no image
Privacy Level: Open (White)

James Bruce (1869 - 1952)

James Bruce
Born in McKeesport, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, United Statesmap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married 16 Jan 1895 in Salt Lake City, Salt lake, Utah, United Statesmap
Descendants descendants
Died at age 83 in Annis, Jefferson, Idaho, United Statesmap
Problems/Questions Profile manager: Marla Bezold private message [send private message]
Profile last modified | Created 25 Mar 2016
This page has been accessed 173 times.

Biography

James was born in 1869. James was the child of John Bruce and Mary Lilly. James passed away in 1952.

Research Notes

History of James Bruce Contributed by Marla Morgan Bezold, great granddaughter. This life sketch was given at his funeral.

James Bruce, the son of John and Mary Lillie Bruce, was born 19 September 1869, at McKeesport, Pennsylvania, United States. His father had been a miner in Scotland. John and his wife, Mary Nickle Lilly immigrated to the United States with their daughter Mary Donal Bruce. John worked in the mines, and so his son James and daughter Elizabeth were born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. However, John's wife became ill with tuberculosis, and they decided they would have to return to Scotland, the place of his birth.

Sometime during 1873, John Bruce, together with his wife and family, consisting of Mary Donal Bruce (now Burton), James Bruce, and baby Elizabeth went back to Scotland. While there his wife died. Some relatives state that this was from a tumor under her arm, but her death certificate states that she died from tuberculosis. A daughter, Elizabeth, born in 1866, at McKeesport, Pennsylvania, preceded her in death, passing away in 1868 while they were in Scotland. Leaving his two small children in Scotland, John Bruce returned to the United States.

John Bruce came to Almy, Wyoming, where his brother James Barefield Bruce resided, and both of them worked in the coal mines. John left his two surviving children in Lark Hill, Scotland. Jim and Mary stayed with an uncle Robert Bruce, and family, and their grandfather, James Bruce. Although their father sent money for their keep, there were many times that they did not receive the food that they needed. There were times that they were not allowed to sit up to the table with the family and grandfather Bruce would slip them crusts of bread when no one was looking.

John worked in the mines until he had saved enough money to send for his children. He heard by letter that his children were mistreated, so he wrote a letter to his sister-in-law, Janet Lilly Love, widow of Hugh Love, and asked her to marry him and bring both their families to America. He said that they would raise all of the children together. In about 1875 or 1876, Janet and the six living children and sailed for the United States on a ship. It took six weeks to make the trip to New York and there was an epidemic of measles on the boat. The trip from New York to Almy, Wyoming was made by train, and the children had measles during this part of their journey.

Janet Lillie Love had a family of four living boys, Bob, Will, Jim and George. This now made a family of six children, as Mary and James Bruce came to the United States with their aunt and her sons. In 1875, John Bruce married Janet Lillie Love, who was a half-sister to his first wife, her husband having also died previously in Scotland. They were married in Almy, Wyoming.

After working in the mines about five years, John's health became very poor, and they then moved to what was known as the Big Sand Ridge, southwest of Ogden, Utah, and which is now known as Sunset.

They lived there from 1878 to1885 and John took up a homestead and tried to farm, but, due to the land being so sandy, he was not successful. He then worked as a section hand on the Utah Central Railroad (now Union Pacific), and the boys worked herding sheep when they were old enough.

The summer before they moved to Utah, the family lived in Evanston, Wyoming, and John went to Utah, got out slabs, and put up a one room house. The family lived in this house at first, with just the walls up. There was no roof on it and when it rained the children would sit under the table and Janet, their mother, would sit in the rocking chair and hold an umbrella over her to keep from getting wet. The table and the bed were covered with canvas. When fall came, the roof was finished, but they just had a dirt floor during the first winter.

To the union of John Bruce and Janet Lillie Love was born six children: John, Isabelle, Margaret, Lillie, Janette, and David (who died when a baby).

James Bruce, son of John Bruce and Mary Niccol Lilly, started herding sheep when he was ten years old and followed this occupation until about 1894. On January 16, 1895, he married Charlotte Ellen Hill of South Weber, Davis County, Utah, in the Salt Lake Temple in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah. Her parents were John Hill and Mary Bennett, and they lived on the Mountain Road.

Jim and Charlotte took up a homestead at Mountain Green and proved up on it. And in 1899 and 1900 he worked for Ford Brothers on a cattle ranch where he received $20.00 a month for the first year and $25.00 a month the second year, and they boarded themselves.

James William Bruce (called Bill), a son, was born 31 December 1895, at South Weber, Utah, at the home of his uncle George Hill, where James Bruce worked for two years doing the farm work while George Hill was on a mission for the LDS Church.

Gertrude Mary Bruce, a daughter, was born 28 May 1899, at South Weber, Utah, in a house just South of the George Hill home.

In August 1901, James Bruce and his half-brother Jim Love came to Idaho with a team and white top buggy to look for a farm which James Bruce intended to buy. They came to Will Love's place in Wilford, Idaho, and traveled all over looking at different farms and finally went back without finding a place which suited him and his pocketbook.

In October of the same year, James Bruce came to Ammon, Idaho, shipping the horses, cows, machinery and household goods, and worked for Abe Day until February, when they moved to LaBelle, Idaho, where Will Love then lived. On 27 January 1902 he bought a farm in Annis, Idaho and moved onto it on 2 April the same year. The buildings consisted of a two-room log house with a dirt roof and a straw shed with a barb wire stock yard. In 1907, they built the brick house and in 1911 the barn and granary were built.

Janet Ellen was born soon after they moved into their new brick house at Annis, Idaho, on 5 December 1907. Their third daughter Ella Maria was born 18 March 1910.

James and Charlotte Bruce also raised twin nieces, Violet and Cora Clayton, who came to live with them on 17 November 1922. The twins were 5 years old at the time. They were the daughters of James' half-sister Lillie Bruce Clayton and George Clayton.

James and Charlotte were members of the LDS Church, James being an Elder. Charlotte was a Sunday School teacher, Secretary of the Relief Society, and for many years she was a Relief Society Block Teacher.

Charlotte Ellen Hill Bruce passed away 21 October 1946, and since her death, James had made his home with his daughter Ella and her husband Vermont Billman, who live South of Rigby.

James helped to build the old church at Annis and while hauling rock for the building he got a piece of steel in his neck, which was never removed. While herding sheep he was accidentally shot in his left hand, which handicapped him very much as he was naturally left-handed. He also suffered the loss of one eye. Yet, through all these physical handicaps, he bore his lot bravely, was active in the church most of his life, and trusted deeply in his God.

James Bruce died 5 October 1952 in Rigby, Jefferson, Idaho and was buried 11 October 1952 in the Annis Little Butte Cemetery in Annis, Jefferson, Idaho.

He is survived by the following brother and sisters: Mary Burton, sister, Grace, Idaho; Belle Jaques, half-sister, Layton, Utah; Nettie Wall, half-sister, Ogden, Utah; John W. Bruce, half-brother, Malad, Idaho.

He had 22 grandchildren and 29 great grandchildren. Sons and daughters surviving are: James William (Bill) Bruce, Annis, Idaho; Gertrude Ludlow, Annis, Idaho; Janet Morgan, Annis, Idaho; Ella Billman, Rigby, Idaho; Twins-- Cora Rock, Challis, Idaho, and Violet Paris, Blackfoot, Idaho.

Sources

1. History of James and John Bruce 2. Death certificate of James Bruce 3. Family history of Reuben W. & Johannah Morgan 4. Utah Marriage License for Charlotte Ellen Hill and James Bruce. 5, FamilySearch website has more sources for this person.





Is James your ancestor? Please don't go away!
 star icon Login to collaborate or comment, or
 star icon contact private message the profile manager, or
 star icon ask our community of genealogists a question.
Sponsored Search by Ancestry.com

DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with James by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with James:

Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.



Comments

Leave a message for others who see this profile.
There are no comments yet.
Login to post a comment.

B  >  Bruce  >  James Bruce