Joseph Bruin (abt. 1808 - abt. 1882)

Born about 1808 in Virginia, United States

Died about 7 Oct 1882 at about age 74 in Virginia, United States [uncertain]

Biography

Joseph was born about 1808 in Virginia. Prior to the Civil War he was a slave trader based out of Alexandria and Baltimore. After the Civil War, he appears to have been a farmer in Loudoun County, Virginia. According to ^[1], he was the son of John and Mary Bruin. He married Martha H. Rust i n 1838 in Frederick County, Maryland. ^[2] Joseph and Martha lived with their children in Fairfax County, Virginia, not far from the Slave Jail building that Joseph purchased in 1844 and operated in Alexandria, Virginia ^[3] From the 1840s until Union troops seized the property in 1861, enslaved African-Americans were brought to the slave jail as Bruin brokered their exchange to plantations in the Deep South. ^[3] Joseph gained lasting notoriety due to his involvement in the incident of the Pearl in 1848 ^[4] At the outbreak of the Civil War, Bruin fled Alexandria but was captured and then confined in the Old Captiol Prison in Washington, DC, until the end of the war. ^[5]. After the war, Joseph appears to have bought a farm in Loudoun County, where he was living in 1870 with his family. In 1880, he is living with his family in Falls Church, Virginia and is listed as a baker. He passed away in 1882 and is buried in Methodist Protestant Cemetery, Alexandria, Alexandria City, Virginia.

Slaves

Joseph was a slave trader so many slaves passed through his ownership; following are ones known so far:

• Ephraim Edmonson (abt.1816-1888)

Sources

1. ↑ Rust of Virginia: genealogical and biographical sketches of the descendants of William Rust, 1654-1940. p. 142, "Martha, b. 1821, d. November 24, 1887, m. September 18, 1838, Joseph Bruin, b. 1809, d. October 7, 1882, son John and Mary ( ) Bruin. Original data:Rust, Ellsworth Marshall,. Rust of Virginia : genealogical and biographical sketches of the descendants of William Rust, 1654-1940. Washington: Rust, 1940. Free Ancestry Image
2. ↑ 1838 Marriage: Frederick County, Maryland, 17 Sep 1838, Joseph Bruin to Martha H Rust. Ancestry.com. Maryland, U.S., Compiled Marriages, 1655-1850 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Original data: Dodd, Jordan, Liahona Research, comp.. Maryland Marriages, 1655-1850. Most of the records in this index may be found at the Maryland Historical Society or the Family History Library.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} "Joseph Bruin and the Slave Trade" by Kraus, Bedell, and LeeDecker, The Louis Berger Group, Inc, Washington DC, June 2007.
4. ↑ https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/3035622.pdf The Fugitives of the Pearl, by John H Painter, The Journal of Negro History, Jun, 1916, Vol 1, No 3, pp 243-264
5. ↑ https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/underground/va1.htm

• 1850 US Census, Joseph Brewen, age 42, bp Virginia, trader, with inferred wife Martha H, 4 children, Year: 1850; Census Place: Fairfax, Virginia; Roll: 942; Page: 111b. Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Free Ancestry Image

• 1860 US Census, Joseph Bruin, age 50, bp Virginia, Trader in Negroes, with inferred wife M H Bruin, 7 inferred children, Year: 1860; Census Place: Fairfax, Virginia; Page: 894. Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009.Free Ancestry Image

• 1870 US Census, Joseph Bruin, age 61, farmer, with inferred wife Martha H, 6 children, 2 Rust children, Year: 1870; Census Place: Southern District, Loudoun, Virginia; Roll: M593_1659; Page: 259A. Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Free Ancestry Image

• 1880 US Census, Joseph Bruin, age 73, bp Virginia, baker, with wife Martha H, 4 children, 1 grandson.Year: 1880; Census Place: Falls Church, Fairfax, Virginia; Roll: 1364; Page: 322C; Enumeration District: 037. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Free Ancestry Image

• Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/113166652/joseph-bruin Find a Grave, database and images (www.findagrave.com/memorial/113166652/joseph-bruin : accessed 21 June 2021), memorial page for Joseph Bruin (1809–1882), Find a Grave Memorial ID 113166652, citing Methodist Protestant Cemetery, Alexandria, Alexandria City, Virginia, USA ; Maintained by Mrs. Bee (contributor 47112547) .

• Bruin's Slave Jail, Alexandria, Virginia