Brockman
Encyclopedia
The Brockman surname is not common, but has spread to several countries around the world. The name can be a topism combining "wet/water" and "man". However, in Old English
and in heraldry
a "brock" is also a badger
, and some have claimed it to mean "broker". Thus, there may be multiple meanings of the name. The name originated within populations speaking Germanic languages amongst the Germanic tribes
that settled in what is now England, the Netherlands
, Germany, and elsewhere. The name appears to be particularly well-documented in England and the anglosphere
, due to a fascination with a royalist knight
who was defeated by the forces of Cromwell
. It is unlikely that people carrying the surname in England, Germany, Holland, or elsewhere share a common ancestor in a genealogical sense, though they may have similar ancient origins. As described below, the name is diverse with regard to origins.
in England for at least five centuries, and probably longer. The English surname has been well characterized over the last five to six decades in several privately published family scrapbooks and subsequently into various history volumes and biographical dictionaries. Several notable Brockmans have contributed to the biographical and genealogical
interest in the family. It is a common misconception in the anglosphere
amongst those carrying the surname that they are related to Sir William
or that his armigerous descendants were knights. This is of great consternation, particularly to anglophile Australians and distant descendants of Sir William living today as it is factually inaccurate, or at least cannot be proven.
The surname has a long history in the county of Kent, England, and probably elsewhere in the UK. From a perspective of ancient origins, Kent and other eastern areas in England are thought to have been convenient landing points where Germanic groups from the North Sea Bight
settled during the various Germanic migrations to the island during the first millennium AD.1 Since the surname is Germanic in its linguistic origins, and the use of surnames appeared at various points in history, there are probably unrelated families of Brockmans in the UK today. The gentry
of such manor
s as Broadgate, Newington and Beachborough
were notable. More information is available regarding the squires of Beachborough and the manor house
here
. A web page dedicated to the genealogy and history of the English Brockmans can be found here.
Notable English Brockmans:
, born in 1647. Henry was born during the Commonwealth
period in England. Some sources assert that he was exiled by Oliver Cromwell
's Roundheads, as a result of his closest relatives' royalist activities. But there is no 'hard evidence' of Henry's origins, sources detail oral traditions passed down by distant branches of the family and recorded in scrapbooks. These sources further suggest that he either fled or was sent to the "Barbadoes", a British possession embracing not only the present island nation of Barbados
, but also other possessions now known as Aruba
and Surinam among others that were transferred to the Dutch in or about 1667. However, various genealogists disagree with these theories and discount them as speculative. In the end, Henry's exact origins are unclear, but he is widely regarded to have been English in origin.
The Anglo-American Brockmans are often referred to as 'Greenway' Brockmans after a farm that was built by Henry's son Samuell in Orange County Virginia
. Various descendants are notable including a number of revolutionary war, civil war, and world war II veterans. The actress Tallulah Brockman Bankhead, and her politician father William Brockman Bankhead are both descended from this line.
whose names were changed from Brochman during the immigration process. In addition, some Brockmans from Germany intermarried with Jewish families creating Jewish descendancies with the Brockman surname. Various families with the surname emigrated from Germany to the northeastern United States.
(5th son) and Robert James Drake-Brockman (9th son) being the sons of Rev. Julius Drake-Brockman and Harriet Drake-Brockman (née Locke). The third branch of the Australian family originated from James Groves Birdwood Drake-Brockman who was a nephew of William and Robert.
William Locke Brockman arrived at the Swan River Colony
on the ship Minstrel in January 1830. He arrived with his wife Ann Hamersley
and first-born son Edmund Ralph, a prefabricated house, seven servants and his livestock (sheep), which included three rams and 46 pure merino
ewes. He was the ninth landowner of the new colony to be granted land
(Lot 9 Swan River Colony) by Surveyor General
John Septimus Roe
.
His younger brother Robert Brockman arrived on the ship Egyptian on December 1831 and their nephew James Groves Birdwood Drake-Brockman arrived many years later in 1872 after serving in the Indian Police. Web pages detailing the genealogy and history of the Brockman and Drake-Brockman families in England and Australia can be found here.
The Brockman family have a long history in Western Australia, including:
and Norwegian haplotype
s.
There has also been some research on the Brockman and Brockmanns surname in Northern Germany and Northern Europe. Several of the Danish, Swedish and Norwegian Brockmanns can be traced back to their German roots. In the kingdom of Denmark-Norway around the 16–17th centuries approximately two thirds of the soldiers had Germanic roots. Sweden
also had a lot of Germans in their army. Most regiments were enlisted in Germany. In Denmark the name changed from Brockmann to Brochmann or Brochmand (see also the German name Brückner got Brøchner). That differs from the Jewish name Brochman. For example, Brockmans who immigrated to the USA and elsewhere with the name Israel or Isaak Brochmann/Brockmann often originally had the name Brochman.
In Holstein many Brockmann families immigrated from Lower Saxony
or Westphalia
and in later from Mecklenburg
(The Mecklenburger Brockmanns probably also came from Lower Saxony or Westphalia). In Probstei (Holstein) it is noted that Brockmanns came around 12. century to Holstein. On the edge of Holstein (River Elbe) several Brockmann-families also appear to have come from Lower Saxony. There were no Brockman families in the middle of Holstein and Duchy Schleswig (besides one or two persons/families without long standing or harbour cities ) prior to 1780.
The English Brockmans may also have emigrated to England from the Lower Saxony area in ancient times. In addition, many Brockmanns in Scandinavia are thought to have come from the North of Germany (The old language of Norway, Sweden and Holstein were nearly the same – low Germans in their different forms). Low German is nearer to English than to high German.Low German Article
Family histories (Out of Print), this information provided courtesy of Paul Brockman (Virginia) (Out of Print), provided courtesy of Hugh-Drake Brockman (UK),
Primary sources
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
and in heraldry
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
a "brock" is also a badger
Badger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...
, and some have claimed it to mean "broker". Thus, there may be multiple meanings of the name. The name originated within populations speaking Germanic languages amongst the Germanic tribes
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...
that settled in what is now England, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Germany, and elsewhere. The name appears to be particularly well-documented in England and the anglosphere
Anglosphere
Anglosphere is a neologism which refers to those nations with English as the most common language. The term can be used more specifically to refer to those nations which share certain characteristics within their cultures based on a linguistic heritage, through being former British colonies...
, due to a fascination with a royalist knight
Sir William Brockman
Sir William Brockman was an English military leader, politician, and land owner, and who fought for the Royalist cause in the English Civil War.-Early life:...
who was defeated by the forces of Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
. It is unlikely that people carrying the surname in England, Germany, Holland, or elsewhere share a common ancestor in a genealogical sense, though they may have similar ancient origins. As described below, the name is diverse with regard to origins.
Kent, England
The surname has been in use in the county of KentKent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
in England for at least five centuries, and probably longer. The English surname has been well characterized over the last five to six decades in several privately published family scrapbooks and subsequently into various history volumes and biographical dictionaries. Several notable Brockmans have contributed to the biographical and genealogical
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
interest in the family. It is a common misconception in the anglosphere
Anglosphere
Anglosphere is a neologism which refers to those nations with English as the most common language. The term can be used more specifically to refer to those nations which share certain characteristics within their cultures based on a linguistic heritage, through being former British colonies...
amongst those carrying the surname that they are related to Sir William
Sir William Brockman
Sir William Brockman was an English military leader, politician, and land owner, and who fought for the Royalist cause in the English Civil War.-Early life:...
or that his armigerous descendants were knights. This is of great consternation, particularly to anglophile Australians and distant descendants of Sir William living today as it is factually inaccurate, or at least cannot be proven.
The surname has a long history in the county of Kent, England, and probably elsewhere in the UK. From a perspective of ancient origins, Kent and other eastern areas in England are thought to have been convenient landing points where Germanic groups from the North Sea Bight
German Bight
German Bight is the southeastern bight of the North Sea bounded by the Netherlands and Germany to the south, and Denmark and Germany to the east . To the north and west it is limited by the Dogger Bank. The Bight contains the Frisian and Danish Islands. The Wadden Sea is approximately ten to...
settled during the various Germanic migrations to the island during the first millennium AD.1 Since the surname is Germanic in its linguistic origins, and the use of surnames appeared at various points in history, there are probably unrelated families of Brockmans in the UK today. The gentry
Gentry
Gentry denotes "well-born and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past....
of such manor
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
s as Broadgate, Newington and Beachborough
Beachborough Manor
Beachborough Manor was a manor in Beachborough, Kent, UK purchased by Sir William's great-grandfather Father Henry Brockman ca. 1500 and subsequently passed through various squires in the English Brockman family. Like many buildings in the UK, it found use in World War II by the Allies, as an...
were notable. More information is available regarding the squires of Beachborough and the manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
here
Beachborough Manor
Beachborough Manor was a manor in Beachborough, Kent, UK purchased by Sir William's great-grandfather Father Henry Brockman ca. 1500 and subsequently passed through various squires in the English Brockman family. Like many buildings in the UK, it found use in World War II by the Allies, as an...
. A web page dedicated to the genealogy and history of the English Brockmans can be found here.
Notable English Brockmans:
- Sir William BrockmanSir William BrockmanSir William Brockman was an English military leader, politician, and land owner, and who fought for the Royalist cause in the English Civil War.-Early life:...
, English Cavalier - Brig. General David H. Drake-Brockman C.M.G., UK
- Sir Ronald BrockmanSir Ronald BrockmanVice-Admiral Sir Ronald Vernon Brockman, KCB, KStJ, CSI, CIE, CVO, CBE served under Lord Mountbatten of Burma and participated in accepting the surrender of the Japanese Fleet in 1945. Sir Ronald was the elder son of Engineer Rear-Admiral Henry Stafford Brockman CB...
, Vice Admiral, UK - Henry Stafford Brockman, Engineer Rear Admiral, UK
- Sir Edward Lewis BrockmanSir Edward Lewis BrockmanSir Edward Lewis Brockman was the chief secretary to the Federated Malay States from 1911-1920. He was descendant of the English Brockman family. Brockman Road in Kuala Lumpur was named after him, where the former Prime Minister office was located....
, UK chief secretary to the Federated Malay StatesFederated Malay StatesThe Federated Malay States was a federation of four protected states in the Malay Peninsula—Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang—established by the British government in 1895, which lasted until 1946, when they, together with the Straits Settlements and the Unfederated Malay...
1911–1920 - Tallulah Brockman Bankhead, U.S. and UK, actress and "bonne vivante"
English American Brockmans
An English line of the Brockman family in America was founded by Henry BrockmanHenry Brockman (colonist)
Henry Brockman was an early colonist to Maryland and founder of a large family in the United States.-Genealogical accounts:Many accounts have been generated over the years regarding Henry and his origins...
, born in 1647. Henry was born during the Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
period in England. Some sources assert that he was exiled by Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
's Roundheads, as a result of his closest relatives' royalist activities. But there is no 'hard evidence' of Henry's origins, sources detail oral traditions passed down by distant branches of the family and recorded in scrapbooks. These sources further suggest that he either fled or was sent to the "Barbadoes", a British possession embracing not only the present island nation of Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
, but also other possessions now known as Aruba
Aruba
Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
and Surinam among others that were transferred to the Dutch in or about 1667. However, various genealogists disagree with these theories and discount them as speculative. In the end, Henry's exact origins are unclear, but he is widely regarded to have been English in origin.
The Anglo-American Brockmans are often referred to as 'Greenway' Brockmans after a farm that was built by Henry's son Samuell in Orange County Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. Various descendants are notable including a number of revolutionary war, civil war, and world war II veterans. The actress Tallulah Brockman Bankhead, and her politician father William Brockman Bankhead are both descended from this line.
German American Brockmans
German Brockmans also immigrated to the USA primarily through the northeast. In the USA and elsewhere a blurring of heritage and names occurred via the immigration procedure was particularly prevalent around and after 1900. Particularly in New York most of the Brochmans were written in the lists (shiplist or census) as Brockmann! But if they came from Russia/Poland or speaking Yiddish they are not Brockmanns they were Brochman, so it is difficult for many people with the Brockman or Brockmann last name to easily determine their heritage or ancestry. People with names such as Wilhelm (William) Brochman born in Germany were like to have been an Wilhelm Brockmann and so on.Jewish American Brockmans
Brockman and Brockmann is also a Jewish surname. In the US this surname is often carried by Jews emigrating from Germany or PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
whose names were changed from Brochman during the immigration process. In addition, some Brockmans from Germany intermarried with Jewish families creating Jewish descendancies with the Brockman surname. Various families with the surname emigrated from Germany to the northeastern United States.
USA Brockmans
- Jon BrockmanJon BrockmanJonathan Rodney Brockman is an American basketball player who currently plays for the Milwaukee Bucks. He was the starting power forward and team captain for the University of Washington men's basketball team. He is the all-time leading rebounder and 2nd all-time scorer in University of...
, Basketball players for the Sacramento KingsSacramento KingsThe Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California, United States. They are currently members of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
of the NBA and formerly of the University of WashingtonUniversity of WashingtonUniversity of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University... - Henry Brockman b.1647Henry Brockman (colonist)Henry Brockman was an early colonist to Maryland and founder of a large family in the United States.-Genealogical accounts:Many accounts have been generated over the years regarding Henry and his origins...
, Royalist who fled England and founded a widespread family of English American Brockmans - John Brockman JrJohn Brockman JrJohn Brockman, Jr. was an officer in the North Carolina militia during the American Revolutionary War.-Early years:...
., Colonel, and other Brockmans of the American Revolutionary War, English American - Col. Thomas Patterson BrockmanThomas Patterson BrockmanColonel Thomas Patterson Brockman , was the son of Henry Brockman and Susannah Patterson. He was born in the Greenville District , South Carolina. Brockman was a merchant and planter in the Greenville District and also owned land in the Spartanburg District...
, South CarolinaSouth CarolinaSouth Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
Senator, English American - Tallulah Brockman Bankhead, U.S. and UK, Actress and bonne vivante, English American
- William Brockman Bankhead, U.S. Congressman, English American
- Col. Benjamin T. BrockmanBenjamin T. BrockmanBenjamin T. Brockman was a merchant and a Confederate officer in the American Civil War.Brockman was born in South Carolina, the eldest son of Colonel and Senator Thomas Patterson Brockman and the granduncle of Tallulah Brockman Bankhead...
, CSAConfederate States of AmericaThe Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
(American Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
) English American - Chief Petty Officer Leonard H. Brockman, war veteran of the U.S. NavyUnited States NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
of the Chicago area in Illinois, and he is of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. - Rear Admiral William H. Brockman, Jr., U.S. NavyUnited States NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
Origins Unknown - Craig H. Brockman, Retired NYPD Police Officer, Decorated Twenty-Nine times for bravery including the Police Purple Heart
- Ivan Brockman, a Senior Managing Director with The Blackstone Group, a leading alternative asset management and financial advisory firm
- Charlie BrockmanCharlie BrockmanCharles T. "Charlie" Brockman was an American broadcaster and was a former president of the United States Auto Club from 1969-1972....
, broadcaster and former president of the United States Auto Club - John BrockmanJohn Brockman (literary agent)John Brockman is a literary agent and author specializing in scientific literature. He founded the Edge Foundation, an organization aimed to bring together people working at the edge of a broad range of scientific and technical fields. Referencing C.P...
, literary agent, author, and host of "The Edge" website is of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. - James BrockmanJames BrockmanJames Brockman was an American songwriter. Born in Russia, he emigrated to New York by himself at the age of 9 or 10...
, an American songwriter who wrote the theme song for Happy DaysHappy DaysHappy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
. - Kent Brockman, The SimpsonsKent BrockmanKent Brockman is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer and first appeared in the episode "Krusty Gets Busted"...
, The writers of the American cartoon series "The Simpsons" created a character named "Kenny Brocklestein" who anglicized his name to "Brockman" in the hopes that he would enjoy greater success as a TV journalist. - Rev. Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann will preside over the 63rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly
- Fletcher S. Brockman was the first national secretary of the Shanghai, China YMCA 1901–1915
- Whitfield Walton Brockman was secretary of the Shanghai, China YMCA 1916–1935
- Jean Brockman Cassels is illustrator/author of more than 60 picture books for children.
- David R. Brockman is a theologian and author of No Longer the Same: Religious Others and the Liberation of Christian Theology.
Australian Brockmans
The Australian Branch consists primarily of three sub-branches. The first two branches originated from two brothers William Locke BrockmanWilliam Locke Brockman
William Locke Brockman was an early settler in Western Australia, who became a leading pastoralist and stock breeder, and a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council....
(5th son) and Robert James Drake-Brockman (9th son) being the sons of Rev. Julius Drake-Brockman and Harriet Drake-Brockman (née Locke). The third branch of the Australian family originated from James Groves Birdwood Drake-Brockman who was a nephew of William and Robert.
William Locke Brockman arrived at the Swan River Colony
Swan River Colony
The Swan River Colony was a British settlement established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. The name was a pars pro toto for Western Australia. In 1832, the colony was officially renamed Western Australia, when the colony's founding Lieutenant-Governor, Captain James Stirling,...
on the ship Minstrel in January 1830. He arrived with his wife Ann Hamersley
Hamersley family
The Hamersley family were a wealthy and well-connected family of early settlers in the colony of Western Australia. Members of the Hamersley family emigrated to Western Australia from England in 1837.Prominent members and connections of the family include:...
and first-born son Edmund Ralph, a prefabricated house, seven servants and his livestock (sheep), which included three rams and 46 pure merino
Merino
The Merino is an economically influential breed of sheep prized for its wool. Merinos are regarded as having some of the finest and softest wool of any sheep...
ewes. He was the ninth landowner of the new colony to be granted land
Land grants in the Swan River Colony
The Swan River Colony, established in June 1829, was the only British colony in Australia established on the basis of land grants to settlers. Under the conditions stipulated by the Colonial Office, settlers would be granted land in proportion to the value of assets and labour that they brought to...
(Lot 9 Swan River Colony) by Surveyor General
Surveyor General of Western Australia
The Surveyor General of Western Australia is the person nominally responsible for government surveying in Western Australia.In the early history of Western Australia, the office of surveyor general was one of the most important public offices...
John Septimus Roe
John Septimus Roe
John Septimus Roe was the first Surveyor-General of Western Australia. He was a renowned explorer, and a Member of Western Australia's Legislative and Executive Councils for nearly 40 years.-Early life:...
.
His younger brother Robert Brockman arrived on the ship Egyptian on December 1831 and their nephew James Groves Birdwood Drake-Brockman arrived many years later in 1872 after serving in the Indian Police. Web pages detailing the genealogy and history of the Brockman and Drake-Brockman families in England and Australia can be found here.
The Brockman family have a long history in Western Australia, including:
- William Locke BrockmanWilliam Locke BrockmanWilliam Locke Brockman was an early settler in Western Australia, who became a leading pastoralist and stock breeder, and a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council....
, pastoralist and MLC; - Edmund Ralph Brockman, pastoralist and MLC;
- Henry BrockmanHenry Brockman (Australian politician)Henry Brockman was a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council from 1884 to 1889.Born on 21 June 1845 at Herne Hill, Western Australia, Henry Brockman was the son of William Locke Brockman and Ann Frances Elizabeth née Hamersley, a nephew of Edward Hamersley , and a cousin of Edward ...
, pastoralist and MLC; - Edmund Vernon Brockman, MLA;
- Frederick Slade Drake-BrockmanFrederick Slade Drake-BrockmanFrederick Slade Drake-Brockman was a surveyor and explorer of Western Australia.Born 9 July 1857 at Seabrook near Northam in Western Australia, he was the son of Edmund Ralph Brockman, gentleman-farmer, and Elizabeth Deborah née Slade. He was educated at Bishop Mathew Hale's school and articled in...
, explorer and Surveyor General of Western Australia - Slade Drake-Brockman, organiser of the WAY 1979WAY 1979WAY '79, also referred to as WAY 79 and WAY 1979, was the official 1979 sesquicentennial celebration of the colonisation of Western Australia by Europeans.-Planning:...
sesquicentennial celebrations; - Grace Drake-Brockman née BussellBussell familyThe Bussell family were a family of early settlers in colonial Western Australia. Four members of the Bussell family emigrated from England to Western Australia in 1831, with more members following in the next few years...
, of SS GeorgetteSS GeorgetteSS Georgette was a steamship built in 1872. She is best known, especially in Irish-American circles for the part played in the story of the Catalpa rescue in April 1876. While the events surrounding her shipwrecking eight months later are dramatic and did capture the imagination of the local...
shipwreckShipwreckA shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
fame; - Henrietta Drake-BrockmanHenrietta Drake-Brockman-Early life:Henrietta Frances York Drake-Brockman was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1901. She was educated in Scotland, the land of her mother, and at Frensham School]Frensham school for girls in Mittagong. She studied literature at the University of Western Australia and art in Henri Van...
, Western Australian author and historian - Major General Edmund Alfred Drake-BrockmanEdmund Alfred Drake-BrockmanMajor General Edmund Alfred Drake-Brockman CB, CMG, DSO , was born in Busselton, Western Australia. He was the son of surveyor Frederick Slade Drake-Brockman and heroine Grace Vernon Bussell and brother of Deborah Vernon Hackett. He was a distinguished Australian Soldier, Statesman, and Judge who...
, Australia WWI & WW2 Veteran, C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O., M.I.D. - Sir Thomas Charles Drake-Brockman K.B., D.F.C. – Long serving Australian SenatorAustralian SenateThe Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
(politician), former minister in the Fraser Government; - Charles Samuel Brockman, explorer, grazier, pastoralist and pioneer of the Western Australian Gascoyne region;
- George 'Julius' Brockman, explorer, pearler and pioneer of the Kimberley region of Western Australia;
- Geoffrey Drake-Brockman (MC), engineer for the North-West of Western Australia and author of the book titled the 'Turning Wheel'.
Additional Background Regarding Swedish, Dutch, Jewish, and German Brockmans
In the Netherlands the name tends to be spelled Broekman, Broeksma, or Broekstra and in Germany it tends to be spelled Brockmann, and that is the closest to the spelling that seems to have predominated in the UK (Brockman). Genetic testing to date has yielded multiple results tracing UK Brockmans as R1a and R1b decent to various ancient Germanic origins of arguably FrisianFrisians
The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal parts of the Netherlands and Germany. They are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, East Frisia and North Frisia, that was a part of Denmark until 1864. They inhabit an area known as Frisia...
and Norwegian haplotype
Haplotype
A haplotype in genetics is a combination of alleles at adjacent locations on the chromosome that are transmitted together...
s.
There has also been some research on the Brockman and Brockmanns surname in Northern Germany and Northern Europe. Several of the Danish, Swedish and Norwegian Brockmanns can be traced back to their German roots. In the kingdom of Denmark-Norway around the 16–17th centuries approximately two thirds of the soldiers had Germanic roots. Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
also had a lot of Germans in their army. Most regiments were enlisted in Germany. In Denmark the name changed from Brockmann to Brochmann or Brochmand (see also the German name Brückner got Brøchner). That differs from the Jewish name Brochman. For example, Brockmans who immigrated to the USA and elsewhere with the name Israel or Isaak Brochmann/Brockmann often originally had the name Brochman.
In Holstein many Brockmann families immigrated from Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
or Westphalia
Westphalia
Westphalia is a region in Germany, centred on the cities of Arnsberg, Bielefeld, Dortmund, Minden and Münster.Westphalia is roughly the region between the rivers Rhine and Weser, located north and south of the Ruhr River. No exact definition of borders can be given, because the name "Westphalia"...
and in later from Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
(The Mecklenburger Brockmanns probably also came from Lower Saxony or Westphalia). In Probstei (Holstein) it is noted that Brockmanns came around 12. century to Holstein. On the edge of Holstein (River Elbe) several Brockmann-families also appear to have come from Lower Saxony. There were no Brockman families in the middle of Holstein and Duchy Schleswig (besides one or two persons/families without long standing or harbour cities ) prior to 1780.
The English Brockmans may also have emigrated to England from the Lower Saxony area in ancient times. In addition, many Brockmanns in Scandinavia are thought to have come from the North of Germany (The old language of Norway, Sweden and Holstein were nearly the same – low Germans in their different forms). Low German is nearer to English than to high German.Low German Article
International Y-DNA Testing
A Y-DNA testing effort was undertaken with anonymous volunteers with the surname Brockman from around the globe. Thus far samples have been acquired from the UK, USA, and Germany. A presentation describing such genetic genealogy tests with regard to the UK can be found here, and an article on the Y-DNA results as of 2007 can be found here.Geographical Brockman Names
- Brockman, CaliforniaBrockman, CaliforniaBrockman is an unincorporated community in Lassen County, California. It is located on the Southern Pacific Railroad north-northwest of Termo, at an elevation of 5302 feet .A post office operated at Brockman from 1911 to 1919....
- Brockman National Park, Western AustraliaBrockman National ParkBrockman National Park is a national park in the South West region of Western Australia , south of Perth and south of Pemberton.The park, situated on both sides if the Pemberton-Northcliffe road, is predominantly composed of Karri and Marri Forest...
- Brockman River, Western Australia
- Mount Brockman, Australia
- Brockman mineBrockman mineThe Brockman mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 60 kilometres north-west of Tom Price. It is sometimes also referred to as Brockman 2 mine to differentiate between it and Rio Tinto's new Brockman 4 mine project, also in the area.The mine is fully owned and...
- Brockman 4 mineBrockman 4 mineThe Brockman 4 mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 60 kilometres north-west of Tom Price. The mine, located near the existing Brockman mine, is scheduled to open in 2010....
- Brockman Highway, Western Australia
Further reading
County histories (An earlier edition Reprinted and sold by Meggy and Chalk, 1816)Family histories (Out of Print), this information provided courtesy of Paul Brockman (Virginia) (Out of Print), provided courtesy of Hugh-Drake Brockman (UK),
Primary sources
- The Brockman Papers, Records in the British Museum, Location and Catalogue: 42586-42710, 45193-45220
External links
- Major General Edmund Alfred Drake-Brockman, Australia WWI & WW2 Veteran, C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O., M.I.D.
- Genforum Brockman Genealogy Discussion Group
- The Official Brockman and Drake-Brockman Page for English and Australia Family
- An English Whitfield Brockman Page
- An American Greenway Brockman Page
- A German Brockman Page
- A Swedish Brockman Page