ANCESTOR NO. 26: FRANCIS BRUGUIER

Francis Bruguier, my grandmother’s grandfather, was an unlikely immigrant from east Germany. It’s a mystery why he left his home. As far as can be determined, he had no relatives where he settled in America. Unlike our colonial British ancestors, who left England because they refused to follow the official state religion, or our poverty-stricken Irish ancestors, who survived famine that decimated their countrymen, Francis Bruguier probably grew up in comfortable circumstances. His grandfather Carl Joseph von Bruguier was of the minor nobility.[1] Francis’ father Carl Alexander von Bruguier was a chancellor in the civil service for Prussia, the most powerful of the German speaking countries that later united to form Germany. Francis’ mother was Sophie Henriette Hermine Kleinholz. Francis was born as Carl Ernst August Franz von Bruguier on May 23,1841 in Seeburg, a small town in Brandenburg, a little west of Berlin.[2] A few years later, his father was posted to Senftenberg, a small town between Berlin and Dresden, so Francis grew up there, for the most part. He had a sister Emma, about two years younger than him, a brother Richard, who died when Francis was about 14, and a much younger brother Otto.[3]

Shortly before his 21st birthday, Francis left Bremen on the Coriolan, sailing for fifty days, and enduring very rough weather.[4] German men who emigrated were supposed to register with the government before leaving the country, to ensure they didn’t leave before doing (lengthy) military service. But Francis “left royal lands without permission.”[5] If he meant to avoid a soldier’s life, his plan backfired spectacularly. After arriving in New York City on a Thursday (June 26, 1862), he enlisted in the Union Army the next Monday.[6] This was in the middle of the U. S. Civil War. There were many instances of newly arrived immigrants being swindled as soon as they arrived.[7] Could this have happened to Francis?

The enlistment record said he was an apothecary (pharmacist), had blue eyes, brown hair, a fair complexion, and was five feet, ten and a half inches tall. He was assigned to Company G in the Fifth Artillery. Francis’ whole life to that point had been spent in the cold of northern Europe, but in December he was sent to the steamy swamps of Louisiana as part of the expedition to New Orleans and the Red River Campaign.[8] He also had to learn English. After about a year and a half in the army, Francis applied for and was promoted to the position of hospital steward.[9] His job was to compound prescriptions, manage supplies for the field hospitals and sometimes to assist the surgeon. In September 1864 he was sent to Ft. Hamilton in New York City, well out of harm’s way.[10] We have a photo of him in his Union uniform. In America he became known as Frank or Francis Bruguier; he dropped the von from his name.

When he was discharged at the end of June 1865, he was eligible for citizenship immediately because he had served in the military. Normally, immigrants had to wait five years after arrival. Francis became a U. S. citizen on July 10,1865 in Brooklyn, and we can see his signature.[11] The next year, on February 27, 1866, in Manhattan, he married Anna Wilhelmine Ladewig, born in  Brandenburg, like him.[12] She had arrived in New York as a nine-year-old with her mother Wilhelmina Rabach Ladewig, a sister, and a brother.[13] Her parents lived in Brooklyn, then Staten Island, but Francis and Anna settled in Newark, New Jersey, a city with a large population of German immigrants. Francis and Anna had ten children (documented, there may have been more). Only four lived to adulthood, including our ancestor Oscar, who took over Francis’ pharmacy when he retired. The others were Paul, the eldest, Minnie, and Francis, Jr.[14]

Although Francis owned a pharmacy on Market Street in Newark, he applied for a passport in April 1872.[15] He probably went to see his parents and had a photo taken. His sister Emma’s children in Germany had a photo of him as late as the 1960s. He made a long trip back to Germany in 1890 as well.[16]

Francis joined the New Jersey Pharmaceutical Association in 1878.[17] He had two pharmacies in Newark before he decided to sell one of them “cheap for cash” in 1882.[18] His pharmacy also served as the local post office.[19] In those days pharmacists made the prescriptions using a mortar and pestle, called compounding. In 1897, a Newark newspaper ran a short article when he had compounded his 100,000^th prescription at his Hamburg Place drug store, although he said that in his forty-one-year career he had compounded over half a million.[20] I was able to buy a bottle from his Hamburg Place pharmacy on eBay in 2017. It’s about seven inches high.

Francis belonged to the Lincoln Post no. 11 of the GAR (Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans, as well as Germania Lodge No. 128 of the Freemasons in Newark, which met twice a week on Broad Street.[21] He also was a member of a bowling group called the Cinnamon Club.[22]

Francis died on Christmas Eve in 1906 at age 65, of “chronic interstitial nephritis.”[23] My grandmother, just turned four years old, remembered looking at him as he was laid out in the parlor, as was customary at that time. She and her family lived with Francis and Anna. She also remembered that every afternoon he would meet her sister Alma when she got out of her German speaking private school.

Francis was buried at Fairmount Cemetery in Newark. His grave is marked by a long flat stone with the dates 1840-1906.

Photo courtesy of Mary Lish.

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[1] For nobility, Leopold Freiherrn von Ledebur, Adelslexicon der Preussischen Monarchie, (Berlin, Prussia: Ludwig Rauh, 1855), 1:111. For grandfather, see Francis‘ baptism and his parents‘ 1840 marriage record.

[2] For birth date, place and parents‘ names: Evangelische Kirche, Seeburg, Kirchenkreis Falkensee, Gesamtkirchenbuch 1800-1901, 1841, no. 6, 20 June 1841, Carl Ernst August Franz v. Bruguier; Landeskirchliches Archiv der Evangelischen Kirche Berlin-Brandenburg-schlesische Oberlausitz; Archion (https://www.archion.de/en/viewer/churchRegister/329161?cHash=cf5df02406658d542d274cc3404b8096: accessed 29 August 2026).

[3] Kirchenbuch Duplicate Parochie Pritzen 1802-1852, Baptism, 1843, no. 11, Bertha Louise Agnes Emma von Bruguier, 18 June 1843; “Brandenburg, Germany, Transcripts of Church Records, 1700-1874,” database and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/1523357:2116: accessed 20 Nov. 2023) > Pritzen > 1802-1852 > image 347 of 435. Peter-Paul Evangelische-Lutherische Kirche in Kirchenkreis Senftenberg, “Taufen 1845-1867,” Sign. 15374, p. 58, no. 44, 22  Nov. 1849, Friedrich Alwin Richard von Bruguier; Landeskirchliches Archiv der Evangelischen Kirche Berlin-Brandenburg-schlesische Oberlausitz; “ Taufen 1845-1867,” images, Archion (https://www.archion.de/p/e526216488/: accessed 14 Oct. 2024) > image 63 of 300. Peter-Paul Evangelische-Lutherische Kirche in Kirchenkreis Senftenberg, Taufen 1845-1867, Sign. 15374, p. 149, no. 28, 16 Aug. 1857, Friedrich Wilhelm Julius Otto von Bruguier; Landeskirchliches Archiv der Evangelischen Kirche Berlin-Brandenburg-schlesische Oberlausitz; “ Taufen 1845-1867,” images, Archion (https://www.archion.de/p/6609a082df/: accessed 14 Oct. 2024) > image 156 of 300.

[4] For ship name and dates: Manifest, Bark Coriolan, 26 June 1862, New York, New York, p. 238; database and images, “New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957,” Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 22 Jan. 2023) > Date > 1862 > Jun >26 > Coriolan > image 1 of 8. For Francis: Manifest, Bark Coriolan, 26 June 1862, New York, New York, unpaginated, no. 142, Franz Bruguier, 24, male, merchant; database and images, “New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957,” Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 22 Jan. 2023) > Date > 1862 > Jun >26 > Coriolan > image 4 of 8. For weather: “Arrived,” New-York Tribune, 26 June 1862, p. 7, col. 6; image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/78345103/?match=1&terms=Coriolan&search-id=0c3354b2-6c68-40f7-8a25-1e61e2c48748&search-rank=1: accessed 5 Oct. 2026).

[5] Königlich Preussischer Staats-Anzeiger 1865, 7-9 (Berlin: Decker, 1865), 2698; image, Google Books (https://www.google.com/books/edition/K%C3%B6niglich_Preu%C3%9Fischer_Staats_Anzeiger/g4VNAAAAcAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1: accessed 6 Oct. 2026). Note: this is an image of a newspaper notice summoning him to court for “leaving royal lands without permission.”

[6] The Adjutant General’s Office, “Register of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914,” p.111; microfilm publication M233, Record Group 94: NARA, Washington, D.C.; “U.S., Army, Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914,” images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 1 Feb. 2023) > 1859-1863 > A-D > image 103 of 600.

[7] Esther Crain, “Swindlers lying in wait for the city’s immigrants,” 14 Dec. 2012; Ephemeral New York (https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/tag/19th-century-immigrants/: accessed 2 Oct. 2026).

[8] Lieut. J.C. Bush, “Fifth Regiment of Artillery,” The Army of the US Historical Sketches of Staff and Line with Portraits of Generals-in-Chief (New York: Maynard, Merrill & Co., 1896), 376-397, esp. 394;  Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/armyofunitedstat00roderich/page/376/mode/2up: accessed 6 Oct. 2026).

[9] For application: Adjutant General’s Office, “Letters Received by Commission Branch, 1863-1870,” 7 Dec. 1863; file B1121, p. 2, pub. M1064, RG 94, roll 009; NARA, Washington, D.C.; “Letters Received by Commission Branch, 1863-1870,” images, Fold3 (https://www.fold3.com/image/303593821L: accessed 3 July 2022) > 1863 > B1023-B1169 > B1121 > Bruguier, Francois > p. 2. For recommendations by two surgeons: Adjutant General’s Office, “Letters Received by Commission Branch, 1863-1870,” 3 Dec. 1863; file B1121, p. 4, pub. M1064, RG 94, roll 009; NARA, Washington, D.C.; “Letters Received by Commission Branch, 1863-1870,” images, Fold3 (fold3.com/image/303593833: accessed 7 Feb. 2023) > 1863 > B1023-B1169 > B1121 > Bruguier, Francois > p. 4.

[10] “U.S., Returns from Military Posts, 1806-1916,” database and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 22 Feb. 2023) > New York > Hamilton, Fort > 1860 Jan – 1876 Dec > image 152 of 477, François Bruguier, Sep. 1864.

[11] Brooklyn, Kings, N. Y., City Court, V. 39, p. 1, 10 July 1865, Francis Bruguier; “New York, U.S., State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1794-1943,” database and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 22 Feb. 2023) > City Court Brooklyn (1-65) > City Court Brooklyn (38-42) > image 634 of 2089.

[12] Pension application of Anna Bruguier, 5 Jan. 1907, no. 861188, certificate 625614, National  Archives (NARA), Washington, D. C.

[13] Manifest, Herschel, 1 June 1855, Hamburg, Germany, p. 301, line 24, Anna Ladewig, 9; database and images, “Hamburg Passenger Lists, 1850-1934,” Ancestry (ancestry.com: accessed 24 Mar. 2023) > 1850-1859 > Direkt Band 008 (6 Jan 1855-24 Nov 1855) > image 155 of 344; Staatsarchiv Hamburg, Bestand: 373-7 I VIII (Auswanderungsamt I).

[14] 1885 New Jersey state census, Essex County, Ward 12, Newark, p. 68, dwelling 243, family 368, Francis Bruguir [sic]; “New Jersey, U.S., State Census, 1885,” database and images, Ancestry (ancestry.com: accessed 12 Mar. 2023) > Essex > Newark Ward 9 – Newark Ward 12 > image 602 of 708; from New Jersey State Archive. Note: There were no births registered for these four with their names. Dates are found from draft records for the sons.

[15] Passport Applications, Roll 180, 3 April 1872, no. 18616, Francis Bruguier; NARA, Washington, D.C.; “U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 2 March 2023) > Passport Applications, 1795-1905 > 1867-1873 > Roll 180 - 18 Mar 1872-08 Apr 1872 > image 809 of 1262.

[16] Manifest, Columbia, 25 September 1890, Hamburg, Germany, no. 110, Franz Bruguier, 49, male, merchant; database and images, “Hamburg Passenger Lists, 1850-1934,” Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 12 Mar. 2023) > 1890-1900 > Direkt Band 068 (2 Jul 1890-30 Sep 1890 > image 366 of 392; Staatsarchiv Hamburg. Note: this is the return home to America; the list for the voyage to Germany was not found. But a newspaper article in Newark’s German language newspaper said it was a long trip (“einen langeren Reise”): “Familien- und Personal-Nachrichten,” Deutsche Zeitung (Newark, N.J.), 4 October 1890, p. 4, col. 4; GenealogyBank.com: accessed 13 March 2023.

[17]New Jersey Pharmaceutical Association, Proceedings of the 37^th Annual Meeting of the New Jersey Pharmaceutical Association (Somerville, N.J.: Unionist-Gazette,1907), 37:25; (https://www.google.com/books/edition/Proceedings_of_the_Annual_Meeting/iBYS8msI4lIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Francis+Bruguier%22&pg=PA25&printsec=frontcover: accessed 5 Oct. 2026). Note: This is an obituary of Francis. This says he “died after an illness of four days.”

[18] “Drug Store,” New York Herald, 10 December 1882, p. 3, col. 4; image, GenealogyBank.com: accessed 22 Jan. 2023.

[19] Dept. of the Interior, Official Register of the United States… (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1905), 2: 560, 1 July 1905; Oregon State Library, Salem, Oregon; “U.S., Register of Civil, Military, and Naval Service, 1863-1959,” images, Ancestry (ancestry.com: accessed 18 Mar. 2023) > 1905 > Volume 2 > image 574 of 2492.

[20] “A Druggist’s Big Score,” Newark Sunday Call, 15 August 1897, p. 8, col. 7; image, MyHeritage (https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10614-94527/newark-sunday-call?snippet=b60be52b449d8cfdba45a1239976bf97#fullscreen: accessed 27 Feb. 2023).

[21] “A Druggist’s Big Score.” Proceedings of the M.W. Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New Jersey (Trenton, N.J.: MacCrellish & Quigley, 1907), Vol. XX11-Part 2: c; Google Books (https://www.google.com/books/edition/Proceedings/R2otAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=Bruguier: accessed 3 Mar 2023). Note: this was a death notice of members.

[22] “Cinnamon Club,” Deutsche Zeitung (Newark, N.J.), 23 January 1890, p. 4, col. 5; GenealogyBank.com: accessed 23 June 2022.

[23] New Jersey, Bureau of Vital Statistics, death certificate (24 December 1906), Essex County, Francis Bruguier; New Jersey State Archives, Trenton, N.J.