Our section of the Brill family traces its origins back to Martin Brill in Germany in 1710. He arrived in the British colonies on October 22, 1754, at the port of Philadelphia. He purchased 20 acres in Springfield Township, outside Philadelphia for 3 pounds and 2 shillings in 1759. The Martin Brill Family moved to Virginia (to an area that later became West Virginia in 1863) sometime before 1774. During these early years our name was spelled variously as Prill, Preil, Briel, Brile, Bril, and Bruehl. We even have a fish named after us (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brill_(fish)). Since our family's residence in the United States predates the American Revolution, some members of our family are or have been members of both the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Sons of the American Revolution.
The family tree is in the process of construction; see the current versions at:
1. Brill (The Brill Family Story)
2. Shackelford (My Mother's Family Story )
3. Spaid (My Grandmother Brill's Family Story)
6. Russell Brill Sr. (My Father's Story)
7. Jon Brill Sr. (JoAnn and Jon's Story)
8. Puffenbarger (JoAnn's Father's Family Story)
9. Donahoe (JoAnn's Mother's Family Story)
10. Exline (JoAnn's Stepfather's Family Story)
The average survived age of the last 8 generations of male Brill antecedents (including myself) is 80 years. On my Grandmother Brill's side, eight direct antecedents average 73 years. In the near term, there are: my Dad's mother and father: Bessie O. Brill 75, Smith Brill 95; Grandmother Brill's brother: James Creswell 98; my father's older brother and sister: Walton Brill 80, Bama Brill 95; my mother's mother: Nan Hunter 91; my mother and father: Mary Brill 81, Russell Brill, Sr. 69; my Mother's twin sister: Martha Price 82; my older brother: Russell Brill Jr. 77; my older sister: Nancy Glass, 62; my younger surviving sister Mary Bess Rains is 2 years younger than me. My mother's father: John Shackelford was killed in an accident at the age of 25. This happened seven months before my mother and Aunt Martha were born. Besides my Aunt Martha, my Mother has a brother, two half-brothers, and a half-sister, all of whom lived into their 70's or 80's.
The Brill Coat of Arms illustrated here is officially documented in Riestap Armorial General.
The original description of the Arms (shield) is as follows:
Black: Three Silver Crescents with a face, points turned to the left; each crescent is placed on a silver ring.
Above the shield and helmet is a crest which is described as follows:
A Black Column adorned on each side with a Silver Crescent and surmounted by Five Silver Feathers.
The families of my four grandparents all have long histories in America. Our eponymous family, the Brills, has been here since at least 1754. The Shackelford family of my mother has been here since about 1660.
My Grandmother Hunter's family, the Henrys, has been in Morgan County (now) West Virginia since at least 1823. Grandmother Brill's family, the Creswells, has been here since about 1700.
The most compelling story comes from my Grandmother Brill's grandmother's line, the Spaid family which springs from a 17 year old who was kidnapped in Germany to fight for the British in the Revolutionary War.
Shackelford Coat of Arms
Brill Family in America
JoAnn Brill was born Carol JoAnn Puffenbarger. Her mother was born Edith Della Donahoe. Both families were in the new world before the American Revolution. The Puffenbargers arrived in 1733 at the port of Philadelphia . The Donahoes were here by the early 1700s in Baltimore. The Puffenbargers came from the same area of Germany as the Brills with only about 80 KMs between their hometowns. JoAnn met the man she considers to be her father, Frank Exline, in or about 1938. Her mother was hired to help raise Frank's children who lost their mother the year before. Frank and Edith were married in 1943. Frank's family came from Germany, most likely in an area within 160 KMs of the Brills. Georg Christoff Oechslen arrived in Philadelphia in 1727. This means that the families of our 4 parents have been here on the American shores an average of over 250 years.
