August 26, 1678 was the birthday of Joseph Johann Bruner. He was born in SE Germany (near Mannheim) and emmigrated to the United States on the ship Allen with his wife and family. They arrived in Philadelphia on September 11, 1729. They first settled in Pennsylvania, then, on July 28, 1746, Joseph received formal title to 303 acres along Carroll Creek in the Colony of Maryland. Lord Baltimore (the proprietor of the Colony of Maryland) was giving away free land at the time to try to encourage German emigrants to settle there and become productive citizens. One site I've discovered indicates that Joseph purchased the land from a Daniel Dulany, while another intimates that he claimed through Lord Balitimore's "homestead" arrangement.
It sounds like Josephs sons (including Johann Jacob Bruner -- our direct ancestor -- had obtained land close by). The house which Joseph built (it sounds like something close to a castle) still stands today and is the oldest building in Frederick County, MD. It is a museum and there are several festivals held there at various times each year. One of the websites dedicated to the museum calls it "America's finest example of German colonial architecture."
Here are a few websites with additional information:
http://www.smallmuseum.org/schifferstadt.htm
http://www.geocities.com/garygrassl@verizon.net/schifferstadt.html
http://www.frederickcountylandmarksfoundation.org/fclf_schiffgen.html#overview
Our connection to Joseph Johann Bruner is as follows:
Joseph married Catherine Elizabeth Thomas in 1700 and they begat
Johann Jacob Bruner (1703) who married Maria Barbara Sturm (1725) and they begat
Maria (Mary) Elizabeth Bruner (1732) who married John (Johannes) Middlekauff (1757) and they begat
Jacob Middlekauff & Christian Middlekauff -- see post of July 8, 2007 for the lineage of Jacob and Christian Middlekauff who BOTH ended up being direct ancestors of George Elias Ringer.
Here's another interesting tidbit (possibly many tidbits....) that I came across while researching Joseph Bruner:
"I do have ALOT of detail on the direct descendants and predecessors of Joseph Bruner my great-grandfather several times removed) who came to the US via Philadelphia on the ship Allen with his son Johann. They settled in Frederick, Maryland and named their home "Schifferstadt" after the village from whence they came in SE Germany (near Mannheim). The home still stands and is now a national landmark and museum and considered to be the best living example of German-American architecture in the United States. Bruner history in America also contains Revolutionary war heroes, Kentucky frontier settlers, and Lincoln family connections. My particular Bruner family line emmigrated west to Oregon and Washington (via the Oregon Trail) in the 1800's from Indiana"
This was posted by a woman here in Washington State.... I've emailed her and if I am able to talk with her and find out anything more... you can be sure I'll post it here!
Interestingly enough, Joseph Johann Bruner, according to ancestry.com is our blood link to actress Joan Crawford. Yes, you can now refer to her as cousin Joan (though remember, there are 9 generations separating her from Joseph Bruner!
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2 comments:
I have been doing a bit of work on this line and have come across an ancestor of mine, Maria C. Brunner (1718), who appears to also be a child of Joseph and Catherine. She married Captain Stephen Ramsburg (1711).
Same line?
Hi Kerri:
That must have been Maria Catarina Brunner? She was the younger sister of Johann Jacob Brunner, who was my direct ancestor. So yes, definitely the same line!
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