Bradford Brinton (26 June 1880 – 15 February 1936) was a machinery manufacturer whose collections of Western and American Indian art formed the basis of the collections of the

Brinton Museum The Brinton Museum located on the Quarter Circle A Ranch and formerly known as the Bradford Brinton Memorial Museum, is a museum and historic ranch located southwest of Big Horn, Wyoming, Big Horn, Wyoming. The ranch was built in 1893 by Willia ...

created as a memorial to him by his sister after his death.

Early life

Brinton was born in Tuscola, Illinois to William B. Brinton, owner of several wagon and plow companies, and his wife, born Rhoda Wyeth. His only sibling, Helen, had been born in 1874. Brinton attended Morgan Park Academy, and then

Sheffield Scientific School Sheffield Scientific School was founded in 1847 as a school of Yale University, Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut, for instruction in science and engineering. Originally named the Yale Scientific School, it was renamed in 1861 in honor of Jos ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, where he was a member of

Book and Snake Book and Snake or The Society of Book and Snake is a secret society for seniors at Yale University. It was established in 1863 and is the fourth-oldest secret society at Yale. Current NASA administrator Bill Nelson is a noted alumnus. History ...

and was graduated with a Ph.B. degree in 1904.

Career

Brinton joined his father in the farm implement business, becoming secretary and then vice president of the Grand Detour Plow Company. The company merged with the J. I. Case Threshing Machine Company to become the J. I. Case Company, where Brinton was made general manager and then director. He became a manager of the King, Farnum & Company brokers, and a limited partner of the William Henry Barnum & Company, dealers in New York City real estate, as, successively, vice president, treasurer, and director. Brinton was commissioned a captain in the Quartermaster Corps of the U.S. Army in 1917, and was involved with government testing of motor vehicles. He served overseas as liaison officer to the Motor Transport Corps in 1918 and took part in the Meuse-Argonne and

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offensives.

Personal life and death

Brinton married Catherine Bell Metcalf on 2 September 1916 in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. They had twin daughters, Barbara, and Patricia, in 1926, and were divorced that same year. Brinton died at the age of 56 of acute

pancreatitis Pancreatitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas is a large organ behind the stomach that produces digestive enzymes and a number of hormone A hormone (from the Ancient Greek, Greek participle , "se ...

following surgery in

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean ...

and was buried in

Dixon, Illinois Dixon is a city in Lee County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 15,274 as of the 2020 census. The city is named after founder John Dixon, who operated a rope ferry service across the Rock River (Mississippi River ...

. He left his ranch to his sister Helen, who used it as a summer home. On her death on 18 January 1960, she left the ranch in trust with the Northern Trust Company of Chicago, which administered it in accordance with her will as the Bradford Brinton Memorial & Museum. Hosting her brother’s collection of 17th, 18th and 19th century Western and Indian art, it subsequently was renamed “The Brinton Museum.”

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brinton, Bradford 1880 births 1936 deaths People from Tuscola, Illinois Military personnel from Illinois Yale University alumni American ranchers American art collectors