In the church and political
and community records of Egelsbach, we find the family name of Bretz again and
again. Sometimes it is Bretz or Bretsch. All variations of the name return to
the same origin.
The family was of the Catholic religion, which was unusual in the pure protestant village of Egelsbach. Today this name has disappeared. In the course of hundreds of years many intermarriages of the citizens took place. Still in the traceable course of the years many of the ancestors who followed had this name.
For the first time we find the name in a church book as the master blacksmith, Johannes and his wife Anna Catherina. They had a daughter born December 29, 1681 who was named Anna Margretha. Hans Peter Bellhauser's wife was the godmother. Her name was also Anna Margretha and she named the child . The minister made an entry in the church records that Johannes Bretz was of German descent and had come from Allendorf in the district of Hessen. Since Allendorf was in the district of Hessen everyone thought that after the area reform in the town of Schwalmstadt, Allendorf would be in the area of the anti Reformation. It became Catholic again and belonged to the office of Neustadt in the area of Mainz. In the Neustadt registry the name of Bretz appears often.
Nothing is known about what motivated Johannes Bretz with his wife and 6 children, all born in Allendorf, to move to Egelsbach, the purely protestant town.
The family adjusted well to Egelsbach. However, every now and then through their deeds, the minister noted in the church records that the Bretz family was of the Catholic religion.
Johannes Bretz's daughter, Catharina, was born in 1676 in Allendorf so that the move to Egelsbach took place between 1676 and 1681.
The first time Johannes Bretz could became a fully qualified citizen of Egelsbach was after one year of residence. In 1684 he paid the so-called entry fee of 12 Gulden for himself and his wife.
In 1695 Johannes Bretz became mayor of Egelsbach, which at that time was merely the community treasurer. In 1705 and 1708 he was known as Johannes, the Old One, in contrast to his son of the same name.
The church council, which at that time was called a church convention, called a meeting on June 3, 1711. This church convention represented a church's constitutional authority gave the council the authority of disciplinary power in church matters. This provided the regulation and punishment in matters of the church.
A certain Wilhem Muller investigated complaints against Johannes Bretz, the Old One by Caspar Christen's wife charging defamation of character, as we would say today. By the confrontation of three in the church convention, they finally established that Johannes Bretz continued in falsehoods or evil gossip.
Johannes Bretz died at the age of 92 in 1720. The year of his birth is
given as 1628. His children as can be established were as follows:
- Nicolaus 1650-1738
- Magdalena 1664-1725. She married the Egelsbach mayor, Johann Ludwig Finck, in 1691.
- Johannes 1667-1732
- Johann Niclas birth and death dates not known
- Heinrich died 1712
- Catharina 1676-1745
- Ann Margretha as mentioned Dec. 29, 1681-1697
Egelsbach was given its own minister in 1705 who was named Adolf Leonhard Sann. He prepared a register or list of the names of the present congregation, which we find on page 320 in the church register. He lists the family of Bretz also. (No. 65,73 and 87) He concluded that even though it is evident through their actions they were of the Catholic religion, they attended the Evangelical church.
Perhaps Johannes Bretz and his wife felt obligated, because of the Diaspora involved, to give a special expression in the form of a donation to the church. One can assume that the Crucifix with its life size Korpus Christ in a niche in the Egelsbach church was given by this Catholic family. The object is a very fine work of wood sculpture of the Renaissance period.. The donation pleases us also in present time as a caring expression. During a festive occasion a wreath of flowers would be placed thereon.
Anna Margretha was the youngest child of Johannes Bretz and his wife. She died at the age of 15. The parents prepared a memorial in 1698. The memorial was a votive picture mounted on the crucifix. The little picture is informative because it shows the Egelsbach style of dress at that time.
Their son, Nicolaus Bretz, married Catharina Gross in 1686. She was the daughter of the noble hunter and forest ranger in Egelsbach. His name was Peter Gross.
Nicolaus himself became a forest ranger. In 1685 he received a messengers fee of 3 Gulden from the community owing to the fact he warned the citizens of the danger of war. From 1711 to 1720 he was the ruling mayor of Egelsbach. When he was in his 80th year, he had to go before the church meeting because of his fortune telling and superstitious character and publicly answer with penience to the church.
Another son, Johannes Bretz, different from his father, was also called the "young one." He died in 1732 due to an accident. He fell from some scaffolding in a barn. His daughter Elizabeth Catharina married Johannes Krafft, the son of the miller in the Bavarian mill.
Another son, of the second generation, was Johann Niclas Bretz. His birth date and date of death are unknown. For that reason there is no official document. Johann Niclas Bretz was an innkeeper in the house on Langener Street 3, the corner house of Langener and Weed streets. The original house was renovated and is not recognizable any more.
Since the village court of law was in his inn in 1696, the innkeeper charged the court 10 Gulden for food and drink. In the same year the office clerk was staying in the inn to collect taxes for the 3 quarters at 10 Gulden. The cost of room and board for the clerk and the horse amounted to I Gulden and was paid by the mayor.
As owner of the inn, Johann Niclas Bretz was in conflict or disagreement with the minister and the church community. So on the first Sunday after Pentecost in 1707, during the afternoon church service and for a week later during the entire night, gambling and drinking took place in his inn. Bretz was cautioned and reprimanded because of his own continuing drunkenness, quarreling and the mistreatment of his wife. On the next Sunday, from the pulpit, the minister announced that in the future every drunkard and gambler must pay I Gulden and the innkeeper who allowed this to happen in his house would be punished with a fine. The offenders could not take Holy Communion. Now the admonition had few results and the church community had to deal with the transgressors. Punishment was announced but later was left at 1/2 Gulden. A certain Philips Bretz, after he paid a 1/2 Gulden could again participate in Holy Communion.
The matter also came before the district board. Therefore it was determined the minister had gone too far in his jurisdiction and in the future he should refrain from these investigations.
In spite of the disagreement with Johann Niclas Bretz, this did not prevent the church community from trusting him with a specific mission. At the beginning of 1700 the church community had to meet a large expenditure on their church building. The roof needed repairing. In 1710 a new organ and choir loft were installed. The church community decided, therefore that Niclas Bretz should be sent abroad to ask for money for the church repairs. The church had to go into debt.
Niclas Bretz had to promise to fulfill his duty with faithful and conscientious performance. Conrad Keil from Egelsbach was to be his associate. Fourteen days later, on September 15, 1710, the church community had to take care of the matter again. In Frankfurt, NiclasBretz drank to excess and started a fight in the inn. He was thrown out of the inn by the innkeeper and had to spend the night outside. Under these circumstances Conrad Keil didn't want to accompany Niclas any longer.
The parish council withdrew the collection task from Niclas Bretz. A substitute in the person of Johann Nikolaus Bretz was found. As a companion Hermann Villiger was chosen.
Nothing was passed on as to the success of the fund raising campaign. It is to be assumed that the new messenger, with similar sounding name, but with greater sense of duty, fulfilled his task so that the prosperity of the Egelsbach church repair funds came to be.
Niclas Bretz married Anna Catharina Reuss in 1696. She was the daughter of the long serving treasurer, Adam Reuss. Niclas and Anna Catharina had 10 children.
Bretz built a house across from his inn around 1725. His youngest daughter, Anna Maria, inherited this house. This house (Weed Street 2) remains because of the well preserved half timbering and is under the protection of the preservation district. On the frontage piece the following description is written:
"The permanent residence originated in the last fourth of the 18th century"
The village picture is of the corner location at the intersection of Langener and Weed Streets The regular framework construction, the undisturbed lattice structure and the Andreas cross in the gable, at the back area of the house survived a partial renovation of this valuable city building. The beginning year of the house was dated based on the land register.
Another brother, Henrich, who was from the second generation needs to be mentioned. He was a blacksmith as was his father. At his death in 1712, the minister wrote a notice as follows: Henrich Bretz, the blacksmith, died on the morning of August 11 between the hours of 9 and 11 o'clock. He was buried on the 13th at a separate place by the wall right where one enters the graveyard on the left hand side because he was a swindler (removed the border stone), worse than a thief. He was of the Catholic religion and a scorner of the protestant religion. He was also one who had been in jail, was delivered to the judge, but escaped. In the meantime the court hearing was held without him, although he had been ordered to be present in Darmstadt by order of the constabulary, according to the church records. Unfortunately nothing could be found on the mentioned criminal case and what crime Henrich Bretz was charged with.
Songs of repentance were sung at his burial. The text Iudica 3 V 31 was explained. The Proposition was: "The destruction of the enemies of the Lord is the development of those who love the Lord."
In the following generation, the Bretz family has not been in any way conspicuous, although they were strongly spread out in Egelsbach. But when the immigration to North America from the Great Duchy HessenDarmstadt began in the last century, several representatives from the Bretz family responded.
On the 19th of June 1837, the following came to North America:
Johann Adam Bretz born 1776 with his wife Anna Victoria Werkman born 1781
and their children.
- Johann Phillip born 1805
- Lorentz II born I810 with his wife Anna Victoria Schroth born 1809 and their son Adam born 1836
- Philipp born 1814
- Johann Heinrich born 1822
- Anna Maria born 1825
With this travel group came the brother Johann Philipp Bretz, born 1791, and his wife Anna Barbara Werner, born 1795 with their children:
- Johannes born 1818
- Adam born 1820
- Philipp born 1821
- Anna Margretha born 1824
- Anna Katharine born 1828
- Philippine barn 1830
- Anna Katharine born 1832
- Anna Viktoria born 1837
The authorization to immigrate depended on the fact no immigrant left behind any debts. In the great Duchy of Hessen there appeared in 1837 an article in the newspaper, a so called edict of the district court of Goss Gerau which stated that the aforementioned family intended to immigrate to North America and therefore any debt claims should be reported within three months.
Adam Bretz had no difficulty in obtaining permission to immigrate, because he was well-to-do. He was the owner of a house at Weed Street 2 and it was reported that the sale of all disposable goods yielded a converted sum of $1,500, a very high amount. His brother, Johann Philipp Bretz, resented having to sell all his property including the farmhouse on the Ernst Ludwig Street 59. The sale brought barely enough to cover the passage for his family.
Over the fate of the immigrant families in America, we are fortunate to be well informed, because a descendant of the immigrant Homer Bretz wrote a booklet in 1932 with the title "The Bretz Family in America." Here he portrayed very vividly the immigration to America and the trouble the immigrants had in establishing a foothold here. He identified 520 descendants of the immigrants.
The departure of the travel group was made up of 19 persons and took place from Germany at Bremerhaven with the immigrant ship named Clarmondena. The trip lasted 49 days over the ocean to New York. Then the immigrants went by boat on the Hudson River and then by train, which subsequently took them on a canal to Lake Ontario and on the St Lawrence River to Clayton.
On August 31, 1837, after almost 90 days, they arrived at their destination. The Bretsch family apparently had an acquaintance to whom they traveled. This family was named Dorr. The Dorr family had been in America for a few years. The Dorrs came from Habitzheim in the district of Dieburg. They lived approximately 17 kilometers from the city. The women and children were left behind and the two brothers traveled by foot to the Dorrs. The path to the Dorrs was not easy. There were no road signs and the brothers could not speak English. The path was only an oxcart trail. By evening the brothers reached the Dorrs farm where they were welcomed heartily. The next day the brothers, along with the Dorrs, returned to the harbor where the other family members waited. The luggage and the children were loaded on a wagon. All the others had to go by foot.
In the beginning it was difficult for the immigrants. There was much discontentment. The older brother Adam, who was 61, had high hopes. To be sure he had a great deal of funds, as was mentioned, which he had brought from his homeland. Philipp was disappointed with the new land. Everywhere one looked one saw only forest. The lower located land was marshland and the higher land was full of stones. Philipp was so discouraged he wanted to return to Germany, but his savings were used up. The family of Adam bought themselves a farm. The sons worked for a neighbor until they had enough money to buy their own farm. Their houses were made from raw wood and were very primitive. Most of the Bretsch's were farmers and remained so. Later, in the next generation, other occupations were taken up such as manufacturers, brokers, merchants, engineers, physicians, artists, lawyers and teachers. They valued education for their families. In the American Civil War they fought on the side of the northern states. One son-in-law and one of the Dorr sons were killed in the war. Surely descendants of the Bretsch family also fought in World War II and no doubt fought in Germany.
The author of the booklet, by looking at the family history, came to the conclusion that the members of the Bretsch family distinguished themselves through thriftiness, hard work, prudence, sense of duty to the community rather than by great deeds.
In spite of all the difficulties reported by the immigrants back to Egelsbach, another brother Lorenz Bretz (Bretsch), decided to immigrate. As a day laborer he saw no future in his homeland and hoped to have a better economic position in America. In 1838 he and his family came to North America.
The family consisted of Lorenz Bretsch born March 14th 1783, his wife Anna
Christina Werner born March 12th 1790, and 8 children:
- Anna Christina, born 1815
- Johann Adam, born 1817
- Helena, born 1820
- Lorenz, born December 7th, 1822
- Benedict, born 1825
- Anna Margretha, born 1827
- Margretha Elisabetha, born 1830
- Heinrich Adam, born 1833
The oldest son Phillip married and remained in Egelsbach. His only son, Adam, immigrated later on in 1855.
It is known that Lorenz Bretz and his family settled in Pittsburgh. Lorenz and his brothers, Adam and Phillip lost touch with one another.
The descendents of these immigrants have the knowledge about their German homeland and their place of origin, Egelsbach, which they kept alive in their memory.
If one counts the three immigrant families with those who followed, the total is an impressive 29 persons. It is easy to understand why the name of Bretch in Egelsbach has become rare.
The study of the remarkable Bretch family cannot be completed without mentioning Heinrich Ludwig Bretsch (1835 to 1899). He was a land surveyor first class and an appeal surveyor. He conducted business in Egelsbach 1881 until 1889. He surveyed the subdivision of the land into lots. The maps showing acreages established by him are still in use today (1992).
Bibliography:
- Community Archives, Egelsbach, Section 36
- Archives EKHN Egelsbach No. 40
- Art Memorial of the County of Offenbach, VIII Egelsbach, page 32.
- Gerd Grein," The dress in the town of Dreieich, in the district of Hessen," 1977
- The Church Penitent of 1737, 2
- HStADa E 9 Konv. 20, Fasz. 7 and continued No. 2
- Public Archives of Egelsbach, Section XXI Konv. 6 continued No. 88
Additional Note:
Valentine Bretz, resident and councilman, and his wife Anna Katharina had a son born on 15 July 1791 between 5 and 6 o'clock in the morning. He was baptised on the 17th in the same month in the name of the Holy Trinity. His godfathers, Phillip Finck andJohann Nicolas Finken, jurer and resident, gave the child the Christian name of Philipp.
Minor changes in spelling and formatting have been made in this reprint of the copy I have.
No changes were made to the spelling of any personal names.