[citation needed] In his youth, Bruen had an unusual interest in books: starting as a six year old he would shut himself in a room to focus on his reading.

[5] Very soon after arriving in England the two men traveled to Scotland and spent time with a noted Presbyterian leader there.

In 1831 it was Mary (now Mrs Duncan) who published a collection of Bruen's letters as a memorial to his life and service to the church.

He preached in several places before settling in Manhattan and applying to the Presbyterian Church of New York to serve as a missionary there in the vicinity of Bleecker Street in the fall of 1822.

Frances married Charles Callahan Perkins on June 12, 1855 and they had three children.. On Sunday August 30, 1829, while opening the morning service, Bruen was attacked by a sudden illness which forced him to retire from the church.

[11] Duncan, Mary Grey Lundie, Matthias Bruen, 1793-1829 Publisher: New York, J. P. Haven and C. G. and H. Carvil; Boston, Pierce and Parker; [etc., etc.]