The Spiker Family Gathering Place

Geneaology and History Portal

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PROFILE OVERVIEW

 
Full Name:
Bradford Zinn Spiker		 
 Known As:Brad 
    
 Date of Birth:April 29, 1908 
 Date of Death:January 20, 1996 
    
 Spouse:Alice Lucinda Williams 
    
 Father:Jacob Spiker 
 Mother:Lillie Missouri Gay Zinn 

 

TIMELINE

 
Birth:
April 29, 1908
Oxford, Holbrook Community, Ritchie County, West Virginia, USA		 
 Marriage:at age 34 to Alice Lucinda Williams on November 11, 1942
Nashville, Coffee, Tennessee, USA		 
 Occupation:Teacher 
 Death:January 20, 1996 at age 87
Sheppard Health Care Inc. of Ellenboro, West Virginia, USA		 
 Burial:January 23, 1996
South Fork Cemetery, Ritchie County, West Virginia, USA
 		 

DID YOU KNOW?

 

 When Brad was born:
  

Top News Headlines
  

President - Theodore Roosevelt
Vice President - Charles W. Fairbanks
  

One of the Top Songs for 1908-- "She Sells Sea-Shells" by T. Sullivan
Some of the Hot Toys /Games -- "Tiddledy Winks"    "Teddy Bear"    "Crayola Crayons"
  

Average Costs throughout the US in 1908

  • Bread averaged $.05 p/loaf
  • Milk would run you about $0.32 p/gallon
  • A Car would sell for $500
  • The median home value dropped to $4500
  • A US Postage Stamp was $0.02 each
  • The average income was $915 p/year
  • DOW Avg: 86
 

Fun Facts, Interesting Tidbits & Puzzling Trivia
 

1.  

Submitted by Bobbi Spiker-Conley, daughter of Robert Spiker:

You probably know that Brad was a school teacher, but did you also know that one of his students was Robert Spiker?  That's right.  Brad's baby brother "suffered" under his brother's tutelage.  Both brothers confirmed to me that Bob was held to a higher standard than other students in order to avoid any appearance of preferential treatment. 

One day, after lamenting to Uncle Brad that Daddy was disappointed in a "C" I had received in hand-writing, Uncle Brad showed me some papers that greatly lifted my wounded spirits -- several of my father's own report cards.  Seems that Daddy wasn't the straight-A student I'd imagined him to be.

You can imagine how my father squirmed and how Uncle Brad grinned at my newly discovered ammunition against the battle of the report cards.  
 

2.  

Brad was one of the genealogists in our family.  He traced dates for our family tree and recorded information bout the community in which he lived.  Click this link to read his manuscript titled, "The Good-Will Community, A History of Holbrook, W.Va., 1814-1945".

 
 

3.  

Other:

  • Graduated from Salem College with a Bachelor of Science degree.
  • Obtained an MBA from West Virginia, USA University
  • 80th Infantry Division of Gen. George Patton's Third Army during WW II
  • Deacon of South Fork Baptist Church
  • Attended the First United Methodist Church in Pennsboro, West Virginia, USA

 
 

4. 

 

Bobbi Spiker Conley tells about the educational life lessons she learned from the "Spiker siblings" in her Library contribution, A Teacher Affects Eternity.

Also in our Library is a copy of a letter written to Bradford Spiker by his wife Alice around December 1944 when he was serving in the military.

 
   

PHOTO & IMAGE GALLERY

 
 
 
 
 
 
Brad Spiker - Army Buddies
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Brad & Alice Spiker Headstone
 

 

 

 

The Paths Through our Garden

            Continue exploring our garden:
 
  The Spiker Family Tree -- See how deep our roots grow.
  Grow Healthy Trees -- The story behind our family's Medical Tree
  Heirloom Gardening - We're showing off some of our favorite family heirlooms.
  Planting the Seeds -- Getting the children involved in our family's history.
  Gardening Tools -- Just a few genealogy related tools and links we use to trace our lineage.