Simon William Gabriel Bruté de Rémur (March 20, 1779 – June 26, 1839) was a French missionary in the United States and the first bishop of the Diocese of Vincennes, Indiana. President John Quincy Adams called Bruté "the most learned man of his day in America."<ref>The Old Vincennes Cathedral and Its Environs p. 12 by Curtis Grover Shake</ref> Early life and education in France Bruté's father, Simon-Guillaume-Gabriel Bruté de Remur, belonged to an ancient and wealthy family. He was married twice. His first wife was Mary Jeanne Le Chat de La Sourdière (1730-1776), by whom he had seven children between 1757 and 1772. After her death, he remarried on February 14, 1778 at Rennes, Brittany to Renée Le Saulnier du Vauhello, a native of Saint-Brieuc and the widow of Francis Vatar (1721-1771), printer to the King and Parliament at Rennes. Two sons were born of this marriage, Simon and Augustine. The family resided in the Palace of Justice, where the mother's family had occupied apartments in one of the wings since 1660. Bruté's father had an uncle and two brothers in holy orders. Abbé Jean, the older of the brothers, was a doctor of the Sorbonne and pastor of Saint Benedict's Church in Paris. He was the author of several valuable literary works. The younger, Abbé Bruté de Loirelle, was royal censor of Belles-Lettres at Paris, and was the author of several works in prose and verse. Moreover he made valuable translations from the writings of German and English authors. Bruté's mother had an uncle who belonged to the Premonstratensians, and a sister in the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul. Bruté was born at night on March 20, 1779, at Rennes, France, and baptized early in the morning of the same day in the church of St. Germain. His brother Augustine was born in 1784. Bruté's father served as Director of the Finances of his native province with the promise of succession to the more remunerative office of Farmer-General of the revenues at Paris. Bruté's mother often addressed him in the words, "you were born to live in opulence." However, the family's fortunes changed with the sudden death of Bruté's father. Bruté later wrote, "'You were born to live in opulence,' my good mother often said to me ... [but] God ordered it otherwise. My father died (27th February, 1786) a few days after a very painful