52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week #10 - Eleanor Smith Barbee

Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small, issued the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge. The premise: write once a week about a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, a research problem — any that focuses on that one ancestor. 

Even before I knew what Genealogy was, before I knew anything about family history, my grandmother taught me the women's side of our family.  "Eleanor had Catherine; Catherine had Sophie, Sophie had Emma, Emma had Gertrude, Gertrude had Eleanor; Eleanor had Eleanor, and Eleanor had you!"  Even today I have to stop and think about last names, but I remember the first names. These are the ladies that make me want to know about their lives and keep me researching.

The first name, Eleanor, is Eleanor Smith Barbee.  She was the daughter of John Barbee and his second wife, Phyllis Duncan.

She married Fielding Bradford on February 1, 1791.  Fielding and his brother, John, were partners in the Kentucky Gazette in Lexington, KY and Fielding moved his family to nearby Scott County on a land grant given to his father for his Revolutionary War service.  Eleanor and Fielding built a log cabin and raised four sons and three daughters.

Fielding and Eleanor Bradford's home.  Built about 1791.

Eleanor did most of the work herself - Fielding was away from home a lot.  He was a judge and served many terms on the Kentucky Legislature.

Photos taken 2009

 Eleanor's died August 14, 1835, but her legacy was just beginning.