Patrick Joseph Bradshaw 1881-1959

Unlike most of the subjects on this blog, I’ve had the benefit of knowing people who knew Pat Bradshaw well, although the information is getting bit fuzzy. Some of these tales and facts are the recollections of a 60 year old man (me) struggling to remember what his older relatives told him 30 or 40 years ago. I also have a couple of precious and all-too-brief documents written by my dad and my Aunt Marie. And last but definitely not least, I have the recollections of some of my older cousins.

Patrick Joseph Bradshaw (my grandfather) was born in Chateaugay, NY on June 15th, 1881. He was the eighth of Patrick and Johanna Bradshaw’s 11 children. At the time of his birth, there would have been eight children under 12 in the Bradshaw household.

In 1890, Pat Sr deeded the farm to Johanna and went west to seek his fortune in the mines, probably at the same time as his eldest son Billy. This left Johanna home on the farm with most of the children. Pat would have been around 9 at the time. Pat Sr was back by 1900 according to the US census.

In 1905, Johanna deeded the farm to Pat. He was 23 or 24 and unmarried, but he was the only one of his generation left at home. The 1905 New York State Census lists Patrick(60) and Johanna (60), Pat(23), and “Adopted Son” Fred Parmer(12). Fred Parmer doesn’t appear in any other records I’ve found, so he’s a mystery.

It’s an enduring mystery of the Chateaugay Bradshaws that out of 11 brothers and sisters, only Pat stayed in the area. Everyone else left for New York city, New England and California.

Johanna died in 1908, leaving just Pat and his father on the farm.

Pat had a difficult relationship with his father. Both my father and my uncle John told me that Pat the elder had a life-long problem with alcohol. When Pat Jr was young, there were Sunday get-togethers with Pat Sr’s Brother Richard and his family, who lived close by. The two brothers would go up to the hay loft and finish off an imperial pint of whiskey (which I imagine would have made the evening milking tough). Later, when Pat Jr. was running the farm his father’s drinking companions would congregate in the barn, making a nuisance of themselves. There was also a family rumor (possibly apocryphal) that Pat Jr had to smuggle liquor for this father across the Canadian border (two miles north of the farm) during prohibition. On at least one occasion, his father disappeared and was later found passed out in a ditch near the Sheehan farm (later the Pat Dwyer farm).

The 1910 census shows Patrick Sr, Pat Jr, and Pat’s sister Katherine, who had moved home from NH after divorcing her husband. Katherine died in 1912.

He married Rosetta Cassidy on February 15th, 1915.

Pat and Rosetta had three children. John Francis (1916-2006), Richard Gerald (1917-1982), and Mary Patricia (1919-1921).

For most of Pat’s life, work on the farm was done without benefit of any power equipment. The farm had electricity, running water and flush toilets as early as late 1920’s, but the first tractor didn’t appear until George bought a used Ferguson in 1954 (side note – I learned to drive on that tractor). Before that they used horses for everything. Marie: “He had the most primitive tools to work with no electric saws, drills or sanders. He made a wooden sled with steel runners to put milk cans on to draw from the milk house to the end of our driveway so the milk driver could pick up our milk in the winter in the morning. “

Pat was close with neighbor Will Dwyer. Will was best man at both of Pat’s weddings.

Mary died of spinal meningitis in 1921. Rosetta died the next year in 1922. After her death, it was just Pat, John, Gerald, and Pat’s father (also named Patrick) living on the farm.

Pat married Henrietta Cassidy (Rosetta’s cousin) September 1st, 1926. You can read more about their wedding day here. Henrietta was a local girl, born in Canada but raised at the south end of town on the Number 5 road. Pat was 45. Henrietta was 31.

Pat and Henrietta had four children: Marie Theresa (1927-1995), George Joseph (1928-2013), Irene Ann (1931-1992), and Rose Annette (1935-2004).

In 1935, after daughter Rose was born, Henrietta was stricken with serious mental illness. The family has always assumed that it was related to Rose’s birth. After a suicide attempt in which she tried to drown herself in the brook on the farm, she was committed to the Ogdensburg Psychiatric Hospital for about six months. This was a hard time for the family. Henrietta’s mother took Rose in for those months. The kids missed their mother terribly. Pat, who was normally stoic about most things, was visibly affected by Henrietta’s illness. My dad said that was the first time he realized his dad loved his mother. Dad recalled Pat traveling to Ogdensburg and coming back alone, saying that she wasn’t ready. She finally came home in time for Christmas. She was better, but Henrietta would struggle with mental health issues for the rest of her life.

Pat Deeded the farm to his son George (my dad) for $5000 and on the condition that he would support Pat and Henrietta, and put his sisters through college.

Pat passed away on October 19, 1959. He had purchased the one-room school house that sat adjacent to his property when the school system was centralized. He was remodeling the school turning it into a dwelling, possibly a retirement home. The state planned to widen the road so the building had to be torn down or moved. According to my dad, Pat was “tearing around doing a lot of things that a 78 year old man shouldn’t be doing.” That night, he had chest pains. The doctor attributed them to torn muscles. Henrietta found him dead in bed the following morning. The wake was held at home. He’s buried in Saint Patrick’s Cemetery in Chateaugay, along with Rosetta, Henrietta and Daughter Mary.

I once asked my dad, “What was he like?”. There was a pause, and dad replied, “He was a hard man”. In a brief autobiography (which will show up on this site some day) dad said the following of Pat: ” Tough old guy. Thoroughly honest. Strict. Violent temper. ” Marie recalled that both Pat and Henrietta were strict parents who seldom showed any affection.

But dad also described Pat as a thoughtful man who enjoyed solitary walks in the woods. Marie said that “Dad read lot even though he may not have received much formal education. He was intelligent, respected and well liked in Chateaugay.”

Over the years, I have asked my older cousins about their memories of Pat. Some found him stern and a bit scary. Others recall sitting on his lap and feeling secure and loved. I have a lovely account from my cousin Patty of Pat telling her how much he loved the blossoms on the apple trees in the yard, and bringing her to get the cows for milking.

I never met Pat. He died in 1959, three years before I was born. I get the impression of a smart, hard-working, complicated man who lived through hardship and tragedy, and was able to hold his family together through a terrible crisis.

Here’s a timeline of Pat’s life.

Thanks for reading. Please leave comments if so inclined. I’d love to hear from you.

Bradshaw Siblings Sometime in the 1890s L-R Matthew, John, Patrick, Agnes

Pat and Rosetta’s children, John, Gerald and Mary CA 1919

Pat and Henrietta Bradshaw’s Wedding Day, 1926

Pat Bradshaw and Family Visiting the Cassidy Farm in 1928.
*Seated Left to Right Herman(?) Cassidy, Pat Bradshaw, Marie Bradshaw (on lap), ?, Catherine Cassidy.*
*Left to Right, Rufus Cassidy, Clarinda Patenaude Cassidy, George Bradshaw, Henrietta Cassidy Bradshaw, Gerald Bradshaw (on car), John Bradshaw (on car), Georgina Cassidy, ?, ?, Leona Cassidy.*

Bradshaws 1936 — L-R (Rear) Gerald, Henrietta, Rose, Pat(holding Rose), John. (Front) Marie, George, Irene

Pat and Henrietta’s children – early 40’s L-R George, Marie, Rose, Irene. George seems to have a puppy in his coat.

Pat and Henrietta’s 25th Anniversary, 1951

Pat and family at daughter Irene’s graduation. Front Row L-R Kay McCormick, Henrietta, Irene, Georgina Murnane, Patty Bradshaw Gerald Bradshaw (holding Patty. Back Row L-R Meg Bradshaw, Pat (holding Meg), George Bradshaw, Dick Bradshaw, Marge Bradshaw (Holding Dick)

January 15, 2022

MARGARET GERTRUDE BRADSHAW SHEA 1877-1919

Here is another fascinating and detailed biography from cousin and fellow family history enthusiast Mary Bradshaw McNally. As an added bonus, Mary included a historical map of Providence showing the streets our ancestors lived on. Enjoy!

Margaret Gertrude Bradshaw was born on July 29, 1877 in Chateaugay, New York, the 6^th of Patrick Bradshaw and Johanna Sweeney’s 11 children. It is not certain how old she was when she left the family farm at the northern edge of New York State and moved to New England, but she and four of her sisters were living either in New Hampshire or Rhode Island by the early 1900’s.

Margaret – also listed as Maggie and Margeruite on official documents – was married to Nicholas Shea in Providence, Rhode Island in May 1902, when she was 24 years old. She was likely eager for her parents to meet him as she and Nick traveled back to Chateaugay just after the wedding to visit Patrick and Johanna on the farm.

On Oct. 3, 1903, Maggie and Nicholas had a son, Thomas. No birth certificate can be found that states where they were living when he was born, but the birth date appears on other official documents. When Thomas was a year and a half, the family’s address for the 1905 Census was 61 Carpenter St. in Providence. Also living with them at this time were two of Maggie’s sisters ( our great-aunts), Anna Steward – a widow, whose husband had recently died by suicide, and her youngest sister, Agnes, 19 years old, who had recently left the farm to join her sisters in Rhode Island.

On October 12, 1906 the Chateaugay Record reported that Mrs. Nicholas (Maggie) Shay, Mrs. George Stewart (Anna) and Miss Annie Bradshaw (this must be Agnes) and Richard Bradshaw of Providence, R. I., and Mrs. John (Mary) Delaney and Miss Alice Bradshaw of Manchester, were called home for the illness of their mother Mrs. Patrick (Johanna) Bradshaw. From this, it appears that brother Richard had joined his sisters in Providence for a bit. It must have seemed quite dire to gather most of the siblings back at the farm, but their mother Johanna lived 2 more years and died in 1908.

However, after leaving Chateaugay, the sisters arrived back in Providence only to suffer a more shocking death less than 2 weeks later. Anna, who was now managing a boarding house, was accidentally shot and killed by a boarder named James Priest on October 26^th. Maggie was tragically present when the shooting occurred. She had left her son Thomas with Anna while she went shopping, and upon her return found Anna in the parlor with James Priest. Little Thomas (3 years old) had found a bullet casing on the floor. Priest apparently had the firearm it belonged to and while trying to explain how the weapon operated, it fired and shot Agnes (he obviously lacked a few essential details of its operation). Maggie had her back turned to help Thomas get his coat on when the shooting occurred, so did not visually witness it, but it certainly must have been a quite traumatizing experience for the 2 of them. Anna died within hours at the hospital. Maggie had to testify at the murder trial and it was reported in the Providence News Democrat that she nearly fainted during her testimony, and was allowed to recover in the deputy chief’s office, where she was given a “restorative”. (You can get the full story here in Pat Bradshaw’s post on Anna Bradshaw Steward ).

Maggie and Nicholas also had a daughter, Agnes Christine Shea, who was born the 14^th of December 1909 – likely named after Maggie’s younger sister Agnes. Unfortunately, baby Agnes only survived about 6 weeks; she died 5^th of February in 1910. Around the time of the baby’s death, the family was listed in the 1910 Census as living at 62 Vernon St, Providence. This address is just a few blocks from their residence in 1905 on Carpenter St. At the time of this Census, Thomas was 6 and his father Nicholas was running his own barber shop. There appear to be 2 boarders also living at this address– a Mr. McGraw and his wife Anna.

Maggie’s husband, Nicholas Shea, was from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia and had emigrated to the US in 1894 when he was about 20 years old. He was naturalized as a citizen in 1905. His sister, Catherine Marsden, also emigrated to Providence with her husband and son in 1910, and his parents James and Elizabeth Shea, applied for emigration in 1918 to live with their daughter Catherine who resided at 112 (or 118?) Carpenter St. in Providence. This is just down the street from where Nicholas, Maggie, and Thomas lived in 1905, and even closer to Maggie and Nick’s 1910 address. As happens with immigrants, they find homes close to others of their clan. The boarding house where Anna died was also in the vicinity.

By 1915 Maggie and family have moved again. The census record lists them as living at 19 Pallas. St. They didn’t go too far as this is just around the corner from their last residence on Vernon St. But they did increase their boarding business as the dwelling lists 11 lodgers living at this address, with Nicholas listed as head of household. Their family name on this census is spelled Shia. Interestingly, Nicholas’ sister Catherine Marsden is living at 19 Pallas St 15 years later in the 1930 Census. A very tight circle indeed.

Nicholas registered for the draft in 1918 when he was 44 years old. His draft card lists his address as 33 Wood St., so they had apparently moved on again within this 3 year period. The boarding life may have worn its course. Wood St. is a fair distance away from the old neighborhood, relative to their other moves. The draft card states that he lives with his wife Margaret, that he is a Salesman for the Brewing Company, and that he is of medium height, slender build, has blue eyes and grey hair. It’s nice to get the visual.

It would have been nice to see a picture of Margaret around this time, as sadly she died 7 months later on April 27^th, 1919, at 38 years of age. The death certificate states she died a sudden death of unknown cause, possibly nephritis – kidney failure. It seems like such a vague ending. You can’t but wonder what her life was like after the death of her sister and particularly what her health was like through the years. The death certificate states she died at 27 Somerset St, and that this was her place of usual residence. Hmmm….this would mean they moved again. Of course, these official documents do get some things wrong – they list her birthplace as Schenectady, New York – which seems a bit random. But perhaps Nicholas had a bit of an accent and that’s what they recorded when he said Chateaugay. Or maybe he had forgotten where it was his wife was from after 17 years. A present-day real estate listing for 27 Somerset St. says it was a multi-family home built in 1900. Perhaps they were moving up to a newish home.

With Maggie’s death came more change. By the next year, in 1920, their son Thomas, who was nearing 16 years had moved to live with his Aunt Agnes in Boston. Maggie and Agnes did seem to be close, but you wonder whose initiative it was for Thomas to go live with her? His father, Nicholas, remained in Providence and is listed as head of household at 124 Broadway St. in the 1920 Census (back in the old neighborhood). He is still working at the Brewing company. Living with him is his brother Frank who worked in jewelry shop, Frank’s wife Kate who had migrated from Ireland in 1910, and their 1 year old daughter Katie. Nick’s mother Elizabeth and father James were also living with them. A fairly full house and maybe financial concerns prompted Thomas’ move to Boston. Just a month after the census, Frank died of pneumonia at age 27.

Nicholas Shea’s family members who had moved to Providence all eventually died there and are buried in St. Anne Cemetery, as was great-aunt Margaret. Nicholas however died in 1943 in Chicago–working as a barber again- and he is buried there.

I will add that it seems their son Thomas did very well for himself. He married Florence Herberger in Manahattan in 1930 and moved to Delmar, New York in the Albany area, working in car sales. They had one daughter, Barbara born in 1951. As mentioned in a story about Agnes Bradshaw Boss (the aunt who took Thomas in after Maggie died), Agnes moved to Delmar NY at about age 73 after her other family members had passed, and so Thomas perhaps returned the favor and cared for her.

Historical Map of Providence, Rhode Island. Streets where family members lived are highlighted in yellow.

March 14, 2021March 16, 2021

Agnes Ellen Bradshaw Boss 1884 – 1966

This post is courtesy of my cousin Mary Bradshaw McNally. A while back, she offered to help out with family research, and I’m REALLY glad I took her up on it. Take it away Mary!

This is the story of my Great Aunt, Agnes Ellen Bradshaw. She was born in October, 1884 in Chateaugay New York, the 9^th child of Johanna Sweeney Bradshaw and Patrick J. Bradshaw. Two more children were born in the family following her – Alice who died a week after birth in 1886, and Matthew who was born in 1889.

In 1900, Agnes was 15 living on the farm with her mother, father, and brothers: Patrick 18 (our grandfather), Richard, 17, and Matthew 11. The seven older siblings had moved on by then.

Four of 5 older sisters had taken up residence in New England; a path which Agnes soon followed. Sisters Alice and Mayme were settled in New Hampshire. Her sisters Anna and Margaret were in Providence, Rhode Island. In 1902, her sister Margaret had married Nicholas Shea, who appears to have been a barber (I find it hard to say anything definitively from information found on censuses, or other official documents, because they can sometimes be a stretch of the truth, or just examples of bad hearing by the census enumerator). Anna had married Arthur Stewart in 1903, who died a year later.

It is not clear exactly when Agnes made her way to Providence, but it seems she first moved in with her sister Margaret and Nick Shea at 61 Carpenter Street. She was 19 years old at that time. Interestingly, their sister Anna was also listed as living in this household in 1905 as a widow. We know from Pat Bradshaw’s story that soon afterwards, Anna was running a boarding house where she met her untimely death by accidental shooting (!). However, when Agnes moves on from Margaret’s home is not clear.

But we know that Agnes married James Herbert Boss who was born in Johnston, Rhode Island (as were his parents). My father’s family notes suggest that Agnes was married in 1907 but I cannot find a marriage registry for them in RI; and Massachusetts (where she eventually lived), does not have census information from that time. But we’ll go with 1907 for now because my father was usually right.

Despite the long distances that the siblings had moved from the farm in Chateaugay, they did seem to stay connected with each other, and once in a while made it back home to the farm for a visit. When the family was called home due to their mother Johanna’s poor health in October 1906, the Chatueagay Record does not mention Agnes making that trip, although the other 4 sisters did. However, the newspaper article mentions that her brother Richard Bradshaw and Miss Annie Bradshaw of Providence RI also made the trip home. So, likely that was Miss Agnes Bradshaw; and apparently brother Richard had joined the gang in Rhode Island by this time. Their mother Johanna died in October of 1908.

Somewhere before 1910, Agnes and James Boss moved to Boston. She and her husband James H. are listed as Lodgers at 576 Dorchester Ave Boston in the 1910 census. He is listed as an embalmer, employed by an Undertaker. If census notes can be trusted, they had been married about 1 year (I might still trust my father’s notes).

By 1917, they were living in Milton Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston, and their son James Herbert Boss Jr. was born Oct. 29th of that year at St. Margaret’s Hospital, Boston.

In 1920, Agnes’ family is listed as renting a house at 28 Gayland Street, Boston Mass. At this time the family includes: James Herbert (husband), Agnes, James H (son 2 1/2yrs), Matthew Bradshaw (her youngest brother, 30 yrs), and Thomas Shea – a Roomer, 16 years old, from Rhode Island. Thomas would be her nephew – Maggie’s (Margaret’s) son, as Maggie died the year before in 1919. However, Thomas’ father Nicholas, and his extended family (mother, father, brother, sister-in-law, and niece) were still living in Providence during this 1920 census. So, Thomas may have gone to Boston for better work prospects, or perhaps just to get away from home?

We know at some point that Agnes leaves her husband James Herbert, and he eventually returns to Rhode Island. His death certificate says he had lived at 315 Elmwood Ave in Providence for 20 years when he died in 1949 of coronary thrombosis with diabetes mellitus. He had been a salesman for New Haven Casket Company for 50 years and had apparently worked up to the day before he died (says this right on the death certificate). The document also lists Agnes as his wife.

A 1924 Chateaugay Record news story suggests that Agnes still lived in Boston when she and son James came home to the farm for a visit, along with her sister Mayme, and her brother John M. Bradshaw and his son from White Plains. The Record also states that she was from Boston when she returned home for her father’s funeral in November of 1926 (our great grandfather, Patrick William Bradshaw). It seems that she may have parted ways with her husband not too long after this because he ends up back in RI around 1929 and she and son James Herbert Jr. are living with sister Alice in New Hampshire at the Big House in 1930.

The detail of this 1930 Census entry is engaging reading: Alice is Head of household. The Father’s birthplace for both sisters is listed as England and their mother’s birthplace as Northern Ireland (all indications are that their mother Johanna was from Tipperary Ireland, and of course we know that Patrick was born in Chateaugay, NY). Perhaps the Rowley’s who Alice had worked for and had left her the house (and much more – see Pat Bradshaw’s story on Alice), were transformed into their parents for this census? It would be interesting to see where they were from. The house is valued at $20,000, which seems quite rich for this time. Other surrounding properties on the census range from $2500 – $8000. They answered “Yes” to having radio and answered “Yes” to “Does this family live on a farm?”. A farm with view and a radio!

Now the part comes where family lore varies about what really happened when my father, Gerald Bradshaw, went to Manchester to live with the relatives. Aunt Alice had agreed/offered?? to pay for his tuition at St. Anslem’s College in Manchester. Records show that he attended for one school year but did not return. Stories for the reason for not returning range from being bored/restricted by living at the “farm” while attending college, to some vague shenanigans gotten into by Gerald and his cousin James, and he was not invited to come back. My sister remembers dad saying that he got blamed for whatever the incident was (or incidences?), but James Herbert was not the innocent in this story. Perhaps Aunt Agnes blamed Gerald for whatever he and her son got up to, but not Aunt Alice, who ended up leaving him a good sum of money in her will.

In 1940, Agnes and James (now 22) are still living with Alice at 1053 River Road in Manchester NH. The census states that Agnes never attended school or college, but likely finished 4 years of Highschool. There is no information on work for Agnes or her son, but it states that both Agnes and Alice received more than $50 from other sources for the year 1939.

James Herbert Jr. enlisted in the Army Jun. 22, 1942 in Manchester NH for the duration of the war. He was listed as Single, with dependents. His Mother and Aunt, I suppose? It’s not clear when he returned from the Army, but he married a woman named Barbara who was the Informant on his death certificate. He died Dec. 18, 1952 in Manchester at 35 years of age from acute glomerulonephritis (kidney failure). At that time, he and his wife lived at 20 Stearns St. in Manchester and he was working in real estate. James is buried at St. Joseph’s cemetery Manchester, NH. The 1950 Census data is not available until 2022, so next year we may be able to get a few more details of the family!

Aunt Alice died 5 years later, 82 years old, in May of 1957 in Manchester. Agnes moved on after Alice’s death, and she herself died in January 1966 in Delmar, NY, near Albany. I wondered what brought her that way and found that her nephew Thomas Shay (or Shea from previous documents), who lived with her many years ago in Boston, also lived in Delmar, NY and had died there in 1971. Since Thomas inherited the larger share of Aunt Alice’s (dwindling) fortune, that may have seemed the likely place for Agnes to go. She certainly endured a lot of hardship and grief in her 80 years. I wonder what family was there at the funeral for her? She was one of the last of the 11 siblings to pass away – her youngest brother Matthew dying the same year. My father’s notes said she died in Delmar but was buried in Manchester. We are not sure where that grave is….yet.

October 3, 2019October 3, 2019

Cassidys and Bradshaws 1928

April 8, 2019April 8, 2019

Mayme’s Resting Place

Here’s a quick addendum to my last post. I was driving into Manchester last week when I realized that I was driving past Pine Grove Cemetery. I recalled that my dad’s Aunt Mayme (Mary) Bradshaw Delaney is buried there. I knew this because I’m the kind of person who remembers where their long dead relatives are buried. The snow had finally receded, and I had some spare time, so I went looking for her, armed with an inquisitive nature and an email from the City of Manchester telling me the location of the grave. It’s a huge cemetery, but I found the grave with after just a few minutes.

She’s buried with her husband John in the Rowell family plot, in a part of the cemetery full of massive tombstones and crypts. There’s just a low headstone, already succumbing to the ravages of time and careless lawn mower operation – broken at the corners, and covered with lichen.

John and Mary Bradshaw Delaney’s Grave – Pine Grove Cemetery, Manchester, NH

In contrast – this is the stone for the Rowells:

Rowell Family Plot – Pine Grove Cemetery, Manchester NH

It’s curious that Aunt Mayme and her husband John are buried in this plot, while Aunt Alice, who worked for the Rowell’s, and lived with them for decades is buried across town. Mayme and John must have had some connection to them, since Charles Rowell – the last of the Rowells – left them $10,000 in his will. My next research task is to check out Alice Bradshaw and Charle’s Rowell’s wills at city hall. Maybe I’ll find out then.

November 5, 2018November 7, 2018

How Eileen Met Her Dad

Here’s another post on the family of Richard Martin Bradshaw (1882 – 1957), focusing on his daughter Eileen. It’s a great story. Thanks once again to Jerry Juracich for writing this. All the words below are his. It’s such a great piece, with so much detail, I wouldn’t presume to change a thing.

Here’s a link to the first post about Richard (Brad) Bradshaw

How Eileen met her dad, Richard Bradshaw

In 1918 Eileen Evelyn Bradshaw was born in Alamosa Colorado. Her mother, Myrtle Chase and Eileen’s father, Richard M Bradshaw divorced before Eileen’s earliest recollections. What Eileen knew of her father came from whatever her mother told her. Eileen lived with her mother, Myrtle until Myrtle died of breast cancer in 1927. No one knew how to find Eileen’s dad, Richard, so after her mother’s death Eileen lived with her mother’s people, the Chases in north east California and Southern Oregon. The Chases were poor people and none could afford to give her a permanent home. Eileen lived with one aunt and uncle after another until she finished high school. Eileen then attended St. Joseph’s Hospital College of Nursing in San Francisco and graduated with her RN.

In 1940, Eileen married John N Juracich. At the time Eileen was in St. Joseph Nursing School and John was in the Navy. Sometime after this, the ship John was on was torpedoed and sunk and the crew was forced to abandon ship. John and many of his fellow crewmen were rescued. A few years after this, when John had reached the rank of W-4 warrant officer, John was on another ship that got torpedoed and sunk off the coast of Italy. After being rescued, based on his previous experience, John knew of the chaos that would follow. As an officer, John was able to send a telegram to Eileen telling her he was okay. In the ensuing chaos the Navy listed John among the dead and the San Francisco papers carried the story. Because John had been erroneously reported as dead, when he got out of the Navy, the San Francisco newspapers did a brief bio on him. The bio included the fact that he and his wife, the former Eileen Bradshaw now had a son.

Richard Bradshaw left Colorado and ended up in the San Francisco bay area in California. Somewhere along the way Richard married Edna Cresswell. Edna saw the article in the San Francisco newspaper along with Eileen’s maiden name, Bradshaw. She realized this could be the long lost daughter her husband had told her about. At that time Richard and Edna had a summer place in Almaden, California, about 25 miles from Los Altos, where John and Eileen lived. Father and daughter reunited. Of course there was some mistrust at first, but over the years they became very close. When Richard could no longer live alone he moved in with John and Eileen and spent his final years in their home.

Told by Jerry Juracich, Eileen’s son.

Juracich Family, Eileen, Jerry, John, 1944

Richard Martin Bradshaw – Photo Taken in Denver CO 1916

October 8, 2018

Chateaugay in 1858: My Great-Great Grandfather, A Forgotten Ancestor, and Orville Gibson to Boot.

Map of Chateaugay, NY in 1858 [Click to Enlarge]

I found this map on the Library of Congress Website. It’s a section of a very large image showing Franklin County. The original file is too big for my little website to handle, so I just clipped out the Chateaugay section here.

Here’s a link to the full map on the Library of Congress Website.

I practically had to re-insert my eyeballs the first time I took a look at this map. It’s a treasure trove of information from pre-civil war Chateaugay, barely 60 years after the first settlers arrived. I’m sure that many experts on Chateaugay’s history have seen it, but I had no idea it was out there.

Like the 1876 map from a previous post, it shows residents names. A quick look at the Northeast Corner of town, where Earlville meets the Quaker Settlement revealed some really exciting facts. Well – exciting for me, as I make it no secret that I’m a Bradshaw/Chateaugay, NY/History/Map nerd. Your mileage may vary.

Anyways

The map shows “W. Bradshaw” living at the North end of town. That would be my Great-Great Grandfather William Bradshaw. U.S. Census records show that he was living in Chateaugay as early as 1840, and this map seems to confirm family oral history that they lived just south of the McCormick road, possibly in the house occupied by John Dwyer in the 1970’s.
There is ANOTHER Bradshaw family living just North of the McCormick Road. “J. Bradshaw” is probably John Bradshaw. He shows up in some census records, and a couple of records from Saint Patrick’s church. It appears that he was older than William, but not old enough to be his father. Possibly an older brother or cousin. He’s a mystery – disappearing from the records in Chateaugay in the 1860’s or 70’s. I’ll do a post about him sometime.
Neither of these families is living on the farm that I and my father (and maybe my Grandfather) grew up on. It looks like “J.T. Hanley” is living on that property. I believe I have an old deed somewhere that says the Bradshaws purchased the farm in the 1870’s.
If you scan to the right down the McCormick Road to Earlville, you’ll see that there is a “J.W. Gibson” shown. If you believe the this link J.W. Gibson was the father of Orville Gibson. Orville was born in 1856 and went on to found what would be the Gibson Guitar Company.

It’s a good thing i have a full time job, otherwise I would be up all night staring at this thing. But I DO have a full time job, so I have to wrap this up.

So – please let me know if you have any comments or questions.

September 17, 2018September 17, 2018

Pat and Henrietta Bradshaw’s Wedding Day – September 1st, 1926.

Pat and Henrietta Bradshaw’s Wedding Day 1926 (Click to Enlarge)

Here’s a picture from my Grandparents’ wedding day in 1926. My Grandfather, Patrick Bradshaw married my Grandmother, Henrietta Cassidy on Wednesday, September 1st, at (yikes) 7:00 in the morning. Grandpa must have gotten someone else to milk the cows that day.

This photo is the first photo on the first page of a very old photo album that has found its way into my possession. I assume that Grandma put it together.

Written above the photo are the words “Guests at the home of Mrs. C. Cassidy. Can you spot the bride and Groom?”

Here’s a link to their wedding announcement in the Chateaugay Record

Patrick is 45 here and Henrietta 31. It was Grandpa’s second marriage. His first wife, Rosetta had passed away in 1922, leaving him with two young sons (Uncle John and Uncle Gerald), they would have been around 5 or 6.

Most of the people in this photo will remain anonymous forever, but I do recognize a few. Will Dwyer and Clare Cassidy (soon to be Dwyer) are there. They were best man and maid of honor. I see Aunt Leona Cassidy (McCormick) laughing. I’m reasonably sure that the white haired lady at the back is Clarinda Patenaude Cassidy – Henrietta’s mother.

I’m very curious about the man standing next to Grandpa. He seems to resemble Pat,. He seems older , so I first thought that he might be Pat’s father (also named Pat – when we find a name we like, we keep using it). He certainly seems to resemble the man in this picture. But Great-Grandpa Bradshaw would have been in his early eighties, and this fellow seems younger than that. I’m wondering if it’s Grandpa’s brother Billy (William).

The people on the right are laughing, and seem to be having a good time. Even Great-grandma Cassidy (who by most accounts was not a lot of yuks). The people on the left don’t seem to be having as much fun. A lot of the folks on the right are Cassidys. It would seem logical (although I have no idea) that those on the right are Bradshaws.

Grandma and Grandpa seem to underscore this division between the laughing, boisterous guests on the right, and the grim pair directly to the left. Grandma is smiling, genuinely happy. I’m not sure what to make of Grandpa’s expression and stance.

So – there’s lots more to write about Pat and Henrietta and their life together. I just thought some of the readers of this blog – all 15 of you 😉 – would be interested to see something about Grandpa and Grandma, since I’ve spent most of the words in this blog talking about Grandpa’s siblings. I have certainly spent a lot of time staring at this photo, hoping for some revelation or insight about these people.

So PLEASE DO let me know if you recognize anyone in this photo.

As always, comments of any kind are most welcome.

Thanks again for reading.

May 4, 2017May 4, 2017

Patrick Bradshaw and Wife

“Patrick Bradshaw and Wife” that’s what’s written on the back of this photograph in pencil. Someone in Chateaugay found it and gave it to my sister Angie. I am 95% sure that this is my Great Grandparents Patrick and Johanna (Sweeney) Bradshaw. We can’t be 100% sure, since church records indicate that there was another Patrick Bradshaw in town for a while.

He has my dad’s eyes, and she has his mouth, so I choose to believe these are my great grandparents. In any case, they’re certainly family.

The logo of A.E. Holmes is on the back of the photo. Holmes’s photography studio was located in Chateaugay, so we know this is a local picture.

I would guess that they’re in their early forties which would date the photo to the mid 1880’s.

If I were somehow able to meet these two, I would have many questions, and many things to say, the first of which would be:

“Geez, Pat, button your damn vest.”

Patrick Bradshaw and Wife (Click to Enlarge)

March 30, 2017March 31, 2017

Alice Bradshaw’s Inheritance

I’m collecting data on my Dad’s Aunt Alice, who moved to Manchester NH in the late 1800’s at the age of 16. She spent decades working as a domestic servant for the Rowell family. When Charles Rowell, the last of the family died without Children, they left her their $200,000 fortune. Google tells me that’s $2.7 million in today’s dollars.

I found this article from the Ogdensburg Republican-Journal 01-06-1927 that includes some details, and even a brief interview with Alice.

The article starts in the third column, below the opening panel of the Mutt and Jeff comic strip (what is it with these old comic strips and heavy objects being thrown at someone’s noggin?).

I found it on the New York Historic Newspapers Website. The search is kind of clunky and random, but you can really go down the rabbit hole with it. You’ve been warned.

Anyway – I hope to do a more thorough biographical sketch, but this article was too good not to share.