Adoniram J. Bradley was born around 1827 in Russell, Massachusetts, to Lyman and Dorcas Bradley. He married Clarissa Bishop around 1848, and they had at least three children: Alice, born around 1850; Charles, born around 1852; and Harry, born around 1869. They lived in Russell, Massachusetts, and Bradley worked as a farmer. By 1860, he owned $1,500 of real estate and $255 of personal property.

 

He enlisted in the Union army in January 1862, and he mustered in as a sergeant in Company I of the 15^th Massachusetts Infantry. The regiment took part in the Seven Days’ Battles, the Battle of Antietam, the Battle of Fredericksburg, and the Battle of Gettysburg.

 

He was promoted to 2^nd lieutenant in May 1862, to 1^st lieutenant in September 1862, and to captain in early 1863. He was wounded in the face at Antietam, and he was wounded again in the neck at Fredericksburg. He suffered sunstroke in 1863, and he was discharged for disability in November 1863.

 

He settled in Westfield, Massachusetts, after the war, and he worked as a bank watchman. He applied for a federal pension in June 1864 and eventually secured one. By 1870, he owned $5,400 of real estate and $875 of personal property. He retired in the late 1800s, and he died in Westfield on May 13, 1906.

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