Person:Sheldon Bradley (1)

From BobNMi@@aol.com

Some time ago I was at the local library in Muskegon. At the library they have a volunteer worker. He is mostly a pain because I wish he would just get out of my way. But on this day, he had no one else to help. I told him I was checking for Shupes in Ohio. He went to a book and copied marriage information from Lorain County. On these notes I have a Betsey Shupe marrying a Sheldon Bradley on 11 July in 1839. That would mean your Betsey was a baby at time of marriage (15 years). I am sending this in case you do not have marriage date.

From Nancy M. Meyers

The 1830 census index for Lorain County, Ohio, lists Leonard Bradley in Browhhelm twp. & a Josiah Bradley in Wellington Twp. Perhaps one of these is related to your Sheldon Bradley in some way.

The 1840 census for Vermillion Twp, Erie has a Clement Bradley, with a man age 20-30 and a man 40-50. There are two females in the household, ages 30-40 and 40-50.

The Old Wells Cemetery in Oswayo, Potter Co, PA has members of a Bradley family - with a Sheldon Bradley listed as the father. He could have been of an age to be our Sheldon's father.

Bradley, Eunice 3 Feb 183714 Nov 1848 (Parents) Bradley, Sheldon Julia A. Bradley, George W. 1822 Bradley Sheldon Julia Ann VET-Civil War CO C 46 PAV Bradley, Julia Ann 22 Aug 1797 24 Apr 1851wife of Bradley, Sheldon Bradley, Lydia 29 May 1821 1 Apr 1864wife of Bradley, George W.

This Bradley family does not show on the Potter County census until 1830.

Sheldon BRADLEY 1 3 - - - 1 - - - - 1 - - - - 1 - - - -

In the 1850 Census for Oswayo Twp. they show as:

30 Bradley Almira 17 F PA 30Betsey C. 10 F PA 28 Caroline 23 F NY 28 James 27 M PA 30 Julia A. 53 F NY 30 Marietta 19 F PA 27 Minerva 34 F NY 27 Morgan 24 M PA 30 Philo 22 M PA 30 Sally 15 F PA 30 Sheldon 56 M VT

Erie County adA (I think Administration Book A) page 203 has information possibly pertaining to Sheldon Bradley. The information is on microfilm. A query sent to the County was returned because they could not find anything in the index for an estate being filed and will not search furthe

This is indexed in "To Ohio Wills & Estates To 1850" by Carol Bell, 1981. The name in the index is Selden Bradley.

Cuyahoga County, Ohio has reference to an Alva Bradley, born 1814 in Ellington, Tolland, Connecticut, father Leonard. Alva was involved in shipping... "This venture in ship-building he followed with others of a similar character, after transferring the "South America" to his cousin, Sheldon Bradley, who sailed her one season, and the next, with all on board, went down with her in a storm."

EUREKA! Sheldon Bradley was involved with a schooner called Dayton operating out of Buffalo, NY. 3 Oct 1842 he was listed as Managing Owner and Captain. Sheldon Bradley was owner and master of the schooner DAYTON in the fall of 1842, first registered Oct. 3 of that year. The DAYTON was then sold again on May 6, 1843, maybe in favor of the newer and larger SOUTH AMERICA. On the fateful journey, the South America carried a cargo of salt. It is not known where she went down.

Reference Enrolled at Port of Buffalo, Number 47 of 1842 Date 3 Oct 1842 Owners Sheldon Bradley of Buffalo NY Vessel Schooner Dayton of Buffalo Master Sheldon Bradley Construction Built at Grand Island , New York in the Year 1835 Decks 1 Masts 2 Length 69 feet , 2 inches Breadth 19 feet , 9 inches Depth 7 feet , 1 inch Tonnage 84 and 41/95ths tons Figurehead billet Gallery no Former Document Enrolled at Buffalo on 5 Jul 1839. Currently Enrolled because of "new owners" Next Document Enrolled at Sandusky on 6 May 1843 because of "new owner

Reference Enrolled at Port of Buffalo, Number 47 of 1842 Date 3 Oct 1842 Owners Sheldon Bradley of Buffalo NY Vessel Schooner Dayton of Buffalo Master Sheldon Bradley Construction Built at Grand Island , New York in the Year 1835 Decks 1 Masts 2 Length 69 feet , 2 inches Breadth 19 feet , 9 inches Depth 7 feet , 1 inch Tonnage 84 and 41/95ths tons Figurehead billet Gallery no Former Document Enrolled at Buffalo on 5 Jul 1839. Currently Enrolled because of "new owners" Next Document Enrolled at Sandusky on 6 May 1843 because of "new owner

History of the Great Lakes Illustrated, In Two Volumes, Chicago, J. H. Beers & Co., 1899.

In Vol 2 there is a list of all the ships that ever sailed the lakes. One entry reads: South America, schr., 100t, b. Vermillion, '41, lost in a storm L. Erie '43

Vol 1, p. 640 has more detail of the happenings of 1843: A Most Deplorable Disaster - The schooner South America, Captain Brady, left Buffalo November 4 with a cargo of salt for Toledo, and was never heard of afterwards. This was the most deplorable disaster of the season; six lives lost.

From The David Swayze Great Lakes Shipwreck File

Vessel Name: SOUTH AMERICA Other Names: none also seen as SOUTH AMERICAN Build Info: 1841, Vermilion, OH Type at loss: schooner, wood, 2-mast Official No: none Specs: 100 t. Date of Loss: 1843, Oct 15 Type of Loss: storm Lake: Erie Accident Place: Between Buffalo & Toledo Last Updated Cargo: salt Loss of Life: 6 [all] Detail: Left Buffalo on the 14th and was never seen again. Disappeared, probably in a squall, without a trace. Sailors considered her to be a "ghost ship" and she was reported seen on many occasions after the acciden Sources: hgl,is(2-69),wm2,nsp hgl - History of the Great Lakes - Mansfield, John Brant, J. H. Beers, Chicago, 1899 – op is - Inland Seas (vol. & number may follow), The Great Lakes Historical Society, Cleveland/Vermilion, OH, 1945 - pres. wm - Went Missing - Stonehouse, Frederick. Avery Color Studios, AuTrain, MI, 1977. nsp - my newspaper clipping file [clippings mostly from Detroit Free Press]

From Mansfield's History of the Great Lakes Vessel Accident Database

3887 Vessel Name: South America Vessel Type: Schooner Year Built: Place Built: Tonnage: Length: Accident Date: 4 November 1843 Accident Place: Lake Erie (enroute to Toledo from Buffalo) Accident Cause: Vanished Recovered?: No

From Loudon S. Wilson's Great Lakes Directory of Commercial Sail

Vessel Name: South America Vessel Type: Schooner Year Built: 1841 Place Built: Vermilion, Ohio Tonnage: 100 Dimensions: x x Builder: Alva Bradley Accident Date: 1843 Accident Place: Lake Erie, on Accident Cause: Sunk (lost in storm; 6 lives lost) Recovered?: No

From the National Geographic Channel

The Great Lakes are like 5 sisters, each with its own size, shape, mood and temperament. Lake Erie is the second smallest, the most shallow and the most bad tempered. Over the years, Lake Erie has claimed hundreds of shipwrecks and thousands of lives. In the 1800's shipping traffic was high on the Great Lakes because the lakes were a highway into the heartland of America. And on that highway, ships were the freight trucks of the day. There are hundreds of shipwrecks on the bottom of the Great Lakes because of catastrophic events, a storm would come up and catch hundreds of ships out in the open and in a single night dozens of ships would go to the bottom. Many sank with no survivors. And for many of these ships, no-one knows where they went down.They simply disappeared.

From the EPA Great Lakes Monitoring

Despite all that modern technology can offer, surviving a Great Lakes storm is still a challenge. The storms of the Great Lakes have been compared with a witches brew, and a devil's harvest. Storms can explode across hundreds of miles of open water with little or no warning. Storms on the Great Lakes often can be more difficult to navigate than ocean storms. Waves on the Great Lakes jump and strike quickly compared to the lethargic rolling and swelling of ocean waves.

Just as there are comparisons to be made between ocean storms and lake storms , there are differences in the way each of the Great Lakes reacts in a storm. Most veteran captains and crews find Lake Erie the least agreeable in either fair or foul weather because of its shallow depth and muddy bottom.

The grandparents could have been R(e)uben and Grace (Hill or Hills) Bradley, who were in Ellington for the 1790 census. They married 14 APR 1785 in Ellington, Tolland, Connecticut.

Marriages

listed in Ellington, Tolland, CT: BRADLEY Austin, m. Laura Woodworth, May 9, 1830 Elijah, of Stafford, m. Lorenza Tayler, of Ellington, Apr. 3, 1834 Elisha K., m. Grace An[n] Green, of Stafford, Dec. 2, 1841 Huldah, m. John Lewis Newell, June 9, 1821 Leonard, of Enfield, m. Roxana Thrall, of Ellington, Jan. 30, 1822

listed in Fairfield, Ct Reuben Bradley d. bef 10 27 1773 m. 4 13 1757 Elizabeth Nash b. 8 23 1734

More possibilites: Josiah Bradley of Windsor, CT had: Josiah12 19 1753 Elizabeth4 16 1756 Reuben4 26 1758 Esther8 29 1760 Sarah2 28 1764 Eli4 27 1766 Elisha10 27 1766 (?) Almond W. Bradley of Windsor m. Pamelia Spencer 4 15 1816

1. ↑ Vital Records - Miscellaneous Sources
   Daughter Angeline's death certificate.
2. ↑ Marriage Index: Selected Counties of Ohio, 1789-1850.
3. ↑ Researcher.

   BobNMi@@aol.com, Nancy M. Meyers, Sharon Hightower-Bradley