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Family Name History - From The Historical Research Center
The surname Bruce is of territorial origin, deriving from the name of the dwelling place or locality where a bearer once lived. In this instance, the name can be traced to the lands surrounding the Chateau d ' Adam at Brix, between Cherbourg and Valognes in Normandy. It was from here that the original bearer of the surname Bruce hailed. Robert de Brus, who was named after his lands, built an extensive fortress there in the eleventh century before he emigrated to Scotland. He was the leader of the Brus contingent in the army of William the Conquerer who arrived in Britain in 1066. He settled in Scotland where his name became anglicized to Bruce and he died in his adopted country in 1094. A son of this Robert de Brus, know as Robert Le Meschin ( the cadet ), and later as Robert Bruce, achieved renown in Scotland when he received a grant of lands at Annandale as a reward for being a companion of King David I at the English court. A grandson of Robert, also named Robert, became famous as Robert the Bruce, who subsequently became Robert I of Scotland. His brother Edward was crowned King of Ireland in 1316, but was killed in 1318. Notable modern day bearers of the name include James Bruce ( 1730 - 94 ), the Scottish explorer in Africa who rediscovered the source of the Blue Nile in 1770 and Stanley Bruce ( b. 1883 ), the Australian statesman who was President of the Council of the League of Nations in 1936.
Blazon of Arms: Or a saltire and cheif gules on a canton argent a lion rampant azure.
Translation : The heraldic metal or (gold ) denotes Generosity and Elevation of Mind. Gules ( red ) denotes Military Fortitude and Magnanimity.
Crest: A Lion statant azure.
Translation: Azure ( blue ) signifies Loyalty and Truth.
Motto: Fuimus.
Translation: We have been.
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The Family of C.E. and Cora Bruce - Sis (Valerah Bruce Coombs remembers)
My parents were married in Platteville, Colorado July 6, 1904. When the family was small; just Deuce, Ted and myself, my parents ran a hotel on the corner in town. It had a pool room with buckets of hard candy, we kids couldn't keep our hands out of, and a buggy for hire with horses we called Peanut and Josh. The hotel business didn't suit my folks; however, so dad took over mail route #2, a scenic 40 to 50 mile run including Grand Lake and Mead, and held this job 35 years until he retired in 1945. Dad was gregarious and energetic, Platteville's unofficial social director. He organized dances and baseball teams and we often had an old baseball player sleeping in our basement. Both my parents were active in lodges, The Oddfellows, The Rebekahs etc. Before marriage mother had been Mr. Springfields bookkeeper at the Mercantle Co. across the street from the railroad station. She became a full-time mother and housewife as our family grew to ten high-spirited children. We Bruce kids were a lively, fun-loving bunch with a reputation for escapades large and small. It was a great life! Mother was the daughter of William and Caroline Keefer Birkle, German immigrants who married in St. Jo, Missouri in 1872 and pioneered on a farm near Wattenburg Co. In 1879 they settled on a homestead two and a half miles West of Platteville and reared a family of seven. On our grandparents farm, we town kids got to eat fresh watermelon and taste warm milk straight from the cow. Dad's father was Harrison Morgan Bruce; he was born in Oowa of Scottish ancestry and served in the Union Army, Company E, Third Iowa Cavalry, during the Civil War. Dad's mother was Lucinda Celestia A. Duckworth from a prominent Davis Co. Iowa family. Her Great Grandfather, John Duckworth, served under General McDowell during the Revolutionary War. My gradparents married in Iowa in 1875 and homesteaded for 11 years in Western Kanas during a period of droughts and panics. In 1893 they moved their family of 8 children to Colorado, hoping the change would cure my fathers asthma. He outgrew the asthma but in the move he has to sell his pony. Grandma Bruce lived next door to us as we were growing up. When things got too noisy for me at home, I retreated to the cozy yellow house where Grandma Bruce would fix cambrie tea, read the Bible and teach me the tiny stitches needed for quilting. In the spring we would sit outside in her astonishingly lush garden, under the apple tree with its cloud of white blossoms. All was right with the world.
Information courtesy of: Barbara Coombs Loory, daughter of Valerah Bruce Coombs.
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