Johannes Breyel was born 1 May 1679, and Christened in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Dußulingen, Wurttemburg, Germany. The son of Conrad Breyel and Margareta Schelling. Johannes Breyel married Ursula Roup 06 November 1703 in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Otisheim, Wurttemburg,Germany.
In 1717, there was a large group, perhaps a thousand who left Germany with the intention of going to Pennsylvania. Most of these were coming for economic reasons; they were attempting to find a better life. One shipload of people did not make it to Pennsylvania. Instead the Master of the "Ship Scott", Captain Andrew Tarbett took them instead to Virginia. There were seventy odd Germans who were on board. Collectively they became known as the Second Germanna Colony, also known as the 1717 Colony, as well as New German Town. They left Germany quite late in the year as their departure was in late July. These families had made a contract with Captain Andrew Tarbett, in London to take them to Pennsylvania. He was then thrown in debtor's prison and the passengers lingered on board, consumed their supplies, and were forced to spend their passage money on more food. The captain was released and the voyage was undertaken, in essentially the late fall or winter.
Among those some seventy-odd Germans from Wuerttemberg, Baden,and Palatinate, Germany were Johannes "John" Breyel along with his wife Ursley [Ursula Roup] daughter Elizabeth and sons Conrad and Jacob [Hans Jacob A. Broyles].
It is very doubtful that they arrived in Virginia before January 1, 1718. Until March 23, they could still say 1717 (but we would describe it as 1718 if it was after January 1). Whether the landing in Virginia was due to weather (Captain Tarbett's claim) or due to collusion between Governor Alexander Spotswood and Captain Andrew Tarbett, (the descendant's claim),is not clear. Captain Tarbett claimed that his passengers had failed to pay him in full for their passage to America, and refused to let them leave the ship until Governor Spotswood agreed to pay their fairs. Once affairs were settled with Captain Tarbett the passengers were settled at Germanna, where they became known as the 2nd Germanna Colony.
The Germanna Colonies consisted primarily of the First Colony of 42 Persons from the Siegerland area in Germany brought to Virginia to work for Spotswood in 1714, and the Second Colony [also known as the colony of 1717 as well as New German Town] of 20 families from the Palatinate and Baden-Wuerttemberg area of Germany brought in 1717, but also include other German families who joined the first two colonies at later dates).
Life for the Second Colony was described as hard. Certainly there was plenty of physical labor. Johannes and his family served as indenture servants to Governor Spotswood for a total of eight years.
At the July 1724, Court for Spotsylvania County, Virginia Alexander Spotswood entered suit for debt against many of the 1717 Colony. Those whom suit was brought against include the following:
Philemon Paulitz, Conrad Amburg, Nicholas Yeager, Balthaser Blankenbaker, Michael Clore, Michael Cook, Andreas Bollinger, George Sheible, JOHN BRYAL [JOHN BROYLES], Michael Smith, George May, Michael Kaiser, Matthias Blankenbaker, Michael Holt [Holtz], Cyrannes [Zerechias] Fleshman, Nicholas Blankenbaker, Henrich Snider [Henry Snyder], and George Utz. His claim was that the above named had not fulfilled their obligations to repay him for their passage to America.
"In 1725 the entire colony 2nd Germanna Colony moved to the Robinson River area in Spotsylvania County , Virginia near the foot of the Blue Mountains, which is present day Madison County, Virginia, where he lived until the time of his death."


Johannes was the father of: