The Bradys

I have been reminded that it is actually my father's family who adorns headstones with a single word.  They would be Brady, O'Dea, Sterling, Reilly, Bradley, Convey, etc... (if there is a marker at all).  My mother's family usually marks the graves with headstones that includes first names and dates which cover most of the residents.  Why didn't dad's family do that?  I don't know, maybe they didn't have the money, maybe they thought the money was better spent on the living, or maybe they just figured that the surname covered the residents well enough.  Whatever their reasoning, I doubt that it was some devious plot to drive me crazy a hundred years later, but I could be wrong.  Actually I don't even know where my great grandfather James E. Brady is buried, I have his death certificate and know that he died 4 Aug 1914 in Gordon Pa.   The death certificates says that he died of myocardial degeneration, he was treated by Dr. Thomas McCutcheon of Gordon PA, and "Place of Burial or Removal" is listed as Ashland, PA.  So I think I have it narrowed down to somewhere in Pennsylvania.

Let me tell you a little about James E Brady.  He was born in South Butler Twp, Schuylkill County, PA on 15 Oct 1859 (this is actually 100 years to the day before my wife Katrina was born). He was the third child born to Thomas A Brady and Bridget Convey, he had two older brothers, John, born in 1854 and Michael born in 1858.  William F. would follow on 6 Sep 1862, then Mary G. in 1866 and Bridget in 1869, and lastly (that I know of) Andrew in 1870.  If you check the 1900 census, there is a column asking how many children by this mother? Bridget lists 11, the next question if how many are living and the answer is 6.   Suffice it to say that James is from a large family.

On 10 Nov 1890, he marries Madge Bradley, who was born in Schuylkill County, PA 15 Nov 1867, and James is employed as a fireman (I think on the railroad).  They live in Gordon and Madge gives birth to their only child (my grandfather) Thomas, on 27 Aug 1891.  Unfortunately their time together was not to be a long one.  Madge Bradley dies in February 1892, I don't know the exact date because death certificates were not required in Pa at the time of her death.  My sister Pat and my cousin Linda told me that Madge died in childbirth and that family legend had it that James had our grandfather Thomas live with James' younger brother, William, who was a Doctor and married with children of his own in Scranton, PA.  (William is a whole other story for another blog post).

I'll tell you how I found out about Madge's death.  I was on the website for the Pottsville Free Public Library.  Pottsville is a city in Schuylkill County, and is the county seat, so I went to that library to see what genealogical info that might have.  While on the site, there was a section for Obits in the Pottsville Republican, between 1884 to 1894.  So I went to that page, and found an index list that listed Brady, Mrs James 2-18-1892, (the date of the newspaper) 4-4(which means page 4, column 4).  Now in order to view the obit, you have to go to the  Pottsville Free Public Library and check the microfilm.  Road Trip!!

This is the obit from the Pottsville Republican, it was on the page which had news from Minersville.  So I went to Minersville, PA that day and walked through the cemetery at St. Vincent de Paul, and could not find her grave.  I went into the church and asked for help in finding the grave, but they could not help.  They suggested that I sent a letter with the info that I had and they would check the records in their archives for me.  Oh yeah, there was a genealogy fee of $20.00.  So I went to the car and wrote everything down and returned with a $20.00 bill.  I later got a letter saying that they could not find her in their records.   So I got no additional information and no refund.  Man these Bradys are hard to find, even when you find where they are buried, you still can't find them.

While writing this post, I have been inspired to create a most wanted list.  Being a retired Police Detective, I naturally think of wanted posters (but I have no mugshot to put on the poster).  So stay tuned for my Most Wanted Ancestor List.