Yolo County
Biographies
BRADLEY J. STEPHENS
Bradley J. Stephens, a public accountant, successfully practicing his profession in Woodland, was born in North Woodland, February 1, 1892, and is a son of Joseph and Euphemia (Peck) Stephens. His father, a native of Missouri, is still living but the mother, who was born in Lake county, California, has passed away. The former, now a resident of Fresno, California, arrived in Yolo county when a lad of twelve years and here followed farming to the time of his removal to Fresno, so that the family has long been well known in this section of the state.
Spending his youthful days under the parental roof, Bradley J. Stephens availed himself of the opportunity of acquiring a good practical education and in due time was graduated from the Woodland high school. He was prominent in athletic circles and at the high school conference in Berkeley in 1911 he did a hundred yard dash in ten and one-fifth seconds, which record still stands in the state. The following year he made a broad jump of twenty-two feet, nine and one-half inches, a record which was not broken until seven years later. During his four years in high school he played football and he has ever been a believer in athletics and manly outdoor sports as an element not only in the physical but in the moral development of the youth. Mr. Stephens prepared for his present profession by pursuing a two years’ extension course in accounting under the guidance of the University of California. Returning to Woodland, he occupied the position of bookkeeper for three years with the firm of Griggs & Bush and in 1916 he entered the First National Bank of Woodland, where he spent ten years as bookkeeper and as assistant cashier.
For four years prior to the World war Mr. Stephens was a sergeant in a company of the California National Guard. He was afterward connected with the federal service for eight months during the European war, becoming a petty officer of the twelfth naval district. In 1924, his war days and college days being in the past, and having acquired considerable experience as a bookkeeper in the employ of others, he took up public accounting and has since been very successful, having many clients in the district from Colusa to Vacaville. He is extremely thorough and is recognized as an expert in his chosen field.
In 1915 Mr. Stephens was married to Miss Gladys Sims, who was reared in Woodland and pursued her education in the schools here. They have two children, Bradley J., Jr., and Maida Jean. Mr. Stephens is a member of Yolo Post, No. 77 of the American Legion, and the Woodland Lions Club. He has long been interested in tennis and is connected with the Sutter Lawn Tennis Club of Sacramento. He thus finds his recreation in outdoor life, which constitutes an even balance to his professional activity.
Transcribed
by Craig Hahn.
Source: Wooldridge, J.W. Major History of the Sacramento Valley
California, Vol. 2 pgs. 53-54. Pioneer Historical Publishing Co. Chicago
1931.
© 2005 Craig Hahn.
Golden Nugget Library's El Dorado County Biographies