Bruce Family

 

The Bruce family history is a source of great interest. This family is fascinating, from the days of Scottish royalty to the pioneer. Below we have compiled genealogy and history related to Lawrence County, Ohio, and the Bruce family tree.

VIRGINIA HERALDRY PROMINENT FAMILIES OF THE OLD DOMINION, THE BRUCE LINEAGE, AND ARMS

BY JANE GRIFFITH KEYS.

I hope there has never been a child of Anglo-Saxon parentage whose ways have fallen in such unpleasant places as never to have read that fascinating book “The Days of Bruce” by Miss Grace Aguilar.

This book depicts in most stirring terms the hard-won struggle of Keng Robert Bruce for the throes of Scotland, and also the undeserved, the most melancholy and tragic death of his younger brother Nigel, that Sir Galahad of Scotch history, who the English so foully murdered after the surrender of Castle Kildrunnie (?).

The family’s surname, so illustrious in Scottish history, descends from Robert de Bruis, a Norman knight who accompanied William the Conqueror to England in 1066 and died soon after, leaving a son, Adam Bruce, who acquired large landed possessions.  Adam de Brus left a son, Robert de Brus, of Cleveland, a companion in arms of Prince David of Scotland: afterward, David I. from whom he received a grant of the lordship of Annandale.

Robert Bruce, the glorious restorer of the Scottish monarchy, was born on July 11, 1274.  He inherited the Earldom of Carrick from his mother.  He asserted his claim to the Scottish crown, and without any resources, but trusting in his valor and the untried fidelity of a few partisans, he ascended the throne of his ancestors and was crowned at Scone (?) 1306.

After many vicissitudes, the power of King Robert was finally cemented by his splendid victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.  King Edward II of England had 100,000 men and lost 30,000; King Robert Bruce of Scotland had only 30,000 and 15,000 camp followers and 5,000.

Edward Bruce, Earl of Carrick, a descendant of King Robert, was eminently instrumental in the peaceable accession of King James VI of Scotland and I (first ?) of England to the English throne and had bestowed upon him the Barony of Kinloss.  Thomas III, Lord Bruce of Kinloss, was crowned Earl of Elgin by Charles I in 1638 and Baron Bruce of Whorlton in 1641.  Thomas, seventh Earl of Elgin and eleventh of Kincardine, born in 1716, was a noted diplomat but gained a worldwide reputation as the rescuer of the remains of Grecian art from destruction.

This famous collection, which was brought to England by Lord Elgin and is now known as the “Elgin Marbles,” was finally bought by the English Government for 36000 (pounds) and placed in the British Museum.  The late Lord Elgin, eighth Earl of Elgin and Baron Kinloss, was Vicory of India and Governor-General of Canada.

James Bruce, the founder of the Bruce family in America, came to Virginia from Scotland as Governor Spotswood’s friend and confidential agent.  James Bruce was a relative of Governor Spotswood’s wife and a direct descendant of Edward, Baron Bruce of Kinloss, who died 1610, the favorite of King James VI of Scotland and I (first) of England, and the founder of the families now enjoying the titles of Elgin and Aylesbury, respectively.

James Bruce, the emigrant, built Soldier’s Rest, which was on the part of Governor Spotswood’s estate.  Soldier’s Rest was destroyed by fire many years ago, but there still exists a little pen and ink drawing of it in possession of one of the descendants.  James Bruce had something to do with managing Spotswood’s iron furnaces.  He is supposed to have been married before he came to Virginia.  His children were Frances, Charles, George, Elizabeth, Mildred, and Lucy.

First – Frances Bruce, daughter of the emigrant, James Bruce, married Gerard Banks, Jr., clerk of Stafford county.  The Banks family was among the earliest settlers of the Northern Neck of Virginia.  Gerard Banks and his wife, Frances Bruce Banks, resided at Green Bank, their estate near Fredericksburg.  Their children were:

• 1.  John Banks, a Revolutionary officer, 1776, under General Greene.  He died unmarried.
• 2.  Henry Banks, who was a lawyer in Richmond.  Bankstown, once a part of Richmond, was named after him.  Henry Bruce removed to Kentucky and died unmarried.
• 3.  Gerard Banks, who removed to Mississippi.
• 4.  William Bruce Banks, for 23 years, Attorney for the Commonwealth.
• 5.  George Banks, who lived at Green Bank.
• 6.  Daughter Banks married Samuel Slaughter.
• 7.  Daughter Banks married a Spotswood.
• 8.  Daughter Banks married Hening, compiler of the Virginia Statutes.

Mrs. Frances Bruce Banks, daughter of James Bruce, the emigrant, had a very beautiful oil painting of her father, representing a remarkably handsome man.  This portrait was supposed to have been painted before James Bruce came to Virginia.  After hanging on the walls of Green Bank for more than a hundred years, this portrait is now in possession of Mrs. William H. Richards of Knoxville, Tenn., a great great granddaughter of Frances Bruce Banks. (1907).

Second – George Bruce, the son of the emigrant, married Mary, the daughter of Col. George Stubblefield, an officer in the Revolutionary Army.  George Bruce died in 1798.  An appraisal of his estate is on record in Stafford county for that year.  His widow married a Mr. Morrison, who removed to Allen county, Kentucky, where her descendants of that name still live.  George Bruce left two sons –

Henry and George Stubblefield Bruce.  Henry was born in Stafford County on October 30, 1777, and died in Kentucky in 1855.  The first Henry Bruce was only 16 years of age when he removed to Kentucky.  Among the emigrants he accompanied to his new home was Benjamin Threlkeld of Frederick County, Virginia, and his daughter Eleanor, then 13 years of age.  She was born May 15, 1775(8).  The young persons fell in love with each other and were married on January 11, 1798, before either was of age.  The children of Henry and Eleanor (Thriekeld) Bruce were:

• (a)  George Stubblefield Bruce, born 28 Oct. 1800; died ___; married Sebina Metcalf.
• (b)  Lury Laing(?), born 6 Nov. 1802; died Feb. 1881; married Thomas Porter
• (c)  Harriet Hacksley Bruce, born 9 Jan. 1805, d. April 1883, she married Joseph Dudley.
• (d) Mary Ann Bruce, born 26 May 1807, died 4 Dec. 1832.
• (e)  Eleanor Bruce, born 27 July 1810, married Col. John T. Morgan.
• (f)  Henry Bruce, born on 26 July 1811, married Mary E. Bruce, his cousin.
• (g)  James Bruce born 24 Jan. 1814, died January 1880, married Martha Johnson of South Carolina.
• (h) Elizabeth Grant Bruce, born April 1816, died July 1851, married Woodson Morgan.
• (i)  Ann Bruce, born June 1818, married William F. Morgan.
• (k) (note there was no J) Lucinda Bruce, born Feb. 1821, died 1883, married Dr. William Bell.

2.  George Stubblefield Bruce, son of George and Mary (Stubblefield) Bruce, was born at Staunton, Va., January 28, 1779, and died January 24, 185? 3.  George Stubblefield Bruce married Nancy Tompkins Weaver, of Halifax, N.C. 3 Feb. 1806.  George S. Bruce was removed from Virginia and settled in Kentucky.

The children of George Stubblefield and Nancy (Weaver) Bruce were

• (a) Lucien Pollard Bruce, born 4 Jan. 1807, died Dec. 1840; married Dr. George C. Lowry.
• (b)  Henry Weaver Bruce, born 27 Jan. 1809, married Ann W. Rivers.
• (c)  George Stubblefield Bruce, born 28 July 1810, died 1 November 1843.
• (d)  Frances Anders Bruce b. July 1812, died 1882, marred R. P. Bell.
• (e)  Nancy Bruce, born 2 Jan. 1814, died ____
• (f)  Drury Benjamin Bruce, born in 1815, died in August 1815.
• (g)  Mary Elizabeth Bruce, born 1817, died Sept. 1882, married henry Bruce, her cousin.
• (h)  Eleanor Roberts Bruce, born in 1819, married Benjamin Teal.
• (i)  Nancy Weaver Bruce, born April 28, 1821
• (j) William Travis Bruce, born 1823 d. 1824
• (k) William McKendree Bruce, b. 1826 married Rebecca Ann Atwell.

Two members of the Kentucky family branch were members of the Confederate Congress.  Charles Bruce, son of the emigrant James Bruce, was born before 1740, and his eldest son, James, was born in 1763.  Charles Bruce was married twice, first to Dina Banks of the Green Bank family and second to Frances, daughter of Col. George Stubblefield, of the Revolutionary army.

The second wife must have been much younger than her husband, as she survived 1833 as a widow for nearly 41 years.  Charles Bruce, of Soldier’s Rest, died in 1702 (or 1782).  He left quite a considerable fortune, consisting of landed estates, slaves, and specie, also about 200 head of livestock.  A careful examination of the court records of Culpeper, Orange, and Spottsylvania counties will give valuable information regarding Charles Bruce and his father, James, the emigrant.

The children of Charles and Diana (Banks) Bruce were:

1. James Bruce, born March 1763
2. Henry Bruce was born on 4 Dec 1764
3. Charles Bruce was born Sept. 1768

The children of Charles and Mary (Stubblefield) Bruce were:

1. Thomas, born 1 Feb. 1773
2. William, born 7 Nov. 1774
3. Elizabeth, born 4 Feb. 1777

(Family Bible, Berry Hill, Va.)   Of these children, Thomas, William, and Henry died young.

The Bruce family has been fortunate in possessing and still retaining several of the most handsome family estates in Virginia, beginning with Soldier’s Rest, Orange county, destroyed in 1837; Perry Hill, Halifax County, Va.; Stanton Hill, Charlotte County, Va; Sabot Hill, Goochland Co., Va; Woodburn, in Halifax County, Stanton Hill was the residence of Mr. Charles Bruce, deceased, the father of Mr. Cabell Bruce, and now owned by Mr. W. Cabell Bruce, City Solicitor of Baltimore (1905).

Mr. Richard M. Venable, in speaking of it, says:  “Stanton Hill is, to my mind, the finest estate and residence in the State of Virginia, nor do I know of any in the State of Maryland that equals it.  The residence is beautifully situated and overlooks the Valley of Stanton for miles.”

(To be continued next Sunday.)

Maryland Sun 24 Sept. 1905 – Cont’d from last Sunday – Maryland Sun October 1, 1905: Soldier’s Rest and Berry Hill Are Notable Old Family Estates.

By Jane Griffith Keys.

Charles Bruce, the oldest son of James Bruce, the emigrant, inherited Soldiers’ Rest from his father.  The estate of Soldiers’ Rest was bought from the executors of Governor Spotswood.  It is situated in Orange County, Virginia, on the Rapidan.  The old dwelling was built before the Revolution and, in its day, was looked upon as a fine establishment.

The nails used in its construction were of hand-wrought iron and were probably made in a shop on the estate.  The house was destroyed by fire in 1837.  A description of Charles Bruce of Soldiers’ Rest represents him as “physically under the average, with a fair complexion, sandy hair, blue eyes and a constitution of durable fiber.”

He was a man of great intellectual ability and commanding influence in his neighborhood and county.  George Morton Williams, of Culpeper, Va., great-grandson of this Charles Bruce, has in his possession a silhouette of his ancestor, which shows him to have been both a handsome and intellectual-looking man.

A copy of this silhouette may be seen in the Virginia Historical Magazine.  Charles Bruce served in the French and Indian War in 1754, being enrolled at that time as a native of Scotland.  In the Revolution of 1776, he attained the rank of captain and, for his gallant services, received a grant of land (recorded in Register’s Office, Richmond, Virginia).

Charles Bruce married twice – first, Diana Banks; second, Frances, daughter of Col. George Stubblefield of the Revolutionary Army.  Charles Bruce, of Soldiers’ Rest, died in 1792, leaving a large estate.  The children of Charles and Diana Banks Bruce were:

James Bruce, son of Charles and Diana (Banks) Bruce was b. 1763.  James Bruce, the eldest son of Charles Bruce of Soldiers’ Rest, would have inherited this estate from his father, but in early life, he developed a taste for mercantile pursuits.

Finding that the remote county of Halifax offered great business advantages, he removed thither and made it his permanent home for the rest of his life.  He accumulated one of the largest fortunes of his day by a system of country stores, which supplied the wants of the planters, and by judicious investments in land and tobacco.

At his death, his estate was valued at over $1,500,000, probably one of the largest fortunes in the United States at that time.  One item included over 3,000 slaves.  Mr. Bruce was noted for his great wealth, and his name was a synonym for integrity, honor, and liberality.

Soon after settling in Halifax county James Bruce married, on August 1, 1799, Miss Sally Coles, who was celebrated for her wit and the greatest heiress in that part of the State.  Miss Coles was a daughter of Walter Coles, of the well-known Coles family of Virginia.  The wedding ceremony took place in Midlands, on the Staunton River, the home of Miss Coles’ guardian.

Mr. Bruce’s second wife, a widow (Mrs. Patrick Henry), was present, and the ring used during the ceremony was taken from her finger.  Mrs. Sally (Coles) Bruce died May 21, 1806.  On April 20, 1819, Mr. Bruce married Elvira Cabell, daughter of Col. William Cabell, of Union Hill, Nelson county, Virginia, and widow of Patrick Henry Jr., eldest son of the orator, who died only a few months after their marriage.

Mrs.Elvira Cabell Bruce was noted for her unusual intelligence, the charm of her manner, and great conversational ability. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Bruce resided at Woodburn, near Halifax Courthouse, for many years.  Mr. James Bruce died in Philadelphia on May 12, 1837, and was buried in St. Andrew’s Churchyard.

Major Richard M. Venable has in his possession a diary written by his grandfather in the latter part of the eighteenth century, in which he speaks of passing a night under the same roof with James Bruce and Archibald Alexander, afterward the distinguished president of Princeton College, in which he prophesies that both young men would attain unusual prominence in life.

After her husband’s death, Mrs. Bruce moved to Richmond, where she built the house, which is now the central part of the University College of Medicine on Clay street.

Mrs. Bruce was a woman of unaffected piety and great liberality.  She was one of the largest contributors to the erection of St. Paul’s Church in Richmond.  What is known in the Episcopal Church of Virginia as the Bruce fund was a sum her children gave by a desire she frequently expressed during her illness.  Mrs. Bruce died in October 1859 and was buried in Hollywood.

The children of James and Sally (Coles) Bruce were:

James Coles Bruce was born on January 26, 1806.  He received his education at Chapel Hill, Harvard, and the University of Virginia.  In their early life, he was elected a member of the General Assembly.

Mr. Bruce favored gradual emancipation, although himself one of the largest slaveholders in the South.  In an address that he delivered at Danville, Va., which attracted general attention at the time, he declared that the greatest harm of slavery was to the white people and that it “cheated the planters with a semblance of wealth.”

Mr. Bruce was considered one of the ablest debaters in the South.  Mr. Bruce resided at Berry Hill, Halifax County, Va., which had formerly belonged to the estate of William Byrd.  Berry Hill is considered one of the most handsome models of Colonial architecture in the South.

The collection of silver at Berry Hill has long been famous.  Even the basins and ewers of the sleeping rooms were made of this metal.  Mr. Bruce was one of the last and most brilliant specimens of the “before the war” planter.  He lived on his estate like a feudal chief, surrounded by slaves and adherents of every kind, equally feared and admired.

Mr. Bruce died in 1863, just before the close of the war.  He said on his deathbed that he “felt a grim satisfaction in leaving the world at that time, as he knew that nothing but the ruin was in store for his class.”  Mr. Bruce contributed $50,000 to the cause of the Confederacy.

James Coles Bruce married Eliza Wilkins, daughter of William Wilkins of North Carolina.  Their children were: 

• Thomas married Nanny Clark of Banister Lodge, Halifax county.  Thomas Bruce inherited his father’s brilliant talent as a public speaker but died young.
• Richard Bruce married Mary Lowry of Mississippi.
• Alexander Bruce married Mary Evelyn, daughter of Judge Francis T. Anderson of Lexington and the Virginia Court of Appeals.  Miss Anderson was a famous beauty. Alexander Bruce inherited the family estate of Berry Hill.
• William Ballard Bruce* first married Maria, daughter of Arthur A. Morson, member of Richmond bar; second, Belle, daughter of Judge Francis T. Anderson.
• James.
• Charles Bruce was killed at the battle of Malvern Hill.
• Wilkins married Miss Kate Pennington of the well-known Baltimore family.
• Eliza, Walter, and Ann all died young.

The children of Thomas and Nanny (Clark) Bruce were:

• Eliza married Gideon Davenport of Richmond, Va.
• Rosa married Frank Anderson of Lexington, Va.;
• Isaac Thomas married Louisa Howard of Richmond, Va;
• one daughter Emma married Reuben Skirreffs (??).
• James Coles Bruce married Susan Seddon Brooks, daughter of James Brooks of Richmond—issue:  Patrick Henry Bruce and Mary Brooks Bruce.

Children of Alexander and Mary (Anderson) Bruce were:

• Frank Bruce;
• Alexander Bruce;
• Mary Bruce married William Pendleton of St. Louis, Mo—issue:  Bruce and William Armistead (Pendleton).
• Walter Bruce.
• Malcolm Graham Bruce
• Ellen Douglas Bruce.

Children of William Ballard and Maria (Morson) Bruce were:

1. Roselle
2. Sally Coles Bruce
3. Maria.

The children of Wilkins and Kate (Pennington) Bruce were:

1. Charles
2. Kate, who married Dr. Greenway of Hot Springs, Ark.  Issue.
3. Sophie married Matthew F. Maury of Richmond.
4. Clarence
5. Pennington Bruce.

The children of James Bruce, of Woodburn, by his second wife, Elvira Cabell, were:  (1) Ellen Carter Bruce, (2) Sarah Bruce, (3) William Cabell Bruce, (4) Charles Bruce.  Ellen Carter Bruce was one upon whom the fickle fates showered every blessing in their possession – youth, beauty, and position – with them the unusual combination of a lovely and disinterested character.

Ellen Bruce and her sister Sarah spent several winters in Washington, where they were noted among the great men of their day for their beauty and charm of manner.  John Quincy Adams, then President, addressed two poems, respectively, to Ellen and to Sarah, who still possess their descendants.

Ellen Bruce married James M. Morson of Fredericksburg, Va.  Their children were (1) Ellen Bruce Morson, who married Octave Jacob, a planter of Louisiana.  (2)  James Bruce Morson married Claudia Marshall, a descendant of Chief Justice Marshall.

Issue:  Marian Morson married Henry Wise Garnett of Washington, D. C.; (4) Charles (5) Alice married Leigh Robinson of Washington, D.C.  (6) Frank (7) Ann married Wyndham Meredith of Richmond.  Sarah Bruce (born 1822) was like her sister, Mrs. Morgson, celebrated for her wit, vivacity, and charm of manner.  It was for her N. P. Willis composed his celebrated son, so popular in its day, “The Gay and Charming Sally.”

Sarah Bruce married in 1845 to the Hon. James Alexander Seddon.  The ceremony was the first marriage performed in St. Paul’s Richmond.  Mr. Seddon was a member of Congress and came from a distinguished family.  Mr. Seddon was a member of the famous peace congress, which met in Washington in 1861.

In 1862, he was appointed Secretary of War of the Confederacy.  The beautiful family mansion of the Seddons on Clay Street, Richmond, was known as the White House of the Confederacy.  Mr. Seddon died at Tabot Hill, his country seat, in 1880.  Mrs. Seddon died in 1882.

The children of James A. and Sarah Bruce Seddon were: (1) Elvira.  (2) Thomas (3) James Alexander, settled in St. Louis, married first, Louisa Q. Scott; second, Ann, daughter of Judge Wickham of St. Louis (4) William Cabell Seddon, married Kate L. Slawson of New Orleans (4) Anne Park (6) Arthur Morson Seddon, married Josephine daughter of Samuel W. Venable, of Petersburg.  Issue:  (7) Sarah Bruce Seddon (8) Rosalie married A. Hawkesley Rutherford, Jr., of Amelia county Virginia.  Charles Bruce, son of James and Elvira Cabell Bruce, born in 1826 at Woodburn, Halifax county, graduated from Chapel Hill and Harvard Colleges.

Charles Bruce married Sarah Seddon, the youngest sister of his brother-in-law, Hon. James A. Seddon.  They took up their residence at Stanton Hill.  Mr. Bruce was eight years a member of the Virginia Senate.  When the Civil War of 1861 broke out, Mr. Bruce equipped the Stanton Hill Artillery Company at his own expense and served as its captain.  Mr. Bruce died in October 1896.  He was a man of the highest integrity and superior judgment.

The children of Charles and Sarah Seddon Bruce were:

• Thomas Seddon Bruce
• Albert Carson Bruce
• Marion Bruce
• Charles Morelle Bruce was educated at the Universities of Berlin and Paris, was Secretary of the Territory of Arizona, and one-time acting Governor.
• Phillip Alexander Bruce
• Ellen Carter Bruce
• William Cabell Bruce.
• James Douglas Bruce, master of arts at the University of Virginia, associate professor of Anglo-Saxon at Bryn Mawr College, and now professor of English at the University of Tennessee.

Phillip Alexander Bruce, editor of the Richmond Times, secretary of the Virginia Historical Society, and editor of the Virginia Magazine, also a distinguished author, married Mrs. Betty Taylor Newton.  Ann Seddon Bruce married Thomas Nelson Page and died in Richmond in 1888.  The Rosemary Library was established in her memory by her husband.

William Cabell Bruce, a prominent member of the Baltimore bar and City Solicitor for Baltimore, married Miss Louise Este, daughter of the late Judge William A. Fisher, and his wife, Louise Este, daughter of Judge Daniel Kirkpatrick Este, of Cincinnati.  Their children are James William Cabell Bruce and David Kirkpatrick Bruce.

[Note:  Unquestionable evidence has lately been found that proves that this family descended from George Bruce, who appeared in the Northern Neck of Virginia in 1638.  This evidence consists of two letters discovered a short time ago among the papers of James c. Bruce of Berry Hill].

Henry Bruce, son of Charles and Diana (Banks) Bruce b. 1764

Charles Bruce, son of Charles and Diana (Banks) Bruce, b. 1768.  Charles (Bruce), the third son, was removed to Halifax County, Virginia, where he built Tarover on the model of Soldiers’ Rest.  Charles Bruce died unmarried, leaving a large fortune.

The children of Charles and Mary Stubblefield Bruce were:

• Thomas Bruce, son of Charles and Mary Stubblefield Bruce
• William Bruce, son of Charles and Mary Stubblefield Bruce
• Elizabeth Bruce, the only daughter of Charles and Mary Stubblefield Bruce, married Capt. James Williams of the Continental Army and a major general in the War of 1812.

The children of James and Elizabeth Bruce Williams were:

• a.  Fannie Williams, who married Fayette Ball
• b.  Charles Williams married Ann Mercer Hackley.  The children of Charles Bruce and Ann (Hackley) Williams were:  b1.  Ann Eliza Williams; b2.  Frances Williams married Edwin S. Taliaferro.  Issue Charles Hay (Taliaferro?).  Alfred Fitzhugh Taliaferro married Georgia Pope; James Tellaferro married Miss Wallace.; b3.  Mary Williams; b4.  James Edward Williams married Mary T. Harrison; b5.  Elizabeth Cunningham Williams married George C. Reid, of Norfolk, Va., issues:  Alice Reid married Lane Kelly, of Norfolk, Va.; Ann Reid married Albert Grandy, of Norfolk; b6.  Mary Janet Bruce Williams married W. L. Hill; Harriet Rudolph married Charles D. Hill; issued one daughter, Mrs. Nevia Fishbourne; Charles Urquhart married Alice, daughter of Isaac Davenport Jr.: Issue: Janet Bruce, married W. Brydon Tennant; Charles Davenport, Mary Newton. (I think these are all Williams, but not sure)
• c.  William Bruce Williams, who married Miss Pate
• d.  Lucy Ann Williams, who married John S. Pendleton
• e.  Philip Williams, who married Mildred Catlett
• f.  Elizabeth S. Williams, who married Dr. George Morton

Of the children of Charles Bruce, Thomas, William, and Henry are supposed to have died young.

*Maryland Sun 7 Nov. 1899

Death of William Ballard Bruce (Special Dispatch to the Baltimore Sun)

Staunton, Va., Nov. 6 – Mr. William Ballard Bruce, one of the best-known and wealthiest men in the city, died at his residence this morning after a brief illness.  Mr. Bruce was born in Halifax County but has been in Staunton for many years.  He belonged to the old Bruce family of Virginia.

He was twice married, his first wife being Miss Morson and the second Miss Anderson, sister of Col. W. A. Anderson, of Lexington, survives him, with one daughter by the first marriage and many near relatives.

The Lawrence County, Ohio line of Bruce’s history recorded in the Hardesty Atlas of 1882 states:

Amasiah Bruce – was born in this county (Lawrence) on March 1, 1819, and died on May 12, 1865.  His father, William Bruce, died November 1, 1822, aged 40 years, and his mother, Margaret (Ferguson) Bruce, died July 25, 1840, aged 50.  They were settlers in this county in 1821.  Mr. Bruce and Julia A. Paul was married in Lawrence County on November 23, 1845.  She is a native of this county, born May 5, 1826.  The following are their children:

• 1.  Willington Bruce, b.18 Sept. 1846, resides in this county (Lawrence)
• 2.  Bennington Bruce, b. 3 Sept. 1849, resides in this county.
• 3.  Roxey Bruce b. 13 Mar 1852 d. 13 Mar 1852
• 4.  Sarah J. Bruce, b. 1 Nov 1853, married a Wilson, resides in this county.
• 5.   Victor Bruce, b. 26 Dec 1855, resides in this county.
• 6.  Elizabeth Bruce b. 4 March 1858 married a Damarn; resides in Wayne Co. West Va.
• 7.  Amasiah C. Bruce, b. 20 Dec. 1859, resides at home (1882). Amaziah Creighton Bruce and Sarah Ellen ( ) were married on 5 June 1888 in Louisa, Kentucky.

Amaziah Creighton Bruce (family book of records) was born on Dec. 20, 1859;   Sarah Ellen Bruce (was this his wife?) was born on 23 Dec. 1864 at Fort Gay, West Virginia.  “Mother died Jan. 20, 1934, at 3:20 a.m. Saturday at 70 years of age).  My Father died at the age of 72 years.  He had a stroke or paralysis.  He died on May 20, 1931.  He was 72 years old.

Children of Amaziah C. and Sarah Ellen ( ) Bruce:

• Wayne D. Bruce was born on Friday, May 10, 1889, d. Wed. night, August 17, 1949, at 10 o’clock in Columbus, Ohio, at his residence, he was 60 years old. (written down the side of the book page Wayne Bruce died Sept.1899 on the 6th)
• Taylor Vincent Bruce was born on Saturday, July 25, 1891 d. 6 Sept. 1899, at age 8
• Mabel Irene Bruce was born on Thursday, October 24, 1895. Mabel married Samuel Walstein Kouns.  She died on 7 Feb. 1968 at one o’clock on Sunday.
• Alice Elizabeth Bruce was born on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 1900. She died on 18 May 1980, age 79 years.  She married Dr. O. A. Gray, who died at age 76.  He died at 7 minutes after eleven at night at the St. Joseph Hospital, Lexington, Ky, on April 24, 1957, of a heart attack.  Dr. Oscar Addison Gray b. 27 Oct. 1880.  M. D., The oldest child of Leonard and Franklin Gray, was born in Hardin Co., Ky.  He was 76 years old when he passed away.  His mother’s name was Mary Alice Hynes (Hines) Gray. Alice  E. Bruce was baptized on May 11, 1913, at the Ohio Baptist Church, Union Landing, Ohio, by Rev. E. E. White.  She married Dr. O. A. Gray, son of Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Franklin Gray.  His mother was Mary Alice Hynes of Hardin Co., Ky.  Dr. O. A. Gray was born Oct. 27, 1880, in Harden Co., Ky.
• 5.  Vanilla Louise Bruce was born on 3 Sept. on Wednesday morning 1902.
• 6.  William Bruce b. 20 Sept. 1863; resides at home (1882)

The parents of Mrs. Bruce are Nimrod and Jane (Forgy) Paul.  The former died on Nov. 10, 1880.  William M. Bruce, a brother of Amasiah, was a soldier in the late war; also, four brothers, Mrs. Bruce, served in the war.

Sardine, Martin V. B. and Joshua Paul served in the Union Army and Claybourn Paul in the Southern Army.  He lived in the South when the war broke out and was forced to enlist. Mrs. Bruce is a resident of Perry township, where she is engaged in farming.  Address:  Forest Dale, Lawrence County, Ohio.

Bruce’s Family history outside of Lawrence County, Ohio

From Handwritten fragile pages sent to Avanelle Bruce Hacker in ??? When postage was 8 cents.

Many years ago, there lived, near Grayson, Carter County, Kentucky, a family by the name of Bruce, consisting of the father, mother, and two sons – John and William. Their father was killed by an Indian when the sons were quite small.

When William was four years old, and his brother John was eight, the latter became very much attached to his uncle – his mother’s brother, who lived across a small river from his father’s farm. At that tender age, he was in the habit of running away and swimming the river to visit his Uncle’s home.

This Uncle often begged Mrs. Bruce to give John to him, but she often refused. So one day, while John was making his accustomed visit, his uncle, having disposed of his farm, took John and moved to New Orleans, a great distance in those days when railroads were few and far between.

The South at that time was inhabited mostly by Indians, and John grew up among them. At twenty-one, he decided to return to his old home. His brother William was then a youth of Seventeen, so in company with some friends, he was strolling through the woods in search of Mag cherries when he saw a young man approaching them.

Though only four years of age, when his brother went away, he knew him at once by a peculiarity in his walk, and when he came up to them, he said: “You are my brother?” The young man replied, “No, I reckon not,” but at once began to ask questions about his mother and the country roundabout. These questions soon established that the two boys were brothers, so they started homeward to bear the glad news to their mother that her long-lost son had finally returned.

In the meantime, their mother had married again to a man named Hart. One daughter was born in this second marriage. Her name was Olive, known to her descendants as “Aunt Olive Dawson,” as she married a man by that name.