The Bower & Collier Family History
Research by Colin Bower
Brecht One-Name Study
Brecht One-Name Study
Search for John Christopher Brecht & Susannah Pardom
A while ago my cousin turned up the following entry:
St Mary's Church, Whitechapel
Marriage 25.5.1795
Between John Christopher Brecht and Susannah Pardom, Widow
We have still not established who John was,whether he was related to my ancestor Heinrich Brecht and what happened to him. Browsing Ancestry I found a child by this marriage:
St Nicholas Cole Abbey, City of London (a Wren church)
Christening 3.4.1796 Maria Brecht born 13.3.1796
Daughter of John Christopher & Susannah Brecht
Godfrey Pardom
As Susannah was a Widow, I searched for her previous marriage and found 2 other children perhaps by Susannah's first husband, Godfrey:
St Botolph, Bishopsgate
Christening Mary Pardom 5.10.1783
Daughter of Godfrey & Susannah Pardom
(a Mary Pardom married Henry Bateman 19.12.1802 at St Mary's, Whitechapel)
St Mary's Church, Whitechapel
Christening 18.3.1787 Susannah Pardom
Daughter of Godfrey & Susannah Pardom, Alie Street
The reference to Alie Street is interesting as I have a set of fiche from the Anglo-German FHS which has the introduction:
"The church of St George, Little Alie Street, Goodman's Fields, in East London was built in 1762 and opened in 1763 to serve the increasing German Lutheran population of East London. The sugar industry was mainly based in East London and was largely owned by Germans. Most of the workers came from North Germany and were Lutherans. The church's foundation was largely due to the efforts of a local sugar refiner called Mr Beckmann, whose sugar baker' workers formed much of the original congregation... "
Those with an interest in sugar refiners & bakers may care to search the following web-site:
www.mawer.clara.net
It would be really useful to find the family (John & Susannah and Mary & Susannah, and Maria, Hannah and Harriet).
Jurgen Christoph Brecht
The database includes a Jurgen Christolph Brecht who claimed to have had a sugar-refining business in London.
I contacted a correspondent in Germany who was the source of the entry for Jurgen in the database.
He told me that Jurgen may possibly have been a sugar refiner between 1784-1822 and that Jurgen was buried in Germany on 1 April 1822 (age 70 and 18 days).
The registration of his death included a note that he had been a sugar refiner in London.
Heinrich Fridrich Ludwig Brecht
Also in the information from Germany was the christening of a Heinrich Fridrich Ludwig Brecht on 7 July 1784; Jurgen Christoph Brecht was the uncle and godfather of Heinrich and it was noted that Jurgen was said to have been in London when the christening took place.
It is possible that Heinrich Fridrich Ludwig Brecht was one and the same as my ancestor Heinrich (Henry) Frederick Ludewig Brecht born 1783/4.
Extraordinary development June 2018
Baptisms in the name of Brhgt
While I was online, I looked again at the baptism of Maria Brecht, daughter of John Christopher & Susannah Brecht, in 1796.
I turned on a page (electronically) and found an extraordinary entry:
St Nicholas, Cole Abbey, City of London
Hannah & Harriet Brecht (spelt Brhgt)
presumably twin sisters to Maria born 13.3.1796
born 25.11.1797 bp 17.12.1797
(parents Christopher & Susanna Brhgt)
Despite the new revelations I have yet to find out what happened to John Christopher Brecht (and Susannah and children) after the baptisms!
Conclusions
We have a possible chronology:
John Christopher Brecht & Susannah Pardom
1. Mary Pardom (bp 5.10.1783) and Susannah Pardom (bp 18.3.1787) - parents Godfrey & Susannah Pardom
2. John Christopher Brecht married Susannah Pardom, Widow 25.5.1795
3. Daughter Maria bp 3.4.1796
4. Daughters Hannah & Harriet Brecht (spelt Brhgt)
presumably twin sisters to Mariar
born 25.11.1797 bp 17.12.1797
Susannah Pardom bp 18.3.1787
Maria Brecht bp 3.4.1796
Hannah & Harriet Brecht (spelt Brhgt) born 25.11.1797
Other than a possible marriage for Mary Pardom in 1802, no further records found. Did the family move from London to Germany?
I did not find any link between John Christopher Brecht and either Jurgen Christoph Brecht or Heinrich (Henry) Frederick Luewig Brecht.
Colin Bower
25 June 2018
