Brocas History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
Scotland
Ireland
England

Early Origins of the Brocas family

The surname Brocas was first found in Dunbarton county. The family trace their ancestry to southwestern France where "families of the name De Brocas are found in Guinne and Gascony in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Two places, one probably the oldest in the arrondissement of Mont de Marsan and canton de Labrit (D'AIbret) and the other in the arrondissement of St. Sever. John Brocaz had payment in 1338 for "the safe custody of the marches of Scotland" 1

Sir Bernard Brocas (1330?-1395), was the third son of Sir John de Brocas, knight, of Clewer and Windsor, Master of the Horse to King Edward III. "The family came from Gascony, where they had fought and suffered for the English cause against the French for several generations before John de Brocas became an officer of the household of Edward II, and settled in England. Brocas was one of the favourite knights of the Black Prince, with whom he was certainly present at the battle of Poitiers." 2

Early History of the Brocas family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Brocas research. Another 273 words (20 lines of text) covering the years 1298, 1314, 1326, 1330, 1338, 1365, 1382, 1395, 1400, 1489, 1493, 1532, 1536, 1562, 1588, 1602, 1625, 1649, 1660, 1762, 1792, 1794, 1798, 1837, 1847, 1868 and 1873 are included under the topic Early Brocas History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Brocas Spelling Variations

Prior to the first dictionaries, scribes spelled words according to sound. This, and the fact that Scottish names were repeatedly translated from Gaelic to English and back, contributed to the enormous number of spelling variations in Scottish names. Brocas has been spelled Brocas, Brockas, Brockhurst, Brockhouse, Brockus, Brocass and many more.

Early Notables of the Brocas family

More information is included under the topic Early Brocas Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Brocas family to Ireland

Some of the Brocas family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 171 words (12 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Brocas migration to the United States +

In such difficult times, the difficulties of raising the money to cross the Atlantic to North America did not seem so large compared to the problems of keeping a family together in Scotland. It was a journey well worth the cost, since it was rewarded with land and freedom the Scots could not find at home. The American War of Independence solidified that freedom, and many of those settlers went on to play important parts in the forging of a great nation. Among them:

Brocas Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

George Brocas who settled in Virginia 1642
Georg Brocas, who landed in Virginia in 1642 3
George, Tabitha and John Brocas, who settled in Virginia in 1650
John Brocas, who arrived in Virginia in 1651 3
Tabithe Brocas, who settled in Virginia in 1653
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Brocas Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

William Brocas, who settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1766

Brocas Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

M Brocas, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1871 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Brocas (post 1700) +

Isabelle Brocas, Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Southern California
Henry Brocas (1762-1837), Irish landscape painter and as a drawing-master in the Dublin schools

Citations +

Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. 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)