Family History of the Matthias Brimberry and Mary Anderson Families

Origins of the Brimberry Family in the United States ''A Lifelong Work Still in Progress By Jerry Brimberry & Marion Brimberry'' Updated October 22, 2006

Introduction
In the early 1960's, this writer traced the "origins" of the Brimberry family in the United States to the union of Matthias Branberry (sic) and Mary Anderson, who wed on March 11, 1766 in historic Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church in Wilmington, Delaware. While their marriage in 1766 is used here, for ease of description, as the beginning point of the seven branches of the Brimberry family tree in the United States, Matthias' and Mary's colonial Swedish roots, in turn, have both been traced much farther back in time to the very beginning of New Sweden, the Swedish colony established by the Swedish crown on the Delaware River in 1638.  Matthias' ancestral roots, for example, have been traced to Måns Andersson and his first wife Brita, who were among the first Swedish families to settle in America. Måns and Brita Andersson arrived on the Kalmar Nyckel in 1640. Matthias Brimberry, wed at Old Swedes in 1766, was descended from their daughter, Brita Månsdotter, who wed Johann Gustafsson (c1618-c1682), a King's soldier and lieutenant of artillery at Fort Christina from the Kinnekulle area, Skaraborg län.

The 41st and 43rd Presidents of the United States, George H. W. and George W. Bush, also traced their ancestry to Måns Andersson, who is estimated to have at least 250,000 living descendants in the United States today. The reason for this digression from Matthias and Mary, wed at Old Swedes Church, a stone's throw from where the Swedish expedition landed and built Fort Christina, is to introduce unfamiliar readers with the richness of our Swedish heritage and the complexities of Swedish naming practices as well as the origins of the Brimberry surname.  While a short description of the Swedes on the Delaware and Swedish naming practices is furnished below, readers are encouraged to visit the multitude of external links provided throughout this family history for added discussion and enrichment. Keeping in mind that this site is "under construction", descendants of Matthias Brymberry and Mary Anderson and allied families are likewise urged to complete a family data sheet once available.

Toward this end, you are encouraged to revisit this site often and watch us grow during the coming months. Ultimately though, the success of this site will depend on the willingness of you and other readers to contribute materials, including photographs, as soon as those portals become available. This is a huge undertaking! Marion and I both appreciate your patience, support and own contributions to our unending family history. Jerry Brimberry, October 2006 

A Brief History of New Sweden
The history of the Brimberry family in the United States is intertwined with the establishment of a Swedish colony on the Delaware in 1638. At the time, Sweden was a major military power in Europe and its territory included much of present-day Sweden, Norway, and Finland as well as portions of modern Germany, Poland, and the Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Germany.

Influenced by the success of the English and Dutch colonies, the New Sweden Company was formed by a group of Dutch, German, and Swedish investors who persuaded Queen Christina to allow the company to establish a colony under the Swedish crown. Under this arrangement, the investors paid for the ships, supplies and other expenses while the Swedish crown provided royal sanction and a few soldiers to help defend its claim. In late 1637, the New Sweden Company's first expedition sailed from Gothenborg in the Kalmar Nyckel (the tall-ship pictured above) and a smaller sloop, the Fogel Grip. An exact replica of the sea-going tall-ship was built several years ago by the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation.

The two ships reached Delaware Bay about March 29, 1638 after a brief stop-over at Jamestown, Virginia where records show that English officials reminded the Swedish company that the English crown claimed the area to the north (territory also claimed by the Dutch).

Undetered, the New Sweden expedition entered unchartered Delaware Bay under the command of Peter Minuit. A German, Peter Minuit, had been the governor of the Dutch colony, New Netherland, from 1626 to 1631. Minuit, who joined the New Sweden Company after a dispute with his previous employers, is best remembered by his purchase of Manhattan Island from Native Americans for trinkets and beads.

The expedition built a fort on a tributary of Delaware Bay at Swedish Landing at the site of present-day Wilmington, Delaware. They named the fort Christina in honor of Sweden's twelve-year-old queen. New Sweden was the first permanent European settlement in the Delaware Valley and the colony continued to grow over the next 17 years until it was seized under the force of arms by the Dutch in 1655, who in turn, later lost New Netherlands to the English.  Between 1638-1655, twelve additional Swedish expeditions sailed to New Sweden. Altogether, eleven vessels and about 600 Swedes and Finns, including many Brimberry ancestors, reached New Sweden which spread along both banks of the Delaware River into present-day Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

For more information about the history of the Swedes on the Delaware and individual Swedish colonial ancestors of Matthias Brimberry and Mary Anderson identified elsewhere in this document, please visit Swedish Colonial Society and navigate to forefather family profiles. The narrator, who is a life member of the Swedish Colonial Society, joined the society on Måns Andersson, who as stated in the introduction to this family history, arrived with his wife and daughter, both named Brita, in 1640 on the second voyage of the Kalmar Nyckel.

It should also be noted that while the number declined significantly after the Dutch take-over, more Swedes continued to arrive and settle among their Swedish brethren along the Delaware into the early 1700's, including Matthias Brymberry's father, Christiern Brunberg, and Mary Anderson's maternal grandparent's Anders and Elizabeth Loinan. Brunberg and the Loinans appear to have arrived at or about the same time, possibly during a change of ministers at Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church in Wilmington about 1713. Upon their arrival, Brunberg, who was not yet married, and the Loinans (later Lynam), regularly attended services at Old Swedes.

This and other information contained in this brief background history of the Swedes on the Delaware has been gleaned from many sources cited in the bibliography appended to this narrative. This writer is deeply indebted to the authors of these works as well as the Swedish Colonial Society, the Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Foundation, and the Historical Society of Delaware for preserving the history of the Swedes on the Delaware. However, all of us are especially indebted to Dr. Peter Stebbins Craig for researching, publishing and making readily available biographical information about many colonial Swedes, including important material cited in this document---without which the colonial roots of the Brimberry family would be incomplete. A retired attorney, Dr. Craig is the official historian for the Swedish Colonial Society, a post he has gained through year's of careful, painstaking scholarly research of records in Sweden as well as the United States. His seminal work, The 1693 Census of the Swedes on the Delaware, should be a part of every member of the Brimberry family's personal library.

Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church
Any history of the Swedes on the Delaware, however brief, would be incomplete without a short description of Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church, one of five Swedish churches established by the Swedes along the Delaware in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey.

Built in 1698, Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church is reputedly the oldest church in continuous use in the United States. The cemetery surrounding the church contains the mortal remains of many of our Swedish forebearers, including Matthias Brimberry's parents, Christiern Brunberg (1684-1752) and Maria Peterson (1699-1750) who were also wed at Old Swedes Church in 1719. In 2000, descendants of Matthias Brimberry (1799-1854) and Elizabeth Minton (1809-about 1860) placed a monument in Old Swedes Churchyard dedicated to the memory of Christiern Brunberg and Maria Peterson. The upright monument is the white vertical shape in the foreground of the photograph to the right near the south entrance to the church.

Most, but not all, of our Swedish ancestors lived near and attended Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church in Wilmington, Delaware. Some were members of Gloria Dei (Old Swedes) Church in Philadelphia. A few belonged to the Swedish church built across the Delaware River from Wilmington in Penns Neck, New Jersey. Readers are encouraged to learn more about these and other Swedish churches via The Eight Old Swedes' Churches of New Sweden by Rev. Dr. Kim-Eric Williams New Sweden Center, Wilmington, DE 1999. Republished with the author's permission by the Swedish Colonial Society, the publication can be seen online by clicking and navigating Churches of New Sweden

The Brimberry Family DNA Project
The BRIMBERRY DNA Project was established to create a databank of DNA profiles of Brimberry males and their lineage from Christiern Brunberg (1684-1752) and Maria Peterson (1699-1750). For additional information about Y-DNA and mtDNA testing, click Family Tree DNA.

Briefly, Y-DNA is passed down through an unbroken male lineage from father to son and changes very slowly over many generations. mtDNA, on the otherhand, is passed down through the generations from mother to daughter and likewise changes very slowly over time. Sons also receive their mother's mtDNA; however, they cannot pass it down. Daughters though do not receive their father's Y-DNA.

Recognizing the immense value of DNA testing as a genealogical research tool, Marion E. Brimberry and this writer, Jerry L. Brimberry, initiated the Brimberry project two years ago. As expected, our Y-DNA matched although genealogical research shows our most common recent ancestor (MCRA) was Matthias Brymberry (1736-about 1810) who wed Mary Anderson at Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church in Wilmington, Delaware in 1766.

Since then, we have confirmed two so-called adoption lines, i.e., Brimberry males who are not genetically descended from Matthias Brymberry but are instead descended from step-sons who were conferred the Brimberry surname more than 150 years ago by their adoptive Brimberry step-fathers.

We have also discovered several distant genetic cousins with whom we probably share a common direct male ancestor of Viking descent who lived between 1400-1600, possibly in the vicinity of Luebeck, Germany near the border of Denmark and only a short ferry ride across the Baltic Sea to the southern tip of Sweden.

Suffice that results for Y-DNA project participants show that the ancestors of our most common direct male ancestor (MCRA) belonged to the Old Norse or Viking Y-DNA haplogroup. Likewise, mtDNA results for two female mtDNA participants (one descended from John Brimberry and Agness Beethe who wed in Bourbon Co., Kentucky in 1796; the other descended from Isaac Brimberry and Mary Beethe who wed in Bourbon Co. in 1797) show that the ancestral roots of their most common direct female ancestress, Sarah Beethe (wife of Indian captive James Beethe and the mother of sisters Agness and Mary Beethe)were in modern Germany.

ORIGIN OF CHRISTIERN BRUNBERG AND HIS SURNAME Christiern Brunberg was born in the province of Halland, Sweden, and came to America about 1711. He appears to have been educated and may have been a member of a similiarly named shipping and trading family in Varberg on the west coast of Sweden south of Gothenburg. The Brunsberg family of Varberg is known to have moved there in the 1500s from Lübeck during the height of the Hanseatic League which saw trade and people moving freely across modern borders around the Baltic Sea which during the 1600s became a "Swedish lake". The mercantile league began in 1241 following a mutual protection treaty between Luebeck and Hamburg. Located on the Trave River, near the Baltic Sea, Lübeck played a leading role throughout the course of the medieval Haseatic League which at its pinnacle had over 100 member cities.

The origins in Luebeck of the educated, upper-class Brun family which built an estate high on a hill or berg (called Brunsberg) overlooking Varberg comports with the fact that, although we usually identify the Vikings with modern Denmark, Sweden and Norway, the entire Baltic region was populated a thousand years ago by Norsemen or Vikings. Moreover, an individual surnamed Brown recently matched the Brimberry Y-DNA group. The possibility that his Brown's orginated in Germany suggests that he may be descended from the Brun family of Lübeck.

In Swedish, the "g" at the end of Gothenburg and Christiern's surname both have a "y" sound. Hence various changes occurred in spelling over the next 125 years. Interestingly, the "y" and "g" were both used interchangeably in the spelling of his surname in Christiern Brunberg's will in 1752.

Variations in the spelling of the surname include BRUNBERG, BRUNSBERG, BRYNBERG, BRANBERRY, BRUMBERRY, BROOMBERRY, BRYMBERRY. To avoid confusion, Brimberry is used herewith, but readers should be aware that early records contained variant spellings.

Matthias Brymberry's Swedish Ancestors
The parents of Matthias Brymberry (Christiern Brunberg and Maria Peterson) were wed at Old Swedes Church Wilmington, Delaware in 1719.

The roots of Matthias' father, Christiern, in the province of Halland in Sweden are discussed above. While Christiern's connection, if any, with the Brunsberg family of Varberg are unproven at this juncture, it is certain that in his own father's time, Halland lan was part of Denmark. The Danes lost Halland to the Swedes in the battle of Varberg in 1670, which certainly would have been witnessed by the Brun family from the safety of Brunsberg---their estate overlooking the port city and 13th century Danish-built fortress pictured above.

What compelled Christiern Brunberg to come to America, long after the Delaware region fell under English control, is unknown. Perhaps it was a sense of adventure on the part of a young man then about 27 years-old. We know from extant Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) records translated by Horace Burr, Courtland B. and Ruth L. Springer, et al that Christiern could read and write and he was  instrumental in establishing a school in his home. We also know that he frequently attended religious services and received communion at Old Swedes Church.

Church records and his last will and testament also reveal the names of Christiern's children and their spouses. We also know that he died at the age of 68 following a "haartique" and that his will devised that his youngest son, Matthias, then 16, be "lett out" to a trade. As it turned out, the trade was wagon-making, a craft which Matthias in turn handed down to his oldest son, Peter, and in turn to his grandson and namesake, Matthais, this writer's male ancestors. The above engraving depicts a wagon maker boring a hole for an axle, a task that the first Matthias Brymberry and his son Peter and grandson Matthias would have often performed.

Much more is know about the roots of Maria Peterson, wife of Christiern Brunberg. Maria Peterson, who was 20 when she wed 35 year old Christiern Brunberg, was the daughter of Matthias Peterson and Elizabeth Justis. Maria's paternal grandfather, Samuel Petersson was from Fryksande in Varmland, Sweden. He arrived on the "Oren" in 1654. Around 1665, he married Brita Jonsdottor. Maria's maternal grandfather, Johan Gustaffson (Justis), a King's soldier from the Kinnekulle area of Skaraborg, arrived in New Sweden in 1643 and, as reported elsewhere, in 1654 married Brita Månsdotter, daughter of Måns and Brita Anderson.

Mary Anderson's Swedish Ancestors
to be continued: jlbrimberry/10-22-06

Matthias and Mary's Seven Sons
THE SEVEN SONS OF MATTHIAS BRIMBERRY AND MARY ANDERSON form the seven branches of the Brimberry family. They were:


 * 1) Peter Brimberry (1767-c.1831) m. Dicey Walker 1790 Washington Co., VA
 * 2) Jacob Brimberry (1768-c.1823) m. Jane Cunningham 1808 Indiana Territory
 * 3) Joseph Brimberry (1770-1820/30) m. in KY or IL, last appeared Ouchita Pr., LA
 * 4) John Brimberry (1772-1830/40) m. Agness Beethe 1797 Bourbon Co., KY
 * 5) Isaac Brimberry (1775-1847) m. Mary Beethe 1798 Bourbon Co., KY
 * 6) William Brimberry (1778-c.1836), m. Catherine Duggins 1807 Wilkinson Co., MS
 * 7) Samuel Brimberry (1785-1837) m. Mary Jones 1816 Crawford Co., KY

In some respects, it has been easier to trace Matthias and Mary's ancestors than it has been to trace the footsteps of their sons as they moved about the frontier. The couple moved with Mary's family to Orange Co., NC in 1768; thence to Washington Co., VA in 1785, the same year son Jacob signed a petition at Ft. Boonesborough, KY. During this period, they were often accompanied or joined other Swedish kin (Anderson, Lynam, Stalcup, Hendricks).

Jacob, John, Joseph, Isaac and Samuel are subsequently found in Kentucky by 1791 and Illinois by 1813. Peter, who like his father before him, was a wagon maker and moved from SW Virginia to Greenville Co., SC where he lived out his life. His brothers, Joseph, John and William are also found in early Greenville Co., SC records.

William eventually settled along the Ouchita River in LA by 1810 and served in a La. Voluntary Infantry Regiment at the Battle of New Orleans. By 1830, he was joined in northern Louisiana by his brothers, Joseph and John, who moved there from Illinois. Isaac and Samuel, who was a captain in the Black Hawk Indian War, moved to Texas from Illinois when Texas was still a part of Mexico. Jacob apparently died or was killed by river pirates as he transported produce on a flatboat enroute to New Orleans from Illinois on the Mississippi River.

Peter's children all moved to Georgia; some remaining there, others westward to Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas. Through out all of these movements it appears that the brothers maintained contact with one another. Their constant search for land or a better life, and overlapping presence in the same locations, has caused confusion and presents questions which the Brimberry DNA project strives to answer.

KNOWN ADOPTION LINES: (1) Jacob Brimberry's son, John, married Margaret Higgins who had a son by Leonard Simons. John was a veteran of the Black Hawk War in Illinois and his stepson, also named Leonard, adopted the Brimberry surname. (2) Jacob Brimberry's son, Joseph, and Joseph's wife Nancy Jones reared three children of Clarissa Seaney and William Fuller. "Orphaned" Perry adopted the Brimberry surname and enlisted in the Union army in another man's place at the age of 15. (3) Peter Brimberry's son, William, owned a slave named John who adopted William's surname. The former slave, John Brimberry, was born in Rockbridge, VA and lived to be 106 years old (1800-1906). His descendants live in South Georgia and Florida. The DNA of male descendants of these "adoption" lines will therefore not match that of male descendants of Christiern Brunberg.

The descendants of these surname-adoption lines are still viewed as much a part of the Brimberry family history as anyone else. While we may not share the same genes, we nevertheless share the same family history!