A
History of the Brucker Family
originating in Radauti, Romania
In 1792, Joseph II, the Emperor of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire, required that all people must have
German surnames
(no doubt for tax purposes). A number of people in the village of
Radautz,
Bukovina, Austro-Hungary
(now Radauti,
Romania), were given or adopted the name Brucker (possibly meaning "those who
lived or worked by a bridge").
The Brucker family
from Radauti appears in birth and death records of the Jewish community as early
as 1857/58. While it isn't known where these early Bruckers were born, we
can trace their year of birth back to the mid-to late-1700's. There were approximately 150 Jews
in Radauti in 1807 and perhaps 15 to 20 families. By the 1880's there were 3452 Jews and 526
families in Radauti.
more coming soon...
New...
Go to the
"History
of the Jews in Bukovina" and specifically
Radautz by Hugo Gold
and assistance by Bruce Reisch.
Go to
The Jews of Bucovina
by David Shaari. Scroll down to the paragraph that begins with the "Hapsburg
Rule 1774 to 1914".
A Brief History of
Galicia and the Jews of Galicia
This is consistent with the
research item that Bruce Reisch came up with indicating that surnames were required
in 1792.
http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Drohobycz/dz_galaciahis.htm
The following table shows the
events around 1790 that were probably the reason surnames were required. As one
would expect, they were political and therefore concerned with territory,
control and money (taxes).
1772 |
Austria under empress Maria Theresa (reigned 1740-1780) claims Galicia and
Volhynia in the first partition of Poland. They become crown lands of the
empire. A new code of regulations is established under which the Jews of
Galicia are to be governed and a system of congregational districts is
established under a general administration (Generaldirektion) headed by
the Chief rabbi of the entire community. |
1774 |
Bukovina with 75,000 inhabitants becomes a crown land of Austria. |
1776 |
There are 144,200 Jews in Galicia. Three quarters of them live in the
eastern part, mainly in cities and towns. A significant part of the
population of Drohobycz is Jewish. |
1780-1790 |
Reign of Joseph II. |
1781 |
Serfdom is abolished. Land continued to be held by the Polish ruling
class. The Austrians also decide that Galicia should remain an
agricultural region to supply food to the empire and remain a market for
the products made in the western, industrialized parts of the empire. |
1783 |
Galicia is divided into circles (Kreise) for government administration. |
1786 |
Joseph II abolishes the Jewish Generaldirektion and rabbinical law
as well. |
|
There are 2,797,000 inhabitants in Galicia. |
1789 |
The Toleranzpatent establishes a new status for Jews. Joseph II wishes to
make all minorities in his empire equal. Therefore Jews are to be
assimilated, pay the same taxes as other citizens, serve in the army, and
speak and be educated in German.
Web site note:
We assume that German "given names" were established about this time. |
1792 |
Joseph II establishes 100 German schools in Galicia. |