History of the Bradac
Burial Site
Section 26 - Township 24 - Range
16
In May of 1914 this property was deeded to Mr. J. M. Bradac. The Bradac
family had come to the United States from Czechoslovakia; the date they
arrived here is unknown. Mr. Bradac was married and had three children.
His wife's name is unknown but the children were Boshenia "Bessie"
Bradac born in 1912, Elizabeth "Lizzie Ana Bradac born in 1913, and the
last child was only known as baby Bradac. During the birth of Baby
Bradac, J. M. Bradac's wife passed away due to complication. The dates
of the baby's birth and death of Mrs. Bradac are unknown. Mrs. Bradac
was buried on the family's property in a grave that was marked with a
wooden cross at the time. After the passing of Mrs. Bradac life became
very difficult for J. M. and the children. This was due to the fact
that Mr. Bradac worked many hours to care for his children. Mr. Bradac
was unable to provide for the children like he could when his wife was
living so in the best interest of the children he gave them up to other
families in the area in a type of unofficial adoption, although he
loved his children very much. This was a hard decision for Mr. Bradac
to make but it had to be done for the children. There are no records of
this transfer other than the information handed down by the families
who cared for these children. Bessie and Lizzie were raised by the
Andrews family and went by the names of Lizzie and Bessie Andrews. Baby
Bradac was taken in and cared for by the Knowles family and he passed
away at about 1 year old and he is now interred in the Hudson Cemetery
under the name Baby Knowles, there are no dates on his headstone.
During these hard times J. M. Bradac was forced to sell the family's
property to survive. Unfortunately his wife's grave was not cared for
after this and the wooden cross that marked the grave decayed away with
time making it an unmarked grave now. It is not known where the final
resting place of J. M. Bradac is. Not long ago Bessie Bradac Andrews
was taken to this site and sat in the car weeping at the fact that she
could no longer find the place of her mother's final interment because
the area had been developed beyond recognition. At the age of 92,
Bessie Bradac Andrews passed away in February of 2004 taking this
secret to her grave. Lizzie Bradac Andrews is still living but was too
young to remember where her mother's final resting place was. It has
been narrowed down to a 10 acres area but can't be confirmed without
the assistance of equipment or cadaver dogs.
There are many sites like this through out Pasco County, some
that still remain undiscovered. Through the course of development these
sites are being destroyed and many times are built over. There is
development in the immediate area of this site and someday will also be
covered over, maybe sooner than we think.
This page was contributed by
Jeff
Cannon. It was last revised on
June 15, 2005.
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