CHARLES C.  BRADLEY, M. D.

Few residents of this county ever held the esteem and affectionate regard of their fellowmen in fuller measure than Dr. Charles C. Bradley, who was for many years a leading physician of Manchester.    The respect of all who knew him was the reward of a lifetime of service for others, as he considered his profession more as an opportunity for relieving distress than as a means for gaining financial prosperity.   

He was born in Rockville, Allegany county, New York, on the 5th of May, 1841, and at the age of sixteen he began the study of medicine in the office of Dr. Stacy of Rushville, New York.    While so engaged the call came for volunteers to defend the Union, and he enlisted in Company A. One Hundred and Thirty-sixth New  York Volunteer   Infantry.    He was assigned to duty as a hospital steward and remained in the service until June, 1865, when he was honorably discharged.    In the fall of that year he entered Bellevue Hospital Medical College in the city of New York and was graduated there from in the spring of 1867.   

In June of that year he came to Manchester and began the practice of his profession, which he continued until 1906, when he retired.    He was conscientious in all that he did and as he was well fitted by native talent and by training for the work of a physician he proved very successful in the practice of his profession and won the confidence of the general public and his brother practitioners.

On the 4th of September, 1867, Dr. Bradley was married in Cuba, New York, to Miss Cornelia L. Merritt. To this union were born two children: Mrs. Belle Bradley Scofield, who died in Manchester, October 18, 1900; and Dr. H. M. Bradley, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. The wife and mother died June 15th, 1889, and on the 6th of November, 1893, Dr. Bradley was married to Miss Sarah Hutchinson, a daughter of Captain Henry Hutchinson, who is mentioned at greater length in the sketch of Joseph Hutchinson. Mrs. Bradley is one of four children who grew to maturity, the others being: Joseph; and William and Emma, both residents of Manchester.

Dr. Bradley passed away December 8, 1906, and the following tribute to his life and work was published in the Manchester Press, December 13, 1906:  "Few men who have passed away in this county in recent years will be more sincerely missed than Dr. Bradley.   It is not difficult to trace the source of this regard.   

He was one of the most unselfish men who ever lived among us.   He concealed beneath a manner brusque almost to harshness one of the kindliest, tenderest hearts that ever beat.    His sympathy for the poor and needy was instant and responsive and he gave of the best that was in him, often under difficulties that would have dismayed many a man less devoted to his profession or animated by less noble impulses in the conscientious effort to relieve distress. How many families are there in this county who owe the life of here and there a member to the ministrations of Dr. Bradley, urging his way over all but impassable roads in implacable weather and the dark of night regardless of the name or circumstances or influence of the family.   

 The writer knows of one instance one only of many similar ones when Dr. Bradley made a drive of twenty-one miles on a fearful night in March, when the roads were so badly broken up that men on horseback hesitated to venture on them, in answer to a call from a poor family already largely in his debt and with no prospect of discharging the old or new obligation.    We mention this because it is characteristic of the great heart of the man.   Acquainted with sorrow and suffering as he was, he never became calloused to them, but showed the
sympathy he felt in the exhaustlessness of his effort and the word of encouragement, the very roughness at times with which it was uttered only serving to emphasize the anxiety of heart which he may have thought to
conceal.    Abhorrent alike of display or affectation, with a quick and contagious sense of humor, devoted in his friendships, deeply appreciative of kindness and the spoken word of cheer, he went through life doing good,
not for gain but because it was his religion to do good.    He will not be forgotten.   None can ever forget him who have hung upon his decision in a crisis.   Let us believe, as we do believe, that he is happier now than
when he folded his tired hands and said goodbye, in the place where there is no more pain, neither sorrow nor crying."

Back to Biographies

Back to Main Page
Back to Iowa AHGP
Back to AHGP