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The information below given to my sister Cindy by our Mother Donna Brassine born March 22, 1930 several years before Mom passed January 28, 1996.
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Great-grandmother Adelaide Spreutels; an only child was born December 16, 1849 and raised near the site of the legendary battle of Waterloo in Brussels, Belgium. Her father was a blacksmith for Belgian King Leopold I who ruled from 1831 to 1865. Adelaide’s mother died while she was quite young.
Great-grandfather, Francis Leonord Del Brassine was one of seven children. His father and two sisters died of typhus. He attended the conservatory of Music of Brussels and showed great promise as a musician. He was forced to abandon this education because of family problems.
In 1882 Leonord came to America and settled in Cincinnati, Ohio and one year later, wife Adelade and the children joined him. One son, Homer died and is buried in Cincinnati. In 1892 Leonord and his family moved to Indiana.
Leonord another investor George Shirley purchased 153 acres on the west bank of White River east of Trinity Springs. Leonord later became the sole owner and built what was deemed a First Class 29 room hotel on the property. This spa was known as LaSalle Springs after the famous French explorer Rene-Robert Cavelier Sieur de LaSalle (1643-1687). See more about this historical location at: LaSalle Springs Hotel. All that remains today is the sulfur springs and the concrete platforms. As of 2009, this location is still known LaSalle Springs.
On December 24, 1904 wife Adelaide died at age 54 and was buried in Indiana at the Mt. Olive Church of Christ cemetery 1 mile east of the Martin-Lawrence County line on SR-450. The hotel had burned some time before so Leonord sold the springs property to his two sons, René and Ernest.
Grandfather Leonard and Grandmother Adelaide bore 7 children.
Jennie: ( 4 children, Josaphine, Edmund, Lucy, and Joseph Martin )
Ida: ( 6 children: Joseph, William Adelade, Odele, Henretta and Paul. Adelade died of brain tumor )
Marie: ( 1 child, Florence )
Rene: ( 2 sons, Phillip and Conrad )
Ernest: ( 3 daughters, Adelade, Natalie and Margaret )
Severin & Lucy: ( 13 children, Dave, Grace, Frank, John, Ray, Louise, Paul, Saraphine, Sylvia and Hazel, who died at the age of 7. Three died at birth. )
Great-grandfather Leonord returned to Belgium at age 56 and was in still there when Germany declared war on them in 1914. He fled to England, but after suffering a stroke, his doctor ordered him to Bordeaux, France for his health. He later went to Switzerland. When he heard that his cousin Julius was dying, he went behind the enemy lines to see him. He wrote family that he was going, and that if he was alive when the war was over, he would write the family again. He got a card out to the children by a priest, who was bringing orphaned children to America. The card read, "Father is OK". The family later received word that he had another stroke. Severin later received a post card from an attorney, wanting the names and addresses of all the children. Severin wrote and asked for news of his father but never received an answer.
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FINAL RESTING PLACES
Marie is buried in Arlington Cemetary
Rene is buried in Columbus, Ohio
Earnest is buried in Chicago, Illinois
Ida is buried in Cincinnati, Ohio
Jennie and my Grandparents Severin & Lucy are buried at Mt. Olive Cemetery on SR-450 east of Williams, Indiana
Homer is buried in Cincinnati, Ohio
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A Note From Cindy: Around 20 years ago I was given a box of old books. One of the books was a true story about a priest during the war, at that time. He was bringing orphaned children to the United States and finding homes for them from the same area as Great Grandpa Leonard. It was very heartfelt book.
I did not realize it at the time, but the description of the priest and his dilemmas and areas fit that of what I have heard about Great Grandpa’s letter to his children. I will always believe this book was of the same priest who carried his Grandpas post card. Dad (Paul Brassine) said the priest came to the port of New York then went to Indianapolis, Indiana, Chicago, Illinois, and many areas finding homes for these children.
Needless to say I gave the book to someone. and I can't remember who it was. So there is a book out there about this same priest, I am sure of it. If you can find it. You might find a another link to our past. I cannot remember the name of the book.
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