Chateaugay – The Other Place

January 2, 2023January 2, 2023

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 22, 2022

John Matthew Bradshaw 1876-1957

John Matthew Bradshaw was born in Chateaugay, NY on September 23rd, 1876. He was the 5th child of Patrick and Johanna (Sweeney) Bradshaw. He first appears in the 1880 federal census. By then there were 7 children in the Bradshaw home, all ages 10 or younger.

Unlike most of his siblings, John remained in the North Country well into his adult life. Most of his brothers and sisters left for New England or the Western US at as teens or young adults. The only other sibling to remain in Chateaugay was his brother Pat (my grandfather), who took over the family farm and lived there all his life.

In 1900, John was 24, living in a Boarding house in the Village of Chateaugay, and working as a druggist. Not long after, he attended the College of Pharmacy of the City of New York. After graduating in 1902, he went back to work in Chateaugay at McKenna’s pharmacy. The Chateaugay Record mentions that graduation was held at Carnegie Hall.

In early 1905, John purchased a pharmacy at 71 East Main Street in Malone that he operated for the next 5 years. The Malone papers during that time were filled with ads for patent medicines from Bradshaw’s Pharmacy, including such dubious compounds as “Orino Laxitive Fruit Syrup”, “Foley’s Kidney Cure”, and (forgive me) “Williams Indian Pile Ointment.” During that time his younger brother Matt worked in the pharmacy.

On October 26th, 1906, John received a telegram stating that his sister Anna Bradshaw Steward had died. He immediately travelled Traveled to Providence, RI where she had been living. Upon arrival he learned that Anna had been fatally shot by James Priest , a roomer in her Providence Boarding house. He met with Priest in jail, where he was being held. Based on newspaper accounts, John reported that priest was distraught and remorseful …”and feels the result of his carelessness keenly.“ Priest was tried and acquitted on November 9^th. The Providence News-Democrat covered the trial, and described testimonies by sisters Agnes Bradshaw and Margaret Bradshaw Shea, but doesn’t mention John.

In January 1910, John sold his business, and (according to the Malone Farmer) planned to move to Colorado to to represent a wholesale drug house. Those plans didn’t materialize, as the Chateaugay Record later reported that he had moved to Lake Placid for the summer. After that, John seems to have bounced back and forth between New York City and Lake Placid a number of times.

John married Agnes Marie O’leary on October 16th, 1912. Agnes was a writer from Wheeling, West Virginia where she had worked as a Society Reporter before moving to New York City about a year before John popped the question. In 1909, Agnes had published a novel, entitled “Beyond The Voices” Here’s a link to a copy on Google Books. I’ll be honest. It’s a pretty tough slog for a 21st century reader. Still – it’s one more novel than I’ve ever written. Good on ya, Agnes.

John and Agnes had 3 children, Mary (1913-1991), John (1915-1996) , and Gloria (1924-2009).

In 1938, John, Agnes and daughter Gloria attended a family reunion at the Bradshaw farm in Chateaugay. See below for photos.

The family lived at 8 Ralph St in White Plains for a number of years. As of January 2022 it’s still there if you check Google maps. It’s a 4 bedroom family home, built in 1927. By 1940 Mary and John Jr. were in their mid-20s but were still living at home. Mary was married and her husband Bernard Carrol was also living with them. The 1940 census states that John was a pharmacist at a private hospital, John Jr. was a clerk-typist, and Bernard Carrol was a fuel oil delivery-man. No occupations were noted for Agnes, Mary or Gloria.

John and Agnes later moved to Seaford, NY and finally to Atlantic City, New Jersey.

In March 1955 someone broke into John and Agnes’ apartment in the early morning. When Agnes woke up, the intruder assaulted her, beating her severely. The She died four weeks later. She was 73.

John died December 8th in 1957 at the age of 83. The very terse Newsday obituary mentioned no cause of death – only that he died suddenly. The obituary names the 3 children as survivors. Mary’s surname name was listed as Logan. A grand-daughter was also mentioned, probably John Jr’s daughter, but it’s not entirely clear.

John is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in May’s Landing, NJ

Here’s a timeline of John’s life.

And that’s all we know about John Bradshaw and his family. My dad and uncles talked about John and family a bit, but there seems to have been little or no contact since John and Pat (John’s brother – my grandfather) passed away in the 1950’s. If anyone reading this knows anything further, I would love to hear from you.

Bradshaw Brothers and Spouses. John and Agnes Are on the Right

John second from left in front. Daughter Gloria fourth from left (middle). Agnes to Gloria’s right.

Bradshaw brothers at the the Bradshaw farm in Chateaugay, NY 1938. Left to right Matt, John, Richard, Pat.

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.

September 10, 2018September 12, 2018

Earlville

It has been far too long between since I put anything up here. I got overwhelmed by all the research required to do the next few posts about the great aunts, uncles, and grandparents. So, while I do a deep dive into aunt Mayme’s probate records, here’s a brief observation.

If you waded through my post about the data from the US census, then you know that I love digging into obscure data to see what it can say about people’s lives and stories. (You did read it, right? Here’s a link if your eyes glazed over the first time.) And if there’s one thing that I love more than annual crop yield statistics, it’s maps. My God do I love maps. Old maps. New maps. Google Earth, Middle Earth, the AAA TripTik from my 1984 drive from Florida to New Hampshire. Maps are it, man.

As I spent time poring over the map of Chateaugay from 1876, I was struck by all the houses in Earlville (or Slab City as we locals call it). Its a spot on a map with a handful houses now but, my dad talked about how the little hamlet (that’s what Wikipedia calls it) at the intersection of the McCormick Road and the Earlville Road had once been it’s own community. But holy cow – the map below shows more than 20 residences, (most packed tightly together), a starch factory, a cheese factory, a butter factory, and a school. It was a hopping place!

Since families were pretty large back then, I would guess that the population of Earlville must have approached 100. With all the people, and three businesses right there, this neighborhood must have it’s own sense of place. It was a little village tucked into the Northeast corner of town.

A few more observations

The old church on the Earlville Road doesn’t appear on the map. It’s still there today. It must have been built after 1876.
I don’t see any mention of the Gibson family. Orville Gibson the founder of Gibson Guitars was born in Earlville in the 1850’s.
In 1876, the Graham road extended North all the way up to the Shee Wood’s road. Now it’s a dead end.

There are lots of people who know a lot more about the history of Earlville than I do. I just thought I’d make a few observations based on what this jaw-droppingly detailed old map shows.

As the screen shot from Google maps shows, many of those houses are gone. It’s a pleasant drive in the country, but you’d never be able to tell that there was a village here with its own businesses, school and church.

If this sounds like I’m bemoaning the decline of Chateaugay and Earlville, that’s not my intent. I’m more interested in remembering and celebrating our history. It’s just a reminder that our history is all around us – some places grow, and some shrink. Our collective memory is short. A lot gets lost in a generation. Sometimes it takes a quick look at a moldy old map to help us remember.