Tag: Mercer County

My paternal great-grandaunt – Mary Bell Bradshaw Murphy Settles

born 12 April 1867 Mercer County, KY – died 13 May 1953 Fayette County, KY

Lexington, Kentucky – Wednesday Afternoon, May 13, 1953

OBITUARY, 1953: Mrs. Mayme Belle (Bradshaw Murphy) Settles

SETTLES, Mrs. Mayme Belle, 85, of Midway, widow of Will Settles, died at 3:15 o’clock this morning at the home of a granddaughter, Mrs. William Lewis, 494 Sheridan drive, after an illness of two months.

A native of Mercer county, Mrs. Settle was a daughter of the late John T. and Fannie Bradshaw. She attended the Mercer county schools, and was a member of the Victory Christian church.

Besides Mrs. Lewis, she is survived by three sisters, Mrs. Susie Grant, Nicholasville; Mrs. Minnie Scanlon, Prineville, Ore., and Mrs. Martha Corman, Fort Mitchell; two brothers, Horace G. Bradshaw, Georgetown, and Will Bradshaw, Jessamine county; another granddaughter, Mrs. Kenneth Courtney, Midway, and three great-grandchildren.

The body was taken to the W. B. Milward mortuary, where services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Friday by the Rev. Sherman W. Swan, Midway. Burial will be in the Wilmore cemetery.

Bearers will be Lucien Bradshaw, Howard Bradshaw, Avon Bradshaw, Adrian Bradshaw, Howard Long and Elmo Baldwin.

While newspapers are struggling to survive as an industry, I’d like to take a moment to comment on the fact that I can recall the days when there was more than one newspaper edition in a day. I was young but I remember.

~ Other details I have learned ~

Ancestry.com and electronic resources helped me piece together more of her story to supplement the physical family artifacts I am organizing and preserving. An original manuscript and transcribed copies of my grandmother’s own narrative is chock full of her memories and reflections. This is a rich alchemy that swirls around me like the angels’ share or ether when I can piece together elements and bring ancestors’ stories to life.

Mary Bell was the third child and first female of eight children born to the Bradshaw parents, John T. & Fannie (a Murphy). Mary Bell “Mayme” was 16 years older than her youngest sister Susie. At 21 years old, Mayme married Daniel J. Murphy, Jr. in 1888 and over the next nine years birthed four children, only one of which lived beyond a decade.

• Surber G Murphy (1889-1890) died in infancy.
• Maudy May Murphy (1891-1899) died before age 10.
• Florence Murphy (1893-1894) died in infancy.
• Viola Murphy (1897-1928)

Family portrait on porch of unknown house, the Murphy family. Based on research revelations, I estimate this was taken circa 1898-1899. Seated: front, center Maudy May Murphy (lived fewer than 10 years), second row, mother Mary Bell Bradshaw Murphy, father Daniel J. Murphy, Jr. holding Viola Murphy (who was only 2 years old when Maudy May died). Standing: Susie “Mattie” Bradshaw and Martha Jane Bradshaw. Barely visible within this family portrait are layers and layers of grief behind those faces. And, a tragedy about to strike.

Certificate of Death, Commonwealth of Kentucky

Mary Bell, an 86-year old, twice-widowed housewife, died at 494 Sheridan Drive in Lexington, Fayette County 2:15 am on May 13, 1953, where she had been for two months. Her usual residence was in Midway, Woodford County. She’d had an operation in April by which she was diagnosed with carcinoma of the liver. There was no autopsy. The cause of death: carcinoma of liver. Interval between onset and death: 4 mons. She was buried in Wilmore Cemetery on May 15, 1953.

On another interesting genealogy note: Her sister-in-law, Eliza Jane Murphy, was married to Surber Corman and had two children before she died at 24 years old along with their unborn third child. Look for more about Eliza and Surber coming soon.

Read more: OBITUARY, 1953: SETTLES – Mrs. Mary Bell Settles

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