Melchior Brombach - From the About:

* There is a baptism for Johann Melchior Brumbach, son of Johann Georg and Anna Barbara, born 2 Sept. 1695 in the Muesen church records.
* However, this is definitely not Melchior Brombach /Brumbach of Germanna.
* The tax records of Muesen, prove that he is the son of Johannes and Margaretha (born Kemper) Brombach / Brumbach, however there is no baptismal record for him at Muesen, but given the records of their other children, he was probably one of their older children, born about 1687. ~Daniel W. Bly

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(The Germanna DNA Project is still missing the Y-DNA Chromosomes for this 1714 Colonist. If you know of a descendant that can be tested please invite them to join prepping for the 300th Anniversary

Melchior Brombach (Muesen)

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Johann Melchior Brombach in the Germanna Foundation database, is a brother of 1714 Melchior. Johann Melchior Brombach was baptised on 20 Apr 1704; he's the 9th child of Johannes Brombach and Anna Margareta Kemper.

==family==
Mary Elizabeth Fischbach was born in Apr 1687 in Trupbach, Nassau-Siegen, Germany.

Children were:
* i. Mary Catherine Brumbach.
* ii. Elizabeth Brumbach was born in 1715.(29) She died.(29)
* iii. Agnes Brumbach was born in 1720.(30) She died in 1790 in Fauquier Co., VA.(30)
* iv. Mary Gertrude Brombach was born in 1722.(30) She was born in 1722.(29) She died WFT Est 1744-1816.(30) She died.

==not-so-brief biography==
'''Melchior Brumbach''' was born about 1685 in Muesen, Germany. He was also known as Melcherd Brumbach. He was married to Mary Elizabeth Fischbach about 1714/15 in Germanna, Fauquier County, Virginia. The original ancestor of the Brumbach and Fischbach left their homeland of Nassau-Siegen and Muesen in 1713 because of the turn of events in Germany and in the New World. Melchoir and two other bachelors, his cousin, Johannes Kemper, and Joseph Martin, "wandered off to the island of Carolina" without obtaining official approval.

'''The homeland of Nassau-Siegen'''

Melchior Brumbach was born nearly a half-century after the Thirty-Years War had been fought between the Protestants and Catholics, however, division remained in Nassau-Siegen and with the accession of William Hyacinth as Catholic Prince in 1699, conditions worsened both in Siegen and in the Catholic territory. William Hyacinth claimed to be the legal heir of William III of England and lived in a state he thought suitable to his pretensions, levied numerous very high taxes on the subjects of his tiny principality, and began to enforce rigorously the Catholic control of the schools there. His Protestant subjects protested the excessive taxes and many were arrested. In 1707, one of the Protestant ringleaders, Friedrich Flender, was summarily beheaded and his head was stuck on a pole in a prominent part of the grounds of the Upper Castle in Siegen. While this act resulted in the Emperor replacing Hyacinth with an Imperial Commission, nevertheless conflict continued. Around 1710, Protestants were not allowed burial in the Weidenau cemetery just north of Siegen. On Corpus Christi Day, 1712, the foreign troops occupying Siegen opened fire on the troops of the Protestant Prince and there was considerable loss of life.

'''Settling the wilderness of Virginia''' At the beginning of the 18th century, not nearly enough settlers could be secured from England for the New World. William Penn was sending agents to Germany to advertise the wonders of his "woods", which he offered on most profitable terms. Queen Anne authorized the distribution of a booklet which gave exaggerated accounts of the freedom, land and even opportunity to mine gold, which awaited colonists across the sea. Naturalization laws were enacted in October 1705, in Virginia to encourage foreigners to come to America. In 1710, Alexander Spottswood was appointed Governor of Virginia and he was anxious to begin mining operations especially after hearing of the discovery of silver in the Shenandoah Valley in 1709. He commissioned Baron Christopher von Graffenried to recruit miners from Germany.

'''The beginning of a new life''' The Baron was not authorized to leave the colonies so, acting through an associate, the Chief Miner in the service of Queen Anne, Johann Justus Albrecht was authorized to recruit miners. Albrecht sought aid from the ministers of the churches in the villages near Siegen, which had been an important iron mining region for centuries. A formal agreement was drawn up and signed by Albrecht and the ministers, by which the ministers agreed to recruit workmen, in return for annual contributions once the mines began producing. Albrecht spoke largely of mines of gold, silver and iron and the opportunities to be employed in the colonies, and to even own and develop their own mines. In the late summer or fall of 1713, Albrecht with a total of 42 Siegerlaenders started out for America, however, because of a communications breakdown, they were stranded in London. The Baron arrived in London to find them in desparate straits and starving, and because he was not yet ready for them, he attempted to persuade them to return to Germany. They refused, and he was able to find enough work for them in London to survive until a ship left for Virginia in early 1714. The colonists arrived in Virginia in April 1714, probably landing at a settlement called Hobb's Hole on the Rappahannock River. They proceeded upstream to a 1,200 acre horseshoe shaped peninsula on the Rapidan River some 13 miles north from where it joins the Rappahannock. It is located in what is now Orange County, Virginia. The area within the loop in the river was no doubt selected as the place for settlement because the encircling stream was regarded as affording some protection against the Indians from the north. Here, the Governor had constructed a pentagon shaped fort with nine houses, a block house and two canons inside it. A road was also constructed by him to the site. For providing the colonists with passage and housing and the protection of the fort, the Governor received in return 12 days work per household for two years. The Governor was also able to obtain a special seven year tax exemption for the colonists by claiming the settlement was a fort on the frontier to guard against Indians.

'''The Germanna Colony''' There were a total of 42 colonists in 13 families, including the pastor. They included the following: Brumbach (1); Cuntzes (5); Fishbacks (6); Haegers (4); Huffman (1); Hitts (2); Holtzclaws (4); Kemper (1); Martin (1); Rectors (3); Spilman (1); Utterbacks (8); Weavers (5). Henry Haeger was the pastor which was extremely important for the colonists who were very devout. The bachelors all married soon after arrival to the daughters of the other immigrants. John Kemper was already related to the Brumbach and Fishback families, and through his marriage and the marriages of his son John Kemper II, and grandson Tilman Kemper, we are also connected with the Cuntzes, Hitts, Huffman, Utterbacks, and Weavers. In comparison with most colonists to the New World these colonists were exceptionally well equipped for their challenges. They were well educated, and were skilled in mining, the manufacture of trade goods, and agriculture. A detailed description of this rugged frontier community was written by Sir John Fontaine, a Huguenot, who visited the settlement in November 1715: "We walked about the town, which is palisaded with stakes stuck in the ground, and laid close the one to the other, and of substance to bear out a musket shot. There are nine houses built all in a line, and before every house, about twenty feet distant from it, they have small sheds built for their hogs and hens; so that hog styes and houses make a street. The place that is paled in is pentagon very regularly laid out, and in the center there is a block house made with five sides which answer to the five sides of the great inclosure; there are loop holes through it, from which you may see all the inside of the inclosure. This was intended for a retreat for the people, in case they were not able to defend the palisades if attacked by the Indians. They make use of this block house for divine service. They go to prayers constantly once a day and have two sermons on Sunday. We went to hear them perform their service, which was done in their own language, which we did not understand, but they seemed very devout, and sang the Psalms very well. The Germans live very miseraby." The Germanna settlement established many firsts in the New World and received its name from a combining of their homeland, Germany, with the name of the Queen of England, Anne. It was the first colony in Spottsylvania County, now Orange County, Virginia. It was the first congregation of the Reformed Church, and they constructed the first fully equipped iron furnace and produced the first pig iron in the English colonies in about 1716. The furnace is still partially standing. Unable to secure land from the Governor, the Germans sought an opportunity elsewhere. Only citizens could own land and it cost 50 shillings to naturalize. Resourcefully, they pooled their small funds and paid for the naturalization of three of the colony: Jacob Holtzclaw, John Hoffman and John Fishback. In 1718, they secured a grant from the Fairfax estates for 1,800 acres, for which they were to pay an annual rent of one shilling sterling for each 50 acres. By 1741, all the colonists still living had been naturalized.

'''Germantown''' The colonists picked an excellent location similar in topography to their German homeland. It lay in what was then Stafford County, later Prince William and now Fauquier County, Virginia. There were no neighbors to the east and south for at least ten miles and to the north and west only unbroken wilderness. They called their new home Germantown. The hills to the northwest are still called the Germantown Hills. The grant ran in a north-westerly, south-easterly quadrangle on both sides of Licking Run, being roughly 2 1/2 miles in length and 1 1/2 miles in width. It is north of the village of Midland and between State Routes 643 and 649. The tract is crossed by the Southern Railroad and by State Routes 28 and 602. Almost all traces showing that this was a thriving community from 1720 till after the Revolutionary War have disappeared. Possibly all the families did not move at the same time, though for safety's sake the larger part must have gone together as early as the summer of 1719. To reach Germantown the colonists had to march 19 miles north by the old Shanandoah hunting path and then cut a road west through the forest from Elk Run, which was later called the "German Path" or the "German Rolling Road". Their possessions were not too great and what they did own they carried on their heads with the women bearing their share of the loads A cluster of small foundations on the western side of the tract may be the site of their first settlement. When they could feel secure from Indian attack they built their permanent homes, usually south of the Run. The date carved on the Weaver house was 1721, and it was certainly not built immediately on arrival. By 1724, all had arrived. The colonists were allotted certificates of land at the Court of Spottsylvania County in the Spring of 1724. The tract was divided into twenty strips of about 100 acres each as an error in the survey resulted in about 2,000 acres total instead of the 1,800. Their greatest necessity was communication with the settlement at Falmouth, from which they must get their supplies and where they must market their produce. They continued the Rolling Road across the tract and for many years this road was the main route north of the Rappahannock River from Fredericksburg to Winchester. They turned like veterans from industry to agriculture. Their first crops were raised with hand hoes, men and women working together. Their staple crops were corn and tobacco. The women tended the gardens. They had huge patches of cabbage out of which they made sauerkraut, both for their own use in winter and also to send to market. They lived mostly on pork, vegetables, milk and butter. By their industry and hard work they became prosperous. Soon they had herds of large cattle. Half-wild horses ran in the woods to be tamed at need. Tobacco was their money crop. Hogsheads were packed, shafts were affixed and the tobacco rolled to Falmouth for export. By their own efforts, by 1743, they built a small church and parsonage. After the death of Pastor Haeger in 1737, they had no regular minister and had to depend on visiting divines and traveling missionaries. They assembled for their daily prayers and Sunday services. Jacob Holtzclaw was reader and received 30 pounds of tobacco from each family for this service. They did not relax their efforts to secure a resident pastor, but were never successful. The County records show that they had lost hope of securing a regular minister, and the land set aside for him, the Glebe, was broken up in 1754. Moravian missionaries from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania visited Germantown in 1743 and 1748 and wrote these descriptions. Germantown "is like a village in Germany, in which the houses are far apart. It is situated along a little creek called Licken Run. The little village is settled with Reformed miners from Nassau-Siegen. They live very quietly together and are nice people." After preaching to them, "several nice and intelligent men visited Brother Joseph". By 1760, Peter Hitt was the only original colonists left in Germantown. It is very likely that the old Germantown cemetery was on the Glebe land, near the parsonage, church and school. All the original 1714 colonists died at Germantown and were probably buried in this cemetery, except John Hoffman and Harman Fishback.

==comments==
Given name has also been erroneously reported to be '''Melchoir'''.

Date and place of birth have also been reported to be:

* circa 1685 (including specifically 1687) at Muesen, Nassau-Siegen (?), Westphalia (now North Rhine-Westphalia), Germany
* September 2, 1695 at Muesen, Nassau-Siegen (?), Westphalia (now North Rhine-Westphalia), Germany

Date and place of death have also been (erroneously?) reported to be 1746 at Germantown, Fauquier County, Virginia.

==links==
* http://www.germanna.org/original_settlers
* https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Brumbach-4

see also:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanna

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Melchoir BRUMBACH Sex: M Birth: ABT 1685 in Muesen, Germany Death: ABT 1735 in Germantown, Fauquier Co, VA

Father: Johannes BROMBACH b: MAR 1653 in Muesen, Ger Mother: Anna Margaret KEMPER b: SEP 1658 in Muesen, Ger

Marriage Maria Els FISHBACH b: 1687 in Turpbach, Ger Married: ABT 1713

Children Agnes BRUMBACH b: ABT 1715 in Germantown, Fauquier Co, VA
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* Reference: [https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-1-419166961-6-3154/melch... MyHeritage Family Trees] - [https://www.geni.com/projects/SmartCopy/18783 SmartCopy]: ''Aug 20 2019, 0:18:53 UTC''

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* Reference: [https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-1-419166961-6-3161/johan... MyHeritage Family Trees] - [https://www.geni.com/projects/SmartCopy/18783 SmartCopy]: ''Aug 20 2019, 0:18:53 UTC'' --------------------