BRADING, Thomas

BRADING, LEVERT, HALL, WEATHERHEAD, REEVES, TARPENING, GLYNN, MAUK, DALTON, REDENBAUGH, ADAMSON, WILLIAMS, ELLIOTT, GENSEN, RIGGS, HAMMERS, GENSON

Posted By: Cay Merryman (email)
Date: 10/31/2004 at 22:26:13

Funeral services for Thomas Brading were held Wednesday afternoon at two o'clock at the Congregational church, with Rev. F. C. Lebert as pastor. Miss Blanch Dalton presided at the organ. Ben Hall sang "One Sweetly Solemn Thought", and Mrs. Jessie Weatherhead sang "Crossing the Bar." Mrs. Weatherhead and Mr. Hall sang the duet "In the Garden." The flowers were cared for by Mrs. W. A. Reeves, Mrs. A. I. Tarpening, Mrs. Paul Glynn and Mrs. Arthur Mauk. The pall bearers were Brice Dalton, George Redenbaugh, C. E. Adamson, Arthur Mauk, Dayre Williams and Paul Glynn. Burial was in the Tabor Cemetery. Volunteer Lodge No. 582, A. F. & A. M., had charge of the burial service, with Lowell Elliott of Sidney as master.

Those from a distance who were present for the services were the son, Robert, from Moccasin, Montana; Mr. and Mrs. John Genson and daughter, Catherine, of Truro, and Cloid Hammers of Boulder, Colorado.

Lapadaries can make diamond dust into stones that will deceive experts. They will bear the acid test. But there is one test that they can not bear, and that is the test of time. In less than a quarter of a century they crumble and again become worthless dust. They are not genuine.

The character of Thomas Brading has borne the test of time. He has been genuine, and today we pay our last tribute to one who was sincere and just in home, in business, and among his friends.
Thomas, son of Robert and Helen Brading, was born October 11, 1848, on the Isle of Wight, England. He was the last of the family of six children to answer the last summons home. When a very young boy Thomas was sent to a boarding school, and the tales he could tell of his life there were not unlike those related in Tom Brown's School Days at Rugby.

At home Thomas' interests followed those of his father, and early his love of horses made him a rider of no mean ability. A loving cup presented to him by the nobility for winning a steeple chase is a prized keepsake of the family.
Sports of athletic nature always appealed to Mr. Brading, and even this season his interest in ball games had been alert.

When 21 Mr. Brading left his native land to make his home in America, and in 1875 he came to the homestead which is still his own. He returned to England but once to visit, and that was in 1894, when the extreme drought cut farm work short for three months.

As soon as Mr. Brading came to America he declared his intention to be an American citizen and after the required time became a loyal citizen of our country.

The English thrift was characteristic of him, and soon he had a home ready for his bride, Miss Sarah Catherine Riggs, whom he married June 14, 1877. To this union three children were born, Robert W. of Moccasin, Montana; Bessie Hammers of Tabor, and Edna Genson of Truro.
Mr. and Mrs. Brading joined the Baptist church at Tabor at an early date, and as long as it continued Mr. Brading was a trustee.

When Volunteer Lodge No. 582 A. F. & A. M. was chartered he early became a member, and his quiet air of cordiality made him the ideal tyler, in which capacity he served for years. He was a Mason in a true sense, and many have known the helping hand and friendly aid. He belonged to the old school, of which so many have passed to their reward. In his family he was unexcelled in patience, loving care and help. These virtues he practised also among his neighbors and friends.

When the years of life grew many and slowed the activities of the farm life, Mr. Brading bought a beautiful home on Center Street (in Tabor). But before long the mother, stricken with a malady that baffled science and loving care, was called to her long home where suffering and sorrow are known no more. For the past 17 years Mr. Brading lived with his daughter, Edna, from whom he had never been separated. His death Monday evening came after a short illness of only two days with uremic poisoning.
Thomas Brading died 14th of May 1934