In later notes, mention will be made of research in the German records by a professional research firm. This pioneering work has opened many doors for descendants. But as today's note will illustrate, perhaps it is best to regard this type of activity as the starting point.
The source of data for this note is a 1991 copyrighted monograph by Stephen H. Broyles entitled " Additional Information Regarding the German Origin of the Broyles/Briles Family " and used here with permission. When Steve started this work, he publically stated that he had no qualifications for the task. Of course, that is not totally true as he had the essential qualification of desire. But he did admit that there was a learning curve to the work which he insisted others could duplicate also. Other individuals, who heard Steve describe his work, have agreed with him.
The family in Germany was Johannes and Ursula (Ruop) Breyel which came in the group that made the Second Germanna Colony. In Virginia, the spelling of the name became Broyles or Briles. Johannes Briel/Breyel was the oldest son of Conrad and Margaretha and was christened on 1 May 1679 in Dußlingen, Württemberg. Conrad Breyel died 8 October 1703 in Dußlingen, five days after breaking his back.
This accident was described in the death register as the result of falling "over" a crabapple tree. How "over" (über in German) is to be interpreted is a debated but it seems logical that Johannes was in the top of the tree when he fell or it broke.
Less than a month after Johannes Breil's father, Conrad, died, Johannes married Ursula Ruop, daughter of Hans Jacob Ruop, gravedigger, on 6 Nov 1703. What was so unusual or questionable is that this marriage took place in a village, Ötisheim, that was forty miles away. Since Johannes was 24, he was of a marriageable age. But his father, Conrad, had been the miller and, as the eldest son, Johannes could have expected to inherit the mill.
Therefore it seem unlikely that he would leave the village of Dußlingen, but he did. This had bothered Steve Broyles and he wanted confirmation that we were talking about the same Johannes. Fortunately, there is a notice in the Dußlingen parish marriage records of the marriage of Johannes and Ursula in Ötisheim which resolved this question without any doubts.
Johannes and Ursula had the following children in Ötisheim:
The birth of Maria Elisabetha is the last record found in the German records which would be consistent with emigration in 1717. Later, in Virginia, more children would be born.
As a result of his research, Steve discovered the birth of the twins which had been reported earlier as one son with the three part name: Hans Jacob Conrad. The twin, Conrad, is presumed to have died because the name was reused again in 1709. Steve was also able to correct the christening date for the 1709 Conrad.
The reuse of names is not unusual.
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.