The Swiss Family Probst and The American Family Brobst

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The Swiss Family Probst and
The American Family Brobst

The Swiss Family Probst

The American Brobst family traces back into the 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".

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 border of Alsace, 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 Washing ton 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 immigration 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". (Preposterous!)


This page was last updated on Monday, 21-Feb-2011 18:18:46 MST
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