The Brand Family

LOCATION: Bremen * (Riensberg)

The Ancestors of Gretje BRAND
(ancestor of Gesche Helmers) ) -- click on links for information about individual families
Gretje BRAND
oo
(Hermann VON BÜREN)
Daniel BRAND d. Ä
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(Wubbeke VON GRÖPELINGEN
Heinrich BRAND
Johann BRAND
Johann BRAND
Johann BRAND
Johann BRAND
Grete GRÖNING
   
 
Wommele
VON WERVE
    
 

     Johann BRAND became a citizen in Bremen in 1311, six years after his father, Johann, died (on Beatustage 1305). The younger Johann's son, also Johann, and his wife Wommele VON WERVE became citizens in Bremen in 1332. Johann and Wommele's two sons, Daniel and Johann, both became wealthy men in Bremen founding two "branches" of the family. Johann became a Bremen citizen in 1361, was elected to the city council in 1364, and mayor in 1390. He donated altars for Dom chapels and contributed to programs for the poor. In 1391 he endowed a festival to take place yearly on his name day, May 5th, in the Dom. (After bell-ringing, organ music, and singing of vespers came a procession. He stipulated that the costs should come from income from some of his lands. Canons receive half a mark, 3 Grote for candles, 4 Grote for bells, the undercustodian got 1 Grote, also leaders of the choir, and 2 Grote for the cleric of the sleepingroom (?) and for the bell-ringer.) In 1379 he bought half of a fortified estate close to Bremen, Riensberg. He died in April 1405, and was buried in the Dom, his 27 x 35" stone epitaph carved into the gallery wall. (Now it's with other fragements in a room in the south tower of the Dom.) The text is in Latin, roughly translated:

Think whenever you celebrate the festival of Vitalis the Martyr
Please, of Johann Brand in all future years,
That God's son be inclined to him in mercy!
A thousand years had passed and four hundred more,
When he departed in the Lord in the fifth.

In this grave now rest his earthly bones.
Rich in worldly property, he loved the poor and gave,
And so he gave drink to one and clothed another and fed
Others richly and often, truly according to God's command.
He did not neglect to study the Holy Writ.

Human praise was nothing to him, if he didn't please the Lord.
He has gone to rest indeed, to the divine heavenly host,
Do not see black death after days of anger,
Eternal life happy, that gives him mercy.
Allow him this, Lord, you who are three and one,
Son and Father and Spirit, who is with the suffering, amen!

      The Brand coat of arms consists of a divided shield, on the right three roses, on the left diagonal lines. In the catalogue of coats of arms of Ratsherren and Bürgermeisters there are 23 instances of this design for Brands from 1392 to 1477, with only slight variations.
      Johann had a son Heinrich as well as an illegitimate daughter, Beke, who became a citizen of Bremen in 1393. Very little is known about Heinrich, but his son Daniel (the elder) was a leading citizen in Bremen. In 1410 he had property worth 700 Bremen Marks, in 1420, worth 1000. Dec. 8, 1427, he solidified the Riensberg property for the family by purchasing another fourth of it. (The remaining fourth stayed in the possession of the squires of Riensberg until 1440, when it was sold to Hinrich Wulf, who gave it to his two daughters, Gesche and Haske. Gesche was married to Johann Zierenberg, Haske to Henrich Scharhaar. The property remained in their families until about 1600 when it was sold to the same family that the Brands sold their three-fourths to at about the same time.) In 1426 Daniel Brand had been elected to the city council, and became involved in a city revolution from 1426-33, during which he "withdrew" from the city (along with 6 other members of the Rat and both Bürgermeisters, Dirich Scharhaar and Hermann von Gröpelingen) to get help to restore the old Rat. His property in Bremen was confiscated by the new Rat. (eg, in 1431, the new Rat sold to another citizen the quarter of the Gaffelmühle that had belonged to Daniel Brand.) In 1430, he sold his quarter of land in Wiedbrook to get cash. In 1433 he returned to Bremen and the Rat (where he served until 1460), and got his property (including the Gaffelmühle) back, plus damages. In April 1435, because the Rat needed money after the revolution, he and wife Wubbeke (VON GRÖPELINGEN) "rented" from the Rat the right to Schloß and Herrschaft Stotel for 10 years for 600 florin.
      Daniel and Wubbeke had at least 6 children, 5 sons and a daughter. Sons Daniel and Otto added "zum Riensberg" to their names, and Otto bought the estate from his widowed mother and siblings. His heirs continued to own the property until after 1589, when the last male heir died without heirs and it was sold. (Today it seems to belong to the city of Bremen and since WWII houses the Focke Museum.) Otto's brother Johann married the daughter of a wealthy merchant and owned another estate, Borgfeld. In 1457, their brother Didrich became a leader (Komtur) of the Bremen branch of the Teutonic Knights (which means the family was "ritterbürtig" -- eligible for knighthood). He served as a Brother of the Teutonic Knights in what is now Estonia, using his own money to help the order. Their sister, Gretje, married Hermann VON BÜREN, elder of the merchants in Bremen.

Johann * Johann * Johann * Johann * Heinrich * Daniel

First Generation

1. Johann BRAND. 1 Johann died on Beatustage, 1305.

Johann married Grete GRÖNING 1 . (still living in 1302) Their child:

Second Generation

2. Johann BRAND. 1 Resided in Bremen.
Children:

Third Generation

3. Johann BRAND. 1 Resided in Bremen. Johann married Wommele VON WERVE 1 . 1374: her sons identified as nephews of Giselbert von Werve. They had the following children: 4. Ecbert BRAND. 1 1347: witnesses in a document: Johann Brand and Ecbert his brother

Fourth Generation

5. Daniel BRAND. 1 Resided in Bremen. Daniel married Gertrud 1 . her guardian before 63 Hinrik Gröning 12 Their child: 6. Johann BRAND. 1 Johann died in 1405. Resided in Bremen. Occupation: Bürgermeister (Kaufmann?). Johann married ? 1 . Their child:

He also had one illegitimate child: 1

Fifth Generation

7. Johann BRAND. 1 Occupation: Ratmann. Johann married Könke 12 . Their child: 8. Heinrich BRAND. 1 Child: 9. Beke BRAND. 1 Resided in Bremen. 1393 Bürger, Bremen

Sixth Generation

10. Daniel BRAND d.J. 1 Daniel died in 1477 in Breman (St. Ansgari). Resided in Bremen. Occupation: Ratmann, Bürgermeister. Post said he had two daughters, Metta, wife of Claus von Rheden, and Wommel, wife of Henrich von Rheden .. but doubtful, (also not a son Gottfried, who became Ratmann in 1488 and died in 1524)

11. Daniel BRAND d. Ä. 2 Daniel died in 1467. (or did he die in 1475? 1 ) Occupation: Ratmann. (Brand family, 400-year history). 3

Daniel married Wubbeke VON GRÖPELINGEN 1 . (as widow, sold her half of the three-fourths of Riensberg to her son Otto, who bought the other half in 1469 from his brother Didrich.) They had the following children:

Seventh Generation

12. Daniel BRAND zum Riensberg. 1 Daniel died in 1530. not well off, for a Brand (1485, property only 100 BM taxes?) Children: 13. Heinrich BRAND. 1 Resided in Bremen. 1475: either he or his nephew Heinrich Brand, son of Johann Brand, took part in the unfortunate battle by Moorriem against the Oldenburger? 1485: his widow sold an annuity from a house he got in 1459 on Steffensstadt, where he lived

14. Otto BRAND zum Riensberg. 1 bought his widowed mother's half of the three-fourths of Riensberg, and bought the other half in 1469 from his brother Didrich. --> standing family home. (remaining fourth eventually to Ratmann Hinrich Wulf, then half inherited by Hibbel Starke, and then to Cord Zierenberg's children, April 22, 1599), then sold to the Schönes. Big fight over the remaining eighth .. finally to Bürgermeister Erich Hoyer, whose heirs, son Diedrich and son-in-law Ratmann Hinrich Swechhusen, sold it Jan. 13, 1600 also to Albert Schöne.

Otto married Kerstine SCHARMBEKE 1 , daughter of Johann SCHARMBEKE. They had the following children:

15. Didrich BRAND. 1 1457 Komtur of the Deutschordensniederlassung in Bremen (which means the family was "ritterbürtig") (Brother of the German Order in Livland) .. used his own money to help the order.

16. Johann BRAND. 1 Johann died in 1465. Occupation: Kaufmann.

In 1449 Johann married Gretke VON DER HUDE 1 , daughter of Hinrich VON DER HUDE & Gesche DETTENHUSEN. Gretke died in 1518. They had the following children: 17. Gretje BRAND. 2 Gretje died ? 1473. (or did her father-- or mother -- die in 1473?) inherited in 1475 Herzogenkamp in Horn from her mother Wubbeke, bought by her great-grandfather, Bürgermeister Johann Brand in 1360.

Gretje married Hermann VON BÜREN 2 , son of Hermann VON BÜREN & Metta VON GRÖPELINGEN. Hermann died ? 1494. Resided in Bremen. Occupation: Eltermann. They had the following children:

Eighth Generation

18. Daniel BRAND. 1 (died young)

19. Heinrich BRAND. 1

20. Metta BRAND. 1 In 1503 Metta married Claus VON HORN 1 , son of Knappe Claus VON HORN.

21. Daniel BRAND zum Riensberg. 1 Daniel died bef 1530. Nov 29, 1512, complained (successfully) that his uncle, Borcherd Schermbeke, was trying to sell property in Süderbrok in Stedingerland belonging to him and his brother Johann (without their mother's approval.) Nov. 11, 1519, bought the Trentmoor by Borgfeld from squires Claus von Otterstedt and Claus von Bargtorf for 18 BM. Testament dated March 20, 1522. (only children named are Daniel and "natural son" Otto) Jan. 5, 1530, Ratmann Johann Brand (his brother?) contested in name of his (the late Daniel's) children the attempt of the widow of his uncle, Borchert Schermbeke to sell property in Stedingerlande.

Daniel married ?? 1 . (at husband's death, received 100 rh. fl. plus 100 fl that she had brought to him, and life-long use of her dowery (?) in Stedingerlande.) They had the following children:

He also had one illegitimate child 1 : 22. Johann BRAND zum Riensberg d J. 1 Occupation: Ratmann? 23. Heinrich BRAND. 1 Born in 1451. Heinrich died ? 1475; he was 24. 24. Johann BRAND d Ä. 1 Born in 1453. Johann died in 1515; he was 62. Occupation: Kaufmann. 1475: may have also (with his brother?) taken part in the battle by Moorriem against the Oldenburger? ended up with both quarters of the Gericht Borgfeld.

In 1486 when Johann was 33, he married Tibbeke (Beke) SCHARMBEKE 1 , daughter of Hinrich SCHARMBEKE. They had the following children:

25. Daniel VON BÜREN. 2 Daniel died on 4 Apr 1541 in Bremen. Resided in Bremen. Occupation: Bürgermeister. Widowed Daniel second married Metta SPARENBERG 2 . (related to Johann Sparenberg, Rathsherr July 1487, died 1531?) 4 They had the following children:
26. Hermann VON BÜREN. 1

Ninth Generation

27. Daniel BRAND. 1 Daniel died (young).

28. Knappe (Squire) Johann BRAND zu Riensberg. 1 Born in 1522. Johann died aft 1589; he was at least 67.

Johann married Maria VON HORN 1 , daughter of Knappe Claus VON HORN.

29. Christina BRAND. 1 Oct. 26, 1545: after death of husband, somehow was able to sell the Brand 3/4 of Riensberg to Dietrich von Horn.

Christina married Bernhard BIESTERFELD 1 . Bernhard died ? 1545. Occupation: Dombaumeister. They had the following children:

30. Otto BRAND. 1

31. Johann BRAND d J. 1 Johann died in 1531. Occupation: Ratmann.

In 1517 Johann married Metke SCHERER 1 , daughter of Olding SCHERER. Metke died bef 1531. They had the following children: 32. Daniel BRAND. 1 Daniel died in 1516/7 (young).

33. Lucke BRAND. 1 Lucke died (young). In 1511 Lucke married Evert SPECKHAN 1 . Occupation: Kaufherr.

34. Eilke BRAND. 1 In 1526 Eilke married Heinrich KREYE 1 .

35. Becka VON BÜREN. 2 Born in Bremen. Becka died on 3 Sep 1607 in Bremen.

In 1562 Becka married Cord KENKEL 2 , son of Cord KENKEL & Gesche ZIERENBERG. Cord died on 12 Jan 1564 in Bremen. Resided in Bremen. Occupation: Ratsherr. Their child:

36. Daniel VON BÜREN d.J. Born on 23 Jun 1512. 4 Daniel died on 10 Jul 1593; he was 81. 4 Buried on 15 Jul 1593 in Bremen.

Daniel married the daughter of Johann VON BORCKEN. Their child:

Tenth Generation

37. Henning BIESTERFELD. 1 Henning died bef 1644. Dr. jur. March 24, 1599: sold (with sisters) Riensberg to Albert Schöne -- hereditarily. (Schöne family kept until 1792, when it went through marriage to the Post family, who lived there until they died out in 1913. In 1944 = the "Landhaus Horn." (Johann Schlüter, Feb. 2, 1644, said in a document that his late father-in-law Dr. Henning Biesterfeld's late mother, Christina Brand, wife of the late Bernhard Bisterveld, Baumeister at the cathedral, was the daughter of Daniel Brand, owner of Riesenberg.) They had one child.

38. Gesche BIESTERFELD. 1

39. Liesabeth BIESTERFELD. 1

40. Johann BRAND. 1 Born in 1518. Johann died in 1574; he was 56. Occupation: Kaufmann, Eltermann, Ratmann.

In 1538 when Johann was 20, he married Gesche MEIER 1 , daughter of Johann MEIER. Born in 1516. Gesche died in 1595; she was 79. They had the following children: 41. Daniel BRAND. 1 Born in 1521. Daniel died in 1544; he was 23. Went down with an English warship (?)

42. Joachim BRAND. 1 Born in 1522. Joachim died in 1571; he was 49. Occupation: Kaufmann, Eltermann. agreed with Johann in Hardenburger strife. 1562 Eltermann

In 1559 when Joachim was 37, he married Gretje REINERS 1 , daughter of Brun REINERS. Gretje died in 1620. They had the following children:

43. Heinrich BRAND. 1 Heinrich died in 1569. orthodoz zealot, supporter of the 1562 "withdrawn" .. went with them. but returned and was put into Steffens prison and died trying to escape (? drowned in moat after letting himself down on bed sheets?)

44. Olding BRAND. 1 Born in 1524. Olding died in 1553; he was 29. July 21, 1552 .. complained with Heinrich and Gretke before the Rat against their guardians .. for their inheritance, since they were old enough. died unmarried

45. Gretje BRAND. 1 Born in 1526. Gretje died in 1564; she was 38. Gretje married Johann KENKEL 1 . Born in Verden. Occupation: Bürgermeister.

46. Gesche KENKEL. 2 Born in Bremen.

In 1570 Gesche married Tileman ZERNEMANN 2 , son of Tileman ZERNEMANN & Catharina VON RODE, in Bremen.7 Born on 8 Oct 1536 in Rostock. 7 Resided in Bremen. Occupation: Dr. b. R. They had the following children:

47. Daniel VON BÜREN. 4 Daniel died on 6 Mar 1608. Rathsherr April 9, 1597, May 23, 1597 Bürgermeister JUD, canon zu Willhadi.

Eleventh Generation

48. ? BIESTERFELD. 1 ? married Johann SCHLÜTER 1 . (Johann Schlüter, Feb. 2, 1644, said in a document that his late father-in-law Dr. Henning Biesterfeld's late mother, Christina Brand, wife of the late Bernhard Bisterveld, Baumeiste at the cathedral, was the daughte of Daniel Brand, owner of Riesenberg.)

49. Johann BRAND. 1 Born in 1540. Johann died in Bremen in 1591; he was 51. Occupation: doktor der Rechte.

In 1572 when Johann was 32, he first married Wubbeke WITTENBORG 1 . Wubbeke died in 1577. (died of the plague) They had the following children: Johann second married Eltge SCHAPERS 1 , in Loppersum. Born in Loppersum. went to live with daughters in Holland (Johann back to Bremen with his mother) They had the following children: 50. Hibel BRAND. 1 Born in 1541. Hibel died in 1613; she was 72. In 1563 when Hibel was 22, she married Gideon EGGELING 1 . Occupation: Kanzler and Dekan zu St. Ansgari.

51. Metta BRAND. 1 Born in 1544. Metta died in 1625; she was 81. In 1572 when Metta was 28, she married Robert HAKE 1 . Occupation: Dekan von Willehadi-Stephani, Vizekanzler.

52. Daniel BRAND. 1 Born in 1547. Daniel died in 1617; he was 70.

In 1590 when Daniel was 43, he married Christina VON EITZEN 1 , daughter of Christoph VON EITZEN. Christina died in 1619. They had no children.

53. Beke BRAND. 1 Born in 1549. Beke died in 1602; she was 53. In 1584 when Beke was 35, she married Johann TRUPE 1 . Occupation: Ratmann. They had no children.

54. Wommel BRAND. 1 Born in 1550. Wommel died in 1627; she was 77. lived unmarried in somewhat limited circumstances at the Bucksburg

55. Eilke BRAND. 1 Born in 1551. Eilke died in 1607; she was 56. In 1593 when Eilke was 42, she married Lüder HILMERS 1 . Occupation: Eltermann. They had no children.

56. Lucke BRAND. 1 Born in 1554. Lucke died in 1624; she was 70. lived unmarried in somewhat limited circumstances at the Bucksburg

57. Gesche BRAND. 1 Born in 1559. Gesche died in 1610; she was 51. lived unmarried in somewhat limited circumstances at the Bucksburg

58. Bruno BRAND. 1 Born in 1560. Bruno died in 1630; he was 70.

59. Johann BRAND. 1 Born in 1563. Johann died in 1615; he was 52. Buried in Liebfrauenkirche. Occupation: Ratmann, Bürgermeister. In 1607 when Johann was 44, he married Hille STEDINGS 1 , daughter of Carsten STEDINGS. They had the following children: 60. Daniel BRAND. 1 Daniel died in 1591. died unmarried

61. Heinrich BRAND. 1 Heinrich died in 1621. Occupation: Ratmann (1620). Heinrich first married Catharina KREFTING 1 . Heinrich second married Christina STEDING 1 . (left no children)

62. Metje BRAND. 1 Metje died in 1610. Metje married Meinhard MEINERTS 1 . Occupation: pastor at St. Ansgari.

63. Anna BRAND. 1 Anna died in 1604. Anna married Dirick MONNICKHUSEN 1 .

66. Conrad ZERNEMANN. 2 Born ? 1580 in Bremen.7 Conrad died on 10 Aug 1631; he was 51. Occupation: Dekan, St. Ansgari, Bremen.

On 29 Apr 1601 when Conrad was 21, he married Wobbeke WEDEMEIER 2 , daughter of Johannes WEDEMEIER & Wolbrechta KÜHLEN. Born on 20 May 1578. Wobbeke died on 13 Jun 1632; she was 54. They had the following children:

67. Rebecca ZERNEMANN. 2

Twelfth Generation

68. Garbrecht BRAND. 1

69. Hans Joachim BRAND. 1 Hans Joachim died in 1647. also led a decadent life .. died in the Zuchthaus? Hans Joachim married Anna MÜLLER1 .

70. Daniel BRAND. 1 Daniel died young.

71. Wubke BRAND. 1 Wubke married a Dutch officer. 1

72. Sophia BRAND. 1 Sophia married a Dutch officer. 1

73. Joachim BRAND. 1 Born in 1608. Joachim died in 1673; he was 65. Buried in Liebfrauenkirche.

Joachim married Lucke ZOBEL 1 , daughter of Henrich ZOBEL. Lucke died in 1661. Their child: 74. Christian BRAND. 1 75. Erich BRAND. 1 Erich died in 1657. Buried on 16 Jan 1657 in Breman (St. Ansgari). In 1642 Erich married Margaretha MEIER 1 , daughter of Didrich MEIER. Their child: 76. Margareta BRAND. 1 Margareta married Major WILLMAN 1 .

77. Tilemann ZERNEMANN. 4 Born on 10 Jan 1607 in Bremen. Tilemann died in Emden on 18 Jun 1663; he was 56. (right parents?) married Catharina Simons thor Ham June 3, 1637 in Emden? Son Johann born Jan. 5, 1651? 7

78. Johannes ZERNEMANN. Born on 24 Oct 1609 in Bremen. Johannes died in Aurich on 9 Nov 1667; he was 58. Occupation: Kanonikus, Bremen / Hofgerichts-Assessor, Aurich. 8

On 27 Jul ( Trinity 4) 1641 when Johannes was 31, he married Catharina CHYTRAEUS 10 , daughter of Mattheus CHYTRAEUS & Helia WACHMANN, in Bremen. Born in 1618 in Bremen. 9 Catharina died in Bremen on 3 May 1650; she was 32. They had the following children:

Sources

1. Schwebel, Karl H., "Das bremische Patriziergeschlecht Brand, Herren zu Riensberg und Erbrichter von Borgfeld." in Bremisches Jahrbuch, Band 41. 1944.
2. Deutsche Geschlechterbuch, Vo. 59, pp 585ff.
3. Prange, Ruth. Die bremische Kaufmannschaft des 16. und 17. Jahrhunderts in sozialgeschichtlicher Betrachtung, 1963.
4. Rotermund. Lexikon aller Gelehrten, die seit der Reformation in Bremen gelebt haben. 1818.
5. Bippen, Wilhelm von Geschichte der Stadt Bremen Band II, 1898.
6. Schwarzwälder, Herbert. Geschichte der freien Hansestadt Bremen, Band I: Von den Anfängen bis zur Franzosenzeit (1810), 1975.
7. LDS IGI
8. de Buhr, Gerhard. Hinrich Krechting der "Kanzler" der Münsterschen Wiedertäufer
9. Glaser, Karl-Heinz et al, David und Nathan Chytraeus, Humanismus im konfessionellen Zeitalter
10. Meintgens, Achim (http://www.ahnenprog.de/meintgens/)
11. Bruns, Hilda
12. Lübcke, Erich. "Der Bremer Rat von 1225-1433.." in Der Zeitschrift für Niedersächsische Familienkubnde, XVII.


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