Alfred Brunson

Alfred Brunson
1837 (age 44)
Born(1793-02-09)February 9, 1793
Danbury, Connecticut
DiedAugust 3, 1882(1882-08-03) (aged 89)
OccupationsMethodist circuit rider, lawyer, and territorial legislator
ChildrenIra B. Brunson
Benjamin Wetherill Brunson
RelativesThomas P. Burnett (son-in-law)

Alfred Brunson (February 9, 1793 – August 3, 1882) was an American Methodist missionary and circuit rider, lawyer, and territorial legislator.

Biography

Born in Danbury, Connecticut,[1] Brunson served in the War of 1812.[1] Brunson was a Methodist church circuit rider in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

In 1835, he moved to Prairie du Chien, Michigan Territory and was a Methodist circuit rider.[1]

In 1836, Brunson was searching for someone who spoke the Dakota language and shared his Methodist values to serve as an interpreter for his mission work. He chose James Thompson, who was enslaved to military officer William Day and was married to a Dakota woman, the daughter of Mahipiya Wicasta (Cloud Man). Brunson wrote to Methodist journals and others out East in order to raise $1,200 to free Thompson from his enslaver.[2][3] Thompson was freed by spring of 1837, and returned to Fort Snelling with Brunson. They began the areas first Methodist mission at Kaposia, with land and support from Dakota leader Wakinyatanka "Big Thunder" (Little Crow III). After Wakinyatanka revoked his acceptance of the mission and attendance waned, and with Brunson ill and away from the mission, the mission closed.[4][5]

He studied law and was admitted to the Wisconsin bar in 1839.[1] He served in the Wisconsin Territorial House of Representatives of the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature from 1840 to 1841 as a Whig.[6]

During the American Civil War, Brunson served as a chaplain of the 31st Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He retired from the ministry in 1871.[1] He also wrote including his autobiography. His son was Ira B. Brunson who also served in the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature. His son in law was Thomas P. Burnett. Brunson died in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.[1][7][8]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Death of a Pioneer". Green Bay Weekly Gazette. August 12, 1882. p. 1. Retrieved October 17, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ Brunson, Ella C. (December 1, 1918). Alfred Brunson, Pioneer of Wisconsin Methodism. Wisconsin Magazine of History. pp. 140–141.
  3. ^ Riggs, Stephen R (1894). "Protestant Missions in the Northwest". Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society. Minnesota Historical Society. pp. 136–137.
  4. ^ "Thompson, James (ca. 1799–1884) | MNopedia". Archived from the original on July 12, 2025. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  5. ^ Green, William D. (2007). "The Story of Jim Thompson". A Peculiar Imbalance: The Fall and Rise of Racial Inequality in Early Minnesota [en]. Minnesota Historical Society. ISBN 9780873515863.
  6. ^ Laws of Wisconsin Territory. W.T. 1842. p. 93.
  7. ^ "Wisconsin Historical Society-Alfred and Ira Brunson". Archived from the original on March 31, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  8. ^ Proceedings of the State Bar Association of Wisconsin 1900, Wisconsin Bar Association: 1901, Biographical Sketch of Alfred Brunson, p. 212.
allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Brunson