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 9th. 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.
