Derby History Quiz
State Senator Henry Bradley
Henry M. Bradley, Jr. Mention the family name Bradley in Derby, and Bradley School immediately comes to mind. The school is named for the Bradley family which made quite an imprint on Derby for several generations. For this quiz, we centered on just one of the Bradley's - Henry M. Bradley, Jr. Henry M. Bradley, Jr., (1882-1939) the son of Henry M. Bradley Sr. and Margaretta F. Crofutt, was a native and resident of Derby, and attended local public schools at the old Gilbert Street School, the original Irving School and Derby High School. Mr. Bradley had long been active in municipal affairs, particularly as a member of the Board of Education, to which he was elected at the age of twenty-one. Mr. Bradley was elected State Senator from the Seventeenth District in 1932 and was chairman of the Committee on Education. He was president of the Derby-Shelton Memorial Day Association, first vice-president of the Derby-Shelton Board of Trade; secretary and trustee of the Colonial cemetery, clerk and trustee of the First Congregational Church; secretary and treasurer of the Humphreys Home Association; a life member of the American Philatelic Society; and a member of forty other organizations, fraternal, social, business, political and historical. Senator Bradley was the author of the historical articles dealing with Derby, Ansonia, Shelton and Seymour in the 1935 Pictorial and History book of the Lower Naugatuck Valley. Senator Bradley’s chief hobby had been Connecticut history, about which he had lectured before the Yale Summer School, and civic, historical and patriotic organizations in all parts of the state. He took great pride in the fact that he was the author of the law passed in 1933, adding state and local history to the list of required subjects to be studied in the schools of Connecticut, and also of the 1935 law, which makes American history a compulsory study in all the high schools of the state. Senator Bradley made the life of George Washington a special study during his life and frequently lectured on the first president. His studies of Washington were enhanced by his admiration and interest in the life of Derby native General David Humphreys, friend, confidante and aide-de-camp to the first president. Correct answers were received from: Fred Grant, Marsha Pettengill, Jack Vagnini, John M. Rak, Beth Colette, Jack Skelding, Millie from Ansonia, Nick from Terryville, Patricia Villers, Jack Moran, Joe Dedo, Stan Sroka, James Allaire, Ann Searles, Eileen Krugel, and Bob Ahearn. To see our earlier quizzes and learn more about Derby's unique history, click here.
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