Background
Charles Henry Bradley was born on February 13, 1860 in Johnson, Vermont. He was the son of Harmon Howe and Sarah Grout (Ferguson) Bradley, and a descendant of Stephen Bradley, of Guilford, Connecticut.
(Excerpt from Thompson's Island: A Brief History of the Is...)
Excerpt from Thompson's Island: A Brief History of the Island and of the Farm and Trades School Claims to Thompson' 5 Island confirmed by the General court.-petition of Dorchester for possession of Thompson's island.-second petition of Dorchester. Depositions.-john Thompson proved his title. General Court confirmed the title of John Thompson. Island claimed by winneuguassam.-third petition of Dorchester for the possession of Thompson's Island. Fourth petition of dorchester.-iooo acres of land granted to Dorchester by the General court.-the school lands. Career of John thompson.-thompson's Island seized for debt. - Subsequent life of John thompson.-his wife and children.-death and will. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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Charles Henry Bradley was born on February 13, 1860 in Johnson, Vermont. He was the son of Harmon Howe and Sarah Grout (Ferguson) Bradley, and a descendant of Stephen Bradley, of Guilford, Connecticut.
Charles was educated in the local public schools and at the State Normal School in his native village. He received his Master of Arts degree from Norwich University in 1911.
At the age of twenty, Charles Bradley moved to Massachusetts as instructor in the State Primary School, at Palmer, of which, in 1885, he was made assistant superintendent.
In March 1888 he was made head of the Farm and Trades School, an institution established in 1814 on Thompson's Island in Boston Harbor for the purpose of providing homes and education for worthy boys in destitute circumstances. In this position he remained for thirty-four years.
The Farm and Trades School, with its 157 acres of land, was the first institution of its kind in this country to make agriculture the basis of its educational policy. It was already successful when Bradley took charge of it, but he soon, through the improvements which he initiated, gave it a national reputation.
Nearly ten years before the George Junior Republic, Bradley started a boys' government plan, called "Cottage Row City, " which was in successful operation for many years.
He set up, in 1905, a meteorological observatory, which was later connected with the United States Weather Bureau. In the same year he visited Europe on a tour of inspection of similar schools, only to find that he was usually the teacher instead of the listener. Bradley's innovations drew many visitors to Thompson's Island. He was offered positions as head of the New York State Reformatory in Elmira, New York, and as head of the House of Refuge in New York City, but preferred to remain in Boston.
Bradley's main achievement entailed his ability to bring The Farm and Trades School up to a national level through the initiation of valuable improvements, that contributed to overall success. For exapmle, Bradley conducted sloyd classes, which were first ever held in the United States. He also enlarged the curriculum to include such practical subjects as iron- and metalwork, shoe repairing, stationary engineering, and typewriting, so that each boy was equipped to earn his living by a trade. Bradley's another achievement was in the establishment of the Vermont Association of Boston where he aslo served as the first president. Also worth mentioning a boys' government plan, called "Cottage Row City, " which Bradley initiated and turned it into a successful operation for many years. He was granted an honorary degree of Master of Arts from Norwich University in 1911, and he was later one of its trustees. He was a member of many patriotic organizations, including the Society of Colonial Wars, the Sons of the American Revolution, the Bostonian Society, and the New England Historical and Genealogical Society; and active in the Masonic Order.
(Excerpt from Thompson's Island: A Brief History of the Is...)
He was a member of many patriotic organizations, including the Society of Colonial Wars, the Sons of the American Revolution, the Bostonian Society, and the New England Historical and Genealogical Society; and active in the Masonic Order.
He was a member of the Vermont Association of Boston, of the Society of Colonial Wars, of the Sons of the American Revolution, of the Bostonian Society, of the New England Historical and Genealogical Society. He was also a member of the Masonic Order Society.
Charles Henry Bradley was married on June 7, 1883, to Mary Chilton Brewster, of Duxbury, Massachussets, eighth in direct descent from Elder William Brewster.
