August Friedrich Brusius

Gus was one of six children of German immigrants, but three died in childhood, two of them in the same year Gus was born. When he was 2 years old his father died from injuries in a bar room brawl. Brother George was seven years older so he became the father figure.

The children were baptized and grew up in Salem Zion United Church of Christ, where they probably spoke German since the church records are in that language. Gus met Maggie Scott, a daughter of Irish immigrants and married her in 1895, the day before his 22nd birthday. Some sources say she wasn’t quite 16. They had their only child, Rebecca, whom they called Reba, in March of 1896.

Gus was a teamster before he joined the police department ten years later. He died on the job the following year while trying to diffuse a Saturday night domestic dispute in East Kensington. A man named James Gannon was arguing with a woman he claimed was his wife and the news clipping below report the sad story. His fellow officers paid tribute as they laid him to rest, and his grave often includes a blue wreath in his memory.