Title: Alfred Brunson Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1815-1882

Creator:

• Brunson, Alfred, 1793-1882

Call Number: Wis Mss FM

Quantity: 0.4 c.f. (2 archives boxes)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Papers of Alfred Brunson, 1815-1882, a Methodist minister who settled at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, in 1835 as presiding elder of the region north of Rock Island, Illinois, touching upon his activities as district supervisor of Indian missions, sub-Indian agent at La Pointe, chaplain in the Civil War, and holder of numerous minor civil offices. Contains letterbooks with copies of his correspondence, 1835-1844, with the War Department on Indian missions and the La Pointe agency; and a journal of his trip from Meadville, Pennsylvania, to Prairie du Chien. Also includes articles, lectures, and speeches written by Brunson on various subjects, and a sketch of him written by his daughter, Ella C. Brunson, in 1915.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-wis000fm

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Alfred Brunson was born in Danbury, Connecticut, February 9, 1793. He served a year in the army under General Harrison during the War of 1812, and was at the taking of Malden, the battle of the Thames, and recapture of Detroit. He entered the Methodist ministry and served in Ohio and Pennsylvania until moving to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin in 1835. He soon become presiding elder of the district north of Rock Island, including the Indian missions. At various times in the following years he served as preacher, presiding elder, lawyer, Indian agent, and legislator. He wrote a number of religious and historical articles. His Western Pioneer (Cincinnati, 1879) is a history of his times in Wisconsin, as well as an autobiography. He died in Prairie du Chien, August 3, 1882.

• “Sketch of Hole-in-the-Day,” Wisconsin Historical Collections, vol. V, pp. 387-399.
• “A Methodist Circuit Rider's Horseback Tour from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin,” Wisconsin Historical Collections, vol. XV, pp. 264-291.
• “Alfred Brunson, Pioneer of Wisconsin Methodism,” / Ella C. Brunson, Wisconsin Magazine of History, Dec. 1918, pp. [129]-148.
• An obituary also is in Wisconsin Historical Collections, vol. X, pp. 485-486.

Acquisition Information

Primarily presented by Mrs. E. L. Hitchcock, Mauston, Wisconsin, 1889. Mssionary narrative presented by Arthur F. Giere, September 20, 1940. Additions presented by Martha Prouty, Nebraska, June 1946. One speech transferred from Villa Louis, January 1975.

Box   1 Volume   1	Letter book, 1835-1843 Physical Description: 1 volume  Scope and Content Note: Containing copies of incoming and outgoing correspondence. Also includes exchanges with James D. Doty. Other end of letter book contains journal.
Box   2	Letter book of La Pointe Indian Agency,, 1842 September 24-1844 February 27 Physical Description: 1 volume  Scope and Content Note: Containing copies of Brunson's correspondence. Also includes reports to James D. Doty.
Box   1 Folder   1	Correspondence and miscellaneous papers, 1815-1882; undated Scope and Content Note: Includes a November 21, 1842 letter from Daniel Webster and a December 5, 1844 letter from Henry Clay.
Box   1 Volume   1	Journal of a Mission to the Indians on the Upper Mississippi / by Alfred Brunson, 1835 Scope and Content Note: Starts on the opposite end of the letterbook 1835-1843.
Box   1 Folder   2	Writings: manuscripts and clippings, 1846-1866, undated
	Speeches and writings
Box   1 Volume   2	"The Geology of Genesis," 1869 Physical Description: 1 volume  Scope and Content Note: An address to a meeting in La Crosse.
Box   1 Volume   3	"Finance: The Panic, Its Cause and Remedy," 1875 Physical Description: 1 volume
Box   1 Volume   4	"Address on Laying the Cornerstone of the M.E. Church, Madison, Wisconsin," 1872 July 25 Physical Description: 1 volume
Box   1 Volume   5	"The Mutiny in India in 1857-8," circa 1858 Physical Description: 1 volume
Box   1 Volume   6	"A History of School District No. One, Prairie du Chien (Lower Town) ... From 1841 To 1859," circa 1859 Physical Description: 1 volume  Scope and Content Note: read at the dedication of the new shool house, January 14, 1859.
Box   1 Folder   4	Personal narrative, 1835 July-1838 November Physical Description: 1 volume  Scope and Content Note: Written for the Upper Mississippi Historical Society.
Box   1 Folder   3	Biography of Brunson : draft / by his daughter, Mrs. E.L. Hitchcock between 1882 and 1889?
Box   1 Volume   7	Genealogical notes Scope and Content Note: Booklet (labeled B.B. Brunson, Kenton, Hardin Co., Ohio) containing brief Baker Family genealogical notes