Craven-Duplin County NcArchives Biographies.....Bradham, Caleb Davis 1859 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/nc/ncfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 February 28, 2008, 12:10 pm Author: Leonard Wilson (1916) CALEB DAVIS BRADHAM IN the discussion of individual success the comment is frequently made that "blood will tell." There is no question about the accuracy of that statement nor of the fact that intellect, integrity, strength of character and the ability of leadership are often transmitted through succeeding generations. But a man's ambition, energy and intellectual development are his own, and professional success or prominence in business and public affairs is largely the result of individual effort and capability, and not due wholly to heredity. A distinguished representative of Welsh and Scotch-Irish stock, whose high reputation is well known throughout North Carolina, is Caleb Davis Bradham, of New Bern, a descendant of the Bradham-McCann families, early settlers of the Old North State. Mr. Bradham was born at Chinquapin, Duplin County, North Carolina, May 27, 1867, son of George Washington and Julia (McCann) Bradham. George W. Bradham was a merchant and manufacturer. His parents were Daniel and Nellie (Weller) Bradham. Julia McCann Bradham, mother of C. D. Bradham, is descended from the Sheffield, Pickett and Goff families. According to family tradition her great-grandfather, John McCann, brought his family from Scotland prior to the Revolution, and it was one of his sons who fell at Germantown. His son, William McCann, married Tabitha Pickett, and their son, John McCann, married Mary Sheffield. On the maternal side her great-grandfather, Isham Sheffield, married Barbary Boney. He was carried off by Tories during the Revolution and never returned, but was reported to have died of smallpox on a sailing vessel. His widow married secondly Robert Dixon, who in his will left property to his step-children, Lincoln and Mary Sheffield. Lincoln Sheffield married Mary Goff, and their daughter married John McCann. According to parish registers, the ancient home of the Bradhams was in County Merioneth, Wales, whence came John Bradham to Barbadoes, in 1680. From St. Michael's Parish Register it is learned that he migrated early in the eighteenth century to the Barbadian Colony in North Carolina, founded by Sir John Yeamans, and which had then become a prosperous community. He took up land in Onslow County, and here his family multiplied and prospered. James and Joseph Bradham removed to South Carolina, settling with their families in Orangeburg County. In the maternal line the ancestral record of Mr. Bradham is traced to New Hanover County, North Carolina, where members of the McCann (then spelled Mac Canne) family had settled previous to 1727. Nathaniel Mac Canne removed to Duplin County in 1743. When the War of the Revolution broke out, the McCann family, animated by the noble impulses of a love for their adopted country, was represented by every member able to bear arms. Among the first of this family whose life was sacrificed in the perilous struggle for liberty was Lieutenant John McCann (known as "Light-Horse John"), of the North Carolina Continental Line. He was killed in the battle of Germantown, October 4, 1777, when Washington's troops, after an all night march, surprised at daybreak a part of the British army under General Howe. The American losses numbered over a thousand. Caleb D. Bradham had the advantage of a liberal collegiate education at the University of North Carolina and the University of Maryland. In 1890 he was a teacher in the public schools, and for the past twenty years has been engaged in the drug business in New Bern. He has achieved remarkable success in the commercial world, and through his progressive methods has become the leading factor in modernizing his home town. He is the originator of the well-known Pepsi Cola formula and the Founder and President of the company manufacturing this popular beverage. The Pepsi Cola factory is located at New Bern, North Carolina, with branches at Memphis, Tennessee, and Jacksonville, Florida. In 1909 Mr. Bradham was chosen Vice-President of the People's Bank of New Bern, and has continuously occupied this position. He is also President of the Bradham Drug Company. Politically Mr. Bradham is a Democrat, and as chairman of the Board of County Commissioners of Craven County has had much experience in public affairs and has inaugurated in Craven County the modern method of improvements which he put into effect in New Bern. Many of his fellow-citizens would like to see him in the gubernatorial chair of North Carolina. He is closely in touch with important matters pertaining to the State and its people, and in every way is well qualified to hold the office of Chief Executive. He would put in operation for the State, no doubt, the same sound and economic methods which have characterized his business career and made him a forceful leader. In military circles Captain Bradham has long been identified with the North Carolina Naval Militia in an official capacity; in 1898 as lieutenant, 1904 as commander, and since 1913 as captain. In 1914 he was appointed by Secretary Daniels, of the United States Navy, to membership in the General Naval Militia Board for a term of four years. His fraternal affiliations include membership in St. John's Lodge No. 3, A. F. and A. M., of which he is Past Master. He is Past Exalted Ruler of Lodge No. 764 of the Elks; Provincial Grand Master Order of Colonial Masters; Past Eminent Commander St. John's Commandery; Master Kadosh Carolina Consistory, No. 3. Through the service of his Revolutionary ancestors, he is a member of the North Carolina Chapter of the Society of the Cincinnati. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church at New Bern, of which he is a trustee. Mr. Bradham married, at Rochester, New York, Miss Charity Credle, who was born in Hyde County, North Carolina, a daughter of Bryan Griffin Credle and his wife, Mary Hatsel. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Bradham are Mary McCann, Caleb Darnall and George Washington Bradham. Additional Comments: Extracted from: MAKERS OF AMERICA BIOGRAPHIES OF LEADING MEN OF THOUGHT AND ACTION THE MEN WHO CONSTITUTE THE BONE AND SINEW OF AMERICAN PROSPERITY AND LIFE VOLUME II By LEONARD WILSON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ASSISTED BY PROMINENT HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL WRITERS Illustrated with many full page engravings B. F. JOHNSON, INC. CITY OF WASHINGTON, U. S. A. 1916 Copyright, 1916 by B. F. Johnson, Inc. Photo: http://www.usgwarchives.net/nc/craven/photos/bios/bradham52gbs.jpg File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/craven/bios/bradham52gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ncfiles/ File size: 7.1 Kb