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Polly was born about 1804. She passed away in 1889.
Sources
- Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
Find A Grave: Memorial #118759051 (accessed 14 September 2023)
Memorial page for Polly Bruce (1804-9 Sep 1889), citing Mount Muncie Cemetery, Lansing, Leavenworth County, Kansas, USA (plot: Section 25, Lot 2); Maintained by Denessia Swanegan (contributor 47144311).
Polly Bruce's birth/death dates/locations were given by her 3rd great grand daughter, Denessia Swanegan on FindAGrave as well as the photo of her tombstone in Mount Muncie Cenetery in Lansing, Kansas. Denessia Swanegan also added the following memorial:
"Polly Bruce was born into slavery in 1804. She gave birth to three children by her owner, Lemuel Bruce, in Prince Edward County, VA. When he died, she became the property of his daughter, Rebecca Bruce, who shortly thereafter married Pettus Perkinson. Polly gave birth to eight more children, the oldest of which was Blanche Kelso Bruce. It is presumed that he is the son of Perkinson. Blanche (B.K.) became the first African-American to serve a full term as a United States Senator. Polly died as a free woman in 1889 while living in Leavenworth, Kansas. Polly Bruce is my 3x great-grandmother."
NOTE: Based on H. C. Bruce's book it appears his father was another Bruce family slave (not Pettus Perkinson).
"Bruce was born into slavery in 1841 in Prince Edward County, Virginia near Farmville to Polly Bruce, an African-American woman who served as a domestic slave. His father was her master, Pettis Perkinson, a white Virginia planter. Bruce was treated comparatively well by his father, who educated him together with a legitimate half-brother. When Blanche Bruce was young, he played with his half-brother. His father legally freed Blanche and arranged for an apprenticeship so he could learn a trade."
