Edward Bradley
Historical marker for
cemetery
The old Bradley Cemetery, unused for more than a
hundred years, lies just inside the south line of the Edward Bradley survey in
McKinney, Texas, on a gently sloping hillside.
The land was originally
patented in the Peters Colony by Edward Bradley who came to this part of Texas
from Logan County, Kentucky, in 1842.
His daughter, Mary Ann Bradley Howell, (Mrs. Daniel Howell) received the 27 acre
tract as her part of her father’s estate after his death in 1855.
The will of Daniel Howell, written May 6, 1878, includes the following bequest:
“to my beloved son, George R. Howell, I give and bequeath my interest in and to
a tract of land twenty seven acres out of the Edward Bradley survey as set apart
by the Probate Court of Collin County and known as the ‘grave yard tract.’”
EDWARD BRADLEY
CEMETERY SECOND-OLDEST IN CITY
The Bradley Cemetery is named after surveyor Edward
Bradley, who came to McKinney in 1842 from Missouri. Because he was a surveyor
and possessed a skill vital to the establishment of the new Republic of Texas,
Bradley was induced to migrate to Texas by a land grant of 640 acres in the
Peters Colony....
Bradley was 55 and the father of five grown children when he arrived in Texas.
At 59-years-of-age, he volunteered for active duty and served for six months as
a private in a local army regiment during the Mexican War of 1846-48, riding the
border of the “Indian Frontier” of that era – an area just west of Fort Worth.
Some reports indicate that Bradley lost a leg during the war, but this may be
more legend than fact.
EDWARD BRADLEY
1787 - 1855
Family history.
Edward Bradley was born in North Carolina on January 21,
1787. Little is known of his early years but it is assumed that he came with his
family when they out of North Carolina into Kentucky through the Cumberland Gap.
Edward was married in Warren County Kentucky January 27, 1814 to Nancy Shelton
(1792ù1883), the daughter of Nelson Shelton. Nancy was attended at the wedding
by her sister, Sarah. She and her husband John Fitzhugh later migrated with the
Bradleys into Peter’s Colony.
Edward and his bride were among the first to settle at the present site of
Russellville, Kentucky, just north of the Tennessee State line. Before 1820 the
young couple moved westward into Missouri, stopping to settle where Booneville
now stands. Here were born the five children; Mary Ann (1820-1873), Thomas
(1824-1881), Sarah W. (1828), James S. (1829-1866), and Daniel S. (1833-1862).
Edward Bradley settled in Texas about 1842 and received his land certificate
(Fannin Third Class No. 1039) in the colony from Thomas William Ward in 1850 and
patented 640 acres in Collin County in two 320 acre tracts. These tracts were
about two miles apart along the Old Denton and McKinney Road. At that time the
Edward Bradley Survey adjoined the town of McKinney, now it lies inside the
town, including Finch Park.
Edward Bradley’s house no longer stands but older members of the family recall
it as a log house which stood on the east side of the Hill well.
The family cemetery was on a hill adjoining the Samuel McFarland 640 survey to
the south. This cemetery tract was included in a portion of the Edward Bradley
Survey that was willed to his daughter, Mary Ann Howell, and later was sold to
E. W. Kirkpatrick.
Edward Bradley served in the Mexican War, enlisting at Buckner on July 24, 1846.
He served in Captain Andrew Stapp’s Company in the Regiment of Mounted
Volunteers under Col. Bell. This was the only company from Collin County to
serve in the Mexican War. They served on the frontier protecting settlements
against Indians who were causing great misery to both settlers and travellers.
For this service Bradley was given a bounty land grant of 40 acres in 1850.
Bradley died September 24, 1855 and was buried in Bradley Cemetery, his grave is
the oldest on record there and is marked by two large stones.
Bradley Cemetery
Surname Index
Recommended Citation:
"Edward Bradley,
EARLY SETTLERS OF COLLIN COUNTY." Collin County, Texas History
and Genealogy Webpage by Genealogy Friends of Plano Libraries, Inc., <http://www.geocities/genfriendsghl>
[Accessed Fri February 13, 2004 ].
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