The surname Brecht (pronounced like "bright") was first found in Austria and Germany. The family's Coat of Arms was a black shield with a gold lion rampant, over all, a red fess.
Our ancestry to this family can be traced to Kuntz Brecht who was born about 1565 in Neudorf, Karlsrue, Baden, Germany. He married Catrina. This couple lived in the village of Neudorf in the Odenwald Mountains. Their son Christoph Brecht (1591-1676) moved with his wife, Anna, to Shriesheim, a few miles away.
The first of our family to come to this country was the family of Kuntz' grandson Johannes Michael Brecht. He was born 12 October 1662 and married Anna Katherine Hoffman, a daughter of Hans Yost Hoffman, a councilman of their village of Schreisheim. Johannes Michael Brecht (1706-1794) son of Johannes and Catherine, left Schriesheim to go to the town of Heidelberg which was some miles south. In 1726, at the age of 23, Michael left Heidelberg for Germantown, Pennsylvania.
In Germantown, Johannes Michael Brecht's name was anglicized to Michael Bright. Two years after his arrival, he married Margaretta Simone, daughter of Jacob Simone, a French Huguenot who had come to Pennsylvania in 1686. They were married in April of 1728 in Berks County, Pennsylvania. They had ten children including Peter Bright, your ancestor.
In Germantown, Johannes Michael Brecht's name was anglicized to Michael Bright. Two years after his arrival, he married Margaretta Simone, daughter of Jacob Simone, a French Huguenot who had come to Pennsylvania in 1686. They were married in April of 1728 in Berks County, Pennsylvania. They had ten children including Peter Bright, your ancestor.
Brecht is a German name and is not pronounced 'Bright.' The ch is like the ch in 'nicht' (German for 'not') or 'acht' (German for 'eight')(words Americans may have heard). They apparently just started saying 'yes' when people didn't know how to pronounce their name in America and anglicized what they saw or heard. They changed the name to something the people in America could deal with, when not dealing with their compatriots from the old country. Brecht remains Brecht for quite some time in church records, where they were dealing with their German countrymen/women.
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