Capt. Robert Bruton, Bureau, was born near Dublin, Ireland, April 26, 1838. He came to the United States with his parents when about ten years old, and resided in Bergen, N. Y. until 1857, when he came to Bureau County, Ill. He was reared on a farm and educated in the academy at Riga, Monroe County, N. Y.
July 24, 1861, he enlisted in the service of his country in Company I, Twelfth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Capt. F. B. Ferris. He passed through the successive ranks from private to Captain, and served in that capacity till his discharge at Louisville, Ky. July 10, 1865. At the battle of Shiloh he was with Capt. Ferris when he received his fatal shot. At the battle of Allatoona, Ga., Capt. Burton was shot through the shoulder, and was sent to Rome, Ga., but after thirty days received a furlough, and came home. As soon as he was able he joined his company in North Carolina, and was with them at the grand review at Washington, D.C.
Capt. Bruton is the son of Michael Bruton, who had three sons and one daughter. All of the sons entered the service as privates. Christopher C. enlisted in the 100-day service in the Eighteenth New York Infantry, but was wounded and discharged. He afterward raised a company at Rome, N. Y., and later was commissioned Captain in the Twenty-second New York Cavalry. While in command of a battalion he captured the headquarters of Gen. Early, and had the honor of receiving the sword from him. He was afterward placed on Gen. Custer’s staff, and at the close of the war was on the staff of Gen. Sheridan. He died from disease contracted on the Rio Grande River, Texas. Patrick Bruton, another brother, was Sergeant in a New York Regiment; he now resides near Grand Rapids, Mich.
After his return from the war, Capt. Bruton engaged in farming in this county for five years on a farm rented from J. V. Thompson. He purchased a farm near Atchison, Kan., but a year later traded it for his present farm of about 200 acres in Bureau Township.
He was married August 16, 1863, to Martha Matson, daughter of Peter Matson, deceased (see sketch of Enos M. Matson). Capt. and Mrs. Bruton have five children, viz.: Emma, born October 30, 1864; Maggie L., born October 24, 1869, died January 17, 1884; Joseph V., born December 4, 1876; Leslie V.,, born August 31, 1880; Vida C., born June 4, 1883.
In politics Capt. Bruton is identified with the Republican party. He is a member of the Walnut Lodge No. 722, A. F. & A. M.
Source: History of Bureau County, Illinois, H. C. Bradsby, Editor. World Publishing Company Chicago 1885