Category Archives: Zumbrunnen in Bernese Highlands

Zumbrun and Zumbrunnen Immigrations to America

I had initially believed that most American members of the Zumbrunnen and Zumbrun family descended from Heinrich Zumbrun, who immigrated to America in 1754.

I’ve since learned, however, that in fact at least 8 different groups of our extended family had arrived in the U.S. by the late 1800s. Here’s an overview of these different immigrations, when and where they initially settled, and the different permutations of how people spell the name. This page is a work in progress, so if you have any more information on any of these families, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

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Branches of the Zumbrunnen Family in Switzerland

Genealogists have always concluded that the last name Zumbrun or Zumbrum is a shortening of the Swiss name Zumbrunnen. (As a general rule of thumb, Germanic surnames beginning with Ze, Zem, Zum, Zur are characteristically from Central Switzerland, though there are of course exceptions).

Heinrich, the first Zumbrun in America, was married in a Rhine Valley town called Schwegenheim and although many genealogies say Heinrich was born in Switzerland[1], he was originally from near the town of Crailsheim, in Baden-Wurttemberg.

The Zumbrunnen family in Crailsheim was very small, however, and likely originated in Switzerland.
This is a quick overview of several branches of the Zumbrunnen family in Switzerland from which Heinrich could have descended, as well as a few minor ones that don’t seem to be likely candidates for our direct ancestry.

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