Butte County
Biographies
ALFRED P. BRUCE
ALFRED
P. BRUCE.--As the efficient road overseer of the Chico Road District No. 2,
since 1905, as well as being one of the well-known and successful farmers and
stockmen of Butte County,
A. P. Bruce has prospered financially and has gained a place in the esteem of
his friends. He was born at the small mining town called Little Dogtown, near Dogtown, now known
as Magalia, Cal.,
October 20, 1856, a son of John Bruce who was one of the pioneer ranchers of
this county and who lived a long and useful life.
John
Bruce was born in Alsace-Lorraine, France,
in 1828, one of a family of nine children born to William and Margaret (Kline)
Bruce, both natives of Alsace-Lorraine, who came, with five of their children,
to America.
They first stopped in Kentucky,
where they remained for two years, then located near Scales Mound, Jo Daviess
County, Ill., where they farmed. William Bruce served under Napoleon, in fact
was one of his bodyguard and at the time of his
capture was taking care of Napoleon's horse. In 1854, John Bruce and his family
came to California, crossing the
plains with oxen and big wagons. They were accompanied by the Thomasson family. Upon arriving in this state they all
settled in Butte County,
engaging in mining on Feather River until he located a homestead of one hundred
sixty acres on Humboldt road, three miles east of Chico.
There he made the necessary improvements and continued farming, in time
becoming the well-to-do owner of five hundred
forty-four acres in the home farm and two hundred acres on Hegan Lane.
John
Bruce married Miss Millie Ann Thomasson and they had
two children before they left Illinois, nine more were
born in California. They are:
Mary Jane, who became the wife of James Young and lives in Redding; Nancy M. is
the widow of Aaron Williams and lives in Chico; William is mentioned at length
on another page of this work; Alfred P., of this review; Charles, married Josie
Austin and they live near Chico; Millie Ann is the wife of Charles Marion; and
Robert, who married Mary Elizabeth Lynch. Another child, LeRoy,
died in infancy. Mrs. John Bruce died in May, 1910, at the age of seventy-six,
and John Bruce passed away on September 10, 1912, at the age of eighty-four.
Alfred
P. Bruce grew up on the home farm three miles east of Chico,
and he attended the public schools in pursuit of an education. As a young man
he and his brother, William, embarked in farming and stock-raising, having as
many as nine thousand head of sheep which they ranged in Butte and Tehama Counties
during the winter and in Plumas County in summertime; they also farmed the
Bruce Ranch on Hegan Lane for twenty-six years, or
until it was divided among the heirs, at which time Mr. Bruce became owner of
sixty acres located two miles south of Chico, which is devoted to
grain-raising.
Near
Chico, on July 17, 1887, Mr. Bruce married Miss Belle McClard, a native of Centerville, Appanoose
County, Iowa, who came to California
with her parents, William T. and Elizabeth (Richardson)
McClard, in 1879. They were farmers and
horticulturists in Butte County
and are still living, making their home in Chico Vecino.
For twenty-six years Mr. and Mrs. Bruce gave their best efforts and energies to
gain a competence from the farm and are now enjoying the fruits of their years
of toil in their comfortable home on Normal Avenue,
Chico, where they removed in the year 1914,
after their ranch home had been burned down. Seven children have been born to
them: Stella, married Fred Clark of Lincoln, Cal.; Harry, who married Irene
Allison of Chico, and who is a Sergeant in the One Hundred Fifty-ninth
California Infantry, stationed at Camp Kearny; Le Roy, who is Second Lieutenant
in the One Hundred Fifty-ninth California Infantry, at Camp Kearny; Carl, who
married Edith Chattel of Chico, is in the employ of the Diamond Match Company;
Ruth, a twin of Carl's is a graduate of the Chico State Normal and is teaching
in Siskiyou County; Margaret and Joe D., who are at home.
Mr.
Bruce served as trustee of York School
District and is a Democrat in national politics.
He is a supporter of all progressive projects that have for their object the upbuilding of his county and is highly respected by all who
know him.
Transcribed by Sande Beach.
Source: "History of
Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Pages 935-936, Historic Record Co, Los Angeles, CA, 1918.
© 2008 Sande Beach.
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