U.S. Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ -- USGenNet Inc. -- Please read the U.S. Data Repository Copyright Statement on the following page: ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bradford, Thomas Armstead (1825-1888) ------------------------------------------------------------------- The History of Barbour County, West Virginia, From its Earliest Exploration and Settlement to the Present Time by Hu Maxwell The Acme Publishing Company, Morgantown, W.Va., 1899 Page 347 Thomas Armstead Bradford, born August 30, 1825, in Orange County, Virginia, son of Alexander and Hannah (Burton) Bradford, was married in Randolph County, August 4, 1859, to Lucie M., daughter of Dr. Squire and Hannah (Buckey) Bosworth. Their children were two, Stella V. and Alexander S. Mr. Bradford was one of the California pioneers in the days of the gold excitement, but subsequently returned to his native State, studied law and located in Pocahontas County, where he was elected prosecuting attorney. In 1858 he removed to Barbour and ever after made it his home, dying of paralysis in 1888. He was one of the foremost of the many able men of Barbour County. In the Civil War he advocated the cause of the South, assisted in organizing the Virginia forces in this part of the State, and was present in Philippi and acting captain of a company under Colonel Porterfield at the time of the Philippi fight, June 3, 1861. He went south with the retreating Confederates and did not return till the close of the war. He then came home to find his law practice ruined, his library scattered, his property of little value, and himself debarred from many of the former rights of citizens, because of his participation in the rebellion. A portion of his library had been saved by Spencer Dayton, and after the war it was restored to him. He and Mr. Dayton, although as opposite in politics as it was possible for men to be, were always warm personal friends. Mr. Bradford speedily regained his lost practice, and to the end of his life he was regarded as among the ablest and most conscientious lawyers of the State. In 1872 and 1879 he was elected to the West Virginia Legislature, and was at different times prominently considered as a candidate for congress; but the selection of that candidate is often determined more by geographical lines than by the fitness of the men, and Mr. Bradford's time never came. ------------------------------------------------------------------- DEATH-REGISTER, Barbour County WV Page 4, No. 22 Name: Thomas A. Bradford Died: March 29, 1888 at age 62y-7m-2d Occupation: Atto. at Law Marital-status: married Birthplace: Orange Co. Va. Place-of-death: Philippi, W.Va. Cause-of-death: Paralysis (General) Complication: Apoplexy, duration 40 hours Burial: Philippi Cemetery ------------------------------------------------------------------- If you've reached this file through a SEARCH, you can access other biographies for Barbour County, WV by going to the following URL: http://www.us-data.org/wv/barbour/bios.html -------------------------------------------------------------------