] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1701.

[421] Wolfersweiler Church Book, deaths, 1731.

[422] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1729.

[423] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1703.

[424] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1731.

[425] Wolfersweiler Church Book, deaths, 1777. The date of his death and the date of his burial are left blank.

[426] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1677.

[427] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1678.

[428] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1681. The surname runs into the margin, but reads “Andreas Bru…of Nohfelden,” so it is almost certainly Andreas Bruch.

[429] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1718.

[430] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1682.

[431] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1684.

[432] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1685.

[433] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1695.

[434] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1703.

[435] Wolfersweiler Church Book, deaths, 1705.

[436] Wolfersweiler Church Book, deaths, 1730.

[437] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1684.

[438] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1709. Described as son of Michel Lauer of Hirstein.

[439] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1688.

[440] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1690.

[441] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1710. Described as daughter of the late Michael Lauer of Hirstein.

[442] Wolfersweiler Church Book, deaths, 1720.

[443] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1693.

[444] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1719. Described as daughter of the late Michael Lauer of Hirstein.

[445] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1695.

[446] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1695.

[447] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1716. Described as daughter of the late Michael Lauer of Hirstein.

[448] Wolfersweiler Church Book, deaths, 1698.

[449] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1699.

[450] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1698.

[451] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1685.

[452] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1716.

[453] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1687.

[454] Baumholder Church Book, confirmations, 1704.

[455] Per the marriage record of Wendel Burg in 1722, her name was Maria Catharina Wentz, daughter of the late Sebastian of Nohfelden.

[456] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1727. He married his uncle’s widow (his aunt Sophia’s husband’s widow).

[457] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1693.

[458] Baumholder Church Book, confirmations, 1707.

[459] Wolfersweiler Church Book, marriages, 1716.

[460] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1698.

[461] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1683.

[462] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1684.

[463] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1688.

[464] Wolfersweiler Church Book, baptisms, 1692.