This site heralds the life and career of Johann Jakob Brombach, born 1726 in Osthelden, Kreuz Ferndorf, Siegen, Westphalia, Germany. He emigrated through Rotterdam to British North America in 1750 on the ship Nancy, Capt. Thomas Coattem, last of Cowes which docked at Philadelphia on August 31, 1750. Once in the Pennsylvania colony, he became Jacob Brumbaugh (1726-1799) (with a wide variety of spellings), a husband, father of seven children and grandfather who started as a weaver and became a wheat and grain farmer, a frontier scout and wagonmaker and distiller of grain whiskey and apple cider on “Resurvey of Clalands Contrivance,” an 800-acre farm northeast of Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland.

He married Mary Elizabeth Angle (Engle), daughter of Henry, an earlier German immigrant, in 1760 and they had seven children, one daughter and six sons. Mary is often cited as the first convert to German Baptist Brethren religious practice in western Maryland. Jacob almost certainly took up the GBB faith too.

Brumbaugh was active in the French & Indian War, although in pursuits not inconsistent with pacifism. He served as a scout in the militia under Capt. Jonathan Hager, founder of Hagerstown, and he was paid to quarter soldiers. He also by family tradition served in the supply train of the 1755 Braddock Expedition of 1400 British regulars into western Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. That expedition ended in a defeat following their ambush by French and Native American allies. Later, Brethren historians have published stories in the 20th century that imply that during this time Brumbaugh “nursed George Washington back to health.” These stories are discussed in some detail. Although there is no direct evidence, there is circumstantial evidence that the two men could have had contact and Washington visited the Hagerstown area numerous times.

During the American Revolution, Brumbaugh reached age 50, so he was over the age of military draft. Nevertheless, he contributed two blankets and sold grains to the Washington County agent for the Continental Army, so he has qualified in later years as a “Patriot” for purposes of DAR and SAR heritage membership. He also paid the 1783 Maryland Supply Tax. The author portrays Jacob as one of the leading “Pacifists as Patriot” of Washington County, Maryland, and emblematic of other German pacifist sectarians who similarly might qualify.

After the age of 60, from 1786 on, Brumbaugh bought several agricultural land tracts in Morrison’s Cove, Bedford County, about 80 miles northeast of Hagerstown. So did many other Mennonites and Dunkers. Brumbaugh acquired about 3100 acres there. He died without a will and his wife inherited her share and the children divided equitably and with amity the balance of the large estate in two states. Mary and the eldest son Jacob Jr. were the co-administrators of the estate supervising the complex division of property.

Join us as we explore his life and career and considerable accomplishments. Recently, the Maryland Historical Trust headed up an archeological dig on the former Brumbaugh farmstead which resulted in a 586-page report which sheds some new light on how the Brumbaughs lived and passed on their farm. A scholarly journal article is forthcoming as is a lecture in Jacob’s hometown of Hagerstown, and possibly a book.