Heather's 8x Paternal Great Grandparents
Hans Adam Braus
Son of Hans Peter & Anna Catharina Braus
Born 1708
Died 1784
Married
Anna Catherine Kuch
Daughter of Hans Georg & Barbara Kuch
Born 1711
Died 1793
Children:
1) Maria Margaret Brauss (1733-1806) who married Jacob Ulrich;
2) Maria Barbara Brauss (1737 - died young?);
4) Anna Catharina Brauss (1742-living 1782) married a Mr. Romig or Romich;
5) Susanna Brauss (1745-living 1782), married a Mr. Weiss;
6) Anna Brouss (1747 - died young?);
7) Anna Christina Brauss (1749-living 1792) married Georg Adam Schneider;
8) Johan George Brauss (1751-1822) married Dorothea Fiszler;
9) Anna Maria Brauss (1755-1804) married Jacob Gilbert
My information for this line of our family relies almost completely on The BRAUS-BROUSE FAMILY HISTORY, compiled partially by Helen Brous and completed by Betty (Bird) Brungard, 373 pages.
THE BRAUS FAMILY IN GERMANY
The Braus family was found early in the area known as the Northern Kraichgau, rolling cultivated upland of Baden, Wurtemburg. Land between the Rhine and Neckar Rivers of Germany.
Although the area did not f a l l s t r i c t l y within the Palatinate, the inhabitants were considered as Palatines. The small community of Asbach i s located about 15 miles east of the City of Heidelburg and just a few miles west of the Neckar River andthe Landkries capital of Mosbach.
They are listed in the Asbach Reformed Church records, Asbach, Baden Germany according to the book Eighteenth Century Emigrants Vol. 1 The Northern Kraichgau by Annette Kunselman Burgert. A combined Reformed and Lutheran congregation, the records s t a r t at the beginning of the church register which is dated 1709.
P- Hans Peter Braus was born about 1675 and was called Peter as was the custom with German names. He married first Anna Catharina and they had eight children. He was a schoolteacher at Asbach Their children:
P1- Anna born §1703 died 9 Aug.1725 age 22
P2- Maria Catharina born §1704
P3- Marcus Adam born §1706
P4- Hans Adam born §1707
P5- Maria Barbara born §1709
P6- Johann Ludwig bapt. Asbach 27 Dec. 1711
P7- Georg Adam bapt. Asbach 13 June 1714 died 6 April 1716
P8- Maria Margaretha bapt. Asbach 31 Jan. 1717
Anna Catharina died 4 Feb. 1720. Peter married second Anna Maria Gassert born about 1695, daughter of Hans Gasse r t . She died 14 May 1730 at age 35 i n Asbach, Baden.
Their children, all baptized at Asbach:
P9- Margaretha Barbara bapt. 6 May 1723 died 21 March 1725
P10- Margaretha Barbara bapt. 5 Sept. 1725 died 1 July 1735
P11- Johannes bapt. 22 Dec. 1726
P12- Johann Nichel bapt. 24 Jan. 1729 died 17 May 1734
Peter was listed as a widower with three children in the 1736 church census of Lutheran and Reformed families in Asbach. (SLC microfilm #1189.294) It is not known whether he tried to come to America with his two sons, Marcus Adam and Hans Adam i n 1738, or made the trip at a later date. He was called "late on the high seas deceased" in the administration of the estate of Helen Yerger, daughter of his deceased brother Jacob Braus.
22 Dec. 1789 (Berks Co. deed book 11 page 346)
P3- Marcus Adam the oldest son of Peter and Catharina Braus was born about 1706 in Asbach, Baden Germany. He married 1 May 1727 Anna Maria Kuch, daughter of Hans Georg and Barbara Kuch.
She is listed in the original church index of 1709, so she was probably born about 1708. Their children:
P31- Joh. Philipp born 21 May 1728
P32 Joanna born 1 Aug. 1729
P33- Barbara Joanna born 14 Aug. 1731
born 26 July 1734
born 11 Sept. 1736 ( a l l baptized i n Asbach)
P34- Anna Magdalena
P35- Bernhard
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Name Hans Adam Braus
Gender Male
Marital Status Single
Marriage Date 04 Nov 1732 (4 Nov 1732)
Marriage Place Asbach, Baden, Germany
Father
Hans Peter Braus
Spouse
Anna Cathar. Kuch
FHL Film Number 1189294
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P4- Hans Adam, the second oldest son of Hans Peter Braus and his first wife Anna Catharina married 18 Nov. 1732 Anna Catharina Kuch daughter of the late Hans Georg Kuch. Their
children:
- PA1- Maria Margaretha born 18 Nov. 1733
- PA2- Maria Barbara born 2 Feb. 1737
The rest of the children born i n America.
The wives of the brothers were sisters . Their parents were Hans Georg Kuch (Reformed) and wife Barbara (Lutheran) and had these children:
- 1- Maria Barbara married Bernhard Wannemacher
- 2- Anna Maria married Marx Adam Braus
- 3- Anna Magdalena
- 4- Anna Catharina married Hans Adam Braus
Hans Georg Kuch, Judge and Church Elder died 30 Sept. 1727 aged 53 years.
THE VOYAGE
The offer of free farm land in Pennsylvania enticed many palatinates to make the long journey. The trip to Rotterdam via the Rhine River took six months. There were more than twenty custom houses where their boat was required to stop for inspection. In Rotterdam they finally boarded the "St. Andrew" a sailing vessel which would take them to America.
The second leg of the journey was to Cowes, England on the Isle of Wight. Here they were cleared by English custom officials as the ship took on final water and supplies for the long ocean voyage to Philadelphia, Pa. The normal crossing took seven to twelve weeks depending on the winds.
The ocean voyage was described in a book by Gottlieb Mittelberger Journey to Pennsylvania in the Year 1750 and return to Germany in the Year 1754:
"The terrors of disease, brought about by poor food and lack of good drinking water, were much aggravated by frequent storms through which ships and passengers had to pass. The misery reaches the climax when a gale rages for two or three nights and days, so everyone believes the ship will go to the bottom with all aboard. In such visitation the people cry and pray most piteously. When i n such a gale the sea rages and surges, so that the waves rise like mountains one above the other, and tumble over the ship. The ship is constantly tossed side to side so that one can neither walk or sit or lie . The closely packed passengers in the berths are thereby tumbled over each other sick or well. It can be understood why many did not survive."
The final leg up the Delaware River to the Port of Philadelphia was not always the end of the journey. Health officers visited the ship before any passengers could disembark. If any persons with infectious diseases were discovered on the ship it was ordered to remove one mile from the city and kept i n quarantine . Only those passengers given a certificate of good health could be landed. (An excerpt from Rupp's German Swiss and Other Immigrants page 127)
The voyage which ended in Philadelphia on the 27th of October 1738 must have been particularly rigorous, for on that date two physicians, Lloyd Zachary and Theodore Bond, certified to the Colonial Council;
"We have carefully examined the state of health of the marines and passengers on board the ship, "St. Andrew", Captain Stedman from Rotterdam, and found a great number laboring under a malignant eruptive fever, and are of the opinion they cannot for some time be landed in town without the danger of infecting the inhabitants."
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Here I will divert from the Braus/Brause Family History for a minute, to share from anther article about the voyage. This article is from the Harless Genealogy, " Winter Galley of 1738 The Year of the Destroying Angels"
Next appeared the long overdue St. Andrew, commanded by the favorite ship captain of the Germans, John Stedman. Several letters of passengers on some of his previous five runs between Rotterdam and Philadelphia were full of praise for him. This time, on a voyage that lasted twelve weeks, almost 120 passengers had died before reaching port on October 29th. The same day, Lloyd Zachary and Thomas Bond, two physicians recruited by the authorities to tighten the inspection of the incoming Palatine ships, presented this report to the colonial council:
"We have carefully examined the State of Health of the Mariners and Passengers on board the Ship St. Andrew, Captain Steadman, from Rotterdam, and found a great number labouring under a malignant, eruptive fever, and are of the opinion, they cannot, for some time, be landed in town without the danger of infecting the inhabitants."
It was the last emigrant transport that John Stedman ever commanded. After his return to Europe, he settled down in Rotterdam in the shipping business. There was disbelief in the German community that such fate could have befallen a ship led by a Stedman. The Send-Schreiben expressed the reaction as follows:
"The two Stedmans, who had so far been renowned for the transfer of Germans and wanted to keep this reputation, also had to suffer the plight this time, one of them lost near 120 before landfall, although he had a party of the Hope's roughest and sturdiest folks, who had to succumb to sickness and fear of death. And the other one lost probably five-sixths, of 300 hardly 60 were left. His mates and some of his sailors he lost and he himself lay near death."
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The SAINT ANDREW galley was a three-masted ship with square sails and a square-sterned galley- type hull design of about 150 tons. Built 1733 in Philadelphia. Fitted with accommodation for passengers including compartments. 8 or 9 pairs of oars, if fitted. 8 deck-mounted guns, later increased to 20. Around 15 crew. Transported emigrants mostly from Rotterdam to Philadelphia from 1734 to 1752. Masters: John Stedman, Robert Robinson, James Proud, Charles Stedman, John Evans, Robert Brown, James Abercrombie, John Brown, Andrew Breading. Owned by 3 London merchants, managed by Charles & Alexander Stedman, Second Street, Philadelphia.
“The Ship St. Andrew, Galley, A Hypothesis” by Alfred T. Meschter.
======================
Returning to the Braus Family History -
Adam's brother Marcus was on the sick list but there is no record of the wife and children.
Hans Adam Braus, his wife and two daughters arrived on this ship also, ending a five months arduous journey from Asbach, Baden Germany.
The Palatines were considered foreigners i n the English Colonies. Immediately upon disembarkation, they were taken to the courthouse in Philadelphia to sign the "Oath of Adjuration" swearing allegiance to the King of England. These signers were on the L i s t :
Adam i s listed as Hans Adam Braus. Marcus was on the Pa. Archives list of Foreigners Who Took the Oath of Allegiance, as Merck Adams Brouns. The oath could have been signed aboard the ship. He was on Rupp's sick list of passengers held aboard the ship in Philadelphia. There have been no further records found for him, so it could be assumed that he died on the ship.
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1738 - Arrival
Age: 31
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Hans Adam Braus
w. Anna Catharina (Kuch)
Maria Margaretha, 5
Maria Barbara, 1
w. Barbara
Maria Barbara
Anna Maria
Anna MagdalenaAnna Catharina, 27
Also listed on the Ship from same place Asbach, Baden, Germany
Marcus Adam Braus
Anna Maria (Kuch)
Anna
Maria Catharina
Marcus Adam
Maria Barbara
Johan Philipp, 10
Joanna, 9
Barbara Joanna, 7
Anna Magdalena, 4
Bernhard, 2
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PA- Hans Adam Braus, son of Peter and Catherina Braus, was born §1707 i n Asbach, Baden Germany. He married Anna Catherine Kuch on 4 Nov. 1732 daughter of Hans Georg and Barbara Kuch. Anna Catherine was bapt. 25 Oct. 1711.
Second Generation in America: (Their children)
PA1- Maria Margaretha bapt Asbach Germany 18 Nov. 1733 married Jacob Ulrich.§1752 in Northampton Co.Pa. She died i n Upper Dublin Twp. Montgomery Co.pa. 19 Oct. 1806
- PA2 Maria Barbara bapt. 2 Feb. 1737 Asbach, Germany PAA- Johann Adam Jr. bapt. 17 Dec. 1739, Whitehall Twp. Bucks Co.Pa. ( l a t e r Macungie Twp. Lehigh Co.Pa.) married Catherine Rothermel dau. of Johann ChristophRothermel
- PA4- Anna Catharina bapt. 17 Feb. 1742 Whitehall Twp.
- PA5- Susanna Margaret bapt. 26 March 1745 Ziegels Church, Macungie Twp. married Weiss of Northampton Co.Pa.
- PA6- Anna born 1 July 1747 Ziegel's Church married Romich of Northampton Co.Pa.
- PA7- Anna Christina born 17 Nov. 1749 Ziegel's Church married George Adam Schneider.
- PAG (8)- Johann George born 26 May 1751 Ziegel's Church married Dorothea Fissler. Sponsors at baptism parents.
- PA9- Anna Maria born 8 October 1755 Ziegel's Church Macungie Twp Northampton Co.Pa. married Jacob Gilbert Jr. She died 22 A p r i l 1804 in Upper Dublin Twp. Montgomery Co.Pa.
Baptisms for Adam and Catherine's firs t two children born in America are listed in the Church Book from Whitehall Twp. They are also listed with Ziegel's baptismal lists , so they probably shared ministers.
Before 1750, church services were held in the log cabins of the settlers , with an occasional visit by a traveling minister. The first church, built of rough logs was dedicated 29th of July 1750 as Union Church. They alternated between a Lutheran and Reformed Minister. Three years after the first church was built , Adam was warrantee of 42 acres of land which he patented to the congregation in 1771.
The church is called Ziegel's and due to boundary changes is in Weisenberg Twp. in Lehigh Co.Pa. (Lehigh Co.formed from Northampton Co.Pa. i n 1812) Of the Charter members of Ziegels church published in the Pennsylvania German V0I.XII #4 1911 were several names from the ship lists of the "St. Andrew" including: Nicholaus Mayer, George Schmacher,
Gitty Grim and Adam Braus. There is still a Ziegel's Church on this property (once a part of Adam Braus's land) i n 1982. We did not find any readable headstones. The church is west of Route 100, o f f old Hwy. 22 located i n Weisenberg Twp. It is well marked from the road.
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Ziegels Church
"Johan Adam Braus and his wife, Anna Catharina Kuch, came to PA in 1738. They settled in what is now Upper Macungie Township, Lehigh Co., next to neighboring Weisenberg Township. Adam Braus donated the 41 acres upon which Ziegels Church (in Weisenberg Township) was built. The church has additional copies of commemorative booklets which were published for the 250th anniversary. Adam Braus was a signer of the original 1750 Union church agreement and probably of most interest to researchers is the color picture in the inside back cover of the deed box of 1771. Adam's name is one of four names written on the lid."
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Adam and Catharine moved t o Upper Dublin Twp. Philadelphia Co. (now Montgomery Co.) and purchased a house and 25 acres, recorded 25 July 1777. He was described as "Adam Brouss of Macongy, Northampton Co." and paid 250 pounds for it. The same
amount that he received for the land when he sold it to his son in-law, Jacob Gilbert in 1780. (Deed Book #1 page 109, Deed Book 117 pages 445-446 Philadelphia Co. Courthouse)
He stayed in the same area as he was taxed i n 1779, 1780, 1781 and 1782.
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1780 Tax List
Name Adam Brouse
Year 1780
Town or Ward Upper Dublin
County Philadelphia
Archive Rollname 334
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He had a distillery and was listed near his recently widowed daughter Margaret Ulrich . (Pa. Archives 111 Vol.14, 15, 16) He divided his considerable amount of land in Macungie between his sons, Adam J r . and George.
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WILL OF ADAM BRAUS
Adam Brauss died between Dec. 1782 and Feb. 1784 in Upper Dublin township, Phila. Co., PA (later Montgomery Co), see Phila. will #372 for 1784.
Adam's will named 7 of his 9 children.
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Adam wrote his W i l l 5 December 1782 and was deceased in 1784. The Will was probated 27 February 1784. ( W i l l #372 1784)
"Be it remembered t h a t I , Adam Brouss of Upper Dublin Township i n the County of Philadelphia and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Yeoman, being far advanced in years, but in perfect health and of sound disposing mind, memory and understanding at present, thanks be given unto God. Therefore calling to mind the mortality of my body and that it is appointed for all men once to die, doth make and ordain this my last Will and Testament
i n the following manner and form: That is to say, principally and first of all I give and recommend my soul t o the hands of God who gave it , and my body to the earth to be buried i n a Christian like and decent manner at the discretion of my Executors here in after named, and as touching such worldly Estate wherewith it hath pleased God to bless me in this life.
I give devise and bequeath unto my well beloved wife Catharine all and singular my Estate and Estates both Real and Personal for and during the term of her natural life for and towards her support and comfortable maintenance during said term.
Item, I give and bequeath unto my eldest son Adam Brouss the sum of five shillings lawful money of Pennsylvania only, he having received his full share of my Estate already in the lands he hath had of me.
Item, I give and bequeath unto my son George Brouss the sum of five shillings lawful money aforesaid, he aIso having received already his full share of my Estate in land from me.
Item, I give and bequeath unto my daughter Margaret Ulrich the sum of sixty pounds lawful money aforesaid, she having received sixty pounds of me already, which will make it in the whole one hundred and twenty pounds.
Item, I give and bequeath to my daughter Susanna Weiss the sum of sixty pounds
lawful money aforesaid, she also having already received of me the sum of sixty pounds, which will make her share also one hundred and twenty pounds.
Item, I give and bequeath unto my daughter Anna Romich the sum of sixty pounds lawful money aforesaid, she also having already received of me the sum of sixty pounds, which will make her share also one hundred and twenty pounds.
Item, I give and bequeath unto my daughter Christina Schneider the sum of one hundred and twenty pounds lawful money aforesaid.
Item, I give and bequeath unto my daughter Mary Gilbert the sum of one hundred and twenty pounds lawful money aforesaid.
Item, It is my will and order that all the legacies herein before willed unto my children shall be paid unto them within one year after the decease of my said beloved wife Catherine and in order to enable my executors hereinafter named to pay and discharge the said legasies, I do w i l l and order that immediately after the decease of my said beloved wife, my executors shall sell and dispose of my Estate and Estates both Real and Personal be the same whatsoever or wheresoever, and pay off the said legasies with the money arising from such sale; and i f there proves to be any residue or remainder after the payment of all the legasies herein before bequeathed or willed , then I give and bequeath all such residue or remainder unto my said five daughters to be divided amongst them share and share alike.
The legal representatives of any of my said daughters that may be deceased i n every case, to receive their mothers share. Lastly, I do hereby nominate, constitute, and appoint my son in-law George Adam Schneider and my son-in-law Jacob Gilbert Executors of this my last Will and Testament hereby giving them or the survivor of them full power and authority to execute the same in every particular, and to make, execute, acknowledge good sufficient title or titles or deeds of conveyance i n fee simple for a l l the Real Estate I may be possessed of at the time of my decease, to the purchaser or purchasers thereof.
Finally I do hereby revoke and disannul all former Wills, Executors, and Legasies at anytime heretofore by me made, Willed or Bequeathed. Ratifying this and no other to be my last Will and Testament. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal the fifth day of December i n the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-two 1782.
Adam Brouss
Witnesses:
Mary Loller Robert Loller Ferdinand Busher
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1784 - Burial of Hans Adam Braus
Name Hans Braus
Birth Date 1707
Age at Death 77
Death Date 1784
Burial Place Breinigsville, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, USA
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1793 - Anna Catharina [Kuch] Braus Died
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Throughout the picturesque valleys of mid-eighteenth-century Germany echoed the song of the Neulander (newlander). Their song enticed journeymen who struggled to feed their families with the dream and promise of colonial America. Traveling throughout the German countryside, the typical Neulander sought to sign up several families from a village for immigration to a particular colony. By registering a group of neighbors, rather than isolated families, the agent increased the likelihood that his signees would not stray to the equally enticing proposals of a competitor. Additionally, by signing large groups, the Neulander fattened his purse.
Generally, the Germans who chose to undertake the hardship of a trans-Atlantic voyage were poor, yet the cost of such a voyage was high. Records from a 1753 voyage indicate that the cost of an adult fare (one freight) from Rotterdam to Boston was 7.5 pistole (any of several gold coins used in various European countries until the late 19th century – sometimes called a doubloon). Children between the ages of 4 and 13 were assessed at half the adult rate (one-half freight). Children under 4 were not charged. To get a sense of the expense involved, it has been estimated that the adult fare, 7.5 pistoles, is equivalent to approximately $2,000 in today’s currency! For a large family, the cost could easily be well beyond their means. Even though many immigrants did not have the necessary funds to purchase passage, they were determined to make the crossing. Years of indentured servitude for themselves and other family members were often the currency of last resort.
Up to at least the mid-1800’s, those who wanted to leave their area at all had to have permission from the local ruler, usually a Prince, Landgraf, or the like. Before they left the country, they also had to furnish proof that they were not in debt, and, if they were young men, had served in the army. When they gave up their citizenship a notice was often put in the local paper so that any creditors could make their demands known.
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