James T. Bradford
Success in his chosen vocation was worthily attained by the late James T. Bradford, who was accounted one of the progressive and enterprising farmers of Van Buren Township, and this was attributable to his energy, careful management and keen discrimination. He was an excellent example of the self made men who have advanced their community's interests while furthering their own, and in his death, which occurred August 5, 1904, his township lost one of its best and most highly esteemed citizens. Mr. Bradford was born May 1, 1864, on what is now the Otto Creviston farm in Washington Township, Grant County, Indiana, and was a son of George and Sarah (Gardner) Bradford.
The grandfather of James T. Bradford, Daniel Bradford, emigrated from his native State of Virginia to Ohio, and was there married, and some time during the early thirties came to Indiana with his wife, Louisa Romine, who was born in the Buckeye State. With his brother, George, he entered 160 acres of farming land, but this was later divided and Mr. Bradford continued agricultural pursuits alone until his death. George Bradford, the father of James T., was born in Indiana, and was engaged in agriculture on a forty acre farm in Washington Township until being drafted into the Union army in 1865. Not long thereafter, he contracted measles and pneumonia and his death occurred in the army hospital at Pulaski, Tennessee. he married Sarah Gardner, daughter of George Gardner, and they became the parents of two children: James T. and Robert W., a farmer of Van Buren Township, a sketch of whose career will be found in another part of this work.
After her husband's death, Mrs. Bradford went with her two small sons to the home of her father, and there James T. Bradford was reared., his education being receive dint he district schools. When Mr. Gardner died, in 1878, Mrs. Bradford located on a farm of eighty acres, which was ditched and cleared by her sons, and when their grandmother, died the boys engaged in operations together on the Plummer farm. In 1897 they dissolved partnership, and James T. Bradford secured undivided possession of 110 acres in Section 3, on which the remainder of his life was passed. An earnest industrious, hard working farmer, he put his property into excellent shape, and at the time of his death was known as one of his locality's substantial men. This land is now owned by his widow and is operated by her son-in-law, who in 1912 produced 1,341 bushels of oats, 1,400 bushels of corn and seventeen tons of timothy and eighteen tons of clover. He sells forty hogs and gibes his entire time to the cultivation of the land, the work being overseen by Mrs. Bradford, a lady of exceptional business ability. the nine-room residence on this property was erected by Mr. Bradford in 1903, and is an attractive white structure, surrounded by a wide, luxuriant lawn and a neat iron fence, and a large red barn and other substantial buildings add to the value and beauty of the place, which shows the beneficial effects of good management and thrift.
On September 19, 1885, James T. Bradford was united in marriage with Miss Nora Love, daughter of James and Lydia Ann (Tinkle) Love, natives of Ohio, the former of whom died when Mrs. Bradford was a child, while the latter is still living at the age of seventy-eight years. There were nine children in the Love family, as follows: Mrs. Mary Heckard; Mrs. Anna Bradford; Mrs. Emma Pully, who is deceased; William, a resident of Van Buren Township; Mrs. Ellen Huff, of Wells County; Mrs. Nancy Losure, of Van Buren Township; and Jacob, a resident of Huntington County.
Mr. and Mrs. Bradford became the parents of four children, namely:
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Ollie M., who married George A. Lytle, of Oklahoma, and has one son, James.
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Lizzie B., who married Alpheus Green, of Van Buren Township, operator of the Bradford Farm, and has one son, Kenneth Leroy.
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Zola and Helen D. who reside with their mother.
The family attends the Van Buren Church of Christ, of which Mr. Bradford was a member for many years.
Centennial History of Grant County Indiana 1812-1912. The Lewis Publishing Co., 1914.