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Copyright 2011-2018 John N. Lupia, III
Charles Henry Bruce (1826-1916), was born on March 3, 1826, son of Henry A. Bruce, at Dedham, Massachusetts. He was educated at Dexter Academy.
In 1849, he established the firm of Charles H. Bruce, Housekeeping and Upholstery Store, at 604-606 Washington Street, Boston, Massachusetts. He was an upholsterer and manufacturer of curtains, cornices, window shades, draperies, quilts and comforters.
On October 6, 1850, he married Mary E. Fox (1831-), daughter of Richard Fox (1790-) and Mary Fox (1795-).
On September 15, 1856 he became a Freemason at the Massachusetts Lodge. He was an Odd Fellow.
In June 1863 he was enlisted in the rolls during the Civil War.
In 1865, the West Roxbury, Massachusetts Census lists him as an upholsterer.
The 1870 U. S. Census reports him as a manufacturer and dealer in window shades living in West Roxbury, [Jamaica Plain - Post Office], Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with his wife Mary E. Bruce, and his daughter Harriet E. Bruce.
Fig. Bruce's advertisement for window shades published in the Boston Traveler, Saturday, June 28, 1873, page 3
Fig. Bruce's advertisement for window shades published in the Boston Post, Friday, January 8, 1874, page 3
The 1880 U. S. Census reports him as a dealer in window shades living at 181 Poplar Street, Boston, Massachusetts, with his wife Mary E. Bruce, and his married daughter Harriet and son-in-law Charles E. S. Weeks.
Fig. Correspondence of Charles H. Bruce to the Chapman Brothers sent on his son-in-law's postal stationery postmarked July 10, 1895, Syracuse, New York. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library, Special Collection, The Chapman Family Correspondence Archive.
Among the Syracuse illustrious collectors John Friedrich Seybold lived one and a half miles northwest of Bruce.
The 1910 U. S. Census reports him as a widower living at 406 Allen Street, Syracuse, New York, with his married daughter Harriet E. Weeks and son-in-law Charles E. S. Weeks.
He died at the age of 90 at his daughter's home in Syracuse, New York, on April 3, 1916.
Henry Chapman, Jr. sold his collection posthumously on March 14-15, 1917.
Bibliography :
1865 West Roxbury, Massachusetts Census
1870 U. S. Census
Boston Traveler, Saturday, June 28, 1873, page 3
Boston Post, Friday, January 8, 1874, page 3
1880 U. S. Census
1910 U. S. Census
The Numismatist, inside front cover, 1917 - Chapman ad
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