Scranton, PA

Last weekend, I went to Scranton, Pa to do some more research.  I went up early on Friday morning and one of my goals was to find more about when the Bradys arrived in the "Electric City"

Just in case you're wondering, the nickname "Electric City" was bestowed on Scranton because the nation's first successful continuously operating electrified streetcar "trolley" system was established in the city in 1886.  The line is no longer operating, but the nickname is.

When I got to the city, I decided to check on property records.  John Brady, my great grandfather James' brother lived at 522 Ripple St in Scranton since somewhere around 1900.  I have found a Brady or two living at that address from the 1900 - 1940 census records that I have found on line. I know that there are still descendants of John Brady living in that house.   I met John's grand daughter Mary Getz in about 2007 in Long Branch, NJ.  She told me that she lived her entire life in that house, but that is a story for another day.

I went to the Recorder of Deeds on Jefferson Ave and asked one of the clerks for help tracing ownership of the property.  Instead of sending me off to a computer with a lot and block number, she asked what the address was and asked me to wait a few minutes while she did some checking.  Within a few minutes I was handed ownership changes of the property back to the date that John Brady purchased it from the Meadowbrook Land Company.  The date was 26 Dec 1897, and the price was $450.00 lawful money of the United States.  The property is described as being 40' X 130'.  On 7 Dec 1906, Annie Brady, his wife, is added to the deed.  In 1924, the property is sold to their daughter Agnes and her husband.  Years later, it is sold to Agnes' daughter and her husband, and so on, until it was purchased by the current owner.  So, John actually owned this property when the Chicago Cubs won the World Series in 1908, and the property is still in the family when the Cubbies finally broke their curse, and won the series again in 2016.

I was obviously very proud of myself for this discovery, even though the very helpful clerk did all of the work.  Then I realized that Dr William Brady married Hannah Casey in Scranton in 1893.  So they were probably in Scranton earlier than when John bought the property in 1897. Since there is no 1890 census, what do I do to find them between 1880 and 1900?  Then it dawned on me - City Directories!!

I'm pretty sure that I talked about City Directories before, but just in case I didn't, the main thing to know is that City Directories were like a telephone book when not many people had telephones.  Names of city residents were listed with their home address, occupation, and spouse's name (in parenthesis).  Sometimes is a woman is head of house and is widowed, it will have (wid and her husband's name).  The came out every year in some cities, and every other year in others.  Residents were listed in alphabetical order, like a telephone book.

I checked and found that ancestry.com had city directories for Scranton in1890-1892.  I found Thomas A. Brady living at 1033 Lackawanna Ave in 1890.  In 1891, he is listed at308 N Wyoming Ave, occupation is watchman.  Then in 1892, he is back at 1033 Lackawanna Ave.  None of these listings adds a wife, but in 1890 and 1892, I find William, Andrew, and Michael all living at 1033 Lackawanna.  I am thinking that the watchman may be his grandson (John's son).

I think that the bright lights of the "Electric City" must have drawn my ancestors away from Schuylkill County like a bug light.  The electric trolley was in full swing by the time they arrived and so was the railroad.  It looks like there were a lot more opportunities in the big city.  Scranton in the 1890s, was becoming a modern American city, with electric lights, paved streets and industry.  The iron and coal industry was booming and the city's population was pushing 100,000.  By 1900, the population was over 102,000.  Sounds like Scranton was the place to be and my great great grandfather had the same opinion, so he acted on it.

Susan Bradley Campbell 1863 - 1945

Susan Bradley was born on 24 Mar 1863 to James Bradley and Annie Pepper in Minersville, Pennsylvania, which was about three months before the Battle of Gettysburg raged about 95 miles from the family home.  She was the oldest child of the Bradleys seven children.  She was two years old when President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.

When Susan was about 19 years old, times zones were introduced the the US for the first time.  Prior to this, most local towns rendered time based on "high noon" - no, not the movie, but when the sun was actually at its highest point.  As railroads made faster travel and commerce between distant locations, a lack of standardized time zones led to confusion with regard to arrival and departure times for train service.  So Railroad Companies created times zones in 1883 to make travel and commerce more organized.  This was very successful and well received.  Within a year, international time zones were established and helped organized world navigation.

Susan married Charles Campbell in about 1884 in Gordon, Pa.  Her husband was born three months after Susan, on 24 May 1863 in Gordon, Pa, to John Campbell and Alice McEwen.   He would go on to become an engineer on the Reading Railroad, where he would be employed for 55 years.  By the time Susan and Charles married, views on marriage were changing.  Prior to to this time, most marriages were prearranged or negotiated ahead of time, but as America expanded and became more of a melting pot, views on marriage began to change.  Love became the guiding principle for most relationships. Previously marriage was more of a civic event, but as people brought their faiths to the states throughout the 19th century, religious ceremonies became more common.

While Susan and Charles were married and living in Gordon, they had 11 children, yeah you read it right, 11 children: Charles S, Raymond, Leah F, Mary M, Vincent J, Paul A, Rosella, Catherine, Marie, Alice, and Marcella.   Two of their sons, Raymond and Vincent, went on to become Catholic Priests and two of their daughters, became Catholic Nuns.  The funny part is that I am trying to figure out which daughters are nuns, but its tough since they change their names when they enter the Order. I can rule out Rosella, because I found her obituary, and she was a bookkeeper for the Vallish Furniture Company in Mount Carmel. I can also rule out Alice, because the same obit says that she is an RN in Gordon.  That's as close as I can get to figuring it out, so far. Here is Susan's obit from the Mount Carmel Item 9 Mar 1945.

If you can figure out who Sister Miriam Delora, from St. Joseph's Convent and Sister Mary Narcissa are from the list of children I gave, let me know.  I am not being sarcastic, I would really like to know.

The last thing I would say about Susan is that her life spanned from the American Civil War to nearly the end of WWII.  Not to mention travel changes: from horseback and trains to cars and Airplanes.  Quite an amazing time to be alive and so many changes and advances in science to witness.  The other thing thing that I noticed is that she spent this whole time is Schuylkill County PA, namely Gordon and Minersville.  Two small towns about 11 miles apart, about 17 minutes travel time today by car.  I wonder what she thought about all of these scientific advances, if they affected her at all in this small town.  I know that today, we take all of these things for granted.  We fly across the country because it is faster and more convenient than driving.  Then we complain about how long it took or how much it cost us.  I just wonder what those who came before us would have thought while all of these advances were being made.