Bretz family papers
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Abstract
The Bretz family papers contain materials related to members of the Bretz family from 1847-1913.
Biographical note - George Ziegler Bretz
George Ziegler Bretz was the son of Jacob and Mary Ann (Boyer) Bretz. He was an 1851 graduate of the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery. He married Catherine St. John Reynolds April 23, 1856, and fathered George Brewster (b. 03/30/59) and Morris St. John (b. 1860, d. 05/24/60). Catherine died May 12, 1860. In 1860, he was a dentist presumably living in Brooklyn, New York, although he is not found in that census. He also earned a medical degree from Long Island Medical School in 1864.
A Civil War veteran, he returned to Pennsylvania where he enlisted and mustered into federal service at Harrisburg January 8, 1862, as assistant surgeon for the 101st Pennsylvania Infantry. Part of a mass capture on April 20, 1864, at Plymouth, North Carolina, he ended up in the stockade at Andersonville, Georgia, in charge of twenty-two wounded or sick men, but later transferred to Charleston, South Carolina. Following parole and a thirty-day furlough, he returned to the regiment and, although he received promotion to the rank of full surgeon on June 20, 1865, he never mustered at the rank because he honorably discharged June 25, 1865. He also enlisted and mustered into federal service July 24, 1865, as assistant surgeon with 7th Pennsylvania Cavalry (80th Pa) and honorably discharged with the regiment August 25, 1865, at Huntsville, Alabama.
Bretz died on December 4, 1909. The cause of his death was gas asphyxiation, ruled to be accidental.
Source
- George Ziegler Bretz. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/112696892/george-ziegler-bretz
Biographical note - Bretz family
Dr. George Ziegler Bretz was born in 1825 and married Catherine (Kate) St. John Reynolds in 1856. Kate was born to Morris and Sarah Ann Reynolds in 1832 and attended the Greenleaf Female Institute in Brooklyn. Kate and George's son George Brewster Bretz was born in 1859. Kate died shortly after giving birth to a second son, Morris St. John Bretz, in May of 1860, followed soon thereafter by the infant himself. George Z. Bretz, Kate Bretz, and their infant son Morris are all entombed in the catacombs at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.
George Brewster Bretz went on to marry Margaret "Maggie" Ellen Briggs in 1887. Briggs had attended the Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn Heights, graduating in 1884. They had two children, Harold Brewster (1889-1924) and Margaret Louise (born 1894). Like her mother, Margaret L. Bretz attended Packer. Harold B. Bretz married Helen Ingersoll Cram in 1915, and Margaret L. Bretz married Schuyler J. Bergen in 1921. George B. Bretz died in 1909, the same year as his father George Z. Bretz.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged chronologically.
Scope and Contents
The Bretz family papers span the period 1847 to 1913 and contain writings of Kate St. John Reynolds Bretz (c. 1840s-1850s); a certificate from Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute for George Brewster Bretz (1879); a certificate for G.B. Bretz's admission to the New York State Bar (1881); composition books from Margaret E. Briggs's time at Packer Collegiate Institute (1881-1884); a journal of a transcontinental trip by Margaret E. Bretz (1899); and a guestbook of a Yale University student, presumably Harold Brewster Bretz (1906-1913).
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Conditions Governing Access
Open to users without restriction.
Conditions Governing Use
While many items at the Center for Brooklyn History are unrestricted, we do not own reproduction rights to all materials. Be aware of the several kinds of rights that might apply: copyright, licensing and trademarks. The researcher assumes all responsibility for copyright questions.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Bretz family papers, ARC.321, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Source and date of acquisition unknown. The items in this collection were formally accessioned in 1977 and 1978.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
If digital surrogates exist, they should be used in place of the originals whenever possible.
About this Guide
Processing Information
This collection combines the accessions 1978.014, 1978.015, and volumes by Kate Reynolds Bretz and Margaret Briggs Bretz originally filed with the School composition books and diaries collection (1977.348).
Originally, only accession 1978.014 was processed and described under the title "Bretz family papers." Accession 1978.015 was found in collection, the items from 1978.348 were identified as relevant, and they were combined with accession 1978.043 to form this new collection in April 2023.
Sponsor Note
Revisions to this Guide
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Kate St. John Reynolds Bretz writing book and notes, circa 1840s-1850s, inclusive
Kate St. John Reynolds Bretz school diary, 1849-1850, inclusive
George Brewster Bretz diploma, 1879
George Brewster Bretz bar certificate, 1881
Margaret "Maggie" E. Briggs school composition books, 1881-1884, inclusive
Margaret E. Bretz journal, 1899
Scope and Contents
Margaret E. Bretz and her family traveled from New York to Los Angeles in 1899. Her journal documents the trip, highlighting visits to Las Vegas, Portland, and Los Angeles.
