Variants: Broadbrook, Broadbrooke, Bradbrooke, Bradbrock, Broadrick, Brodrick, Broadbrooks, Broadbrookes, Brodbrook, Broderbrook, Broadbrock.
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Stephen Broadbrook of Baltimore (a 1631) and his young wife Joan, who was captured in the taking of Baltimore by pirates in 1631 and spent 15 years as a slave in Algiers, before being ransomed and returning to her husband.
They had 2 little children in 1631 and Joan was pregnant at the time. These children either remained or died in Algiers.
Before continuing I must clarify my Broadbrook link. At the commencement of my genealogy interest I spent time pondering what my great-great-great grandmother Anne Dart�s maiden name may have been. At that stage I had yet to slot in many jigsaw pieces that make up the family picture. I had several names floating around as vaguely remembered kin. After finding Annie Broadbrook Maybury-Rigby�s unusual middle name I asked 'Who were the Broadbrooks?' Then I found early Youghal records of Broadbrooks, and discovered that Annie Meyler�s name was Anne Broadbrook Hanan-Meyler. For full cousins to both have the name signified a connection. I began to suspect that Anne Dart was born Anne Broadbrook. Despite moderate information on Anne and John Dart, there are surprisingly few accessible or surviving records of their lives. I have not unearthed their baptismal certificates. John Dart does not appear in any commercial directory. John�s burial is recorded and I have located records for Anne after John�s death. Frustratingly I have not found their marriage record. From 1845 the new official registry office recorded protestant marriages, but by then Anne and John Dart were already parents. The Church of Jesus Christ of The Latter Day Saints gives John Dart�s marriage to Anne (surname unknown) as 1844. 1843 Church of Ireland Marriage Licence roll book, Cloyne Diocese marriage licenses: John Dart and Anne Brodrick. I examined this book in the National Archives. However the marriage is not in the parish records of St. Mary�s Collegiate Church. There are possible explanations for this. For instance later they may have decided to marry in another diocese, maybe in Dublin where Anne was born. It is possible that they married in another Cloyne Diocese parish, maybe Curryglass where there is a Broadbrook link. It is also possible they did marry in St. Mary�s but the record is lost, however I have seen the parish records and 1843-1844 seems complete.
There is pre-1800 evidence of Youghal Protestant Brodricks. Richard Broadrick, a hairdresser, married Anne Ronane in 1781. A year after her death in 1794, he re-married to Elizabeth McGivern. In Midleton there was a rich gentrified Broderick family, whose remarkable tomb is in Midleton Protestant Graveyard. The 1901 and 1911 censuses give Anne Dart: birth Dublin (1823). I have looked for her baptism in the Dubin archives computerised parish records but without success. However some parish records are no longer extant for Dublin. Nevertheless the evidence remains that while Anne was still hale and hearty, two granddaughters were given the first names Anne Broadbrook. This was hardly a mistake, as I am sure Blessing and Eliza Jane knew their mother�s maiden name. After all they knew about their Taylor ancestry from a generation earlier (ref: Blessing Evelyn Taylor Maybury and Eric Taylor Edwards). Where might Anne Broadbrook fit into all the Broadbrooks? Due to the probability that her parents went to Dublin, I have not been able to confirm who they are but the evidence of family first named suggests Richard Broadbrook who married Frances Evans in 1824, with a chance that her father is actually James Broadbrook, tidewaiter or George Broadbrook. Another George Broadbrook left Youghal for the USA. He was born between 1830-34 and married Ellen Britt of Youghal. George fought in the American Civil War. Later generations used the Youghal Broadbrook names: his son John Joseph Sen., grandson John Joseph Jun. and greatgrandson Allan Joseph, who were all born in Bridgeport. Allan�s daughter Carrie founded the Broadbrook family message board at Ancestry.com.
The only other Broadbrook I have learned of is Helena Broadbrook, born Mullingar in 1837. In 1859 she and her brother left Ireland for Richmond, South Africa where Helena married Arthur Gilstain. Arthur was drawn to Kimberly�s Diamond Rush, but tragically on the eve of his triumphant return to Helena he was robbed and murdered. Helena became the governess of Emil Hoffa, the founder of modern orthopaedic science. Helena spoke English, French and German and had travelled Europe as a lady�s companion. Her hobby was translating German fairytales into English. Later she founded her own school on Paul Street, Richmond, South Africa
