Gordon and Minersville, PA

After getting all of that information about the Bradys and Bradleys, my next move was Gordon and Minersville, both small towns in Schuylkill County- Gordon was the Brady hometown and Minersville was the Bradley hometown.  Actually the Bradys lived in Butler Township and their section later became Gordon.  The Bradleys lived in Cass Township, and I think their section of town became Minersville.

First stop Gordon Borough Hall to see if anyone there can help me find the lot where my great great grandfather lived.  When I pulled up outside the building, it looked dark.  The door was not locked so I walked in, but the offices were locked.  I called out "Hello", and surprisingly enough I got an answer.  I rounded the corner where the voice came from and I saw a man with all kinds of tools in the bathroom.  He smiled and asked if he could help me, so I told him I was looking for someone to help me with an old deed and finding the property.  He told me that he was the plumber and the employees in Borough Hall left for the day at 1:00 PM.  I asked where Plane St was and he pointed to the front of the building and said "that's Plane St out front", so I said "how about Birch Alley?"  He did not know, so I left and found a woman walking in the area.  I asked her where Birch Alley was and she did not know either, but she suggested I check at the Post Office. (As it later turned out, she was walking on Birch Alley - but in all fairness, there were no signs).  I checked at the Post Office and found that Birch Alley is the street just east of E Plane St.  It actually makes sense, but I wasn't thinking about it like that.  The Post Office had a map fit on a regular sheet of paper - small town.  So I have a general idea of the location of their property.

Next stop - Minersville.  You'll never guess where I planned to go in Minersville - St Vincent de Paul Church and Cemetery.  Okay so maybe you did guess.  This time I went to the church office before venturing across the street to the cemetery.  I spoke with two very nice women and explained that I was looking for James Bradley 1876 to 1928.   Well, they looked through their records and checked for any Bradleys and where they were buried in the cemetery - which consisted of Row number.  The way that the headstones are laid out, that is not a real  big help, but it did help me enough.

These women found Joseph Bradley, which I showed you before, James Bradley, the one I am looking for, and another Bradley.  She said that the records say that there is a metal cross near Joseph Bradley, which is the resting place of James Bradley (I think that this is James and Joseph's father James) my great great grandfather.  She also said that there is a Stephen Bradley, who is a Civil War veteran (be still my heart).

So off I go, into the cemetery, but this time I have an idea where to look.  After only a few minutes, I spot this metal cross in the general area where Joseph and Jennie Bradley are buried.  Then I saw on the cross bar (probably not the right term) the name J. Bradley on a small plaque.

Now that is cool, mounted on that small concrete block and two pipes strapped together with the plaque.  It may not be as cool as George's grandfather's homemade stone in Holy Sepulchar, but it is cool.

Next I found the stone for Stephen Bradley - but I don't know if he is even related.  He could be James's brother - just judging by age -  but I'm not sure about that.  But it is a well marked grave so I thought I would include it anyway.

Wow, they were not joking when they marked this grave.  It says that he died 16 Oct 1886, aged 39 years, which makes his born in 1847.  It has a foot stone with the initials S. B., an American flag and that is a GAR marker on the post of the flag.  The GAR marker (GAR stands for Grand Army of the Republic) signifies that the deceased served with the Union Army (north) during the American Civil War.  It has the dates 1861 and 1865 (the years that the war started and ended).  I am going to have to research this guy to see if we are  related.

My last find was the elusive James J Bradley who fought in WWI.  He was the last one that I found, and he was buried on the very edge of the cemetery.  So far to the edge that he was very close to the fence where the land drops off to the town below.  Nice view.  The stone was also sinking into the ground so only his name was visible.  I had to find a stick and a stone that looked more like a piece of slate to dig away the dirt to see the bottom of the headstone.

Now you can see the year of birth and the year of death, below that it says Co B 103rd Engrs 28 DIV, which is the unit that he served with in WWI.  It took awhile, but I found him.  So I had a real good day, and I still made it to my sister's house in time for dinner.