Origin of Breyel Surname
The Breyel surname has been spelt many ways throughout history. Besides the spelling of Breyel, assorted documents reveal the same person has his name spelt either as Breil, Breiel, Breuel, Briles, Broyles or Bryoll. These surnames purportedly originated from the Low German surname, Breil, which evolved from the High German surname, Bruhl.
Another possibility is that the Breyel surname is derived from the High German word 'brei' and the dialect ending -el. Many Swabian surnames end with the suffixes -le, -el, -ehl, and -lin.
Ancestral Home
The earliest known members of the Breyel family came from the Parishes in Bas Rhin and Moselle, according to church records obtained from the Archives Department in Strasbourg (France). The oldest date recorded among these documents is for a Breyel born in 1605. In Germany, the nearest date is for Hans Jakob Breyel born circa 1635.
The genealogical history compiled on his descendents (the lineage displayed at this web site) was recorded in theEhebuch (Marriage Book), which was obtained from the Erzebischof Arkiv (Archbishop’s Archives) in Freiburg, Germany. According to this book, Hans Jakob Breyel and his descendants originated from and lived for many centuries in two small villages, first in Merdingen, and later in Wyhl. These towns are located in the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemburg, between Freiburg and the Rhine River.
Some genealogical records show Breyels living in the German regions of Bavaria and Rhineland, in the 1700s. Again, the surname for the same people is spelt either as Breyel, Breiel or Breil.
Towns & Streets
In the German village of Altenau, located in the Harz Mountains, there is a road called Breyel Weg, perhaps named after its former mayor, August Breyel. Or more probably, it is named after a Breyel family that lived in Altenau, which incidentally it still counts among its citizenry.
In the northwestern German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, between Krefeld, Germany and Venlo, Holland, there is a small town called ‘Breyell’.
Breil/Brigels is a municipality in the district of Surselva in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. The name of the municipality comes from the Italian word brigilo, meaning little town. It was first mentioned historically in 765 by the name of Bregelo. It is known as a ski resort.
Lastly, there is a street in Chillicotte, Ohio called Breiel Street. It is likely named after one George Breiel who settled there in the 1850s and established a grocery store. Curiously, his name also appears in other genealogical records as George Breyel.
Notable Individuals
* One woman with the Breyel surname, from the village of Wyhl, was accused of being a witch on three counts: (1) when a fire spread through the village, buring everything in its path, save for her farmhouse; (2) when fresh milk from neighbouring farms soured and milk from her cows did not; and (3) when a constable accused her of being a witch she spat in his eye and blinded him.
* August Breyel was the Burgermeister (Mayor) of Altenau, Germany in 1926. Interestingly, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Office Files (1933-1945), Part 5: John Franklin Carter Files on German Nazi Members lists “0545 Breyel, ? [Altenau]. 2pp” as a “key Nazi party member”. Whether he is the same individual is purely conjecture and should be regarded with circumspect until it is confirmed.
* In northern Belgium, near the Dutch city of Maastricht, there is a castle formerly occupied by Teutonic knights during the Middle Ages. One Ritter von Breyl (spelt with one 'e') owned this castle in the late 16th century.
Breyels in America
According to one genealogical source, the first Breyel to settle in America was Johannes Broyles (also spelt Bryol, Broyll, Broils, Breyhel, Breyel or Breil on various documents). He immigrated with his family to America in 1717 from Düsslingen, Duchy of Württemburg (Germany) and settled in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. He quite possibly is the progenitor of individuals with the surnames Broyl, Bryoll, Broylles, Broils or Breil in America.
A Joseph Breyel (possibly Joseph Boyle) is listed at the American Civil War website, Civil War Soldiers & Sailors (www.civilwar.nps.gov/cwss/). He held the rank of Private in the Union army. He served in the Maryland Infantry, 2nd Regiment, Company 'C'.
Another Breyel who arrived in America much later was Matthias Breyel (listed as Matthais Breiel on some church records). He is a descendant of Hans Jakob Breyel. Originally from Wyhl, Duchy of Baden (Germany), he departed this village for America on 6 May 1879 (see his petition to immigrate below). His second wife and their five children accompanied him. Their transatlantic voyage to New York presumably originated from Rotterdam, Holland.
Ancestry.com states that in 1814 the Congress of Vienna recognized Baden as a sovereign member of the German Confederation. For more than 100 years following this event, Baden would be involved in both political and economic turmoil, which led many people to leave the area. While it may take months or years to find an American document stating where an immigrant ancestor was born or resided in Germany, searching emigration records may produce that information in far less time.
This index, compiled by the Badischen Generallandesarchive Karlsruhe and microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, contains the names of over 28,000 persons who left Baden between 1866 and 1911. Each entry includes the emigrant's name, residence or place of birth, and the year of departure. Wives were not indexed separately unless they traveled alone or with their children. Children who left with one or both parents were not indexed. Some cards state that the person whose name is listed was traveling with "five persons" without naming each individual. The emigration lists were sent from district offices scattered throughout the state of Baden, to one central office. From these lists a card index was developed. This electronic index was translated and keyed from the microfilmed copy of the records. Anyone with ancestry based in this German state should find these records interesting.
A search at Ancestry.com yielded the following Breyel names from Wyhl:
* Josef Breyel -- Wyhl, Emmendingen, Baden 1874
* Georg Breyel -- Wyhl, Emmendingen, Baden 1875
The Ellis Island Archives record a 37 year old Marie Victorine Breyel from Strasbourg, France arrived in New York City on October 12, 1924. She travelled alone, departing from the French port of Le Havre aboard the French liner La Savoie. Port of Immigration records state she paid for her passage in order to visit an uncle by the name of Mr. Lean. She arrived in excellent health. She was 5'7" in height with brown hair and hazel eyes.
Matthais Breyel (Great-great-grandfather of Timothy L. Breyel)
Upon immigrating to America in 1879, Matthais Breyel purchased land from the Holy Ghost Fathers and homesteaded in one of their Arkansas colonies. The total amount of land he farmed was probably no more than 40 to 60 acres, sold at US$5.00 per acre. This is how land was parceled out to immigrants in these colonies. His farm was located near the Holy Ghost Fathers’ Marienstadt Monastery (named after the monastery in southwestern Germany), on Monastery Ridge, north of Morrilton.
Interestingly, Matthais Breyel’s surname appears as Matthais Breiel in some documents. Even the military record of his son, Peter Breyel who served in the US Army during the Spanish-American War, is spelt Peter Breiel. Why the surname changed when this Breyel family immigrated to America is uncertain. It is speculated Franz (Frank) Breyel and Stephen Breyel changed the spelling some time after father (Matthais) died. Another likelihood is that the name was anglicized to avoid persecution during WWI; since this was a common problem for German-Americans at this time.
Matthais Breyel does not appear in US Census Record for 1890. Genovefa (Fraenzle) Breyel, his wife and their two surviving children (Stephen and Joseph Breyel) however are listed in the US Census Records for 1910. Franz (Frank) Breyel and his family apprear in the US Census Records 1920.
Holy Ghost Fathers
The Holy Ghost Fathers of Spiritists having been expelled from Germany in 1873 by Chancellor Otto von Bismarck during his Kulturkampf policy, came to the United States and established a Provincial House in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. The Kulturkampf was a policy that under Prussian rule saw the German people subject to higher taxes, military conscription and religious persecution. The people in southern Germany called them, schwein Pruss or Prussian pigs.
These conditions set in motion the mass immigration of many people from southern Germany, with most turning to America as their refuge. In one year alone (1880), 216,000 Germans immigrated to the United States. A total of 6,798,313 Germans immigrated to the United States in the peak years between 1881 and 1890.
In January 1878, the Very Reverend Joseph Strub CSSp, Superior of the Holy Ghost Congregation at the request of the Most Reverend Edward Fitzgerald, D.D., the Bishop of the Diocese of Little Rock, established colonies in Central Arkansas for these immigrant Catholics. Father Strub was granted 200,000 acres of land by Colonel W.N. Slack, Land Commissioner for Little Rock, Fort Smith and Iron Mountain Railroad (later the Missouri Pacific Railroad). Father Strub and other Spiritist Fathers established colonies in Conway, Morrilton, Atkins and St. Vincent for the German Catholics; Louisburg for the French Catholics; and Warren (later Marche) for the Polish Catholics. The Afro-American population was also permitted to purchase land from them.
The land grant was (15 miles wide and 75 miles long) is close to 720,000 acres and was probably the entire land grant, including the towns. The 200,000 acres was probably the amount of Land Father Strub and his congregation could sell to immigrants and other settlers. This land grant was jokingly referred to as “Strub’s Duchy” in Arkansas.
The Holy Ghost Congregation received 20 cents (US currency) an acre for every acre of land sold. Bad weather and a succession of crop failures, along with sickness and fever set the decline of these settlements.
St. Joseph’s Church in Conway and Sacred Heart Church in Morrilton are the only parishes still staffed by the Holy Ghost Order from the original colonies. The Reverend Henry Koren CSSp., archivist for the Holy Ghost Fathers in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania provided most of the information on these former Holy Ghost Fathers’ colonies in his historical account entitled, The Serpent and The Dove. He noted most of Father Strub’s records were not preserved.
