Major Jacob C. Bruner (1795-1843)
Jacob C. Bruner was born November 10, 1795, in Kentucky. He was
the son of Abraham Bruner (1757-1825), a native of Frederick,
Maryland, and Frances Stuckey Bruner (1767-1840), a native of
Patoka, Indiana. Abraham and Frances moved to Kentucky around 1790,
where he was the founder of Brunnerstown, later called
Jeffersontown, Kentucky. In about 1807, Abraham and his family moved
north to the Indiana Territory, where they were among the first
settlers of Smithfield (now Patroka), Indiana. [Indiana Territory
was formed in 1800, and included the future State of Illinois.
Illinois Territory was created from Indiana Territory in 1809, and
Illinois became a State in 1818.] Abraham died in Patoka in 1825,
and is buried in the Patoka Cemetery.
At the age of twenty-three years, Jacob C. Bruner moved to the newly
formed State of Illinois in 1818, and settled in the Edwardsville,
Madison County, area. In 1821 he married in Kaskaskia, Illinois, to
Mary Dodge, a native of Salem, Massachusetts. In 1826, Jacob was
elected the Madison County Coroner.
Jacob Bruner was a hatter by trade. Not satisfied with the trade in
Edwardsville, he opened a branch establishment in St. Louis,
Springfield, and Alton, Illinois. He and his family moved to Alton
in about 1830, and in 1833, he opened a general merchandise store
there. He was appointed by President Andrew Jackson as the first
postmaster in Alton (then called Lower Alton). When the Illinois
State Prison was established in Alton, Bruner was appointed as its
Warden. He was a man of great resources, executive ability, and
untiring energy. Bruner was a charter member of the Free Masonry
Franklin Lodge No. 25, which was established in Alton in 1837. His
wife, Mary, was a school teacher, and taught many students in
Madison County, Illinois.
Jacob and Mary Bruner had eight children, four of which are: John A.
Bruner (1822-1897); James D. Bruner (1825-1880); William H. Bruner
(1825-1886); and Elizabeth Bruner Chouteau (1829-1911), wife of Auguste
Liguest Chouteau of St. Louis.
The oldest child of Jacob Bruner, John A. Bruner, was born in
Edwardsville on September 01, 1822. John Bruner began his career as
Captain of a steamboat in 1839, and was captain of the Alton
ferryboat, the “St. Charles.” He later opened a grocery store in
Alton with his brothers. In 1847 he returned to steamboating, where
he remained until 1881, when he opened a vinegar and cider factory.
John married Catharine Smith in June 1844, who died on March 27,
1847. On January 5, 1855, he married Maria L. Godfrey, daughter of
Captain Benjamin Godfrey, founder of Monticello Ladies Seminary in
Godfrey.
Major Jacob Bruner died in Alton on June 02, 1843. He is probably
buried in the Alton City Cemetery, where his wife is buried.
While I have not found where Jacob earned the rank of Major, it is
possible that he served in the Black Hawk War (1831-1832).
The home of the Jacob C. Bruner family was located on the corner of
Broadway and Market Streets in Alton. This is where Jacob kept the
post office when he was postmaster.
MAJOR JACOB C. BRUNER
Illinois Pioneer
Businessman; Postmaster
Alton Prison Warden
Sources: Alton Telegraph, June 10, 1843; History of Madison County,
1882; Find A Grave
Died, on June 02, 1843, Major Jacob C. Bruner, aged 46 years, after
a lingering illness which he bore with great fortitude. Major Bruner
was one of the oldest and most enterprising citizens of this section
of the State. He removed from Kentucky, and settled in Edwardsville
in 1818, which, by his industry and enterprise he contributed much
to build up, and give it that importance which it had in the early
settlement of the State. About 1830 he removed to Alton, where he
has since resided, and where he has done much to make him favorably
remembered by its early inhabitants. Major Bruner was in private
life, kind and hospitable, and benevolent to the extent of his
ability. He has left a wife and several children, who were devotedly
attached to him, to mourn his loss. "Peace be to his remains."