Brande, Rev. Thomas

BRANDE, YATES, BREWSTER, BRAINERD, KLOVE

Posted By: Marilyn Holmes (email)
Date: 10/3/2012 at 09:06:46

History of Poweshiek County Iowa
Publ. 1911
Page 750

REV. THOMAS BRANDE

In the rush and hurry of everyday life it often seems that people are rated by what they have accomplished in a material way, and yet when death claims any individual we know that it is character which has counted and which gives to the individual his place in the regard and in the memory of his friends and associates. A life devoted to gospel service and an example that remains as a beneficent influence in the lives of many with whom he came in contact entitles the Rev. Thomas Brande to prominent mention in the history of Poweshiek county.

He was born July 1, 1810, and passed away May 26, 1898, having attained the venerable age of eighty-eight years. He was a native of Leicestershire, England, and a son of the Rev. William and Sarah (Yates) Brande. His father was a minister of the Baptist church and was educated in England, where much of his religious work was done, but in later years he came to the United States and for a time preached the gospel in Pennsylvania, subsequently removing westward to Kenosha county, Wisconsin, where the family settled upon a farm, although the father for some years still continued his ministerial labors. Both he and his wife passed away in that county and were there laid to rest.

When about thirteen years of age Thomas Brande left his home in England and came to America to live with an uncle, John Yates, a jeweler of Lansingburg, New York. There he was apprenticed to the jeweler's trade, completing a seven years' term of indenture, but during those years he was also preparing himself for the ministry by reading and study. In later years he was frequently asked at what theological institution he was educated and he would reply: "At the work bench." With his tools in his hand, while busy with some mechanical pursuits, his mind would reach out to the problems of life and consideration of the path or course which the individual should follow for the best development of the moral nature.

He determined to become a preacher of the gospel and at twenty-three years of age entered the active work of the ministry, his first pastorate being at Waterford, New York. Later he occupied pulpits at Whitehall, Ticonderoga and at Westport in northern New York, and in 1868 came to Grinnell, Iowa. Ten years before he had spent the summer in this place. It was in that same year that the Baptist church of Grinnell was organized and he preached for the little congregation at that time, thus becoming the first Baptist minister of this city. On his return to Grinnell in 1868 he took charge of the congregation here, over which he presided for twelve years, devoting his energies untiringly toward the upbuilding of the church, his teachings and his influence being of far-reaching effect in the lives of those who came under his ministration. At length as age came upon him he deemed it best to retire from the active work of the ministry, but after resigning his pastorate at Grinnell acted as supply in various pulpits, preaching for a year for the congregation at Toledo, Iowa, and for one year at Killduff. He retained his residence, however, in Grinnell, throughout that period.

He lived to a ripe old age and a long and useful life of eighty-eight years was closed when he was called to his final rest. He was an able exponent of the truths of the gospel, a clear and logical thinker and an earnest and often eloquent speaker. Not only in the pulpit, however, did he seek to lead the people to accept the gospel message, but also by a blameless life gave to them an example which has been a stimulus and inspiration in the lives of many who knew him.

Rev. Brande was married twice. He first wedded Miss Pearl Brewster, of New York, by whom he had a daughter, who died in Wisconsin. Mrs. Brande passed away while they were yet residents of Westport, New York, and on the 20th of April, 1857, Mr. Brande was united in marriage in Kenosha, Wisconsin, to Miss Isabella Brainerd, whose parents died in her childhood so that she was reared by an aunt, Mrs. Klove, of Racine county, Wisconsin. There was one son of this marriage, Edward Brainerd Brande, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this volume. Mrs. Brande is a member of the Baptist church and while now in her seventy-fourth year appears much younger, being remarkably well preserved, both mentally and physically.