Creator: Bradbury, Charles Williams, fl. 1832-1856.
Collection number: 3011
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Abstract: Charles William Bradbury was an insurance agent of New Orleans, La. Other members of the Bradbury family were of Manlius and Canandaigua, N.Y.; Cincinnati and Montgomery, Ohio; Madison, Ind.; and New Orleans, La. Besides Charles, family members represented include Jacob Bradbury (fl. 1817-1825); Cornelius S. Bradbury (fl. 1818-1848); Elizabth A. Bradbury (fl. 1817-1825); and Charles’s wife, Sarah (fl. 1821-1844). Charles’s mistress, Madaline Selima Edwards (fl. 1843-1848), is also represented. The collection includes letters to Cornelius S. Bradbury, 1818- 1825; correspondence, financial, and legal papers, and memorandum books of Charles W. Bradbury, 1832-1852; and notebooks and diaries of Madaline Selima Edwards, 1843-1847. Letters include descriptions of life in the various places where family members lived, descriptions of travels through southern Indiana and down the Mississippi River Valley from Cincinnati to New Orleans, and reflections on their relationship by Charles Bradbury and Madaline Edwards. Legal papers include items relating to the purchase of slaves, real estate, and a cottonseed manufacturing plant in or near New Orleans. The Edwards notebooks contain essays, poems, and other writings.
Repository: Southern Historical Collection
Collection Highlights: Legal papers contain slave bills of sale, including an 1841 bill for a slave described as addicted to drunkenness. Microfilm available.