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

Joseph G Goodbread

Joseph G Goodbread has waited long for the post dedicated to him. He was born in 1809, in North Carolina, to Philip R Goodbread and his first wife, whose name is unknown. Joseph’s great-grandfather Philippus Gutbrodt was born in 1725, in Wuertemberg and later, the man emigrated to North Carolina.

There are several land assessment Alabama records which mention Joseph G Goodbread. It was possible that it was ‘our’ Joseph as his family lived at that time in that state. 

31 August 1833, Joseph bought 39 acres for $1.25 in Chickasaw township area, Alabama (1).

On 24 November 1834, he purchased 52 acres in Chickasaw township area, Alabama. He payed $65 and received patent for the land on 27 September 1886 (2).

In 1837, Joseph married Miss Susan Johanna E Todd (born in about 1822 in Georgia). She was the daughter of William Henry Todd, Sr. and Martha "Patsey" Holder. Joseph and Susan had a daughter whom they called Mary, she was born in 1838.

Philip’s family came to Texas in 1838.

From July 9 to 10 August 1839, Joseph served with Captain Inman’s Harrison-Shelby County Volunteers, during the Cherokee War in Northeast Texas (3).

After the service, Joseph came back home to Shelby County. 

In that time, land certificates were issued in the Shelby County. They were signed by local Land Commissioners. Many important lawyers of the area, who signed the certificates, believed they were good and legitimate because they were issued by the Land Commissioner’s Office.

If I had bought such land grants then, most likely I would have believed they were legal. Probably Joseph did think so, as well as he used them as a payment mean in the transaction with his former fellow Militia man, Albert George. Those land certificates amounted for 46 000 acres.

George on the other hand, allegedly put fake grantees names on the certificates which he received from Joseph.

Later, it appeared that despite the common believe, the land certificates were not legal as they hadn’t been signed by the travelling board of land commissioners appointed by the State.

The information about the deal and land certificates got to Charles W. Jackson, who was originally from Kentucky. He was a man of a dubious character and a criminal record. Jackson used to be a steamboat captain on the Mississippi River. Once, his boat was passing another one (named Ben Sherrod). That boat was in flames and sinking. Jackson did not try to help those people. He passed Ben Sherrod by – its passengers and the boat went down to the river bottom. Afterwards, Jackson moved to Shreveport, Louisiana, where he ran a store.  The man was arrested by a group of men and was to be taken to New Orleans. He managed to escape, though and came back to Shreveport. There was a gun fight between Jackson and those ones who were after him. Jackson killed some of his opponents and fled to Shelby County in Texas.  In Texas, the very same man ran for the position of the representative in the Texas Congress. He failed, though, and he blamed land speculators for that.

Jackson wrote letters to the General Land Office in Austin and other persons in Texas, and Louisiana . He also wrote one to Joseph Goodbread. The exchange between the two men was not pleasant, the least to say. Both man were agitated. Joseph wrote to Jackson telling him to mind his own business, otherwise, as Joseph said, he would kill Jackson.

On 20th September 1840 (4), Charles Jackson came to Shelbyville. When he approached Joseph, he was sitting on his horse while Goodbread was sitting on the ground. During the dispute, Joseph apologized for what he had written in his letter and the hasty words. Goodbread also stated he was unarmed. Despite that, Jackson kept demanding that Joseph would stand up. When the latter finally did, Jackson shot him dead. There was a witness of that encounter - Mr. Ephraim  M. Daggett saw and heard what happened, and he later described that in his memoirs.

Soon after the incident, Jackson organized a group of men who were called Regulators. Officially, their purpose was to stop crime. Practically, however, Jackson got that group together to protect himself from Goobread’s friends and relatives, who were expected to retaliate after Joseph’s death. Thus, the Regulators first target, were Joseph Goodbread’s allies.

To make the long story short, Capt. Jackson was taken to trial on 16 July 1841 (7), in Harrison County. Jackson chose trial by Jury. The Judge by the name of John Hansford, was under enormous pressure. Hansford’s father-in-law, Joshua Prewitt, was murdered by the Regulators on 4 July. The old man was killed in in the presence of his daughter, Hansford’s wife. If it was not enough, 150 armed men, friends of Jackson, surrounded the court during the trial. It all led to Jackson’s indictment. 

A contra group was organized by those who were against the Regulators. They were known as Moderators, and that is a subject to be talked about in a later post.

In the following months of the same year, Charles W. Jackson was shot dead by Moderators. It happened  when he was on his way to Logansport.

Clipping source: Cruger & Moore. Telegraph and Texas Register (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 6, No. 41, Ed. 1, Wednesday, September 8, 1841, newspaper, September 8, 1841; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth48150/: accessed December 5, 2025), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.

The two homes mentioned in the clippings were the homes of James Strickland and John McFadden. Regulators burned the dwellings of those families and forced the wives and children out in the cold weather. Strickland and McFadden were called "outlaws" in the above clipping. Apparently, the newspaper editor either supported Regulators, or was afraid of their retaliation. As the previous events showed, it was not safe to openly condemn or oppose to the Regulators' actions.

Albert George was elected a sheriff in 1841. He was not present at the Jackson's trial. Another man by the name of George was (first name Hezekiah). Judge Hansford tried to arrest and prosecute murders of Joshua Prewitt, with no success, though. At the end of 1841, he was to be impeached by the Senate. Hansford resigned before it happened. 

Clipping source: Whiting, S. Daily Bulletin. (Austin, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 27, Ed. 1, Thursday, December 30, 1841, newspaper, December 30, 1841; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth80081/: accessed December 5, 2025), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.

Clipping source: Whiting, S. Daily Bulletin. (Austin, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 26, Ed. 1, Wednesday, December 29, 1841, newspaper, December 29, 1841; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth80080/: accessed December 5, 2025), 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 the year 1844, John M. Hansford was shot dead by Regulators.

Clipping source: The Morning Star. (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 6, No. 612, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 1, 1844, newspaper, February 1, 1844; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1498026/: accessed December 5, 2025), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .

Clipping source: Moore, Francis, Jr. Telegraph and Texas Register (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 9, No. 11, Ed. 1, Wednesday, February 28, 1844, newspaper, February 28, 1844; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth78039/: accessed December 5, 2025), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.

Clipping source: Moore, Francis, Jr. Telegraph and Texas Register (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 9, No. 12, Ed. 1, Wednesday, March 6, 1844, newspaper, March 6, 1844; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth78040/: accessed December 5, 2025), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.

Joseph’s widow, Susan Eleonor married Mr. Alfred M. Truitt, who was a Moderator and was present at the Jackson’s trial. More about Albert another time..

Sources:

1. "United States, Bureau of Land Management Tract Books, 1800-c. 1955", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6JN8-VC9G : Fri Oct 31 09:02:26 UTC 2025), Entry for Joseph Goodbred, 31 Aug 1833.

2. "United States, Bureau of Land Management Tract Books, 1800-c. 1955", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:62X9-JC8B : Fri Oct 31 11:03:10 UTC 2025), Entry for Joseph G Goodbread, 24 Nov 1834.

3. Savage Frontier: Rangers, Riflemen, and Indian Wars in Texas, Volume 2, 1838 – 1839, by Stephen L. Moore, p 275.

4. 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 December 3, 2025), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.

5. Yoakum, H. (Henderson K.), 1810-1856. History of Texas: From Its First Settlement in 1685 to Its Annexation to the United States in 1846, Volume 2, book, 1855; New York. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth2386/: accessed December 3, 2025), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections. 

6. 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 December 3, 2025), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Gulf Historical Society.

7. 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 December 3, 2025), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting East Texas Genealogical Society.

Photos taken in 09. 2020