FAMILY HISTORY
The Story of Bradley Family
And Roots of the Bradley Family
1702, French Landing: Pioneering Black Settlement in Mobile, Alabama
In 1702 the French landed in Mobile at Twenty-seven (27) Mile Bluff in Chestang, Alabama. At the time, it was Plateau, Magazine Point, Kelly Hill, Happy Hill, and Lewis Quarters (across from conception Street Road). The French moved up to Grants Path up the Mobile River, which was already occupied and settled by blacks. Magazine Point was in Spain’s domain on the Elliot Line/31st parallel of Old West Florida. From England to Farmers Island, the Black Englishmen had arrived to (now Jones’ Island). Plateau was sold to our ancestors. These were the early settlers before the landing of the “Clotilda” who were Free Men of Color, which included our people, the Black Cajuns, the Masons, and Bradleys.
Survivors and Settlers: Mobile's Journey from Incorporation to the Clotilda Arrival: 1819 to 1860
In 1814, the town of Mobile was incorporated and later incorporated as a city in 1819. Some forty-five years later, George & Amanda Bradley witnessed the docking of the Clotilda ship who came with the intent to sell the Clotilda Family who were never enslaved. Even though the U.S. had abolished the Slave Trade in 1808, they say Plateau and Magazine Point were unique in their own way, having their own laws. We are survivors. You see, Prichard would not have us, and Mobile did not want us, but we survive. In about 1856, 42 years later, after incorporating, our boundary line lied partly in Pritchard and the other part in Mobile. In 1858, it became the last vessel to carry cargo of African slaves to the United States.
Legacy of Strength: The Bradley Family and Africatown's Resilience
Those on board were spared from servitude when federal officials intercepted the boarded the ship to free the Africans who settled in the east Mobile community of Plateau. Africatown is unique in that it represents a group of Africans who were forcefully removed from their homeland, sold into slavery, and formed their own largely self-governing community, all the while maintaining a powerful sense of African cultural heritage. In 1862, Solomon Lewis Bradley, Sr. was born on December 15, 1862, to George and Amanda Bradley; he was the oldest of eight children. Francis Aldfair Beckham was born December 25, 1872, to Mr. and Mrs. March Beckham, and Francis was the oldest of five children.
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Out of Solomon and Francis's beautiful marriage came eight lovely and devoted children. Francis was blessed with one daughter by a previous marriage. Solomon and Francis Bradley were God fearing parents who became pillars of the Plateau community. They were reared in a Christian home. Faith in the living God was the watchword; prayer was the order of the day. The Bible was their conversation. Attending Sunday School and Church was a must. Although they were not educated, Solomon and Francis wanted the best possible for their children.
Back row, left to right: Alex Reid, Jr., Georgia Wymon, Evelyn McCall, Hattie Keeby and S. L. Bradley, Jr. Front row, left to right: Flora Hauze, Iona Adams, I. J. Whitley (principal), Lola Brown and Agnes Finley. Photo courtesy Alabama Department of Archives and History.
Solomon, Sr. worked long, hard hours so that his children would not suffer and feel let down. Francis stayed home and took care of the children. She taught them discipline, loyalty, respect, and love for each other. She took care of the family's spiritual and material needs. The Bradley children were blessed to have great Christian parents like Solomon and Francis Bradley. Solomon and Francis were actively involved in the formation of the historical Mobile County Training School founded in 1921. Our great-great grandfather Solomon Bradley, Sr. served as Secretary and signed the deeds along with the principal, Mr. Isaiah J. Whitley. The land was given by the Giles ancestors in 1923.
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Solomon, Sr. wrote a number of letters to Booker T. Washington. Solomon was requesting assistance from Mr. Washington and helped in ensuring that the Mobile County Training School would meet the needs of Black children by providing them with an education and the necessary skills to be productive members of their community. Tuskegee University Library archives have copies of these letters on file from our great grandfather. Our great uncle, Solomon L. Bradley, Jr., pictured in the back row at the far right, was one of the first graduate of Mobile County Training from the Class of 1921.
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You know, our elders, our great grandfather and others were smart enough back then to start a Union (the Booman’s Union Hall) in Plateau on the corner of Greene and Front Streets. See back then Boomans’ work in the Mobile Riverbank (presently Kimblery Clark, formerly Scott Paper Company). They were timber markers, loggers, rafter markers, and laborers. Today, they are called dockers, and they work at the State docks. There are many more things I could write about, but let us not forget our roots because if we don’t know where we came from, we don’t know where we are going, and I want to go to heaven, don’t you?
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Amanda, George, Solomon, and Francis left behind a large, beautiful, and loving family. We thank God Almighty for them!