John Braley was born in 1870 to Nancy Perrigo, an unwed mother. He had a twin sister named Mary. When they were two years old, their mother married Albert Braley, and the twins adopted his surname. Albert and Nancy had four additional children, John's half-siblings, but the family struggled financially. Two children were apparently put up for adoption, and John and his sister Mary spent an undetermined amount of time living with local farmer Terrence Doyle and his wife Mary.
John married Mary Belonger in 1895. The pair had six children, born in various towns across southern Wisconsin and eastern Iowa as John sought work. For a time he worked his own mine near Shullsburg. When that didn't pan out, he earned a living as a day laborer in Darlington, a restaurant worker in Ordfordville, and a stationary engineer (boiler operator) in Platteville and in Waterloo, Iowa. The family moved to Madison in 1918 and four years later John took a position as a repairman at the University of Wisconsin's heating plant. John was also a partner in the Evergreen Tavern with his brother-in-law John Belonger and Mike Dunn, John Belonger's cousin.
Both John Braley and his wife were born on Valentine's Day, a happy coincidence that periodically provided a feel-good newspaper story. In one article published in 1939, John maintained that his father was the brother of Arthur B. Braley, a prominent jurist from Madison, but that claim is easily disproven.
John may never have known the identity of his biological father. Commercial DNA testing has led to the conclusion that it was either William Kinsley or John Kinsley, brothers from Lincolnshire, England, who lived in Lafayette County in the 1860s and 1870s.
John married Mary Belonger in 1895. The pair had six children, born in various towns across southern Wisconsin and eastern Iowa as John sought work. For a time he worked his own mine near Shullsburg. When that didn't pan out, he earned a living as a day laborer in Darlington, a restaurant worker in Ordfordville, and a stationary engineer (boiler operator) in Platteville and in Waterloo, Iowa. The family moved to Madison in 1918 and four years later John took a position as a repairman at the University of Wisconsin's heating plant. John was also a partner in the Evergreen Tavern with his brother-in-law John Belonger and Mike Dunn, John Belonger's cousin.
Both John Braley and his wife were born on Valentine's Day, a happy coincidence that periodically provided a feel-good newspaper story. In one article published in 1939, John maintained that his father was the brother of Arthur B. Braley, a prominent jurist from Madison, but that claim is easily disproven.
John may never have known the identity of his biological father. Commercial DNA testing has led to the conclusion that it was either William Kinsley or John Kinsley, brothers from Lincolnshire, England, who lived in Lafayette County in the 1860s and 1870s.
John Braley was born in 1870 to Nancy Perrigo, an unwed mother. He had a twin sister named Mary. When they were two years old, their mother married Albert Braley, and the twins adopted his surname. Albert and Nancy had four additional children, John's half-siblings, but the family struggled financially. Two children were apparently put up for adoption, and John and his sister Mary spent an undetermined amount of time living with local farmer Terrence Doyle and his wife Mary.
John married Mary Belonger in 1895. The pair had six children, born in various towns across southern Wisconsin and eastern Iowa as John sought work. For a time he worked his own mine near Shullsburg. When that didn't pan out, he earned a living as a day laborer in Darlington, a restaurant worker in Ordfordville, and a stationary engineer (boiler operator) in Platteville and in Waterloo, Iowa. The family moved to Madison in 1918 and four years later John took a position as a repairman at the University of Wisconsin's heating plant. John was also a partner in the Evergreen Tavern with his brother-in-law John Belonger and Mike Dunn, John Belonger's cousin.
Both John Braley and his wife were born on Valentine's Day, a happy coincidence that periodically provided a feel-good newspaper story. In one article published in 1939, John maintained that his father was the brother of Arthur B. Braley, a prominent jurist from Madison, but that claim is easily disproven.
John may never have known the identity of his biological father. Commercial DNA testing has led to the conclusion that it was either William Kinsley or John Kinsley, brothers from Lincolnshire, England, who lived in Lafayette County in the 1860s and 1870s.
John married Mary Belonger in 1895. The pair had six children, born in various towns across southern Wisconsin and eastern Iowa as John sought work. For a time he worked his own mine near Shullsburg. When that didn't pan out, he earned a living as a day laborer in Darlington, a restaurant worker in Ordfordville, and a stationary engineer (boiler operator) in Platteville and in Waterloo, Iowa. The family moved to Madison in 1918 and four years later John took a position as a repairman at the University of Wisconsin's heating plant. John was also a partner in the Evergreen Tavern with his brother-in-law John Belonger and Mike Dunn, John Belonger's cousin.
Both John Braley and his wife were born on Valentine's Day, a happy coincidence that periodically provided a feel-good newspaper story. In one article published in 1939, John maintained that his father was the brother of Arthur B. Braley, a prominent jurist from Madison, but that claim is easily disproven.
John may never have known the identity of his biological father. Commercial DNA testing has led to the conclusion that it was either William Kinsley or John Kinsley, brothers from Lincolnshire, England, who lived in Lafayette County in the 1860s and 1870s.
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