Revision as of 15:27, 7 November 2006

Brauer is the German word for a brewer. Michael Brey may have come from a family connected to the brewing arts. When "Brauer" is pronounced with the German gutteral "uer" ending, English speaking record keepers would have heard Brier, Bry, Bryer and Brey , all variant spellings for the family name.

Michael Brey was born 14 April, 1773 somewhere in eastern Pennsylvania. He would have lived in a German community there, and yet his family would have been aware of the news out of Philadelphia. They lived through the Revolutionary War, and with no particular ties to England may have found the cause of the Revolutionaries appealing, even though the German communities tended to live a somewhat apart because of language and customs. At present nothing is known of Michael's parents and other family in the area. By the early 1800's there were several Brey men living in southern Northampton County, which in 1812 would become Lehigh County.

Michael met and married a woman named Maria, who had been born in Germany. They appear to have been married by 1789-1793. In about 1794 they had a daughter named Hattie. [She was apparently born with some degree of retardation. She was still living with her aging parents in 1850 and was noted in the census to be an "idiot". ]

In the 1800 census, Michael and wife were living in Upper Milford township, Northampton County, with two young children, a boy and a girl under age ten. Hattie would have been about six years old. The son may have been older or younger, being born between 1790 and 1800.

(Click here to read the full biography of Michael Brey)

Immediate family in my direct ancestry

 Generation 5         Generation 6       Generation 7
 
                                     +-- [unknown]
                                     |   (????-????)  
                  +-- Michael Brey --+
                  |   (1773-1859)    |
 Elizabeth Brey --+                  +-- [unknown]
 (1808-1899)      |                      (????-????)
                  +-- Maria [Unknown]
                      (????-????)
                           

Sources:

Children

Children with [Maria Unknown]:

Places of Residence

Sources

Ref. Num.	Description	Image of original
1	1810 United States Federal Census, Whitehall Twp., Northampton Co., PA, Page 4, column 2, line 1 lists Michael Brey as the head of a household with people of the following ages: 1 male 10-15 years of age, 1 male 26-44, 1 male 45+, 3 females less than 10, 2 females 10-15, and one female 26-44. Margin notes in the census suggest that the place of residence was actually Upper Saucon and not Whitehall Twp., but ancestry.com lists the entry under Whitehall. This census page is not dated.
2	Church records for St. Paul's Lutheran Church, also known as the Blue church, Upper Saucon Twp., Lehigh Co., PA. Michael Brey is listed as sponsor at the baptism of Absalom Arnold born 5 February 1802 in Lehigh County, baptized 7 April 1802. The parents were Frederick Arnold (born before 1783) and Deborah Ziegler(born before 1786). "from a web source ID:1062369", forwarded by email
3	Church records for Jordan Reformed Congregation, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1765-1858, lists Michael Brey and Maria Brey as sponsors for the baptism of Clarissa Lehr born 15 July 1827, baptized 3 August 1827. Parents David Lehr and Maria Lehr. MyFamily.com, Inc., 2000. Records transcribed from LDS Family History Library microfilm copies of church records; see teh Family History Library Catalog (FHLC) for FHL #1671314
4	Church recordsfor St. Paul's Lutheran and Reformed Churches 1913 - 1960, RD 2 Knox, Pennsylvania by Raymond E. Hollenbach and John B. Dengler. Location Beaver Twp., Clarion County, PA Death record for Michael Brey in German, with translation. "Michael Brey was born on April 14, 1773 and died on June 8, 1859 at the very old age of 86 years, 1 month and 16 days, and he was buried in Salem." No mention is made in these church records of his wife Maria or children. Note: the reference to his burial site as Salem could refer to Salem township, but more likely to the borough of Salem, now called Lamartine. Two cemeteries near the Lamartine crossroads are Salem Lutheran, and the UCC Church cemetery. No gravestone has been located at either of these, and he is not mentioned in the records of the cemetery association for Salem Lutheran.

Source Notes

Conjecture

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