Bradley, John Delmer

Passed: 1962-12-26

Age: 94

Source: Jackson Herald

Death Notice:

Obituary Date: 1962-12-28

Information: FOREMAN OF MORGAN TRIAL JURY IS DEAD   The man who served as the foreman of the trial jury which convicted John Morgan in the slayings of the Pfost-Greene family at Fairplain back in November 1897 died at Ripley Wednesday afternoon.   J. D. Bradley died at the home of his son, Lloyd Bradley, of near Ripley, with whom he had made his home for a number of years.  He was 94 years of age.   Mr. Bradley was a native of Jackson County and for many years lived in the Kenna section of the county where he was engaged in farming.  He later lived at Sandyville but for the past several years had been with his only surviving son.  He was a member of the EUB church.   He was a member of the trial jury at the November term of the circuit court here in November 1897.  It was during that term of court that the members of the Pfost-Greene family were murdered and John Morgan was arrested and charged with the crimes.  He was indicted and tried at that term of court, and it was Mr. Bradley who announced to the court the verdict of the jury which found Morgan guilty.   Morgan was sentenced to death and his execution was the last to be carried out outside of the state prison.   He was born on September 23, 1868 a son of Charles and Nancy Straley Bradley.   In addition to the son, he is survived by two daughters, Oma Bradley of Charleston, and Mrs. William Lake of Kenova; eight grandchildren; and twelve great-grandchildren.   The funeral service was held Friday afternoon at the Ripley EUB church with the Rev. Fred Slaughter and Rev. Robert Evans officiating and burial with the Parsons funeral directors in charge was in the Fairplain Cemetery.   When Mr. Bradley died The Herald lost it's oldest subscriber in point of years his name had been on the subscription list.  He became a subscriber in either 1879 or 880 and his name was never off the list in all those 82 years.  The Herald now 86 years old had only been published three or four years when Mr. Bradley had his name entered as a subscriber.