Bross History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

The surname Bross is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. As a general rule, the greater the distance between an individual and their homeland, the larger the territory they were named after. For example, a person who only moved to another parish would be known by the name of their original village, while people who migrated to a different country were often known by the name of a region or country from which they came. Bross is derived from the Old French word broce, meaning brushwood, and indicates that the original bearer lived near or in such a wooded area.

Early Origins of the Bross family

The surname Bross was first found in Burgundy (French: Bourgogne), an administrative and historical region of east-central France, where the renowned family lived in early times.

The illustrious house of the Viscounts of Brosses comes from the Viscount of Géraud, cited in 1120. The Brosses of Escrot and Maleval owned land that had originally belonged to Claude, Lord of Maleval, who died in 1605. 1

The Brosses of Bretagne (Brittany) are said to be a branch of the family originally coming from Jean-Jacques, a naval officer and knight of Saint Louis. 1

Early History of the Bross family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bross research. Another 211 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1375, 1426, 1433, 1448, 1571, 1600, 1626, 1649, 1651, 1676, 1704, 1709, 1730, 1741, 1775 and 1777 are included under the topic Early Bross History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bross Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Brosses, Brosse, Bross, des Brosses, du Brosses, de Brosses, de la Brosse, de Brousses, Delabrosse, Labrosse, Labrousse, Brossé, Brossier, Brossaud, Brossaut, Brossollet, Brossollette, Brosious, Brosius, Brose and many more.

Early Notables of the Bross family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

Jean de Brosse (1375-1433), Lord of Boussac, Sainte-Sévère, Huriel, and Perugiawas
he was a councillor and chamberlain to the King of France, made a Marshal in 1426. Salomon de Brosse (1571-1626) was a French architect, perhaps best known for designing Luxembourg Palace in Paris for...

Bross migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Bross Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Johan Conrad Bross, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1750 2
Hans Georg Bross, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1753 2
Hans Jerg Bross, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1753 2

Bross Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Adam Bross, who landed in Baltimore, Maryland in 1835 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Bross (post 1700) +

William Bross, American politician, Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, 1865-69 3
William Bross Lloyd (1875-1946), American politician, Candidate for U.S. Senator from Illinois, 1918 4

Historic Events for the Bross family +

HMS Repulse

Mr. Bross (1924-1942), British Ordinary Seaman, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse and survived the sinking, but was listed as missing presumed killed in the evacuation of Singapore in 1942 5

St. Francis Dam

Mr. Basil H. Bross, American resident in Santa Clarita killed when the St. Francis Dam failed and flooded the area in 1928

Citations +

Hozier, Charles D, and Antoine Bachelin-Delforenne. État présent De La Noblesse française (1883-1887): Contenant Le Distionnaire De La Noblesse Contemporaine Et Larmorial général De France, Dapres Les Manuscrits De Ch. D Hozier. Librairie Des Bibliophiles, 1884. Print.
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 13) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 20) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html