The history of the Brownback family in America starts with Gerhard Brumbach (Brownback) establishing residence in Germantown, Pennsylvania in 1683, when there was but one house there. About 1713 he married May Rittinghousen (Rittenhouse) Papen, whose grandfather, William Rittinghousen, erected the first paper mill in the colonies, founded the Mennonite Church in Germantown, served as the first preacher and later the first bishop of that denomination.
Gerhard Brumbach moved in 1710-1720 to Vincent Township, Chester County, where he built a large farm in the wilderness, "Swan Plantation", consisting of 600 acres. In 1736, he added 350 acres in adjoining Coventry Township. Like his wife's grandfather, he also helped found a church, donating land for the church and the cemetery. Named after him, the Brownback German Reformed Church was the first in Chester County. Organized in 1743, it is still know by that name.
As the men of the family concerned themselves with the nourishment of the spirit, so the women of the family contributed their culinary skills to the nourishment of the body. The legacy of "Good German Cooking" persists to this day in the homes of the Vincent and Coventry inhabitants.
Gerhard himself contributed to this tradition, for he established in the 1736 the first "Public House" in the area, situated on the much traveled Philadelphia-Lancaster Pike which adjoined his land. Until his death in 1757, he ran the inn and enjoyed a reputation for good food and comfortable lodging. After his death his eldest son, Benjamin continued the business for thirty years.
The recipes in the Brownback Cookbook represent typical examples of the tried and true dishes made famous by the men and women of the Brownback family since 1683.
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