John M. Bradley

 There was more than one man by the name of John M. Bradley who lived at the same time in Texas.

The John M. Bradley I talk about in this post was born in about 1800 in North Carolina. Whether and how he was related to our Bradley family line, I do not know. However, our direct ancestor John Bradley Jr., was born in 1799, in North Carolina as well. Possibly there is some family relation between the two men, but I did not discover it.

Not much is known about the ancestors of John M. Bradley and his family members. By the time when John M.  arrived in Texas with his four children, his wife passed away. I wish I knew the children’s name or what name the initial M. stood for.

John M. Bradley became the captain of Texas Militia regiment (Tenaha Militia). They fought in the battle of Nacogdoches in August 1832. Then, the man attended the Convention in San felipe as the Tenaha District representative.

In 1835, John M. Bradley was the captain of the San Augustine and Tenaha company, which he commanded during the Grass Fight. He and his company also took part in the siege of Bexar. Subsequently, Bradley and his San Augustine Cavalry joined the Texas army and participated in the fights which led to expelling the Mexican army from Texas.

John M. Bradley’s company was discharged in July 1836.

From 04 February 1839 to 31 January 1841, the man served as the Shelby County Sheriff. During that time, the Regulator – Moderator conflict arose, and John M. Bradley was chosen as the leader of the  Moderators.

After the death of Charles Jackson, the leader of Regulators, Charles Watt Moorman, took over their leadership. According to (1), he was a “young psychopath ”, and a “cruel and dangerous man” who did not tolerate anybody daring to stand in his way. Moreover, he was a man of impressive appearance and striking personality, who was able to make people think that Regulators’ actions was righteous. The Regulators controlled Shelbyville which they had chosen as their headquarters. Whoever did not agree with them was either forced to leave the county or face death. The Regulators followed their opponents even to adjacent counties. 

Clipping source: Cruger & Moore. Telegraph and Texas Register (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 6, No. 47, Ed. 1, Wednesday, October 20, 1841, newspaper, October 20, 1841; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth48156/: accessed March 1, 2026), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.

Clipping source: The Morning Star. (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 243, Ed. 1 Saturday, September 25, 1841, newspaper, September 25, 1841; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1497666/: accessed March 1, 2026), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu

Moorman’s plans reached high and included the idea of a revolution, overthrowing the Government of Texas and becoming the state governor.

Gradually, the situation in the county was becoming more serious and dangerous.

Clipping source: Cruger & Moore. Telegraph and Texas Register (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 6, No. 46, Ed. 1, Wednesday, October 13, 1841, newspaper, October 13, 1841; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth48155/: accessed March 1, 2026), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.

At the end of December 1841, a certain letter was published in a local newspaper. The alleged author of the letter was John. M. Bradley – as the publication stated (2). The letter content showed Bradley in a very bad light, the least to say.

On the next day, information of J. M. Bradley’s protest was published in the same paper. Bradley had announced that the letter was a forgery and he was not the one who had written the letter.

Clipping source: Whiting, S. Daily Bulletin. (Austin, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 22, Ed. 1, Friday, December 24, 1841, newspaper, December 24, 1841; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth80076/: accessed March 1, 2026), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.

It was probably Moorman and the Regulators who were behind the letter publication. If it was meant to slander Bradley’s name and ruin his good reputation, it seems they succeeded. In 1842, when Moderators reorganized themselves, John M. Bradley was excluded from the group. James J. Cravens became their leader.

Researching the information on John M. Bradley, I came across the newspaper note on the legal case Bradley vs McGrabb (1843). 

Clipping source: The Planter. (Columbia, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 40, Ed. 1, Saturday, September 9, 1843, newspaper, September 9, 1843; Columbia, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth80181/: accessed March 1, 2026), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.

Most likely – it was John M. Bradley who tried to clear his name after the slandering post in the paper and took it to the court. Considering the fact that most jury members at that time were Regulators supporters, and others, who were not, would not have dared to vote in favor of Bradley (due to the obvious reason, as it was in case of the McFadden brothers), John M. Bradley presumably lost the court case and failed to restore his good name.

24 July 1844 – a truce between Regulators and Moderators was signed by Cravens and Moorman. The truce was to protect citizens regarded as “good and unoffending”. However, Moorman composed “Articles of Agreements” in which he was supposed to include some escape clauses for himself.

Soon, a man by the name of Lindsey was shot in an ambush by Regulators. The man managed to get to the Moderators and let them know who he had been attacked by.

After a Regulators’ meeting at San Augustine, they came up with a list of 25 men who were “doomed” by the Regulators. The list was later placed on the courthouse door. It was believed that  Moorman himself posted the paper with those names. The listed citizens of Shelby County were:

• Sheriff Llewellyn,
• John F. Cravens – leader of Moderators,
• Five men of the Haley family: Thomas, John, Richard, Allen, and Mark,
• William Todd,
• I. Strickland, 
• D. Strickland,
• Isaac Hall,
• Jonathan Anderson,
• Laurel Lang,
• Charles Lindsey,
• E. Ritter,
• M. H. Moseley,
• J.D. Raines,
• Joshua English,
• John Choate,
• Moses F. Wooten,
• James West,
• W. J. Thomas,
• Samuel Todd,
• Henry Thorne,
• David Harris.

Some of the above men had family connections to Jospeh Goodbread, who was shot and killed by Jackson in 1841, and the McFadden brothers hanged some time later. I will come back to those men in my future posts.

28 July 1844 – on a Sunday evening, when John M. Bradley was leaving the Baptist church camp meeting he had attended at St Augustine, he was approached by Charles W. Moorman and a few other Regulators. It was dark, when light was brought, Moorman shot Bradley in the chest and killed him at instant. The story mentions that Moorman had had a dream about Bradley in which the latter wore a steel jacket. That is why Moorman shot Bradley below the line where the jacket could have been. Later it appeared, Bradley was indeed wearing a steel jacket as seen by Moorman in his dream. The steel jacket factor - true or false? Seems probable.

Clipping source: De Morse, Charles. The Northern Standard. (Clarksville, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 40, Ed. 1, Wednesday, August 7, 1844, newspaper, August 7, 1844; Clarksville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth80525/: accessed March 1, 2026), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.

The conflict  between Regulators and Moderators continued to escalate. Finally, President  Houston took actions which led to the end of the bloody conflict and disbanding both fractions of the feud.

Clipping source: De Morse, Charles. The Northern Standard. (Clarksville, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 43, Ed. 1, Wednesday, August 28, 1844, newspaper, August 28, 1844; Clarksville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth80528/: accessed March 3, 2026), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.

Sometime later, Moorman was arrested and trialed.

Clipping source: De Morse, Charles. The Northern Standard. (Clarksville, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 45, Ed. 1, Wednesday, September 11, 1844, newspaper, September 11, 1844; Clarksville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth80530/: accessed March 1, 2026), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.

The result of the trial was no surprise regarding the state of the affairs regarding members of the jury (as mentioned above).

Charles W. Moorman met his end in Louisiana, on 14 February 1850. He was shot/killed by Dr. Robert Burns.

God bless their souls.

Sources:

1. East Texas Genealogical Society. East Texas Family Records, Volume 11, Number 3, Fall 1987, periodical, Autumn 1987; Tyler, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth38028/: accessed March 1, 2026), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting East Texas Genealogical Society.

2. Cruger & Moore. Telegraph and Texas Register (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 6, No. 47, Ed. 1, Wednesday, October 20, 1841, newspaper, October 20, 1841; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth48156/: accessed March 1, 2026), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.

3. East Texas Genealogical Society. East Texas Family Records, Volume 11, Number 3, Fall 1987, periodical, Autumn 1987; Tyler, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth38028/: accessed March 1, 2026), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting East Texas Genealogical Society.

Texas Handbook Online

Photos Sept. 2020

McFadden Brothers

The McFadden family were the early settlers who made their home east of the Sabine River. The brothers, John, William, and Bailey, sons of Sam McFadden, settled in the south-east of the county, and the nearby creek was named after them.

Joseph Goodbread mentioned in one of the previous posts was related to McFaddens. Some of his relatives joined the group of Moderators organized after Joseph’s death, in response to the actions taken by Charles Jackson (the man who shot Joseph) and his supporters known as Regulators.

When the legal ways failed - Jackson's trial, mentioned in the previous post, was a total fiasco. Jackson was not sentenced/went free, despite the fact that he had shot Goodbread in broad daylight. Therefore. his friends and relatives took matters in their own hands.

As mentioned before, Jackson was killed in an ambushed and the McFadden brothers were known to be part of the Moderators group who retaliated after the death of Goodbread.

Charles Watson (Watt) Moorman became the leader of the Regulators after Jackson’s death. He had been with Regulators when Jackson was their commander. Subsequently,  John T Middleton (first deputy)  deputized Moorman and a few other Regulators, and the posse after Jackson’s killers was organized.

The Regulators approached a group of Moderators, when they were going towards Grimes County. During a fight, one of the Moderators by the name of Joe Bledsoe was killed at Crockett, others managed to escape. However, later, the Regulators apprehended  a Moderator called One-Eyed Williams, and made him tell where the McFadden brothers were.

 The men were staying then not far from the Montgomery town,  at the house of Mr. Whitaker. Surrounded by the Regulators , the brothers barricaded themselves  and fought back, shooting from the inside of the house. The Regulators threatened they were going to burn the house down. The McFaddens agreed to surrender when they were promised a fair trial which was to be done by the vote of the Shelbyville inhabitants, not the jury. 

I am not sure about the fairness of that trial since the Regulators controlled Shelbyville. Their motto was “those who are not for us are  against us”, and each person who was not willing to align with them was treated as a member of the opposition, a Moderator.  According to one source (3) , Regulators’ representatives were members of every grand jury. Thus, the people of Shelbyville voted 174 to 0. which decided of the brothers’ fate. In such circumstances, even if any of the voting man was against the hanging, fearing for their own lives, they would not have dared to stand up and say, “I am against it”. John and William McFadden were hanged. Bailey, the youngest of the three brothers, was spared due to his young age. He was ordered to leave the town after he was beaten 25 times with a “blackjack”.

Clipping source: The Morning Star. (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 256, Ed. 1 Tuesday, October 26, 1841, newspaper, October 26, 1841; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1497679/: accessed February 8, 2026), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .

Clipping source: Cruger & Moore. Telegraph and Texas Register (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 6, No. 48, Ed. 1, Wednesday, October 27, 1841, newspaper, October 27, 1841; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth48157/: accessed February 8, 2026), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.

The “Tenaha gang” mentioned in the newspaper piece was the Tenaha Militia who participated in the Battle of Nacogdoches (Tenehaw Municipality was the original name of Shelby County). The wounded Moderator was Henry Strickland. He was hit by Hansford Hanks, Regulator.

I wish I was able to find out more about the brothers’ and the names of John’s and Bill’s wives. 

Mary Elizabeth McFadden (1800-1847) is one of our direct ancestors (5 generations  back - great-great-great-grandmother). She was the daughter of Sam McFadden and Lucy Hampton. Perhaps, the brothers ment6ioned above were her brothers?

Sources:

1. East Texas Genealogical Society. East Texas Family Records, Volume 8, Number 1, Spring 1984, periodical, Spring 1984; Tyler, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth38042/: accessed February 3, 2026), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting East Texas Genealogical Society.

2. Texas Gulf Historical Society. The Texas Gulf Historical and Biographical Record, Volume 1, Number 1, November 1965, periodical, November 1965; Beaumont, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1433634/: accessed February 3, 2026), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Gulf Historical Society.

3. Texas State Historical Association. The Texas Historian, Volume 35, Number 5, May 1975, periodical, May 1975; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth391259/: accessed February 3, 2026), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.

4. Abernethy, Francis Edward; Lincecum, Jerry Bryan & Vick, Frances Brannen, 1935-. The Family Saga: A Collection of Texas Family Legends, book, 2003; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc701341/: accessed February 3, 2026), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Press.

Texas Handbook Online

Photos: Sept. 2020

About Lost Sheep

Disclaimer: This post is not meant to offend anyone. It is not meant to offend anybody's feelings either. It is my search for understanding the matters described below.

✷★★

Some stories (parables) which I have heard many times since my early childhood never made any sense to me, even when I was little. Especially the three ones, well known to many, seem to be rather nonsensical and made me wonder what their meaning was.  At some point, the understanding of their meaning came to me on its own. 

⑴

Probably you have heard a parable about a shepherd, his 100 hundred sheep. When one of his  sheep got lost, he left the other ones and went to look for the missing animal. I used to think, “What shepherd would leave 99 sheep “in the open country” – unattended – and go to look for one sheep”? They would lose most of those 99.

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a parable is “a short, simple story that teaches or explains an idea”. A story that explains an abstract matter by using familiar situations listeners can relate to.

What if 

The sheep in the above mentioned parable represent our thoughts? We may have 99 positive or neutral thoughts and one only negative. The latter one could for example be a fear, recollection of a traumatic moment in our life, an encounter with an unpleasant person, an unjust or unkind word about us spread by somebody, resentment, and/or many more. The negative thought gives us unpleasant feelings, triggers harmful reactions in our body. It makes all the prior positive thoughts move to the background and disappear. They no longer exist as they have no meaning when we focus on that negative one only. 

“Take captive every thought (1)”.

To avoid self destructive dwelling on the unpleasant thought, we do need to look closer at what bothers us and deal with it. What are we afraid of? What is it that makes us feel gloomy or resentful? Why should you re-live that particular negative experience/unfair treatment, or focus on somebody’s unkind word again and again? This one lost sheep needs to be found to join the rest of the herd. You need to find it to regain peace of mind and balance in your body. 

Focusing on the negative thought makes it grow, lowers down our frequency and subsequently attracts negativity and darkness.  It is not just my words. It is science. According to Quantum Physics* the multiple outcomes of our current life situation already exist in time and space. We choose which way our life goes by deciding which thoughts we stick to. Whatever we focus on, grows. No matter if it is positive or negative. Why would you choose negativity if you do not want to live it through?  

It is all not about pretending that there is no negativity in the world. There is a lot of darkness and dreadfulness around us. Noticing and observing it is one thing, but why would you want to surrender your mind to it? Choose Light, Peace, and Harmony. You can replace an adverse thought with a constructive one. 

“Whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - (… ) think about such things.” (2)

Each of us can find their own way to make dark thoughts go away. Whatever works for you – a prayer, a chosen mantra - positive words that make us focus on peace, harmony, and Divine abundance. Repeat them every time when your mind is overwhelmed by a negative thought or belief. Continue practicing it and guarding your thoughts. Be their careful shepherd. It takes some time, but you can make a destructive thought go away, and dissolve your mental connection with it. 

*At high school, I studied expanded curriculum of Physics. Quantum Physics was never mentioned in classes, though. I was familiar with the name of Max Planck, physicist, but I knew not much about his works. It’s been recently only that the Quantum science is talked about more and more often.  It all made me think that is a rather new scientific approach regarding Physics and the world as it is. I was surprised to read that the beginnings of Quantum Physic go back to the early years of 1900s and Max Planck, as well. I guess for all those years those ideas where discarded and neglected because you cannot measure or weigh the quantum world contrary to the material objects/world.

1. 2 Corinthians 10:5

2. Philippians 4:8

TBC

S for Sauerkraut

 This post relates both to My Polish and My Texas Alphabets.

A few days before Christmas, we were invited to the Christmas song concert which took place at Pecan Grove Store. While waiting for the program, we ordered something to eat. On the menu, I saw one item served with sauerkraut - it was ”Fred Dog”. The sauerkraut caught my attention so I thought I would  give it a try. I had not eaten good sauerkraut in 15 years. Last time, it was when I was still in Poland. I had tried to find some after I cane to Texas, but with no satisfying result.

T & C Miller at Pecan Grove - Christmas program

To my utter surprise, the Fred Dog was sooooo delightfully  good! It was the good brand of sausage and, most of everything, the super tasty sauerkraut. I ate it all very quickly. That was it! The sauerkraut – not to sour, not too sweet, perfectly thin pieces of cabbage. Just right! It was so delicious and I was so happy having it, I almost ate the aluminum foil the dog was wrapped in.

The music program was very nice and Christmassy. We also really enjoyed the instrumental part presented by T. Miller, not to mention the time spent with friends. However, the culinary experience both unexpected and wonderful.

at Pecan Grove Store

After the music performance, I talked to the owners, praising their sauerkraut. It tasted just like home made stuff served by my mom long time ago. The man showed me a jar of the product – Bavarian Sauerkraut, made in Germany. One of its ingredients is wine, instead of commonly used vinegar. To my total surprise, the jar was also gifted to me. Thank you so very much! I am now enjoying eating the sauerkraut again and again!