Individual Details

Birth

About the origin of the name, there are various theories.

(1) One of the likely theories is the word "Brenneman" means "the man from the BRENNER," a pass on the Tyrolean Alps, between Austria and Italy.

(2) Some say it signifies a distiller.

(3) Some say it originated from the burning of a man at the stake during the Reformation.

(4) Possibly the most likely origin was given by Dr. H. Turler, at one time archivist at Bern, Switzerland, to the late Senator Horace L. Holdeman of Marietta, Pa., who was a descendant of Melchior Breniman, the pioneer.

Dr. Turler stated that it took its name from the hamlet of BRENDI, near Bern, Switzerland, where as early as 1479 there were numerous families found by the name of BRENDIMANN (later changed to BRONNIMANN) to designate the inhabitants of the place. The place BRENDI is now called BRONNI.

From the records at Bern, we learn that our forefather, Melchior BRONNIMANN, the exile born in 1631, subscribed his name as here shown. His sons Melchior, Jr., and Christian, after coming to America, chose to use an abbreviated form of the different forms of spelling the name in their native land (Brendimann and Bronnimann).
In 1737, as shown by the record of wills in the courts of Lancaster County, Pa., we find that Melchior, Jr., the Pioneer, endorsed his will as here shown, "Breniman." In the records of the saine court we find that his brother Christian signed his will in 1757 "Branaman."

On Mar. 21, 1786, Melchior Breniman, Jr., youngest son of Melchior the Pioneer subscribed to his will thus "Melchior Brenneman." By referring to the public records of Rockingham and Augusta counties in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, we find that the name was almost unanimously signed "Branaman" between the years 1770 and 1815.

After this time the sentiment was to choose other ways of spelling the name, but all are variations of the original name. John J. Wenger of Harrisonburg, Va., a great-grandson of Abraham Breneman, the progenitor of the descendants shown in this history, found by examining the records of deeds for Rockingham County for the years 1806 and 1808 that his name was written "Abram Branaman" (while the inscription on his stone which was replaced by a new one in 1914 by his grandson David C. Brenneman shows the "E" instead of the "A").

From authentic documents we learn that the first set of children all signed their names "Branaman" while of the second set of children, Henry, Christian, John, Jacob, and David later in life signed their names "Brenneman." Melchior, the oldest son from the first set of children, on May 15, 1813, signed a legal document, as shown above, "Branaman" a copy of which is still in the possession of the writer of this history, he being a great-grandson of Melchior.

Hence since the last 100 years, community influences have brought about various ways of signing the name and the writer of this history, desiring to conform to the peculiar wishes of each family, is following the -choice of the head of each tribe in this volume.