Trumbold Families
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William Bradney

William Bradney is said to be born in Virginia (around Alexandria) in 1777 but I can find no record of him there.  William married Elizabeth Gore, who was born in South Carolina, around 1800 in Bath County, Virginia.  A later cemetery marker for Elizabeth Gore Bradney states that she was 86 years old in 1862 making her born around 1776.

In a letter to my mother, a cousin said that William and his wife, Elizabeth, settled in Ohio opposite Blennerhasset Island in the Ohio River.  It is also family lore that Elizabeth Gore was a Cherokee Indian although no proof has been uncovered. 

 

William and Elizabeth's children were:

    Hiram, born October 1, 1799

    Andrew, born 1801

    Thomas Jefferson, born March 5, 1804

    James Madison, born August 30, 1812

    William H., born about 1815

    Oliver, born about 1817

    Calvin Riley, born July 28, 1822

Some records list these names as well:

    Mary Jane

    Priscilla, born about 1817, married Henry J. Jackson

 

The Bradneys appear to have moved to Ohio in the early 1800's.  Hiram, their oldest son, claimed to be born in 1799 in Virginia. Another son, Thomas Jefferson Bradney, sometimes claimed in the censuses that he was born in Ohio in 1804 and sometimes later in life he noted Virginia as his birthplace.  So, it appears William and Elizabeth were in Ohio by the early 1800s.  The fourth child, James Madison, was born in Ohio in 1812. 

William Bradney was certainly in Adams County, Ohio by 1820 because he is listed in the 1820 Ohio census in Scott Township, Adams County.  The notes, as well as I can interpret them, say that there were

3 males and 1 female of up to 10 years of age (William H., Priscilla?, Oliver, and James Madison), one male that was between 16 and 20 years old (Thomas Jefferson, 16), and

1 male and 1 female that were between 26 and 45 years old (William, 43, and Elizabeth, 44). 

 

Where are Hiram and Andrew?

 

The 1830 Ohio census shows William in Jefferson Township, Adams County with

          1 male 5-10, Calvin Riley, 8            

1 male 10-15, Oliver, 13            

2 males 15-20, James Madison, 18, and William H., about 14          

1 male 50-60, William, 53           

1 female 20-30, (Priscilla, about 13?)

1 female 50-60, Elizabeth, 54 

 

Andrew and Thomas are in Meigs Township, Adams County, in the 1830 census.      

  

The 1840 Ohio census does not specifically name William and Elizabeth Bradney, but it appears that they are included in a listing for Thomas Bradney in Jefferson Township, Adams County.  The listing for Thomas shows            

1 male 15-20, Thomas?           

1 male 60-70, William, 63?           

1 female 15-20, Thomas' wife?           

1 female 60-70, Elizabeth, 64?  

 

Who is this Thomas?  There is a separate listing for our Thomas Jefferson Bradney in Meigs Township that includes his young family.  There are no other children that age who are married with whom William and Elizabeth could be living. There also does not appear to be a grandchild with that name and approximate age.

 

The 1850 Ohio census for Jefferson Township, Adams County, shows

     Wm., 72, farmer born in Pa (should it be Va?) with $500 in real estate

     Elizabeth, 75(should this be 73?), born in SC

     Calvin R., 28, born in Ohio

     Mary Ann, 22, "

     Mehala, 4, "

     Thermuthius, 2, "

The listing for Oliver and his family is just above this one.

 

William and Elizabeth remained in Jefferson Township, Adams County, Ohio, for the remainder of their lives. Some of their children lived nearby for most of their lives - Calvin Riley, Andrew, Oliver, and James Madison.  Hiram was in Kentucky by 1840, perhaps as early as 1832. William H. was in Kentucky by 1842.  Thomas Jefferson was in Illinois by 1841.  Eventually, Bradneys spread to the West Coast through Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Texas, California and Oregon.

William Bradney died in 1855 at the age of 78 near Jacksonville, Ohio, in Athens County.  His wife, Elizabeth, died in Ohio in 1862 at the age of 86.  They are buried in White Oak Cemetery, Cedar Mills, Ohio.