WILLIAM AND MARGARET BRADSHAW

From 'Fanning the Embers', published 1971, Range Rider Reps, Miles City, Montana

By Allie Bradshaw

William J. Bradshaw was born in Lancashire, England, at Manchester, on Aug. 4, 1862, a son of Joseph and Mary (Stanton) Bradshaw. Of a family of 13, he and a brother Thomas were the only ones to come to the United States. When a boy he ran away from the parental home and made his way to Australia, stopping first at Melbourne and then going on to the island of Mauritius. He later continued his wanderings to Bombay, India, where he met a neighbor from England who owned a trading vessel; he worked for him one year, trading among the islands and at Madagascar. From there he went on board a French schooner and was caught in a hurricane off the Cape of Good Hope, which cleared the ship of masts and caused it to spring a leak; the crew just drifted and finally were compelled, after nearly starving, to abandon ship. They were picked up by another sailing vessel and landed at Falmouth, England, and he was home-again after a two years' absence. In 1880 he sailed from Liverpool, intending to embark in the rubber business in Nicaragua; instead he landed, with a boy companion, at Galveston, Tex., where he had relatives living, and for a time he worked for them. Then he became associated with the Christian Brothers, working with livestock until he finally drifted west and joined the Matador Company. In 1885 he arrived in Montana with a trail herd from the Matador Company to the 777 outfit at Mingusville, now known as Wibaux, Mont. He went to work for Chas. Coggshall, who ran the 44 Cattle Co. and who was also the original owner of the present Miles City Saddlery Co. When Coggshall closed out his ranching operations he turned over to Billy Bradshaw the C7 brand and ranch on Locate Creek, which was one of the three owned and operated by the 44 Cattle Co. In 1892, after acquiring a small bunch of cattle he had the misfortune to lose all but one head to rustlers. So he went out and worked for the E2 outfit for a couple of years, then back to his C7 spread and gradually built up the ranch. In October of 1898 he and Margaret Ross were married. Margaret Ross, born in Scotland on March 4, 1861, had spent her girlhood in Canada, and in the early nineties had come to Miles City to work with Mary Woodcock and with Mrs. Ed Arnold in the dressmaking business. The Bradshaws spent their entire married life on their ranch on Locate Creek, where a post office named after the creek was later established and Billy Bradshaw was the first postmaster. They accumulated more land with the passing years, and raised Hereford cattle. Two sons were born to them, Joseph Ross and Alexander William (Allie). Billy Bradshaw passed away on Feb. 13,1935. Joseph Ross married Grovanna Pettus in 1934, and Allie married Nora Fahey in 1936. In 1942 the ranch holdings were divided between the two brothers. A son and daughter were born to Joseph and Grovanna: Joseph Ross Jr. and Carol Ann. Allie and Nora have three children: William James, Bonnie Mary and Thomas Joseph. Joe passed away in Miles City in 1947, and Margaret Bradshaw passed away in Miles City on Dec. 21, 1951, having lived a full and long life spanning 90 years.