Guy Bradley - Early Life

Early Life

Guy Bradley was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1870. His family had strong ties to the city; his father, Edwin Ruthven Bradley, was born there in 1840, and two members of the family held high positions in Chicago's law enforcement. Six years after Guy's birth, the family relocated to Florida. After making their home in smaller towns, the family eventually settled in Fort Lauderdale, where Edwin became keeper of the Fort Lauderdale House of Refuge. Shortly after the death of Bradley's sister Flora from an unknown illness—which also affected Guy, leaving him ill for several years—the family moved to Lake Worth. Edwin became a postman, earning an annual wage of six hundred dollars. He, with the help of his oldest son, later received national attention for being one of several barefoot mailmen, who operated until a road was constructed in 1892.

The family then relocated to Miami, where Edwin served as superintendent of the Dade County school district. In 1885, fifteen-year-old Guy and his older brother Louis served as scouts for noted French plume hunter Jean Chevalier on his trip to the Everglades. Accompanied by their friend Charlie Pierce, the men set sail on Pierce's craft, the Bonton, ending their journey in Key West. At the time, plume feathers—selling for more than $20 an ounce ($501 in 2011)—were reportedly more valuable than gold. On their expedition, which lasted several weeks, the young men and Chevalier's party killed 1,397 individual birds of thirty-six different species.