Albert Bradley Family

No caption, presumably Albert Bradley

My Grandfather Albert Bradley was born December 20, 1843 in Bradford, Yorkshire, England residing in that city until October 5, 1867 when he was united in marriage to Lena Hornung at the Shipley Church by the Reverend McKelley. Two years later the young couple emigrated to this country first locating in Philadelphia and several weeks later coming to Napoleon where he resided until his death. He worked at first on the Wabash Railroad as a day laborer, but having had experience in grocery stores in England, he soon entered the employ of Mr. Brown as a Grocery clerk and later worked for H.E. Cary. After about five years he started in business for himself, conducting a grocery for a number of years in the Higgins Building at the corner of Perry and Front Street. From here he moved his grocery to Washington Street and several years later moved to two rooms in the old Cary Block on Perry Street. In 1904, he sold his grocery business to Ernest Spengler, which is still in business today. He then conducted a seed and feed store in the Heller Block on Washington Street for the next six years until his death Friday, March 11, 1910 being 67 years old.

At the time of his death he was probably the oldest and most widely known business man in Napoleon. When the Humane Society was organized, he was appointed Humane Officer. A position which he filled with great credit, always being on the look out for the widows and orphans who needed assistance and the dumb animals who were being ill treated by their owners.

In politics, he was a stalwart Republican, but never offensive to his Democratic friends and associates. He was a member of the I.O.O.F. and National Union lodges. He was buried in Glenwood Cemetery.

My Grandmother Lena (Hornung) Bradley was born October 19, 1841 at Kirenzelsau, Wirerttemberg, Germany, the daughter of Frederick Hornung and his wife Marie Geisler. At the age of seventeen she went to Sheffield, England to work, where she met her husband to be. They were married two years and had one son Albert, Jr. when they left England and sailed for America. After establishing their home in Napoleon they were blessed with seven more children, two of which died in infancy. The five living children were: Cecil P. Bradley, Dora Bradley, Elsie Bradley, Lillian Bradley and Lulu M. Bradley. In their later years, my grandparents lived on Woodlawn Avenue across from the library. Grandmother lived to be 83 years old. She passed away on May 6, 1924 and was buried in Glenwood Cemetery.

Elsielou Sigg