|
Bradford Cemetery of 19W Spivey Mountain, Unicoi County, Tennessee Surveyed and documented by Beth
Bradford-Pytel
Updated on
10/27/23 |
HOME
|
|
|
Photo taken July 2015 --bbpytel
|
|
 Bradford Cemetery is
located on Bradford Lane off 19W (also called Spivey Mountain Rd.) at
the summit of Spivey Mountain in Unicoi Co. The family cemetery was
established in 1962 with the death of Howell Hensley [s/o
Silas Hensley and
Sarah Hensley]. The property upon which the cemetery resides originally
belonged to William A. Hensley and Lucinda Higgins who
acquired about 600 acres in 1848 ish after the
removal of the Cherokee natives
in 1838. Over time, the land has been
dispersed among the descendants of William A. Hensley and Lucinda Higgins
[buried Hensley Cem #3] on the other side of 19W].
DIRECTIONS: Take 19W towards Burnsville, NC heading towards the summit of
Spivey. At the
summit, passing the Mountain Dale Freewill Baptist Church on the right, make the
next right onto Bradford Lane that crosses Spivey Creek. This is a private
drive and visitors will need to seek permission from the landowner before proceeding.
LEFT PHOTO: Macro view of Cemetery
taken April 2005 --bbpytel
|
|
|
SURNAMES: BRADFORD, HENSLEY, PORTILIA
|
  1a. BRADFORD,
Andy Roscoe
b. March 12, 1907 - d. Dec. 20, 1974
[s/o Samuel L.
Bradford and Ruhamia Hensley buried
Bradford
Cem. Little Creek, Yancey Co., NC]
NOTE: Born in Little Creek,
Yancey Co., NC, worked as a lumberjack for the CCC cutting
timber to clear areas for the Pinnacle and Buffalo Fire Towers; served in the
Merchant Marine, tobacco farmer and
lineman for Erwin Electric and Power Co. [TVA]
Photo
link - brothers
Arthur-Lyde-Andy 1964
--photos by bbpytel
OBITUARY
|
|
|
 1b.
BRADFORD,
Pearl Lee [HENSLEY]
b. July
12. 1913 - d. June 11, 1994
[d/o Howell Hensley #2 and Maggie Ibbie Foster
Foster Cem #3;
w/o Andy Roscoe Bradford; married May 11, 1935; they had
6 children: Lois Ann,
Roy Scott, alive, Edna Muriel, Douglas, Terry Keith]
NOTE: Photo is a 1931 Unicoi Co. High School senior
photo. In addition to raising 6, she was also a school teacher, farmer/ raised tobacco.
Received teacher's certificate from East Tennessee State Teacher's College
[ETSU].
photo -bbpytel
MARRIAGE CERT
POEM - "Pearl Bradford"
OBITUARY
|
|
|
  2. HENSLEY,
Howell
b. Jan. 22, 1875 - d. March 24, 1962
"His Soul in Bliss is Now Above"
[s/o Silas
and Sarah "Sally" Hensley buried
Hensley Cem #3]; wife Maggie Foster
buried
Foster Cem #3;
child: Pearl L. Hensley]
NOTE: He was the first person
interred at the family cemetery. Howell
served as Brownlow Postmaster,
along with his brothers Allison and Burgess;
he was also shoemaker, farmer, and teacher. His wife,
Maggie, died early in life due
to peritonitis from a ruptured Appendix. She is buried
next to her parents at the
Foster Cemetery
#3 located about 1/2 mile across 19W. Howell never remarried
and spent much time educating and fathering his only child Pearl.
He highly valued education and became a teacher for a period of time in
the early 1900's for the
Mountain Dale
School of Spivey. Photo of
Howell taken about 1905.
MARRIAGE CERT
WWI REGISTRATION
OBITUARY
|
|
|
  3.
BRADFORD,
Lois Ann
b. July 10, 1936 - d.
February 12, 2018
[s/o Andy R. Bradford and
Pearl Lee Hensley]
NOTE:
Married 1st to
Hilliard Tipton (1934-1999) no children; 2nd
Vernon Britingham- no children. She lost her courageous battle with
Alzheimer's.
OBITUARY
|
|
|
  3.
BRADFORD, Douglas
b. September 26, 1941 - d.
May 24, 2009
[s/o Andy R. Bradford and
Pearl Lee Hensley]
NOTE: He lost his courageous battle
with multiple myeloma. Doug was born in a farm house built
around 1900 and raised on Spivey Mountain. He graduated from
Unicoi County HS in 1959 and was a member of the Future Farmers of
America and played varsity basketball. In 1959, he moved to
Maryland to live with his uncle Conway McCourry (from Bee Log) who was a
D.C. police officer seeking work. To no avail, he moved back to
Spivey to cut timber and provide for his family. At 21, he left for
Maryland again in search of an opportunity. He briefly was in
sales for the
Government Employees Mart (G.E.M) which took him to Elizabeth, NJ.
He then worked for Hahn's Shoes which transferred him back to the DC area.
In 1969, he joined the US Secret Service Uniformed Division serving 20
years at the White House, to include the Foreign Missions Detail at the Egyptian Embassy
during Anwar Sadat. He also provided Executive Protection for Queen
Elizabeth's arrival in NYC in 1976; protection at the Reagan Ranch in California
and protection at the George H. W. Bush estate in Kennebunkport, ME.
My father served an esteemed career under the following presidents:
Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan and George H. W. Bush. After
retirement, he moved back to Tennessee to be close to his beloved aging
mother Pearl, and his siblings.
OBITUARY
|
|
|
  5.
PORTILIA, Edna Muriel
BRADFORD
b. June 26, 1940 -
d. May 17, 2020
[d/o Andy R. Bradford and
Pearl Lee Hensley]
NOTE: Worked in the Retail
sector for 30 years; manager of K-Mart for several years.
|
|
|
  4. BRADFORD,
Woodroe
b. May 3, 1912 - d. November 1973
Tech 5, US Army WW II
[brother of Andy #1; s/o
Samuel
Bradford and Ruhamia Hensley buried
Bradford
Cem. Little Creek]
NOTE: Woodrow enrolled in the 2nd Army on February 20,
1941, serving as Private and trained at Fort Bragg, NC. His service record
upon enlistment shows that he was single, no dependents, two years of High
School and 72 inches tall / 170 lbs. He served for 4 years and received an
"Honorable Discharge" on September 17, 1945. After the War, he moved to
the Detroit area, along with several other Bee Log/Spivey relatives, to work in
the auto factory. He never married and had no children. Family said
he was sort of a recluse and lived alone. Sadly, in 1973 he was found dead
in his home in Algonac, St. Clair Co., Michigan and the cause of death was
alcohol abuse. His brothers went to Detroit to gather his things and his
body and bring back to Spivey Mountain to rest next to his grandfather, Howell
Hensley, who was the first to be interred. PHOTO: tombstone taken 2003 --bbpytel;
Military photo courtesy of Kim Barlow Sexton.
WWII REGISTRATION
|
|
|
  5.
BRADFORD, Terry Keith
b. June 13,
1952 - d. January 5, 2012
[s/o Andy R. Bradford and
Pearl Lee Hensley]
NOTE: For 32 years he served as a
vocational and history teacher for the Unicoi County School system.
He was a 32nd Degree Mason and a member of Masonic Lodge 461 F&AM;
he served in US Army Reserves and was a long time member of Mountain
Dale Freewill Baptist Church of Spivey where he served as deacon and
taught the men's Sunday School Class.
OBITUARY
|
|
|
 5. BRADFORD, Nolan
Shaun
b. December 26, 1979 - d. May 17, 1992
"Forever in Our
Hearts"
[s/o Terry K.
Bradford and private]
|
|
|
Photo triptych: "Bradford
Farm" by Kevin Hinsdill, May 2009
|
|
|
HOME
|
|
|
 All
rights reserved, B. Bradford-Pytel, 2003-present
Another volunteer project for the preservation of
family history
Share the knowledge -- please feel free to link this page
to your genealogy site
Updated on
10/27/23
|
