What is A Bradbury or Breadbury?

Question

My great great grandfather is listed as a Bradbury as and occupation in some of the family records.

No one I know seems to have the answer.

Do YOU? thanks.

Answer 1

"Bradbury" sounds like it was originally a place name ("bury" is an old English suffix that means "town") And of course, it's a common surname.

My only guess is that it's the name of a business where your great-great-grandfather was employed. That, or it's a transcribing error---someone entered data in the wrong column or misread a handwritten notation.

Answer 2

Have a look at the link posted below, it says there was a place called "Bradbury" in Durham between 1837 and 1896,

Bracon Ash                   NFK                   Henstead

  Bradbourne                   DBY                   Ashbourne

  Bradbury                     DUR        1837-1896  Stockton

                                          1896-      Sedgefield

  Bradden                      NTH                   Towcester

http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/civreg/...

I have had a look on another site that lists archaic occupations.

http://rmhh.co.uk/occup/index.html

but there's nothing on there to indicate what sort of employment it was, sorry.

Answer 3

My friend's last name is Bradley but I am not positive what it means, but I read the other answer and I agree with the other answer. You might want to use www.ancestry.com s they are a good site to research your ancestors. Try that site out! Bye!

Answer 4

I think Bradbury was a well-known manufacturer of industrial equipment from England.  The equipment might be (I know some of it was, at least), called a "Bradbury Mixer", or a "Bradbury Ram", or etc.  Some brand names are so entrenched that a person who operated a particular piece of equipment might be called a "Bradbury Operator", or, just "Bradbury".

A little research shows them as a manufacturer of sewing machine equipment and motorcycles.  Closed operations in 1923

Then, again, this might be a bit of a stretch.  Got any better ideas?