Andrew Bradley, Jr. was born September 22, 1918 in Crystal River, Florida – a Gulf Coast town known for its clear water and large population of manatees. His parents were Andrew Bradley Sr. and Annie Brock. He was the second of the couple’s eventual eight children: Louise, Andrew Jr., Dudley, Viola, Wilbur, Annie, Sadie, and Lillian.
Andrew Sr. worked for the Crystal River Rock Co. as a “track hand” and later a “rock roller” in the rock crushing process. In the mid-1920s the family relocated about 50 miles inland to Center Hill so Andrew Sr. could work as a railroad laborer.
The 1930s brought several tragedies for the Bradley family. In June of 1933 Louise Bradley died of unknown causes at the age of 15. The following June, Andrew Sr. became ill and unable to work. He died of heart disease on December 15, 1934.
After Andrew Sr.’s death the family moved back to Crystal River. Andrew Jr. left school after 6th grade and found work as a laborer. In 1940 he was working at a cedar mill owned by Hardwoods Inc. He and his two brothers all enlisted in the military during World War II: Andrew and Dudley in the army and Wilbur in the Navy. Andrew enlisted on December 8, 1943 at Camp Blanding.
According to his World War II draft card – which he filled out in October of 1940 – Andrew was 5’7”, weighed 149lbs., had a black complexion, black hair, and black eyes.
Andrew’s mothers and sisters left Crystal River and moved to St. Petersburg during the war. Andrew was discharged from the military at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in April 1946 and moved to St. Petersburg to join his family.
After WWII Andrew worked for the city street department in St. Petersburg. In November 1948 he suffered “extensive third degree burns” to his lower legs after hot tar spilled on him and a co-worker while paving a street. In March 1953 he was treated at a local hospital after injuring his finger on another job.
Andrew had some minor run-ins with the law in the early 1950s being cited for disorderly conduct, being a “brawler” and threatening “bodily harm with a knife”.
Andrew’s movements after the early 1950s are somewhat unclear, but by the time of his sister Sadie’s death in 1968 he had settled in New York City and married a woman named Catherine.
Andrew died on April 14, 1981 and was buried on Hart Island the following month.
Sources: 1920, 1930 and 1940 U.S. Federal Censuses; 1935 and 1945 Florida State Census; Florida Deaths, 1877-1939; The Tampa Bay Times; The Tampa Tribune; U.S. Social Security Death Index; United States World War I Draft Registration Cards; United States World War II Army Enlistment Records; United States World War II Draft Registration Cards.