Son of James Dean Brady and Mahula N. Brown, James Elias Brady was born during July 1842 in Habersham County, Georgia.

James Elias Brady was a “Freemason”; and his second wife, Mary L. Brewer-Brady, was a member of the “Order of the Eastern Star” (a Freemasonic appendant body open to both men and women - established in 1850). As of 2015, The “Order of the Eastern Star” is the largest fraternal organization in the world to which both women and men may belong. Its primary mission is charity.

The illegitimate son of James Elias Brady and Rebecca J. Mealer (daughter of Matthew Mealer and Arletta Smith-Mealer), James Franklin Brady was born on October 19, 1879, in the Currahee district of Habersham County, Georgia.

According to Cora Iola Brady-Ledbetter (who was James Franklin Mealer-Brady's daughter - and an avid genealogy researcher), at the time of James Franklin Mealer Brady's birth, James Elias Brady was married to his second wife, Mary L. Brewer (they married on April 30, 1876). However, in the U.S. “Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007”, James Franklin Brady lists his mother as “Mary L. Brewer”. The U.S. Census records appear to corroborate Cora Iola Brady-Ledbetter's version of the events.

The 1880 U.S. Census indicates that Rebecca Mealer, and her infant son “Franklin Mealer”, were boarders living with James Elias Brady & Mary L. Brewer-Brady. Rebecca died 18 months after James Franklin Mealer Brady was born. Prior to her death, she asked Mary to raise him. This led to James Elias Brady & Mary L. Brewer-Brady adopting James Franklin Mealer Brady.

Rebecca Mealer is buried at the foot of Soapstone Mt. beside Willis Simmons (on Government land).