In the mid-1800s, five brothers named Brümleve made their way from the tiny village of Lengerich, near Lingen in Northern Germany, to the port of New Orleans in the United States. Three of these brothers, Leo, Anton, and Bernard, settled in Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky. Two others, Clemens and Aloysius, made their homes in Teutopolis, Effingham County, Illinois. Another three brothers, Benedict, Johann Bernard, and Philipp, married and raised their children in the German village of their birth. This single nuclear family accounts for nearly all Americans and Germans surnamed Brumleve and Brümleve today!
A book published in 1996 is the result of years of full-time scholarly study, including time spent on location in Louisville, Teutopolis, and Lengerich:
A Family Abroad: Aloysius Brümleve of Lengerich and his Brothers
by D.A. Brumleve, M.A. (350p.+)
The book provides a detailed biography of the father of this family, Bernard Johann Franziskus Brümleve, and of each of his sons. From the floorplan of the home in which the brothers were born to the will that changed Benedict's profession overnight, from Clemens' passport and the reason he gave for emigrating from Germany to the trip Aloysius made to visit his brothers in Louisville, from the letter that told Leo's bride it was time to join him to the purchase of cloth to make Bernard a winter coat, each biography brings you a real person, a genuine history, not merely a name and some dates. Each chapter is supported by illustrations, including photographs, maps, floorplans, and artifacts. The research is documented in detail, with same-page footnotes and a bibliography listing hundreds of documents and publications. The index contains over 3500 individuals. Each biography is accompanied by a uniquely easy-to-understand chart, designed by the author, showing each brother's descendants through to his grandchildren, complete with citations of sources for all information provided. Appendices explore earlier members of the family, including two 16th-Century priests, and other Brümleves who immigrated to America. The author is a professional writer, fluent in German, with expertise in archaic scripts and historical research. The book is designed to survive for generations; it is printed on archival quality paper and handbound with cloth covers.
Copies of the book are currently (July 2001) available. Please contact the author at the new email address provided below.
A genealogy chart through to Bernard Johann Franziskus Brümleve's great-grandchildren is linked to this home page. It provides a listing of the members of the family in order of their descent, complete with their vital statistics. (The facts are the same as in the descendants charts in the book, though the presentation is different, and the vital statistics of the spouses have been omitted; for the sake of brevity, the documentation is also omitted.) An alphabetical list of descendants including their spouses is also available here. It is hoped that these reports will help modern-day descendants determine their path of descent and identify the Brümleve brother whom they can call Grandpa. The author welcomes correspondence from our cousins!
For a retrospective on the Brumleve Family Grand Reunion, held on July 21, 2001, in Teutopolis Illinois, please go to <http://www.brumleve.org/reunion.htm>
These pages include photos of the immigrant generation, a virtual tour of an immigrant Brumleve's home, a storyteller's version of the Brumleve immigration story, and more!
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