Early Life
Dan Beach Bradley was born on 18 July 1804 in Marcellus, New York. He was the son of Judge and Pastor Dan Bradley of Whitehall, New York, and Eunice Beach. Eunice died soon after giving birth to her son. As a child, Dan Beach Bradley was an astounding scholar and he loved to read. When Bradley was 20 years old, he suffered a week of deafness and it caused him to examine his spiritual life. Two years after this incident, Bradley dedicated his life to serve his Lord: Jesus Christ.
Bradley thought that his age was not appropriate to study for gospel ministry so he began studying medicine in the office of an Auburn physician. Bradley took a brief reprieve from his studies due to health concerns but resumed his studies for a year in Penn Yan, New York. After this year of studying, Bradley attended lectures at Harvard University in 1830 before taking another break to earn money to continue his education. Bradley returned to school in 1832 and graduated in April of 1833 from the College of Physicians and Surgeons with a Doctor of Medicine.
In November 1832, he was accepted as a missionary physician by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM). Bradley had initially wanted to marry one of his two cousins, Jane Bradley or Hannah Goodyear. Jane, however, was only 16 years old and was not in a position to marry Bradley and Goodyear had no desire to serve as a missionary in Asia. On June 5, 1834, Bradley married Emilie Royce after a brief mail courtship before setting sail together for Siam. Emilie, like Bradley, wanted to serve the Lord as a missionary among the "heathen".
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