d/l from internet
d/l from internet
Born: March, 1645 at Bungary (near La Rochelle), France
Died: 1720 (in America, NY or NJ)
Father: ? BROUCARD
Mother: ?
Spouse1: Marie DuMAY
Spouse2: Catherine LeFEBRE (Le FEVRE)
Children:
...with Marie:
...with Catherine:
Bourgon is the earliest known ancestor of this branch. He was born at Bungary, near La Rochelle, France, which is on the very western sea coast on the Bay of Biscay. He evidently grew up there. He was a member of the Huguenot party. In the early 1660's before he reached the age of 20, he was forced by religious persecution to move to Mannheim, Germany. There he was affiliated with the Protestant branch of the Walloon Church. The Walloons were remnants of the Belgae, or rather descendents of the ancient Gauls, who remained in Southeast Belgium and the near parts of Holland and Germany. They were essentially Dutch Calvinist in religion, customs and culture, and it appears that the immigrants readily accepted the Dutch way of life.
While in Mannheim, Bourgon married Marie DuMAY and had one child. This wedding occurred on 1 Dec 1663. Apparently Marie died, for Bourgon later (18 Dec 1666) married Catherine LeFEVRE and had three more children. In the early 1670's (i.e. between 1672 and March, 1675), he moved to Amsterdam, Holland, and there one more child was born. During the year of 1675 he and his family moved to what is now Brooklyn, NY, where he remained for more than 25 years. The DURIE (DURYEA) family and others of the Huguenot Faith also made this trip to America at the same time. In RIKER's Annals of Newtown, Long Island, he lists Magdalena Le FEBRE, wife of Joost DURIE and Catherine Le FEBRE, wife of Bourgon as possibly sisters, who came to America on the same boat, the Gilded Otter.
Around 1702, the family (except Isaac) moved to Somerset County, NJ. Isaac remained near the old homesite in Brooklyn, and his descendents began to spell their names as Bragaw. The rest of the family found homes on the Raritan and Millstone Rivers in NJ. The NJ branch began spelling the name as Brokaw, and since then others have converted to other spellings such as Bercaw, Brocaw, Berkaw, etc. More than 20 different spellings were found in NJ records.
We can assume that Bourgon was a militant man from his connection with the French Huguenots, the Walloons in Manheim, Holland and in America, and later with the Dutch Church and from the further fact that most of the immediate descendents in and around New York, Somerset County, NJ and on into PA adhered to the Dutch Church for several generations. And from the same facts we may assume that he was a man of character and influence.
A large tract of land was purchased in Somerset County by Bourgon and his son-in-law, John Coverson, and thus was the second large colony of the family started. Many of their descendents still live in and around Somerville, NJ, but most have moved on to other localities.
A descendent gave the date of death of Bourgogne Broucard as 1720 and indicated that he had a record that Bourgogne was buried in a graveyard on the bank of the Raritan River, near where the Millstone River empties into it. Another descendent visited a cemetery about 10 miles from Three Bridges, NJ where an old man, Broucard, was buried, near Flagtown (same cemetery). In 1958, that man's son went to that location to try to find the grave, but the place was so overgrown with weeds and brush that he could not locate it. If Bourgon was buried there, it is likely that Catherine was also.
In Jonathan Israel's book The Dutch Republic, he uses the word 'bourgondische' several times to refer to someone of Burgundian heritage (i.e. from the French region of Burgundy). For a time, the Netherlands was ruled by Burgundian princes. Thus, the name Bourgon apparently denotes a Burgundian heritage.
In The Wycliffe Biographical Dictionary of the Church (Elgin S. Moyer, Moody Press, 1982, SBC library), there's an entry for Jacques LeFEVRE d'ETAPLES (Faber STAPULENSIS) c1455-1536. I wonder if he's an ancestor of Catherine? He was a "French humanist, theologian, reformer, born at Etaples, France and early ordained priest. Pursued classical studies in Italy and Paris. Under the influence of former pupil, William Briconnet, Bishop of Meaux, turned attention from secular studies to theology and the Scriptures. His purpose was to offset the Sentences of Peter the Lombard by a system of theology that would present only what the Scriptures teach. In his revised Latin translation and commentary on the Pauline Epistles, 1512, declared for the authority of the Bible and the doctrine of justification by faith. In 1523 he completed French translation of the NT, in 1528 of the OT. In 1522 his commentary appeared on the 4 gospels, in 1525, a commentary on the catholic epistles. Farel and Calvin, the Reformers of Geneva, were much influenced by the work of LeFevre" (239).
The famous newsman Tom BROKAW is indeed a distant (9th) cousin (of Rosena) i.e. their latest shared (BROKAW) ancestor is Bourgon himself!
4/7/09 note: In 1628, Cardinal Richelieu besieged the (Protestant) Huguenot stronghold port at La Rochelle, breaking their power. See pic of that event in Kingfisher Historical Encyc. (FHL ref).
Here are 2 pics of La Rochelle, France that I d/l from the internet:
d/l from internet
Source: Our Brokaw-Bragaw Heritage
