Brusca Spanish Roots

When I started my genealogical work about 20 years, I figured that I would quickly run into dead ends on the Brusca brnach of my family tree. I quickly discovered that this assumption was terribly wrong. As you will see, the Brusca lines go back about 750 years and are fairly well documented.

Enciclopedia Hemldico Hispano Americana

The following ancestry information can be found in Enciclopedia Hemldico Hispano Americana, by Alherto Garcia Carraffa, pub. de A. Marzo, Madrid. This history provides the earliest known records of the Brusca family. Although most if us consider ourselves of Italian ancestry, the Brusca family and name is actually of Spanish origin. An English translation of the family history follows [my editorial comments are in brackets]:

Original lineage from Cataluna [the easternmost province of continental Spain, contains Barcelona] and extended through the Kingdom of Valencia [eastern province in Spain below Cataluna] since its conquest; before this the Bruscas of Pauls [a town in Spain] of the judicial party of Tortossa [known today as Tarragona a town on the eastern Mediterranean coast 100 kilometers southeast of Barcelona] were already in Cataluna.
Jaime [James] Brusca, Lord of Pauls, went to the wars of Valencia with two of his brothers [one was named Juan / John] serving King Jaime I [James I] of Aragon at his side. [Aragon was one of the three Kingdoms of the Iberian peninsula, Castille and Portugal being the other two]. Two of those brothers, Jaime and Juan [James and John], were the first ones who, with much chivalry, sacked the place of Polpia [known today as Polpis] and also the towns of Canet and Tirig, in order to afford the site of Burriana [l00 km northeast of Valencia].
King Jaime I of Aragon rewarded their services, giving them the lordships of the villages of Alhocacer and Tirig, and granting them other favors.
The older brother, Jaime Brusca, established himself and began a home in Tortosa [near the Delta del Ebro], leaving descendants in the above mentioned city in which they continued his family name until modern times. The second brother, Juan Brusca, founded an ancestral mansion in Morella [a small town in the Castellon province near Valencia] and his successors were descendants with the Despuig family. The third brother fought in the conquest of Jativa having inherited it because of King Jaime I, and also leaving there his successors.
From the House of Morella, and a descendant of its founder, Juan Brusca, was:
I. Miguel de Brusca y de Despuig, from who the following proceed:

1. Ramon de Brusca, who follows, and
2. Luis de Brusca, Doctor of Both Laws.

Il. Ramon de Brusca, who was a Lord of Ortells [a town of the judicial party of Morella] and married Aldonza, who had:

l. Juan de Brusca Despuig, who follows.
2. Ramon de Brusca, a knight of the order of Saint Juan.
3. Luis de Brusca, also a knight of the Prefect of the religious order of Saint John, with the estates of Villarluengo and Cañada, and
4. Sir [a title given to clergymen] Guillen Juan de Brusca Y Despuig, Doctor of both laws, Archdeacon of Orihuela, Canonmaster of Segorbe and Albarracin, Chaplain of the King and Apostolic Delegate in the division of Bishoprics of Jaca and Barbastro.

III. The first Juan de Brusca Despuig, was Lord of Ortells and married Isabel Juan, and born from this union:

1. Damian de Brusca Y Despuig, and
2. Sir Guillen de Brusca Y Despuig.

IV. Damian de Despuig was Lord of the Ortells and married Aldonza, the daughter of Juan Santapau, a Knight of Aragon, leaving descendants.

Letter from the Museo Historico

In 1988, I wrote to many ancestral towns in Italy and Spain. Below is the text of a letter I received from Burriana, Spain.

5 April 1988
Dear Sr. Brusca,
This office has received your letter of Fehruary 29, 1988. We are most pleased to help you. No one with the last name Brusca today lives in this city. The family name Brusca is, however, documented in the history of a nearby villa, Albocacer. The founder of this villa was Juan de Brusca. Enclosed are photocopies from a regional history, La Carta Puebla de Albocacer. You will appreciate the great importance of this person. In the nearby church of San Juan (St. John) there is a stone sarcophagus of the founder, Juan deBrusca. For more information you can write to this church at Albocacer.
Sincerely,
Norbert Mesado
Director del Museo Historico
Burriana, Spain

I wrote to the church of San Juan never received a response.

La Carta Puebla de Albocacer (The Charter of Albocacer)

The document mentioned above, La Carta Puebla de Albocacer [The Charter of Albocacer], is shown below. It is fascinating as it provide some of the earliest documentation of the Brusca name. In addition, this document was written in both Latin and Spanish and acts as a genealogical Rosetta Stone. La Carta Puebla de Albocacer indicates interesting variations, and possible precursors of the family name Brusca. In the Latin version of the text, the letter L was widely used in place of an R. In other references, the letter V was used in place of a B. For example, the name Aragon was listed as Alagon. The name Blasco appears in the Latin version where the name Brusca appears in the Spanish version. In other books and articles, the name Valasco has been used in place of Blasco.

I suspect that the name Brusca either evolved from or to the following surnames: deBlasco, Blasco, Valasco and possibly Valasquez. There have been several notable individuals with these names most notably Vincente Blasco Ibanez (1867-1928), who wrote The Four Horsemen of the Appocalypse and other great works of Spanish literature.

Below is a copy of the charter with annotations in brackets.

La Carta Puebla de Albocacer [The Charter of Albocacer]
All of you here know that we, the Blascos of Alagon [Bruscas of Aragon] in the present scripture valued forever we give to Juan deBlasco [Brusca] to populate the land and region of Cuevas de Vinroma which is called Albocacer so that you with thirty others will populate the whole land. Its limits begin, first of all, at Vall Torta, extending to the plateau of Cerezo, across the mountains terminating at the plateau of Cerezo at the dry river called Rambla de la Vall Carbonera in Alhocacer, and through the Seco River and its natural streams which touches the caves turning up a steep mountain, heading straight to Albocacer to Vall Torta ending in the mountains. Juan deBrusca is hereby granted... for his use, and his descendants. With this grant go the customs of Zaragoza: a tithe of ten percent will be given to the Catholic Church; and that you and your counsel will remain faithful to the Church. The grantors will reserve for their exclusive use the windmills and ovens [kilns?]. The grantees will exercise religious devotion and will also obey all laws.
The present donation cannot be taken away from the Blascos [Bruscas]. This letter will he sealed and made official forbidding any other person from taking this land from the Blascos [Bruscas]. This grant was made on the 25th of January by Bartolome, the scrihe of Sr. Blasco de Alagon [Brusca of Aragon] in the year 1277 and was signed with his mark. This testimony was made to Miguel de Lison, the mayor, Juan de Dona, and Alegre Justicia of Morella.

Following the text of this document, the article continues:

This document was originally made on the 8th of February at the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul on the 25th of January 1239. Sr. Blasco [Brusca] of Aragon was granted this charter, not the king. [This must he a reference to the conflict between the kingdom of Aragon and the other Iberian kingdoms]. This action was only made to respected and powerful people by the King of Aragon. The charter was granted in recognition of Juan deBrusca's part in the defeat of the Moors. Sr. Blasco [Brusca] was part of the court of the crown of Aragon. The charter was handed to Don Juan deBrusca. His family was prominent and related to the family of the Pauls of Tarragona. Juan deBrusca received from the king many houses and estates in the town of Morella. In addition, he received gold and riches including a feudal castle. The Brusca coat of arms consists of a black buffalo, walking, on a gold shield.

Encyclopedia Universal llustrada Europeo Americana

I found a reference to the Blasco (Brusca) name in the Encyclopedia Universal llustrada Europeo Americana [ca. 1931]. In the citation for the town of Albocacer:

Albocacer was conquered from the Moors by King Jaime [James I also known as James the Conqueror] in 1237. The first Christian leader was Blasco de Alagon [Brusca of Aragon Juan deBrusca].

Migration to Italy

Some time in the 1300's, the Brusca family immigrated to the then Kingdom of Two Sicilies. From there, it I theorize that the Brusca family migrated to central and northern Italy. I have drawn a map which I believe illustrates the early migration of the Brusca name.