An American Family History

Claus Braun (Brown)

Philadelphia (was Sommerhausen, Germantown Township), Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

New Hanover Township, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania (now Lower Pottsgrove Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania)

Germantown Township, Pennsylvania was originally settled by German Quakers and Mennonites in 1681. It was divided into settlements, called Germantown, Cresheim, Sommerhausen and Crevelt. The township became part of the city of Philadelphia in 1854.

Claus and Ann Brown married in the late 17th century.

Rebecca Braun Coulston was born about 1695.

In 1715 Claus Braun (Brown) purchased 200 acres in Sommerhausen, Germantown Township from John Henry Sprogel. The area where he bought land was known in the early eighteenth century as "the hindermost part" or the back part of Germantown.

There were only about half a dozen cleared lots then and they were widely scattered. Claus built a log cabin there.

On June 10, 1720, he sold George Ruger [Rex] 27 acres on the road leading from Philadelphia to North Wales [now Germantown Avenue at Chestnut Hill].

On April 29, 1721, he sold 160 acres, to Johannes Bernard Kepner (or Kepler) and moved to New Hanover Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. At that time it was part of Philadelphia County.

He appeared in the 1734 Philadelphia County tax list.

In 1738, he was on the list of those entitled to burial in the Limerick cemetery in what is now Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

New Hanover Township, Montgomery (was Philadelphia) County, Pennsylvania was a section of the Frankfort Land Development Company in the early eighteenth century. It was called Falkner's Swamp because it was controlled by Daniel Falkner. He ceded to John Sprogell in 1708. Sprogell ousted many first settlers claiming that their titles were not legal. In spite of this fraud, Sprogell kept control of 22,000 acres. Many settlers were forced to buy back their own land. The villages in the township included Swamp, Fagleysville, New Hanover Square, and Pleasant Run.

Pennsylvania is one of the 13 original states and was originally founded in 1681 as a result of a royal land grant to William Penn, the son of the state's namesake.

Limerick Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania was originally in Philadelphia County. In 1784 it became part of Montgomery County.

divider

H O M E	Colonial Maryland	Colonial New England	Colonial Virginia & North Carolina	Colonial Virginia & West Virginia	Quakers & Mennonites	New Jersey Baptists
German Lutherans	Ontario Settlers	Ohio Pioneers	Watauga Settlement	Pennsylvania Pioneers	Midwest Pioneers	Californians	Jewish Immigrants

©Roberta Tuller 2025
tuller.roberta@gmail.com
An American Family History is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program,
an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.