Click Here to Return to Index Page
Click Here to Return To Milestones Vol 8 No 2
When I was a child by grandfather, Arthur B. Bradford Jr., born in 1848 often used to tell me stories of his growing up years at "Buttonwood" on a farm near Darlington, Pennsylvania, owned by his father, Arthur B. Bradford Sr., in Beaver County. One of the stories was about his father's horse, "Morgan". Arthur B. Bradford Sr., was an active abolitionist and in those days before the Civil War there was a good deal of danger in helping with the Underground Railroad. A good fast horse was needed for getting arrangements made quickly to get slaves from one "station" to another. "Morgan" was also a pet of the Bradford family. When he died in 1866 he was buried in the pasture below the house. His grave was marked with a circle of field stones and my grandfather erected a tombstone with the words: HIC JACET (Here lies) "Morgan" 1866, cut on a sand stone slab. The circle of stones can still be seen and the lettering cut in the tombstone is still legible. This was one of the first things that I looked for when I came to "Buttonwood" in 1926. The pasture is now overgrown with trees, but "Morgan's" grave is still undisturbed - as was the wish of his owner.
by Marjorie Douthitt, Buttonwood, Darlington, Pa.