Tim --
Your grandfather led an interesting life, though very little of it is
visible on the Internet. Instead, I relied on specialized (but still
public) databases to ferret out details.
One excellent place to look is in the New York Times index. It is
available via the Internet at the NY Times website for a fee -- but
also via many public libraries for no charge:
NY Times
"Article Archive"
http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/nytarchive.html
The Mar. 27, 1929 NY Times obituary for him reads: "John Bradshaw
Dead; Was at Sea 50 Years."
John Bradshaw retired as a commodore in the Red Star Line fleet in
1927, then died two years later in New York City. He died at home of
heart disease. His funeral was held on Mar. 26 at his home, 622 West
113th Street and he was buried in Kensico Cemetery. Survivors were
his wife, as well as Leslie H. (son); Alison, an actress in Chicago;
and Mrs. Herbert Foster, of Scarsdale, NY.
Commodore Bradshaw was a lieutenant on the U.S.S. Harvard in the
Spanish-American War and was decorated for heroism after the Battle of
Santiago. During that battle, the Harvard took aboard almost 1,000
survivors from the Spanish fleet, which was annihilated. After a
rescue of 23 sailors from the British ship Vindobola in 1898 he was
also decorated by the Lloyd's of London; the Royal Humane Society and
the British Government.
While working for the Red Star Line, which sailed under the Belgian
flag, Bradshaw commanded the Lapland for 10 years, transporting more
than 100,000 troops during World War I. He then commanded the
Belgenland (sometimes called the Belgenland II) from her launch at
Belfast on March 17, 1923 to Antwerp. The 27,000-ton liner, then the
largest of the Red Star fleet, made its maiden voyage from Antwerp to
New York on April 4, 1923 -- arriving April 14. The ship's maiden
voyage east left New York on April 18 for Plymouth, Cherbourg and
Antwerp.
Capt. Bradshaw is quoted in the NY Times on April 15, 1923 calling the
Bergenland a "jewel box among big ships." The ship was large enough
to accommodate 2,700 passengers.
Note that if you'd like to follow the sailings and arrivals of the
Belgenland during the period he was active, the NY Times publishes
daily lists of the comings and goings of ocean liners -- including
which persons of note are on-board. That will give you a hint at who
was probably dining at the captains table! Often they're under
"Shipping & Mail" in the daily newspaper but often they mention the
names of the larger ships. I counted over 600 references to the
Be;genland after her launch.
During 1926-1927 he apparently took the ship on at least 4 world
cruises. There were two in 1927 -- a 132-day cruise at the beginning
of the year which ended April 26 -- and another which started Dec. 13
with 350 passengers on-board.
The best way to find parents' names and full legal name is to request
your great-grandfather's naturalization papers. This is done with a
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the "Petition for
Naturalization" and "Certificate of Naturalization" from the
Immigration and Naturalization Service. It takes 4-6 months and
undoubtedly will be expedited if you provided a stamped return
envelope:
U.S. Department of Justice
"FOIA Request Form"
http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/g-639.htm
You may find these books on the history of the Red Star Line
(1872-1935) interesting, particularly because they contain photos and
drawings of the two SS Belgenlands -- and may even contain photos of
the captains:
Stillman Books
"Red Star Line and Other Ocean Liners" (Dec. 4, 2003)
http://www.stillmanbooks.com/redstar.htm
One other item of minor note is that in 1916, the NY Times reported
that the Bergenland would be re-christened the "Homeric," though it
never happened.
Also note that Red Star Lines had a one-ton, 18-foot long model of the
Belgenland at the Savoy Plaza Hotel in New York during the 1930s.
Google search strategy:
"John Bradshaw" + commodore
use of the NY Times index
"Red Star Line" + history
"Battle of Santiago" + Harvard
Here are some things that proved to be dead-ends in the search:
* Bradshaw does not appear in the New York City census for 1920,
though it's possible that he was living in Philadelphia (or elsewhere)
or at sea.
* There is a Helen Bradshaw, 55, born in Ireland of English-Irish
parents. She lives at 234 56th Street in New York and works in a
hotel's restaurant. She immigrated to the U.S. in 1903 -- but there's
no guarantee that she's Helen Steel Bradshaw.
* John does NOT appear in the 1927 Who's Who or in Who Was Who in America.
Best regards,
Omnivorous-GA |
Clarification of Answer by
omnivorous-ga
on
03 Feb 2004 07:47 PST
Tim --
I don't have information on Somerset House, though I'm very familiar
with American records. I'll do some checking this morning and post
additional information, if I can. Some notes:
* you have two excellent next steps -- the Stillman books (I know
that they have pictures of at least one captain of the Red Star/White
Star lines) AND the FOIA request. Naturalization papers should
include marriage date/place and parents' names.
* I checked for Helen Steel Bradshaw's obit but didn't find it. I'll
check the 1930 Census for her in NYC, as I'm pretty sure that the
reference I found in the 1920 Census wasn't her. My prime skepticism
is: why would she be working in a hotel restaurant?
* I've done biographical research on some well-known people involved
in social movements, much like Mary Baker Eddy. In looking for your
GG grandmother, I'd suggest finding biographies or journals of Eddy
and perusing them for reference to Helen. A good library's likely to
be more helpful than online searches -- though Google and the Internet
are a great place to start looking for clues.
* Two other obvious places to look are U.S. Navy records and English
records, particularly since John was decorated by both. The National
Archives Records Administration (NARA) has veterans' records, though
you'll probably have to make a personal request for the information:
http://www.archives.gov/research_room/genealogy/index.html/
Note that full service records are in St. Louis at the National
Personnel Records Center.
I don't know how to get English decorations. There are some books
that include title grants in England but not decorations for service.
In checking English newspapers online, I couldn't even find reference
to the Vindoloba sinking:
The British Library
"Online Newspaper Archives"
http://www.uk.olivesoftware.com/
Best regards,
Omnivorous-GA
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