Why a Briese family genealogy site?

Put simply, people study their genealogies and family histories to answer two questions:

Who am I and where do I come from?

These pages focus on one individual, Johann Ludwig Briese, who emigrated from Prussia to Australia in 1855. Information will eventually be presented on his descendants and how the family has expanded over the past 150 years, as well as on his ancestors, to learn what life was like in northern Europe prior to his emigration.

Ultimately, to have an accurate, up to date and interesting family history web site will require the participation of many interested family members, and I welcome the contributions of interested members.

There are 7 main branches of the Briese family descendants of the children of Johann Ludwig:

Branch *

Researchers helping with branches

Amalie Klinberg
Fred Briese
Emilie Briese
Emma Welzel
Bertha Jenckel
John Briese
Ted Briese
Sue Mulhearn
    Help needed
David Briese, Diahann Marriott
    Help needed
    Help needed
    Help needed

Katrina Briese

Ancestors of Johann Ludwig Briese

David Briese

* We need more interested persons willing to trace the history of the descendants of their particular branch and/or sub-branch. I have made a good start (check the database on this site), so let me know if you want to be involved.

The history of the site: from scraps of paper to the worldwide web

I first became interested in the family genealogy over 25 years ago, shortly before my daughter was born. My hope was to be able to present her with a tree showing her origins and eventually to write a book on the family history. For five years I undertook research on the subject whenever time permitted. Some of you may remember me visiting looking for information and old photos, full of plans for producing "the book" in the near future.

Unfortunately for the book, I had a job and I had a "life" - genealogy is interesting but you don't want to let it be an obsession. The "book" became a project to do in retirement, the piles of paper, photographic negatives and records were filed away and, apart from the occasional brief burst of interest, have gathered dust in my cupboard for many years. Other people have expressed interest in helping with this project at various stages, but I have to confess to being a bit of a "dog-in-the-manger" about my genealogical IP, and there was always going to be the book!

The problem is that I am now approaching my post-work career and I have lots of plans - the danger is that the family history book could take another 10 years, as a whole new generation of the family has appeared since my first efforts. Moreover, there is always something new to add and genealogical projects rarely have an end. Worse still, if I disappear in the Andes or Himalayas on one of my other post-work projects, someone may just throw out all my old papers and all those years of research will go down the gurgler. Family history is pretty meaningless if it is not shared with the family!

Thankfully, technology has now provided the answer to this dilemma and I am setting up this website to make the information accessible to all. The family history project becomes a visible and ongoing work, which I hope you will enjoy and to which I encourage you to contribute where able.

David Briese