BIOGRAPHY: Charles BRATTON, Mifflin County, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by P. S. Barr Copyright. All rights reserved. http://files.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://files.usgwarchives.net/pa/mifflin/ _______________________________________________ The Commemorative Biographical Encyclopedia of the Juniata Valley, Comprising the Counties of Huntingdon, Mifflin, Juniata, and Perry, Pennsylvania. Chambersburg, Pa.: J. M. Runk & Co., 1897, Volume I, pages 552-554. CHARLES BRATTON, Shanks Run, Mifflin county, Pa., was born on the old homestead in Bratton township, Mifflin county, March 20, 1832. He is a son of Charles and Eliza (Grumman) Bratton. His paternal great-grandfather was a native of Ireland, who came to America and settled on a farm on the Juniata river in Mifflin county. His grandfather, Samuel Bratton, was born in Oliver township, Mifflin county, where he owned and cultivated a large tract of land. He afterwards removed to Bratton, then Wayne township, and purchased a farm of 180 acres. He cleared and improved it, erecting a fine log house and a suitable barn. Mr. Samuel Bratton took a very active part in the affairs of the township. He was a soldier in the Continental army and was instrumental in settling the Indian troubles in Mifflin county. Not content with the care of his farm, he owned a boat on the Juniata, and carried grain to Baltimore, Md. Mr. Samuel Bratton identified himself with the Democratic party. He and his wife were active members of the Presbyterian church. Both died at the homestead in Mifflin county. Their children are: James; Charles; Samuel; Elisha; Richardson; and Eliza. Mr. Bratton's father, Charles Bratton, was born on the homestead in 1798. He received a good education in a subscription school in his native township, and taught in Mifflin county for several winters, assisting his father on the farm during the summer. Thinking that he would improve his fortunes, he went to Ohio and obtained employment on a farm in Guernsey county, working in the summer and teaching in the winter. After spending several years in the west, he returned home, where he and his brother James farmed the homestead until the time of his death. Mr. Bratton was an old line Whig, but afterwards became a Republican. He was actively interested in township affairs and held various offices; was assessor, tax collector, justice of the peace for thirty years, and one of the first school directors in the county. He was married in Guernsey county, Ohio, November 4, 1801, to Eliza Grumman, a native of Essex county, N. J. When she was four years old her parents removed to New Concord, O., where they both died. Miss Grumman was at one time a pupil of Mr. Charles Bratton. Their children are: Samuel, deceased; Jemima (Mrs. Enos Woodruff), deceased, whose husband was a native of Elizabeth City, N. J.; Isaac, a farmer in Fulton county, Pa.; Margaret, deceased; Margaret (2), died in youth; Mary E., widow of William Donnelly, of Michigan; Sarah (Mrs. William Grumman), of New Jersey; Charles; William, died in infancy; William (2) was a soldier in the Civil war, and lost an arm in the service, resides in North Dakota; Eliza, died in youth; Eliza Jane (Mrs. William P. Wagner), of North Dakota; Hannah M. (Mrs. James M. Donnelly), of Franklin county, Pa.; Samuel, died in the army; and Horatio, a farmer in Kishacoquillas valley. Mrs. Charles Bratton died at the homestead, October 20, 1878, aged seventy-seven, deeply lamented by her husband and nine children. Her father when a boy was an acquaintance of Benjamin Franklin, and was trusted to carry the mail between Philadelphia and Pittsburg. At the age of fourteen he carried the first through mail between these cities, done up in a silk handkerchief. Dr. Franklin often gave him kindly counsel. One of that Philosopher's sayings, "Keep a low head as you pass through the world, my boy, and you will avoid many hard knocks," became almost a watchword in the family. His daughter Eliza was a devout Christian, full of the faith and love of her Lord. Faithful and self-sacrificing, she was devoted to the highest interests of her children and left them all members of the church. Mrs. Bratton has a remarkable memory; she read constantly, and was interested in the religious and scientific questions of the day, both in this country and in Europe. Mr. Charles Bratton died in Lewistown, Pa., at the house of his daughter, Mrs. Woodruff, November 13, 1880. He was an earnest advocate of the temperance cause. Charles Bratton attended a subscription school and the public schools of Bratton township, studying at the old log school house, and also at the Wharton school. His whole life has been spent on the homestead, working with his father until 1861, when he assumed the entire charge of the farm, which he still cultivates. He devoted much of his attention to raising fine cattle. Mr. Bratton cast his first presidential vote for Gen. Winfield Scott. He is interested in local politics, and has held various township offices, in 1872 he was elected director of the poor of Mifflin county, and served three years. He was assessor for one term, supervisor for seven years and school director for fifteen years. Mr. Bratton is a member of Grange No. 771, Bratton township, past master of the local Grange, and present master and lecturer of the county Grange. Charles Bratton was married in Wayne township, March 22, 1859, to Susan J., daughter of David and Elizabeth (Postlethwaite) Taylor, who was born in the Kishacoquillas valley. Her father was a cabinet-maker, and was killed in a mill at Mapleton, Huntingdon county, when his daughter Susan was four years old. They have ten children: James M., a carpenter of Bratton township; Henry C., dairyman, Derry township, Mifflin county; Enos F., carpenter, Granville township; Grace E., at home; Samuel S., carpenter, Newton Hamilton, Pa.; Thaddeus S., married Rebecca Gunter, resides on the homestead; Mary G. (Mrs. Calvin Dimm), whose husband is a printer at Mifflintown, Juniata county, Pa.; Charles B., at home; Ambrose, at home; and Edwin G., at home. Mr. Bratton and his family are members of the Presbyterian church at McVeytown, in which he has been trustee and deacon, and is now an elder. He was also one of the building committee. He is an active worker in the Sunday-school association, and was a delegate from the Mifflin County Association to the State Convention at Huntingdon, Pa., in 1894, and at Williamsport, Pa., in 1895. For many years he was a teacher in the Sunday-school, of which he has been superintendent for twenty-five years. His daughter, Miss Grace Bratton, has taught in the Sunday- school for fifteen years, and is a member of the social committee of the Christian Endeavor Society and also of the Young Women's Christian Temperance Union. _____ TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: The father of Charles Bratton (Charles Bratton, Sr.) who was born in 1798, married Eliza Grumman. The author records his marriage to Eliza Grumman as November 4, 1801, which would seem to be impossible. He also records that Eliza (Grumman) Bratton died in 1878, aged 77. I think the author has confused Eliza (Grumman) Bratton's birthdate with her marriage date.