Joseph Brumbach

"Joseph Brumback, from Licking Co., Ohio, arrived here Aug. 3, 1832, built a cabin on S. 6, T. 33, R. 5, and lived in it nineteen years. His neighbors very appropriately called him the Patriarch Joseph, as he had nineteen children and eight step-children. His first wife was Mary Parr, who died, leaving four children; George W., lived in Manlius, is County Surveyor of La Salle County; Elizabeth and Mary are dead; Samuel lives at Odell. His second wife was Margaret Oatman; she died in 1842, had one child, Margaret, now dead. His third wife was Comfort Young, who died in 1858; had eight children: Newton W., Jervis J., both in Bates County, Mo.; Ada Perkins, Grundy County; Joseph Jefferson, Livingston County; John Howey, Merritt M., and Oby [Orie] David, all in Odell; Nite E. [ or Niles E.] died. His fourth wife was Margaret Hart; had six children: Ella, Viola, Mirza, Ira E., Ezra H., and Olive C., who are all at home."

From: HISTORY of LA SALLE COUNTY, ILLINOIS,

Joseph Brumbach settled in La Salle County in 1832, according to historical articles. He was listed in the 1850, 1860, & 1870 Manlius Township, La Salle County, Illinois census reports. He is also recorded in the 1840 La Salle County, Illinois federal census with a family of 7, 4 males & 3 females.

Joseph's first wife, Mary, died in La Salle County, Illinois in 1840, according to family information. The Illinois Statewide Marriage Index records the marriage of Joseph Brumback and Margaret Oatman in 1841 in La Salle County.

The Illinois Statewide Marriage Index also records the marriage of Joseph Brumback and Comfort Young in 1843 in La Salle County. Comfort's maiden name was Springstead, according to several records. Joseph and Comfort were together in the 1850 census with nine sons and daughters, ages 2 - 20.

Joseph was listed without a wife in the 1860 census, but was with nine sons and daughters, ages 2 - 23. By the 1870 census, he was with wife Margaret, who was age 35. There were six Brumbach sons listed in the 1870 census, ages 1 - 23; however, 3 known daughters of Margaret were not. Margaret Brumbach was recorded as a widow in the 1880 census with sons Mirza, 15; Ira, 12; Ezra, 10; & a daughter, Olive, 9.

It is probable that Joseph was a brother of Henry Brumbach, b. ca. 1802 in Virginia, who resided in Rutland Township, La Salle County, Illinois from 1850 to 1880. Henry Brumbach was also recorded in the 1840 federal census in La Salle County, also with a family. Family information records Joseph's birth in Luray, a town in Page County in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. The county of Page was formed in 1831 from portions of Shenandoah & Rockingham Counties in Virginia.

Joseph's name is spelled Brumback in some records.

Son of Joseph & Comfort:

John H. Brumbach, born 1852 in Illinois, resided in Fairbanks, Division 2, Alaska Territory in 1910. He was recorded as age 68 in the 1920 Fairbanks, Fourth Judicial District, Alaska Territory census, father born in Virginia and mother born in New York. He was single and his occupation appears to be recorded as “trapper,” in the 1910 census, but is not legible in the 1920 census.

The gravestone of Jerius Jeremiah Brumbach is inscribed with a birth year of 1850; however, he was age 3 in the 1850 census. Also, there is an Illinois Civil War draft registration for young men, ages 17-19, that records his residence as Manlius and his birth in Illinois on 31 May 1847.

Julia, age 16 in the 1850 census, is recorded as born in Ohio. If this is correct, she was probably a step-daughter of Joseph Brumbach. Elizabeth, age 18 in the 1850 census, is recorded as born in Illinois, and (George) Washington Brumbach, age 20, was born in Ohio.* Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Oct 14 2018, 18:18:08 UTC