Catherine and John F. Bruning married...
... after immigrating from Germany in the early 1840s. John was an inventor and Catherine a former minor member of royalty (Von Broke Zur Lage). The move to American began well with John introducing roasted coffee to Indiana in 1852 and beginning a successfull import business on the river in Madison Indiana.
Above: John and Catherine Bruning's mansion in Madison Indiana on West Main Street, built after their mercantile business grew into a coffee, tea and spice import business. William inherited this house after his parents died, but couldn't move in because his sister Clara and brother-in-law Copeland lived here since they never made enough money to buy their own house. After the trial of Copeland for attempted murder in 1895, the house sat empty and haunted until William's death in 1930 when it was sold to become a mortuary. The new owner, Sydney Haigh, stored an Eyptian mummy in the carriage house until his accidental death by train. Eventually the house was razed to make way for the Madison Clinic. However, the carriage house seen in the right of the photo was moved across the street and can still be seen in Madison behind the Trolley House.
The first family tragedy...
... was Caroline Bruning, William's older sister, who died at age eight. William and much younger daughter Clara survived.
 John F. Bruning's Headstone in the Springfield Cemetery
|
 Catherine's Headstone in Springfield Cemetery
|
 |
 Left: Bruning Monument in Springfield Cemetery. |
All that's left of the household today is...
... the Bruning Carriage house, which was constructed about 1876. The structure is listed in the Historic American Buildings Survey or HABS at the Library of Congress. In 1978 the carriage house was dismantled brick by brick and moved across the street behind the trolley house in Madison Indiana as a superb example of a late 19th century suburban outbuilding. The eight page report can be viewed by clicking here.
