... His mother, Mary (Bradford) Foley, was a daughter of Benjamin Bradford, superintendent of the arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, during the Revolutionary war. When only seven years of age our subject had the great misfortune to lose his father, the latter leaving a widow with eight children to support. To add to her affliction, the mother became blind, and as early as possible the boys were obliged to go out into the world and make their own living. ...
