The Bushnell House is another example of a prominent hotel. S. S. Bradfield, the landlord of the Bushnell House in Bushnell, Illinois, was born in Montgomery County, PA, on February 17, 1828. He lived with his parents until he reached his 21st year. He was then married to Nancy Gardner, a native of Franklin County, Ohio, born October 25, 1827.
After marriage, he engaged in farming which occupation he followed for three years, then moved to Fulton County, Illinois, where he resided for 15 years on a farm that he purchased and improved. He next moved to Avon, Fulton county, and there he kept a hotel and livery stable for four years, after which he came to Bushnell, McDonough County, and bought the hotel property known as the Bushnell House, believed to have been on the south end of E. Main St. across from the depot. His house was well and neatly kept and a favorite stopping place for the traveling public.
Mr. Bradfield was a member of the Masonic fraternity and, politically, a Republican. Mr. and Mrs. Bradfield had eight children, Zachariah T. married to Alice Sebra; James A., married first to Ella Cole but then a second wife; Esthmareld, wife of Hiram Hunter, of Table Grove, Illinois; Sarah S., wife of R. S. Harris, of Chicago; Margaret, Enala, wife of O. K. Deliker of Omaha, Nebraska; Mary Ella, wife of Charles West, of Bushnell; William W. and Charles L., who lived at home with their parents.
