THE BRADLEY SISTERS & FRIENDS AT ST. AGATHA'S 1920's - 1930's

As was a similar situation in many households in NY, my grandmother was no longer able to provide for her four daughter's in the mid 1920's, so my mother, Eileen Bradley and her 3 sisters, Mary, Frances, and Margaret were sent to St. Agatha's as wards of the state.

Growing up, my brothers, sister and I heard many stories and accounts of my mother's life at St. Agatha's, but she never told us the name of the orphanage, nor did we have any contact with her 3 sisters ever during our lifetime. My mother passed away in 1974 taking many unanswered questions with her.

My brother and I have been searching many years for family connections and clues as to what became of our aunts when they left the home and what their lives were like as adults.

It was only last summer when we found the four Bradley sisters listed in the 1930's census at St. Agatha's that we were able to at least confirm their given names, as my mother referred to them only by their nick-names whenever she spoke of them.

More recently I have had some communication with our relatives and have sadly been advised that all 3 aunts have passed on. Although now, at long last, we may get some questions answered, this collection of photos, for so many years has represented what little we knew of them together at "the home."

My mother struggled through a very difficult life, and how she managed to keep these photos through all the many years is truly amazing to me.

It was after reading and seeing the messages, tributes, and photos on the St. Agatha's web-site, that I hoped this collection, though faded, damaged, and worn could also be posted.

Along with the Bradley girls' photos are quite a number of other girls' photos who were there at the same time.

My hope is that family members of the others girls might recognize them or if still living, one might recognize herself. We are also hoping that someone might recognize my mother and 3 aunts and possibly share the memory with us.

Some of the photos have writing on the back; names, dates, etc. but much of what was written has faded with time and is illegible. However, I have done my best describing what I could read from each photo in hopes that even a few letters of a name, or a date might jog a memory.

It would give me great pleasure to know if someone found a relative (or herself) among them.

These photos are submitted in honor of my mother and 3 aunts and as a tribute to them and all the girls at St. Agatha's who were there sharing what was certainly a difficult time in their lives.

I would love to hear from anyone viewing the photos with comments or information.

Cecilia Roote

Please view =   OLD PHOTOS

HELPFUL VIEWING HINTS: Click the "?" navigation icon (bottom right) to display file names on photos. Click other navigation icons to see what they do.