Family History

.BRUETTE.
Families
(also Brouillette )

of Peshtigo
early Oconto County, Wisconsin

To become a descendant contact for this family with an e-mail link on this page, please contact BILL

Antoine Bruette immigrated, with his family, in 1845 from French Canada. With him was his wife, Harriet Emily La Blanc (White in English ) and the first 6 of his sons. Charles Bruette arrived about the same time from French Canada with his wife Amelia, one son and two daughters. They worked in the rapidly growing lumbering industry. Records of family births in the U.S. place the Charles Bruette family in Michigan in 1851, Canada in 1855 and in Wisconsin, where they settled, in 1858. Antoine Bruette and family were in Wisconsin for the birth of a son in 1852, and in Michigan for the birth of the next son in 1855.

By 1860, both families had settled next to each other in what was then Peshtigo, Oconto County, Wisconsin. In 1851, Peshtigo, Brown County, had became part of the newly formed Oconto County, and in 1879 it became part of the then newly formed Marinette County, where it is now found. Antoine was a farmer on a homestead and Charles was a laborer.

1860 Federal Census, town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, July 3rd, Page 27
(note: Census records are government surveys and not legal documents. Although accurate spelling of names and correct information was stressed, many factors, such as the knowledge of the person who answered the questions, language barriers, spoken accents, and literacy levels make for spelling and numerical variations in compared censuses. Ages, birth places and spouse/childrens/siblings' names are among the factors used to make matches)

Charles Brugette age 41    born in Canada Male
Amelia Brugette age 36    born in Canada Female
Charles Brugette age 18   born in Canada Male
Cordelia Brugette age 13   born in Canada Female
Louisa Brugette age 12     born in Canada Female
Elizabeth Brugette age 9     born in Michigan Female
Amelia Brugette age 5     born in Canada Female
Christine Brugette age 2     born in Wisconsin Female

Antoine Brugette age 50    born in Canada E Male
Harriet Brugette age 45     born in Canada E Female
Antoine (Thomas) Brugette age 23     born in Canada E Male
Louis (Lewis) Brugette age 21    born in Canada E Male
George Brugette age 20     born in Canada E Male
Philip Brugette age 18     born in Canada E Male
Aldof Brugette age 15     born in Canada E Male
Napoleon Brugette age 12     born in Canada E Male
Battise Brugette age 8    born in Wisconsin Male
Charles Brugette age 5     born in Michigan Male

The United States Civil War began the following year and lasted from 1861 to 1865. Four Bruette men from Peshtigo served the Grand Armies of the Republic. They were members of the well known, hard fighting OCONTO COUNTY RIVER SACKERS of the TWELFTH INFANTRY REGIMENT - Company "F". Army recruiters took special interest in the men who were working in the logging and lumbering industry of northeastern Wisconsin. These men had the reputation of being tough and skillful in the hard living conditions of the winter logging forests and rugged pioneering fronteer life. They were also skilled at hunting and shooting, since much of the food for families was wild game. At the beginning of the war, recruiters insisted that the men of the South were no match for the hardy Northerners and that the war would be over in a matter of months. With the promise of a short, easy war, regular pay and veterans benefits, most of the men who volunteered expected to be home in time for Spring planting in 1862. The induction dates of the Bruette men place them among the first to enlist. The very long, bloody and brutal war saw them struggle through most, if not all, of it. One of the four brothers, George, lost his life during battle in Georgia after nearly three years of serving. He was 24 years old and had spent all his adult years in the War.

Bruette, Phillip Induction at Peshtigo Apr 14, 1861 Mustered Out. July 16, 1865
+ Bruette, George Induction at Peshtigo Oct 15, 1861 Veteran; Killed in action, July 21, 1864, near Atlanta, Ga
Bruette, Louis Induction at Peshtigo Oct 15, 1861 Mustered Out. Nov 5, 1864 term expired
Bruette, Antoine Induction at Peshtigo Oct 14, 1861 Vet; Mustered Out. July 16, 1865
Bruette, Adolph served in the 17th Wisconsin Infantry - Government pension payment made to father Antoine Bruette on March 19, 1881

By 1870 much of the Bruette families remained in Peshtigo. The Civil War was over and daily life had returned. Charles Bruette Sr. was no longer with the family. His wife Amelia was raising 5 daughters and had taken in two boarders. Next door was her son, Charles Bruette (Jr.) with his wife Margrete and daughter Carrie.

Antoine Bruette Sr. was now a hotel keeper and lived with his wife Harriet Emily and two youngest sons Baptiste and Charles. Three other sons lived next to each other in Peshtigo working in the mills as laborers. Son Lewis had married Mathilda La Plant and they had sons Frank and George. Philip Bruette had married Matilda who had a son named Thomas, born in New York. Since Thomas was age 14 and was born when Philip Bruette was age 12, it is probable that he is not Philip's son and adopted the Bruette name when his mother married. The couple also lived with sons Louis and David Bruette, both born in Wisconsin and are probably adopted sons of Philip as well since the youngest was born while Philip was serving in the Civil War. Antoine Bruette (Jr.) had married Maryanne and the were raising a son Adolph. Antoine and Harriet's son Adolph was working at farm labor in Little Suamico and was single.

1870 Federal Census, town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, June 16th
(note: Census records are government surveys and not legal documents. Although accurate spelling of names and correct information was stressed, many factors, such as the knowledge of the person who answered the questions, language barriers, spoken accents, and literacy levels make for spelling and numerical variations in compared censuses. Ages, birth places and spouse/childrens/siblings' names are among the factors used to make matches)

Page 15
Charles Bronett Pesthigo, Oconto, WI abt 1844 born in Canada Male
Margrete Bronett Pesthigo, Oconto, WI abt 1847 born in New York Female
Carrie Bronett Pesthigo, Oconto, WI abt 1866 born in Wisconsin Female

Pages 15 & 16
Amelia Bronett Pesthigo, Oconto, WI abt 1821   born in Canada Female
Laura Bronett Pesthigo, Oconto, WI abt 1849   born in Canada Male
Elizabeth Bronett Pesthigo, Oconto, WI abt 1852   born in Wisconsin Female
Margret Bronett Pesthigo, Oconto, WI abt 1856   born in Canada Female
Hellen Bronett Pesthigo, Oconto, WI abt 1865   born in Wisconsin Female
Jennie Bronett Pesthigo, Oconto, WI abt 1859   born in Wisconsin Female

Page 16
Philip Bonett Pesthigo, Oconto, WI age 26   born in Canada   Male
Matilda Bonett Pesthigo, Oconto, WI age 32   born in Canada    Female
Thomas Bonett Pesthigo, Oconto, WI age 14   born in New York   Male
Louis Bonett Pesthigo, Oconto, WI age 11   born in Wisconsin   Male
David Bonett Pesthigo, Oconto, WI age 7   born in Wisconsin    Male

Anton Bonett Pesthigo, Oconto, WI age 33   born in Canada    Male
Maryann Bonett Pesthigo, Oconto, WI age 20   born in Wisconsin   Female
Adolph Bonett Pesthigo, Oconto, WI age 2   born in Wisconsin    Male

Louis Bonett Pesthigo, Oconto, WI age 30   born in Canada    Male
Matilda Bonett Pesthigo, Oconto, WI age 28    born in Wisconsin    Female
Frank Bonett Pesthigo, Oconto, WI age 4   born in Wisconsin    Male
George Bonett Pesthigo, Oconto, WI age 1   born in Wisconsin    Male

Page 9
James (Napoleon) Bernett Pesthigo, Oconto, WI age 25 born in Wisconsin Male

Page 25
Antoine Brunette Pesthigo, Oconto, WI age 50 born in Canada   Male
Aratt (Harriet) Brunette Pesthigo, Oconto, WI age 46 born in Canada    Female
Baptise (John) Brunette Pesthigo, Oconto, WI age 17 born in Wisconsin    Male
Charles Brunette Pesthigo, Oconto, WI age 16   born in Wisconsin    Male

On the Sunday night of October 8, 1871 the most deadly natural disaster struck several states in the upper Great Lakes. Because of the total distruction of the town, it was named The Great Peshtigo Fire (for the Fire story, please visit the Peshtigo Fire Home Page ). Antoine Brunette Sr. was working at the hotel when the firestorm suddenly overtook the township. He was able to reach the mud flats along the Peshtigo river despite the searing temperatures that killed nearly 900 people living there. Harriet Emily, his wife, had visited with their son and his family for Sunday dinner and was on her way home when she was overcome and died. Like countless others who had faced the 2000 degree fire, her body was later found as only a bundle of ashes. She was identified by the "Emily" engraved plate found beneath her ashes. She was carrying it back from the family dinner.

Charles Bruette, son of Charles and Amelia, and his daughter Carrie managed to survive the flames, but his wife Margrete and their infant child did not.

Although history tells us that some people fled the area before that terrible night, due to constant smoke, drought and heat from smaller smoldering fires, without a doubt, many others in the Bruette families of Peshtigo faced the terror of that night. We know that Harriet Emily had dinner at son Anthony Thomas Bruette's home and that family must have survived. They are found still in Peshtigo in 1880.

1880 Federal Census, town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, June 7th & 8th - in 1879 Peshtigo became part of the newly organized Marinette County.
(note: Census records are government surveys and not legal documents. Although accurate spelling of names and correct information was stressed, many factors, such as the knowledge of the person who answered the questions, language barriers, spoken accents, and literacy levels make for spelling and numerical variations in compared censuses. Ages, birth places and spouse/childrens/siblings' names are among the factors used to make matches)

Page 5
Antone Browitt Peshtigo, Marinette, WI age 70 born in Canada, boarder, working as lumber laborer.

Page 2
Amelia Browett Peshtigo, Marinette, WI age born in Canada boarder

Louis C. Browett Peshtigo, Marinette, WI age 30 Canada Self (Head)
Mary Anne Browett Peshtigo, Marinette, WI age 29 born in New Jersey
Willie Browett Peshtigo, Marinette, WI age 8 born in WI son
Helen Browett Peshtigo, Marinette, WI age 6 born in WI daughter
Margaret Browett Peshtigo, Marinette, WI age one month born in WI daughter

Charles Browett Peshtigo, Marinette, WI age 37 born in Canada Self (Head)
Priscilla Browett Peshtigo, Marinette, WI age 22 born in WI note: wife #2
Carrie Browett Peshtigo, Marinette, WI age 14 born in WI note:daughter of wife #1
Cordelia Browett Peshtigo, Marinette, WI age 1 born in WI note: daughter of wife #2

Page 19
Louis W. Bruett Peshtigo, Marinette, WI age 42 born in Canada Self (Head)
Matilda Bruett Peshtigo, Marinette, WI age 35 born in WI
Frank Bruett Peshtigo, Marinette, WI age 15 born in WI son
George Bruett Peshtigo, Marinette, WI age 12 born in WI son
Addie Bruett Peshtigo, Marinette, WI age 7 born in WI daughter
Edward Bruett Peshtigo, Marinette, WI age 5 born in WI son
Ida Bruett Peshtigo, Marinette, WI age 3 born in WI daughter
John Bruett Peshtigo, Marinette, WI age 1 born in WI son

(Antoine) Thomas Brouiett Peshtigo, Marinette, WI age 43 Canada Self (Head)
Mary Ann Brouiett Peshtigo, Marinette, WI age 27 born in WI
Adolph Brouiett Peshtigo, Marinette, WI age 12 born in WI
Harriet Brouiett Peshtigo, Marinette, WI age 10 born in WI
Ida Brouiett Peshtigo, Marinette, WI age 8 born in WI
Elizabeth Brouiett Peshtigo, Marinette, WI age 4 born in WI
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Partial Family Tree:
Sources used:
U.S.Federal Census Reports 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900
Wisconsin State Census Reports 1895, 1905
Wisconsin Pre-1907 Birth, Death, Marriage Indexes
Civil War Veterans and Widow's Pension Applications
Family Oral History
Government post Peshigo fire investigation reports
Newspaper reports.
Antoine Bruette - immigrated to USA in 1845
Born: 26 May 1813 Montreal, Canada
Died: 1884 Peshtigo, Wisconsin, USA
Wife
    Harriet White (LeBlanc)
        Born: 16 Apr 1817 in Montreal, Canada
        Died: 8 Oct 1871 in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, USA - died in Peshtigo Fire, 8 Oct. 1871, Peshtigo, WI
        Marriage: 16 Jun 1835 in Canada
Children:
1. Antoine Thomas Bruette
         Birth: 12 Aug 1837 - Montreal, (Quebec), Canada
         Death: 17 Oct 1919 - Menominee, Menominee, MI (Michigan), USA
        +Mary Ann Landrie (also Laundrie)
        Born: 8 Oct 1851 in Mishicot, Brown, Michigan, USA
        Died: 25 Sep 1889 in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, USA
        Marriage: 3 Mar 1867 in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, USA   View Info
Children:
        Charles Bruette M
        Adolph Bruette M 8 Apr 1868
            Death: 1946
            Marriage: 1902 Mary Gauthier
        Harriet Teatiece Bruette F 15 Jun 1870 in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, USA
        Ida Bruette F 12 May 1872
        Eliazbeth Bruette F 20 Jul 1876 in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, USA
        Edith Bruette F 17 Mar 1878 in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, USA
        Rose Anne Bruette F
            born 25 Feb 1882 or 22 Mar 1882 Marinette, Peshtigo, WI
            Death 26 Jan 1924 Paulding, Ontonagon, MI
            + Edward Norris
        Clement Bruette M 12 Aug 1884
        Martha Bruette F 18 Sep 1886 Death: 1977
        Leander G Bruette M 10 Oct 1888

2. Lewis (Louis W.) Bruette age 21 in July 1860 - Oct. 1838 in Montreal, CanadaOCONTO COUNTY RIVER SACKERS
of the TWELFTH INFANTRY REGIMENT - Company "F" Oct 15,'61 M.O. Nov 5,'64 term expired
Born: abt 1839
Montreal, Canada
Died: 5 May 1905 Milwaukee, Wisconsin
+ Mathilda Jeanne LaPlante
Born: 28 Oct 1846 in Green Bay, Brown, Wisconsin
Died: 5 Feb 1909 in Peshtigo, Marinette, Wisconsin buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Peshtigo, WI
Marriage: 27 Dec 1864
Children;
    1. George Bruette Birth: 5 Dec 1887 - Menominee, Menominee, Michigan, USA Death: 1904 son
    + Elizabeth Derosier was enrolled on the Menominee Reservation
        Arthur Bruette was enrolled on the Menominee Reservation
    2. Frank Bruette
    3. George Bruette
    4. Addie Bruette r
    5. Cordilia Bruette May 23 1872 - 1884
    6. Lilly Bruette 1881 - 1884
    7. Edward Bruette , 1875 - 1974    buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Peshtigo, WI
    8. Ina Bruette 1878 - 1937    buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Peshtigo, WI
    9. John Bruette   son

3. George Bruette age 20 in July 1860 abt 1842 in Montreal, Canada
OCONTO COUNTY RIVER SACKERS of the TWELFTH INFANTRY REGIMENT - Company "F"induction Oct 15,'61 Vet; Killed in action, July 21,'64, near Atlanta, Ga

4. Philip Bruette age 18 in July 1860 abt 1841 in Montreal, CanadaOCONTO COUNTY RIVER SACKERS
of the TWELFTH INFANTRY REGIMENT - Company "F" induction Apr 14,'61 mustered out. July 16,'65

5. Adolph Bruette age 15 in July 1860 abt 1844 in Montreal, Canada Served in the Wisconsin 14th infantry, Federal Pension Application made to be paid to his father Antoine Bruette, March 19, 1881

6. Napoleon (James) Bruette age 12 in July 1860 1845 in Wisconsin

7. John Baptiste (also Baptiste) Bruette, age 8 in July 1860 abt 1853 in, Wisconsin, USA

8. Charles Bruette age 5 in July 1860 1854 in Michigan - wife #1 and infant child died in Peshtigo Fire, 8 Oct. 1871, Peshtigo, WI Bruette, Mrs. Charles, and one child. Names were wife Margrette, age 24, and infant, Daughter Carrie, age 5, survived
    wife #1Margrete Bronett Pesthigo, Oconto, WI born abt 1847 in New York, died 8 October 1871 in Peshtigo, Wisconsin
Carrie Bronett Pesthigo, Oconto, WI abt 1866   born in Wisconsin Female
    wife #2 Priscilla Browett Peshtigo, Marinette, WI born in WI about 1858
Cordelia Browett Peshtigo, Marinette, WI born 1879 in WI

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