Mary was born 6 Dec 1821 in Rockcorry, County of Monaghan, Ireland.
Mary married Edward Brady on 14 Apr 1846 in Manchester, Lancashire, England. They had six children: Hugh, Francis Henry (died in 1850), Marion, Edward, Marg, and William F. [1][2][3]
Mary and Edward immigrated to the United States in 1849, and settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Edward was a lawyer in England.
In 1850 Mary and Edward were living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. In the household were two children and nine others. The transcription indicates that Mary was born in England. [4]
Household | Role | Sex | Age | Birthplace | Occupation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Edward Brady | head | M | 33 | England | embroiderer |
Mary A Brady | wife | F | 27 | England | |
Hugh Brady | son | M | 3 | Pennsylvania | |
Francis Brady | son | M | 0 | Pennsylvania | |
Elizabeth Miller | F | 28 | Ireland | ||
Catherine Hempell | F | 22 | Ireland | ||
Israel Henry | M | 20 | Pennsylvania | ||
Eleanor Sharpe | F | 17 | England | ||
Letitia Dudgeon | F | 19 | England | ||
Mary Dudgeon | F | 16 | England | ||
Margaret Dudgeon | F | 16 | England | ||
Sarah Dudgeon | F | 11 | England | ||
Elizabeth McIntire | F | 20 | Ireland |
By 1860, still living in Philadelphia, the household included five children and two servants. Edward's occupation was listed as "agent", however at some point before 1862 he had a law practice in Philadelphia.[5]
Household | Role | Sex | Age | Birthplace | Occupation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ed Brady | head | M | 42 | England | agent |
Mary A Brady | wife | F | 39 | Ireland | |
Hugh Brady | son | M | 13 | Pennsylvania | |
Marion Brady | daughter | F | 9 | Pennsylvania | |
Ed Brady | son | M | 8 | Pennsylvania | |
Marg Brady | daughter | F | 6 | Pennsylvania | |
William F Brady | son | M | 0 | Pennsylvania | |
Mary Cotter | servant | F | 42 | Ireland | |
Eunice Carr | servant | F | 15 | Ireland | |
Mary Regnault | F | 65 | Ireland |
In Spring 1862, thousands of sick and wounded soldiers from McClellan's Peninsula Campaign arrived at Philadelphia's Satterlee Military Hospital. Wanting to do something to help those suffering, Mary became one of the founders of the Ladies Association for Soldiers Relief, and served as president. "From that day to the hour of her death –not quite two years after — her labors were unceasing, her devotion unbounded, and her discretion unerring in the great enterprise of the sanitary well-being of the soldiers of the republic." [6] The group began visiting the soldiers, bringing them food and clothing, and often assisting the doctors.
Mary's youngest child was two years old when she stepped away from her family and devoted herself to serving the soldiers. Fortunately, the income from Edward's law practice allowed them to have servants and a nanny for the children.
Once the relief organization was running smoothly, Mary gathered up the supplies that had been collected and were not needed at Satterlee and travelled to where they were needed. She visited nearly forty Washington, D.C. hospitals and then visited troop locations and battlefields five times. Following the battle at Gettysburg, she and others spent long days and nights caring for the huge numbers of wounded and maimed soldiers. She remained in Gettysburg until August and then returned home for a brief rest.
Early in 1864, Mary again traveled to Virginia, but the exhausting work on the battlefield and in hospitals was too much for her health.
Suffering from a heart ailment, she returned home to Philadelphia in February and passed away on 27 May 1864. She died at 42 of "disease of the heart, contracted by her voluntary efforts on behalf of the sick and wounded." Hundreds of soldiers and local officials attended her burial in Mount Moriah Cemetery in Philadelphia.[7]
Note: The original headstones of Mary and Edward were buried until April 2015 when they were found during a cleanup campaign at the cemetery. The modern headstone reads: "Mary A. Brady 1822-1864, Volunteer Civil War Nurse, Died in Service".
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S > Sharp | B > Brady > Mary Ann Parker (Sharp) Brady
Categories: Nurses, United States Civil War | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Mount Moriah Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania