Part 159b – Brunhammer Doherty Genealogy – 1869-1930 Great-Grandfather Eugène Brunhammer

Afternoon,

The presents are wrapped, but I forgot the labels. And true to form I wrapped all the presents in the same type of paper. It's a grab-bag Christmas.

Written in Part 92b, 7-year old great-grandfather Eugène Brunhammer accompanied his mother, great-great-grandmother Marie and his four brothers and sister across the Atlantic Ocean aboard the Amérique. He was born in Dornach, a small town on the outskirts of Mulhouse, which today is, I believe considered a suburb of Mulhouse. Mulhouse is in the Alsace region of France almost at the French, German, and Swiss borders. (See Part 138b).

To date I have not been able to find a birth registration, civil or parochial near 1869 for great-grandfather Eugène Brunhammer. We know he existed. We can follow his life from about when he left Dornach across the Atlantic Ocean, to Philadelphia and Gloucester City, to Ware in Massachusetts and then to where he finally settled in Wilmington, Delaware.

All-things-being-equal, and from the records obtained, Eugène was the second son of Jacques (aka Jacob) and Marie (aka Mary) (née Katz) Brunhammer, (possibility Bruhammer). Follow the key events of his life as I map them from about 1869 to 15 April 1930.

The first map, created in Ancestral Atlas, is a general overview plotted through the years from France to the United States. The green marker is the location of his birth, circa 1869 and the red marker is the location where he is recorded to have lived per the 1930 US Census.

The next map is an enlarged and more detailed map connecting Dornach to Le Havre. There is no evidence of the route the family took from Dornach and Mulhouse in the Alsace region to Le Havre, but we do have the Passenger Manifest from the Amérique which did sail from Havre. (See Part 92b.)

The calculated straight-line distance from Mulhouse to Le Havre is 351.7 miles or 566 Kilometers. This would have been the first leg of the journey, and this is not necessarily the actual distance traveled. The trip across the Atlantic Ocean would have approximated 3,600 miles, about 5,800 kms, and it may have been longer as the ship may have landed at Plymouth in England and at New York in the Unites States.

The third map is one that shows his actual journey arriving at the Port of Philadelphia, traveling to Gloucester City, New Jersey; Ware, Massachusetts; and Wilmington, Delaware.

The upper blue marker near Philadelphia represents the ship’s arrival at the Port on the 17th of May 1876. The family must have lived there for some period of time in and around Philadelphia about 1877 as that was the year that Brother, great-granduncle Harry, the first American Brunhammer is ascribed to have been born.

The lower blue marker, right between the texts of Philadelphia and Cherry Hill on the map, marks the 9 June 1880 US Census and the 1885 New Jersey State Census location of Gloucester City, New Jersey where the family spears to have settled. And as there is no 1890 US Census available, due to being destroyed in a fire, the next blue marker in the upper right-hand of the inserted map marks the location where great-grandfather Eugène lived in Ware, Massachusetts on the 18th of June 1900.

The next inserted image is a further enlargement of the map showing the Philadelphia, Gloucester City, and Wilmington markers.

By 22 April 1910, great-grandfather Eugène had already moved his family from Massachusetts to Delaware. From the 1910 US Census of Wilmington, in the County of New Castle, his youngest daughter, grandaunt Anne Cecelia is enumerated at 5 years old. From our records we know that she was born in Wilmington 8 December 1904. Therefore the trip and move from Ware must have occurred sometime between June of 1900 and December of 1904.

The last inserted map shows in detail the streets that great-grandfather Eugène lived on over the passing of 20 years, as recorded in the subsequent 1910, 1920, and 1930 US Censuses.

On the 22th of April, 1910 he lived at 1828 N. Union Street. On the 6th of January, 1920 he had moved nearby to 1807 Shallcross Avenue, and on the 15th of April 1930 he lived at 829 Van Buren Street. All three locations are about within one mile in Wilmington, near Brandywine Park.

I may have more data and paperwork relating to great-grandfather Eugène Brunhammer, but that’s the organization of paperwork that I now pre-maturely make as my first New Year’s resolution.

Enjoy, and Merry Christmas Brunhammers,

Jim