Hi Barbara,

Great to hear from another Breniser descendant! I took a look at your page; you've done a lot of fine work, but I must caution you about connecting "our" John Jacob Brenneisen as a child of Hans Valentine Brenneisen. This has never been proven, and, according to German church records, John Jacob was the son of George Michael Brenneisen who came over on the same ship as Hans Valentine. John Jacob named his first son John Michael (which strongly suggests a tie with George Michael). Also, the book Eighteenth Century Emigrants from German-speaking Lands to North America (by Annette Burgert, published by the PA German Society in 1983) shows a John Jacob, b. 8-12-1729 in Sinsheim Germany, as the son of Georg Michael Brenneisen, who had m. 11-23-1723 Anna Margretha Klein. These marriage and birth dates come from the Lutheran Church register in Sinsheim, Germany! There is also a note in the church register that George Michael (who was b. 12-9-1702, the son of Hans Georg Brenneisen and Ann Ursala [maiden name unknown]) "went to Pennsylvania 4-2-1730." With all of this documentation, I think a strong case has been made that our John Jacob was not the son of Hans Valentine, but was rather the son of George Michael.
Joan Berkey