What did the Milton Bradley that was born in Maine do?

Answer 1

MILTON BRADLEY Born Vienna, Maine 1836 Resided Mt. Vernon, Maine 1846 Milton Bradley's grandparents, Josiah & Phoebe (Webster) Bradley came to Vienna from N.H. in 1799. They had a son, Lewis, who was Milton Bradley's father. Milton Bradley was born in Vienna 11-18-1836, and his birthplace is an old cape next to the Vienna Grange Hall (the old school) right in the village. When Milton was 2 yrs old his family moved to Mercer, Maine, then to Wilton, NH. While in NH his father became interested in the new potato starch industry & returned to Mercer where he began a successful potato starch factory. Unfortunately, Maine was stricken by potato rot two years later & the business went "under". Lewis then moved his family to Mt. Vernon in 1846 where they stayed for part of that year, and Lewis worked in Smithfield until he learned of the chances for lucrative employment in Lowell, Mass. Milton Bradley lived the rest of his life in Massachusetts, and was in his early 20's when he invented his first game called the "Checkered Game of Life". Before long he was producing all kinds of games, and became known as "The man who taught America how to play." One of the things he did was to design game kits for soldiers in the Civil War to help them pass time. He insisted on his games promoting good family values & refused to include any gambling elements.