Family History: Brobst Family History Various Twp, Berks Co, PA Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Bill Brobst brobstwa@interpath.com USGENWEB NOTICE: Printing this file by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. ______________________________________________________________________ NATIONAL BROBST FAMILY HISTORICAL REGISTRY BROBST FAMILY HISTORY (PROBSTER FAMILIENFORSCHUNG) The Brobst Family is not large, nor is it famous. But it is certainly unique in that in almost every case, everyone with the unusual name "Brobst" is directly related to everyone else with the name "Brobst"! We all descend from one of two Probst brothers who left Europe in 1732 to seek their freedom and fortune in America. THE SWISS FAMILY PROBST: The American Brobst family traces back into the early 1500s near Bern, Switzerland, where Rudolph Probst was born in 1595. His father may have been Niklaus Probst (1554), and his grandfather Hans Probst (1531), although those two earlier generations are not certain. Yes, the name "Brobst" was originally "Probst". Probst is a fairly common name in Switzerland, although not so in the United States. In the early 1600s, Rudolph moved to Wangen, Germany. In the mid-1600s, his only son, Barthel, floated down the Rhine to Kandel, in the German Palatinate, near the Alsace border of France. Barthel had a large family, one of which was Christophel (1661). Because living conditions there were so deplorable, three of Christophel's children came to America -- Philipp Jacob (1692), Johann Michael (1701), and Elizabetha Margaretha (Vossellmann) (1703). These three were the first Probsts to come to America. They arrived in 1732, the year George Washington was born. Others of the larger Probst family lived in northwestern Switzerland also, from Siselen in the northwest of Kanton Berne to Lutzelfluh in the northeastern part of Kanton Berne. Many of these Probsts also emigrated elsewhere in Europe -- into Germany and into southern Alsace, France. Some of those who moved to southern Germany had moved further north into Saxony by the 1800s. Many Probsts came to America from Switzerland, Germany, and France later in the 1700s and 1800s. These families are not the primary focus of the Brobst Family Historical Registry, although there is some information on the other American Probsts. THE AMERICAN FAMILY BROBST: The three children of Christophel Probst arrived in Philadelphia in October 1732, after a horrible voyage on the ship "John and William". Philipp Jacob came with his wife, C'erine, and three young sons -- Jean Michael, Jean Valentine, and Jean Martin. Johann Michael was unmarried, but married Anna Maria Kerr shortly after his arrival. Elisabetha Margaretha came with her husband, Hans Erhardt Vossellmann. The English-speaking clerks misspelled their name phonetically, as had the ship's captain. (Why is the word "phonetic" not spelled phonetically?) They left Germany as "Probst", checked out of Rotterdam as "Props", sailed as "Proops", and cleared immigra tion as "Brobst". No wonder people have such trouble with our name! The Brobsts settled in the area now known as Berks and Lehigh Counties, Pennsylvania, about 50 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Many of their German friends who sailed with them settled in the same area. They fought off starvation, poverty, unfriendly weather, and even less friendly Indians. All American Brobsts descend from one of those three children of Christophel. All Brobsts are related, even though it might be only a seventh cousinhood! The many other Probsts who came to America later in the 1700s and 1800s retained the name Probst. Are they related to the Brobsts? Yes, in many cases. In other cases, the relationship has not been yet identified, and is likely to be quite remote. Researchers are working on that. There were also German Propsts who came to America, but they were not of Swiss origin. So there is Brobstology, Probstology, and Propstology! There's even Bobstology and Pabstology, but they are different families. The names "Probst" and "Propst" have similar meanings in Germanic languages. A propst is a lay administrator of a German Roman Catholic diocese or Lutheran synod. A probst is a lay administrator of a Swiss synod. The English term "provost" derives from this same origin. All three words come from the Latin word "praepositus". Further information is available from the Brobst Family Historical Registry. The National Brobst Family Historical Registry exists to help Brobsts and Brobst descendants to find their family roots -- "Brobstology". The Registry contains data on the ancestry, history, and heritage of the Brobst Family in America, and its ancestral Probst Family in Germany and Switzerland. The goal of the Registry is to collect the names and familial relationships of all Brobsts from the time of the 1730s immigration in America into the early part of the 20th century, as well as the earlier Swiss and German Probsts from which we all descend. Data on the old Probsts and Brobsts is already quite detailed and accurate. Brobstology information on more recent members of the Brobst Family is entered into the data base as it becomes available. This information is readily available to any Brobst descendant or researcher who is interested in his/her Probst/Brobst ancestry. We respect the desire for privacy for some living persons, and are quite willing to omit specific data on any living person who desires that for him/herself and his/her family members. But we would like to at least list their names in the proper order in the ancestral lineage in the Registry. And the Registry is collecting information on the family histories of Probsts and Brobsts, as well, from Switzerland, through Germany and France, and to America. The Registry is not a comprehensive library or archive of all of the supporting documents and proofs usually associated with genealogical research. Those records remain with the various county and state historical and genealogical society libraries, courthouses, etc., and with the descendant families and researchers themselves. The information in the Registry on your Brobst ancestry is available from the Registry's Curator, William A. Brobst, 6072 Currituck Rd, Kitty Hawk, NC 27949 (252-261- 3068) E-Mail: Curator: brobstwa@interpath.com Queries: brobst@compuserve.com Webpages: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/home-pages/brobst/ Copyright © 1998 by Bill Brobst. This copy contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives. This information may be copied and used without cost and free of all restrictions.