Brudney family

Early history

The Brudney family is a prominent Welsh-American family, well known for their contributions to the American academic, political and legal systems. The family, which traces its origins back to 17th century Wales and Bavaria is respected by scholars for its history of political liberalism and industrial expertise at the turn of the 19th century.

Harry Wynnewood Brudney, the de facto founder of the family, was born to a Scottish mother and a Welsh father of Bavarian descecnt in 1885 in Boston, Massachusetts. Although much of his father’s family was working-class, he grew up in a cultured, political home. His mother was the 4th daughter of the 12th Earl of Caithness, a hereditary Scottish peer in the House of Lords.

Some social commentators of the early 20th century considered Harry Brudney to be the inspiration for the social-climbing character of Lawrence Lefferts in Edith Wharton’s "The Age of Innocence". His two children were married immediately after World War I, one to a member of the Du Pont family, and one to a member of the Rothschild family.

The family was particularly active during World War II when they participated as active political advisors to United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In 1946 however the reputation of the family suffered due to its connection with the Alger Hiss affair. Nevertheless, their famed loyalty led Eleanor Roosevelt to call the family “America’s Secret Bearers.”

During the 1960s, the Brudney family withdrew from the spotlight. Although considered briefly for a position on the Supreme Court during the Johnson administration, V. Brudney turned it down due to a scandal involving the company bearing his father’s name. The H.W. Brudney company was dissolved in 1965. The family’s New York law firm was similarly dissolved in 1967.

Recent history

Recently, the family was mentioned extensively and unflatteringly in Susan Braudy’s exposé on the American intelligentsia, "Family Circle: The Aristocracy of the Left". The family has strong roots in the New England region of the United States of America. They have chosen Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts for their compound.