My Descending from Gov. - D. A. Sharpe

Register Report for William Bradford
Generation 10
The family moved again in October 1982, this time to University Park, Dallas County, Texas.
This is a suburb of the City of Dallas. His Father was recruited again for another position.
Todd was a member of the prestigious chorale group at Highland Park High School in
University Park, Texas, the Lads & Lassies, following in his sister's steps in that group.
During his college student days, he learned to play the pipe organ at Highland Park
Presbyterian Church (5,400 pipes) under the tutelage of Dr. E. Davis Wortman, II. He took
parts in community Broadway musicals, including dancing in the bottle dance in Fiddler on
the Roof. He also had roles in Sound of Music and the Unsinkable Molly Brown.
During high school summer, he traveled to the Dominican Republic on a mission work trip.
He also visited England with a youth chorale group from Highland Park Presbyterian
Church. He happened to be on the curbside with his telephoto lens camera when Queen
Elizabeth's parade of cars going across the city came by. He captured a wonderful close
photographic shot of the queen for the family album. At the time, Todd was not aware of
the discovery we made a few years later, that Queen Elizabeth is related to our family.
She's my 33rd cousin, once removed, meaning she's twice removed to Todd.
Todd achieved good grades in high school, and won the $1,000 scholarship voted each
year by the faculty for a graduating college-bound senior. He gradated in the class of
1987.
Todd's basic self confidence and sense of trying always to do the right thing really showed
in some dark days. He was charged with a crime growing out of a tussle with a couple of
boys who'd attacked him. The family rallied around Todd, and we all respect him for the
character by which he bore this heavy burden. The events were covered extensively in
newspapers over the year before being resolved. The TV local news highlighted the trial's
not guilty verdict on the broadcast that evening, June 24, 1988 [my 49th birthday]. The
story was the front page headline of the Saturday morning newspaper, The Dallas Times
Herald.
Todd went on to accomplish good results as an engineer. He worked on the maintenance
staff at Highland Park Presbyterian Church during his late high school and his college
summers. He graduated in December 1991 as a mechanical engineer from the University of
Texas at Austin. His masters Degree was earned at the University of Texas at Arlington.
Finished in December 1995, walked for his degree in 1996. He did significant work toward
a Ph. D. degree at the University of Texas at Arlington, but stopped short of completing. He
sensed he wanted to get at the working world and, not intending to go into teaching, he
would not need that degree.
He did show aptitude at teaching in graduate school by being an instructor for mature
engineers coming back to the graduate school for continuing education. One project in the
graduate school was his team creating a mechanical robot to be used in the manufacture of
weapons systems, such as rocket launchers, missiles, etc. In the course of that work, he
earned his name being on a patent for a complicated universal joint used in the robot.
The 1991 Christmas that he graduated from his undergraduate work in college was spent in
South Africa. His roommate Mick, was born there of British and Dutch parentage. By the
college years of these boys, Mick's parents had moved to Australia. However, a family
reunion had been scheduled in South Africa and Todd was delighted to be invited. Our
family purchased a 600 mm telephoto lens for Todd's Nikon camera as a graduation
present, and he captured some marvelous scenery and wildlife pictures. He spent about six
weeks there, coming and going by spending a few days in Amsterdam. In those days,
American airlines were not permitted by our government to fly to South Africa, as an
objection to that nation's racial policies. So, Todd had to travel there through Europe.
Todd received his Masters of science and mechanical engineering in the fall of 1994 at the
University of Texas at Arlington. His worked awhile on a doctoral study was only for a
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