Surnames in the biography are: Bradbury, Boyd, Harned,Mundell, O'Neal, Ballinger,Towsend, Hatfield, Burr, Nicholson, Brown, Windsor, JAMES L. BRADBURY. One of the leading citizens of Franklin township. also one of its oldest and most highly esteemed residents, is the gentleman whose name furnishes the caption of this re view. David Bradbury, grandfather of the subject. was a native of New Jersey, born of Welsh parentage. He was left an orphan when quite young and at the early age of fourteen entered the American army and served until the close of the Revolutionary war. After the cessation of hostilities he went to Lebanon, Warren county, Ohio, where he married and purchased a farm, remaining there until about the year 1820, meantime purchasing land to the amount of one hundred and sixty acres in the county of Hamilton. He also had a farm near the towvn of Lebanon which he sold and in an early day moved to Miami county, Indiana, where he bought about one thousand acres of land of the government. The Wabash val1ey being a very unhealthy locality in which to live, he did not long remain on his Miami county land but moved to a more favorable locality in the county of Wayne. David Bradbury was the father of seven sons and two daughters, namely: Josiah. David, James, John, Abner M, Daniel, Ezekiel, Phoebe and Sally. Abner M. Brabury went to Wayne County when a young man. but did not long remain on account of failure to get into the business he had in mind. He joined his father in what is now the county of Miami, thence returned to the county of Wayne and received a clerkship in a dry goods store at Richmond. After serving in that capac ity from June of 1821 until the following fall he went to what is known as Greens Fork, where he found employment in a fulling mill. After becoming a proficient hand he worked at various places and later became deputy sheriff of Wayne county. While discharging the duties of this position he became acquainted with Miss Mary Boyd, daughter of Rev. Samuel Boyd. and subsequently he and the young lady were made husband and wife. The Boyd family were prominently identified with the pioneer history of several states, notably among which were Kentucky and Indiana, where the name is still held in grateful remembrance. Several of the ancestors distinguished themselves in the war for independent, among whom was Abraham Boyd, who settled in Kentucky in an early day and became quite prominent in the history of a certain county of that state. He had a son, the Hon. Linn Boyd. who served in the Kentucky legislature and afterwards was elected to the United States congress, where he achieved a national reputation as a statesman. He was the contemporary of Clay. Calhoun. Webster and other notables, served eighteen years in congress and for a considerable length of time was speaker of the house of representatives. Rev. Samuel Boyd was a near relative of this distinguished man and lived in that part of Kentucky where the family originally settled. He disposed of his possessions as ear1y as 1811 and with his wife and nine children migrated to the wilds of Wayne county, Indiana, settling near the present site of Jacksonburg where he lived in a tent until a rude log cabin could be erected. He was one of the first, if not the first, minister of the gospel to penetrate the wilderness of western Indiana and he preached for a number of years to the Indians, besides organizing churches and building houses of worship among the early settlements of Wayne and neighboring counties. He was an able preacher and a most excellent and God-fearing man, his courage never forsook him amid his trying pioneer experiences and through his fearless and faithful preaching he attacked many of the evil practices of the times and led numbers of people to the higher life. He was one of the notables men of his day and generation in Indiana and died the 27th day of November, 1835. The family of Abner and Mary Bradbury consisted of thirteen children, whose names are as follows: Isabella, wife of James Leason; Caroline, wife of James Russell; William married Jane Kinley; Elizabeth became the wife of Isaac Harned; James L., the subject of. this review; Martha was the wife of Josephus Mundell; Samuel married Margaret A. O'Neal; Daniel married Sarah Ballinger; Burns married Sarah Townsend; Albert married Francis Hatfield: Allison married Sarah Burr, and Emma, the youngest, is still single. James L. Bradbury, the direct subject of this notice, was born in Wayne county, Indiana. June 7, 1829. He grew to maturity near the place of his birth, received as good an education as could be acquired in the subscription schools and remained with his parents. assisting with the farm work until reaching the years of young manhood. On the 23d day of March, 1851, he was joined in marriage to Miss Eveline Nicholson and six years later moved to Randolph county where he made his home until 1861, then returned to Wayne county and became a citizen of Henry county in 1862 settling on the farm in Franklin township where he has since lived. His first wife died in January,1887, leaving three children, Luther E.. Emma H. and Edith J. Subsequently, February 28, 1891, Mr. Bradburv married his present companion, Miss Anna M. Brown, daughter of. Moses Brown, a union without issue. The life of Mr. Bradbury has been one of great industry and he is now in a situation to enjoy some of the well earned fruits of his many years of toil. He has been successful as a farmer, having accumulated a sufficiency of worldly wealth to make his remaining days free from labor and care and his career presents little to criticise and very much to commend. Among his friends and neighbors he is held in the greatest respect and his name has always been a synonym of honorable dealing and manly conduct. Politically he is a Republican and religiously with his good wife belongs to the society of Friends. Luther E. Bradbury, oldest child of James L. and Evaline Bradbury, was born in Wayne county, Indiana, August 23,1856, and spent the first five years of his life on his father's farm in the county of Randolph. In 1862 he was brought by his parents to Henry county and from that year to the present time he has been very closely identified with the growth and development of Franklin township. As soon as old enough he became a pupil of the public schools and after attending the same at in tervals during his minority he attended the Spiceland Academy, after which he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, which he has since followed with success and financial profit. Mr. Bradbury assisted to cultivate the home farm until his twenty-first year when he rented the place and continued its management until about 1890. He was married in May. 1888, to Miss Emma J. Windsor, a native of Hancock county, born on the 16th day of May, 1868. Mrs. Bradbury's parents were natives of North Carolina, but left that state during the war on account of their opposition to the Confederacy and came to Hancock county, Indiana, where they afterward resided. Mr. Bradbury spent the two years following his marriage on the paternal homestead, but at the expiration of that time removed to his own farm in the township of Franklin. taking possession of the same in the spring of 1890. The place is admirably situated in one of the most favored agricultural regions of Henry county and the improvements, including good buildings, substantial fences and other accessories together with the high state of cultivation to which the soil has been brought, show it be the home of an intelligent, wide-awake and enterprising agriculturist familiar with every detail of his vocation. In addition to general farming Mr. Bradburv raises live stock quite extensively, devoting especial attention to blooded horses and high grade swine, from the sale of which he realizes the major part of his income. Personally he is a most pleasing and agreeable gentleman, easily approachable. and his fine social qualities have won him the warm friendship of the people oi his community. He has always taken an active and prominent part in local affairs and gives his influence as well as his financial support to all enterprises for the public good. He is an earnest advocate of educational, benevolent and religious institutions and never fails to respond when approached in behalf of anything which promises to advance the moral, intellectual and spiritual condition of his fellow men. His industry in the pursuit of his own business affairs, his spotless private life and character have elevated him to a high position among the citizens of his township and he has shown himself worthy of the esteem and confidence in which he is held. A Republican and to a considerable extent an active party worker. lie has never aspired to official honors, preferring to live the quiet and contented life of a farmer and to be known merely as a private citizen. His religious views are embodied in the teachings of the society of Friends, of which church his wife is a member. Mr. and Mrs. Bradbury have two children, Oran C., born March 29. 1889, and Ernest E., who first saw the light of day May 9, 1892. Compendium of Biography Of Henry County, Indiana B. F. Bowen 1920