Excerpts From
Memoirs of Rev.F.W. Bradbury
"It is indeed a desirable thing to be well descended, but the glory belongs to our ancestors". - Plutarch.
THE BRADBURYS
The Bradbury's settled in Juggler's Cove, near the tip of the south side of the Bay Roberts peninsula in Conception Bay, Newfoundland.
We do not know exactly when they first settled there. However, we find in the "Plantation Book" of Conception Bay an entry of 1775 concerning Bradbury's who claimed land at Bay Roberts in the seventeenth century. Under entry # 679 we find under the heading Name and description of room or other erections, with its exact boundaries the following: "The children of the late Abraham Bradbury Sr. Decd. 140 yards from East to West, bounded on the East by Benjamin Squires, on the West by the Mercers, 50 yards from High Water Mark to the North, bounded on the North by the Commons. One stage, four flakes, four houses, five gardens. Possessed for 70 years." The nature of the claim was given as "by their Father", and the land was occupied by Abraham Bradbury. It seems from this and other such entries that they arrived there by 1705, and perhaps somewhat earlier.
Dr. E.R. Seary, in his book, "Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland", says that the Bradburys are found in England, in the counties of Yorkshire, Staffordshire and Derbyshire. There is a village in Durham called "Bradbury". The name is probably derived from "Broad Berry", meaning Broad Bridge. Maybe the originals lived near a broad bridge, or, that they were distinguished by having noses with a "broad bridge".
It seems that they selected Juggler's Cove as a place of residence in Newfoundland in order to be as near to the fishing grounds as possible. It was a small sheltered cove with two entrances, one facing south east and the other facing south west. A small island almost filled the mouth of the cove.
Although Juggler's Cove has not been inhabited for some ninety or one hundred years, some grave markers still remain. Many of the markers are simply flat stones picked up from the area and stuck upright at the heads of the graves. One can see the forms of some of the graves. There was only one inscribed grave stone, that of John Earle who died in 1805. Some of the Bradburys married Earles, as also did the Mercers on my Grandmother Bradbury's side. Great-grandmother Mercer was Elizabeth Earle.
It seems that in the middle part of the nineteenth century our branch of the Bradburys, two brothers - George and Jonathan, with their children and grandchildren, moved from Jugglers Cove further west on the Bay Roberts peninsula to a place called the "Flunkers". This is a strip of level land between two cliffs, running parallel to the shore, a hundred or so feet above sea level, at a point between Running Brook and Mercer's Cove. Other Bradbury families of Jugglers Cove moved, in that period, to Running Brook, Shearstown, Coley's Point and Upper Island Cove.
Other migrations took place during the French invasions of Conception Bay. It is said that a couple of times when invasion by the French forces was imminent that the people of Juggler's cove went across Conception Bay to Portugal Cove to seek the protection of the English garrisons stationed at St. John's, and that some of the people did not return to Bay Roberts, but settled at Portugal Cove, St. Philips and Torbay, and some, who liked the city life, stayed at St. John's.
We find in the Voter's list of l855 only the names of Charles Sr., Abraham, and Stephen of William Bradbury at Juggler's Cove. While at the Flunkers there lived my great-great-grandfather George Bradbury, his sons Henry Norman and Joshua, and George's brother Jonathan and his son Stephen as voters. Jonathan died in 1857. The qualifications for voter were: male, 25 years of age and holder of real property. In the voters list of l874 my Grandfather's name is listed, but as a pauper. For although he was more than 25 years of age he was unmarried and lived at home with his parents and thus unable to vote. It was not till he was 28 years of age that he purchased land of his own. On the next voters list, in 1878, there is a note following his name "no longer pauper".
My great-great-grandfather George was the son of Abraham and Jane Bradbury of Juggler's Cove his wife's name was Isabelle. I do not know her maiden name. As far as I know, George's sons Henry Norman and my great-grandfather Joshua (born 1819) continued to live at the Flunkers, as did Joshua's youngest son Abraham and Abrahams's son Chesley. Chesley's son Roy continues to live in the same place today. However, Henry Norman's son Stephen moved his family to Massachusetts around the beginning of the twentieth century.
My great-grandfather, Joshua, married Frances French of French's Cove on November 13th, l843. Joshua was then about 24 years old. They had five sons and three daughters. My grandfather, William, was born March 18th. l847 followed by Joshua Jr. who was born October 31. l853. The other children were Miriam, twins Jacob and James, Abraham, Isabella, Rachael and Jane. Rachael and James both died before the age of two years.
Bay Roberts, Newfoundland / circa 1965
Joshua Jr. married Rachael Parsons Dec. 12th, 1880. They had three sons - James, William Stanley and Maxwell, and three daughters - Emma Juanita, Pearl and Ruby. James had two sons, Jesse and Allan. Jesse married Elva Bishop of Bay Roberts. Allan, as a young man, moved to the United States. William Stanley married Emaline Parsons and they had two sons and one daughter; Louis married Margaret Brophy, Ralph married Millicent Sainsbury, and Corrine married Clarence Day. Maxwell was killed in 1916 in World War 1. I know nothing of Emma Juanita. Pearl married Robert Hollett of Burin. Following Pearl's untimely death Bob Hollett married Pearl's sister, Ruby.
Joshua Sr.'s daughter Miriam married Al Harvey of Brigus. They had three girls. Ida married the Rev. Francis J. Armitage, Lena married Fred Stone of Botwood and Fannie, who was a school teacher, never married. She retired and died at Botwood. Joshua Sr.'s son, Jacob, married Elizabeth Jane Mercer of Bay Roberts. They had five children: Ethel Maude, Mina Isabel, William Mercer, Clarence, who died in infancy, and Joshua (Jesse). Uncle Jacob and his family moved to Boston, Mass in 1904 shortly after their marriage and returned to visit Bay Roberts in the summer of 1914. Ethel Maud married John Snook of Carbonear. Mina Isabel married Joseph Baggs of Bay Roberts. William married Mary Ann Hiscock of Carbonear. Joshua married Ruth Taylor of Boston. All of Uncle Jacob's children were married in the States and raised their families and died there.
Abraham the youngest son of Joshua Sr, born Sept 5th, l861, married Emma Badcock in 1893 and continued to live in the old homestead at the Flunkers. They had two children: Miriam, who married Robert Parsons of Coley's Pt., and Chesley, who married Emmie Smith of Coley's Point. Chesley had one son Roy who married Marion Bradbury and had a son Stephen.
Isabella, the only girl in Joshua Sr.'s family, and the youngest child, married Robert Churchill on May 19th, 1893. Uncle Bob Churchill owned and skippered the coasting vessel "Ellen". He drowned one night in 1927 as he was boarding his vessel in the harbour at St. John's. The Churchill's had four sons and one daughter: Max married Dorothy Mercer, Bill married Jean Anthony of South River, who died a few years after their marriage leaving three children; Isaac, who died in January of 1987, married Flora Belle Mercer of Bay Roberts; Alton married Doris Badcock and Fanny never married.
The above are excerpts from the memoirs of our father the late Rev. F.W. Bradbury. He has also left us with a extensive family tree of over 5,000 names. Although none of his family has the same passion for geneology that he had, we are attempting to reorganize, add to his work, and to continue the legacy. We are hoping to eventually publish some of the Bradbury family tree to the internet in the hopes that someone can add to the tree or that we can happily provide specific information to someone else looking for information.
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Contact Information:
Blair Bradbury
21 Carty Place
St. John's, Nfld.
A1A 1M7
email: blairb@nfld.comYvonne Bradbury-Wiseman
Box 386
Baie Verte, Nfld.
A0A 1B0
email: ybradbury@nf.sympatico.ca
