Bradley-Hingston Project
By Don Taylor
As I get to know an ancestor, it is my practice to look at an individual’s life in several passes. The first pass is, “Just the basics.” That is to say, determine the birth, marriage, and death of the individual. I expect to find the individual in each of the censuses during their lifetime. As I do this first pass, I expect that I’ll learn many of the basic facts regarding the individual’s parents, siblings, spouses, and children. In most cases, I can find out all of these basic facts using Family Search and Ancestry alone. Occasionally, I’ll confirm a fact with another source, for example, an address not included in a census record which might be easily findable in a city directory. Additionally, I try to document any “odd” things that might need further research to understand.
Bradley/Earle – Ancestor #9
List of Grandparents
4. Grandfather: Arthur Wilson Bradley(1887-1938)
9. 1st Great-grandmother: Emily S. Earle (1850-1926)
18. 2nd Great-grandfather: John H. Earle (1799-____)
Birth
Emma S. Earle was born on 6 June 1850 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was possibly the tenth child of John H and Agnes (Cooper) Earle. John and Agnes had 11 children living with them over the years. I have not confirmed each of them, but I am reasonably sure of the relationships. Also, there were seven years between two of the children and another twelve-year gap between the last two, which suggests further research needs to be done on this family unit. Her father was a tailor; his shop was at 60 Walnut and they lived at 369 Cedar. Both parents were immigrants from England and all of the children were born in Pennsylvania.
The known siblings of Emily include:
| Sibling | Birth |
| Agnes | 1825 |
| Henry | c. 1827 |
| Ann | c. 1828 |
| John | c. 1830 |
| William | c. 1832 |
| Ellen | Between 1839-1841 |
| Catharine “Kate” | c. 1842 |
| Elizabeth | c. 1843 |
| Martha | c. 1846 |
| Emily S. | 6 June 1850 |
| Frances | c. 1862 |
1850 Census
- Although Emily was born after the official enumeration date for the 1850 Census, she was enumerated when the census taker visited on the 1st of August. The 1850 Census doesn’t provide for relationships between individuals in a household. In this census, it appears to be parents and 10 children from 25 years old down to Emily, aged “3/12.”
- Twenty-three-year-old, Henry is an engraver, 20-year-old John is a carpenter, and 18-year-old William is also an engraver. Martha (12), Ellen (10), and Elizabeth (7) are all attending school.
1860 Census
- Emily’s father, John H. Earle is still a tailor and his property is worth about $3,000. His personal property is worth about $600. Her mother, Agnes, is keeping house. Both her parents were born in England.
- It appears that Emily’s (apparent) oldest sister, Agnes, and oldest brother, Henry, are no longer a part of the household. Thirty-year-old Ann (Annie) is still there as are William, Martha, Ellen, Kate (Catharine), and Elizabeth. Elizabeth and Emily are attending school.
1870 Census
The 1870 Census finds the family mostly intact. Ann, Martha, Emily, and Elizabeth are still in the household. There is another child, Frances, age 8, who appears to be a child of Agnes. It needs to be researched further to validate that as Agnes would have been 46 when Frances was born. It is possible that Frances has another relationship with the family that needs to be explored.
Finally, it appears that Kate (Catherine) married a “Becksby” and moved back to her parents with her two-year-old. That marriage, birth, and relationship needs confirmation.
Historically, shortly before Emily turned 21, Kaiser Wilhelm I and Otto von Bismark proclaimed the 2nd German Empire and Jesse James and his gang robbed the Obocock Bank in Corydon, Iowa.
Marriage
Emily married William C. Bradley on 6 June 1872 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The image relating to the marriage is available at a Family Search Affiliate Library. That image may tell us who married the couple and possibly infer their religion.
Ten months after their marriage, the first of their six children was born.
| Child’s Birth Name | Birth Date | Death Date |
| William Earl Bradly | 06 Apr 1873 | 27 Dec 1923* |
| David Cameron Bradley | 17 Mar 1875 | 31 May 1913* |
| Marion Bradley | 27 Nov 1877 | 05 Feb 1960 |
| Walter Cooper Bradley | Apr 1879 | 13 Feb 1913* |
| Emma Bradley | 11 Jun 1885 | Probably before 1900 |
| Arthur Wilson Bradley | 23 May 1887 | 05 Jan 1938 |
Sadly, Emily saw the deaths of four of her six children. A fifth child was admitted to a state hospital at the age of 25 and was an inmate until her death, 58 years later.
1880 Census
William and Emily did well for themselves The 1880 Census finds William and Emily living with four of their children on Prospect Avenue, in Philadelphia. William is a clerk and Emily is keeping house. They also had two servants living with them. Seven-year-old William was attending school, but the other three were too young to have started school.
1900 Census
Sometime before 1900, the family moved to 608 North 17th Street. The current home at that location was built in 1925, so we can’t easily determine what the house was like in 1900. The family only had one servant but living with them was William’s sister Emma and Emily’s (Emma’s) sister Martha. William Bradley’s wife’s name was both Emma and Emily is evidenced by William and Emma(Emily) had been married for 28 years during the 1900 Census.
1901 – Death of William.
On August 6, 1901, Emily’s husband William died at home of a heart attack, “Angina Pectoris.” He was buried at Section H, Lot 251, at Woodland Cemetery, Philadelphia. Emily acted as executrix during his probate. The following year, Marion was committed to a state hospital.
1910 Census
By 1908, Emily had moved to 4073 Powelton Ave and is living there during the 1910 Census. Two of her sons, William & Arthur are living there. William is an Electrical Engineer for a Patent Attorney and Arthur is a linotype operator for the newspaper. Emily’s sister-in-law Emma and her Daughter-in-law (Arthur’s wife) are living with her. Additionally, there is still one servant, Mary Rowan, an immigrant from Ireland.
1913
Nineteen Thirteen was a bad year. Her son David died at the age of 38 from Pneumonia and her son Walter committed suicide at the age of 33.
1920 Census
Sometime after 1913 and before the 1920 census, Emily moved from Philadelphia to 67 West Greenwood Ave., Lansdowne, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Emily is living there with her 81-year-old sister Martha and her 69-year-old sister-in-law, Emma.
Deaths
Emily’s sister, Martha, died in 1922 and Emily died on April 3, 1926. She was buried with her husband William at Section H, Plot 251, at Woodlands Cemetery in Philadelphia.
Events by Location
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Birth, 1850, 1860, and 1870 censuses, marriage, 1880, 1900, and 1910 censuses.
Landsdowne, Pennsylvania (about 6 miles west of downtown Philadelphia) – 1920 census and death.
Further Actions / Follow-up
- Determine the Church or Religion. Was Emily baptized or confirmed?
- Confirm the relationship of Frances to John & Agnes.
- Confirm the marriage of Catherine to a “Becksby” and the birth of her child.
- Get a copy of the marriage record for Emily and William via an Affiliate Library.
- Determine the death date of Emma Bradley (born 1885).
- Learn about the reason for Marion’s hospitalization.
- Review Emily’s death for probate.
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