The BRADFORD Family of Austerfield, Yorkshire, Leiden, South Holland, the Netherlands and Plymouth, Plymouth, MA |
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UNKNOWN BRADFORD
(perhaps d. 1522/1525) probably of Bentley
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PETER BRADFORD (d.
1543) of Bentley
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ROBERT BRADFORD (d.
1552/3) of Wellingly
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WILLIAM BRADFORD
(d. 1595) of Austerfield
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JOHN HANSON (d.
1602) of Austerfield m.
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Margaret Gressam (d. 1603)
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WILLIAM BRADFORD (d. 1591) of Austerfield m. |
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ALICE HANSON (bp. 1562 - 1597) |
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ALICE BRADFORD (abt.
1659 - 1745) m. Maj. James Fitch
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UNKNOWN BRADFORD of Bentley, co. York
Early generations often spelled their name "Bradforthe".
The father of Peter and William may have been the Robert Bradford who was taxed in Bentley cum Arkesey in 14 Henry VIII (1522/3) along with William, Peter Senior, Peter Junior and John. Robert's wife was taxed in 16 Henry VIII (1524/5), along with William, Peter Senior, Peter Junior and John. [Ref, p. 260]
Children of Unknown Bradford:
PETER BRADFORD (d. 1543) of Bentley, co. York
Parents: Unknown Bradford
Peter Bradford of Bentley died between 17 Jan 1542/3, when he signed his will, and 19 March 1542/3, when it was proved. [Ref, p. 246-7] He asked to be buried in the church yard of All Hallows in Arkesey. [Ref, p. 245-6]
In his will, Peter mentions Katherine Seall, Agnes Ellis; his sons John, Robert, Thomas, William, Richard and George; George Felde's children. [Ref, p. 245-6] His will was proved by his sons William and Richard. [Ref, p. 245-6]
Children of Peter Bradford:
ROBERT BRADFORD (d. 1552/3) of Wellingly,
Tickhill, co. York
Parents: Peter Bradford [Ref, p. 245-6]
Robert Bradford of Wellingly in the parish of Tickhill, co. York died between 28 Nov 1552, when he signed his will, and 5 Oct 1553, when it was proved. [Ref, p. 247-8] He married an unknown first wife. [Ref, p. 265] He married second Elizabeth Unknown.
Robert is mentioned in his uncle William Bradford's will of 19 Jul 1533 [Ref, p. 245-6] and his father's will of 17 Jan 1542/3 [Ref, p. 246-7].
In his will, Robert mentions his sons William, Robert, Richard, Peter, Thomas and Hugh; his daughters Katherine and Alice; his brother William's daughter Alice; his brother Peter Bradford of Bentley; his wife Elizabeth. [Ref, p. 247-8]
Children of Robert Bradford and his first wife:
Children of Robert Bradford and Elizabeth Unknown:
WILLIAM BRADFORD (d. 1595) of Austerfield Parents: Robert Bradford and his first wife [Ref, p. 266] William was buried on 10 Jan 1595 in Austerfield. [Ref][Ref] He married first Alice Unknown. Hunt [Ref] argues that she may be Alice Morton, the sister of Anthony Morton. He married second Margaret, the daughter of William Fox of Harworth, co. Nottingham on 19 Oct 1567 [Ref gives only the year] in Harworth. [Ref, p. 270] William came from Wellingly in the parish of Tickhill in Yorkshire to Austerfield in about 1557. [Ref] An amicable settlement of a dispute over lands in Austerfield and Bawtry, dated Trinity 1577, has William Bradford, plaintiff, and Anthony Morton and Mary his wife, deforciants. [Ref] Children of William Bradford and Alice Unknown:
Image: 12th century St. Helena's church in Austerfield |
Children of William Bradford and Margaret Fox:
JOHN HANSON (d. 1602) of Austerfield
John Hanson was buried on 27 Feb 1601/2 in Austerfield. [Ref, p. 274] He married Margaret Gressam on 23 Jul 1560 in Austerfield. [Ref, p. 273] Margaret was buried on 31 Jul 1603 in Austerfield. [Ref, p. 274]
John was the village shopkeeper. [Ref: introduction]
Children of John Hanson and Margaret Gressam:
WILLIAM BRADFORD (d. 1591) of Austerfield Parents: William Bradford [Ref, p. 273] William Bradford was buried on 15 July 1591 in Austerfield. He married Alice Hanson on 28 Jun 1584 in Austerfield. [Ref, p. 273] William was a yeoman farmer. William was mentioned in the 29 Apr 1578 will of his half uncle Robert Bradford of Wellingly. [Ref, p. 274] Children of William Bradford and Alice Hanson:
Image: Bradford manor house in Austerfield |
Parents: John Hanson and Margaret Gressam [Ref, p. 273]
Alice Hanson was baptised on 8 Dec 1562 in Austerfeld. [Ref, p. 273] She died soon after giving birth to her last child and was buried on 23 May 1597 in Austerfeld. [Ref, p. 274] She married first William Bradford on 28 Jun 1584 in Austerfield. [Ref] She married second Robert Briggs on 23 Sep 1593. [Ref, p. 273] Robert was buried on 16 Aug 1629 in Austerfield. [Ref, p. 274]
Children of Alice Hanson and Robert Briggs:
GOV. WILLIAM BRADFORD (bp. 1590 - 1657) of Austerfield, Leiden and Plymouth
Parents: William Bradford and Alice Hanson
William Bradford was born about 1588 in Austerfield. [Ref] He was baptised on 19 Mar 1589/90. [Ref] He died on 9 May 1657 and was buried at Plymouth. [Ref] He married first Dorothy May [Ref] on 10 Dec 1613 in Amsterdam. [Ref says 30 Nov and that Dorothy is of Witzbuts, England][Ref][Ref: introduction, gives only the year] The marriage intention says that William was 23 years old and from Austerfield and that Dorothy was 16 years old and from Wisbeach in England. [Ref] There is controversy over whether Dorothy is the daughter of John or Henry May. [Ref ] He married second the widow Alice Carpenter Southworth [Ref] on 14 Aug 1623. [Ref] It was the fourth marriage in Plymouth. [Ref]
"His father died when William was only a year old, his mother married again, and his grandfather and uncles then took him in hand to be trained as a farmer. At the age of twelve he became a constant reader of the Bible ... and when still a lad he was so moved by the Word as to join a group of Puritans who met for prayer and discussion at the house of William Brewster in the nearby village of Scrooby." [Ref: introduction]
In 1608 William went to Holland and joined the pilgrims. [Ref]When he came of age in 1611, he received an inheritance from his parents. He used some of it to purchase a house in Leiden, where he was a fustian or corduroy weaver. [Ref: introduction][Ref] He learned Dutch and some Latin. [Ref: introduction] In recognition of his standing in the community, William became a citizen of Leiden in 1612. [Ref] At some point poor business decisions led to the loss of a significant portion of his inheritance. [Ref] In June 1619 the Leiden Separatists acquired a patent from the Virginia Colony to establish a colony in the New World and in that year William sold his house in Leiden. [Ref]
William and his first wife Dorothy came to New England on the Mayflower. [Ref] Dorothy drowned on 7 Dec 1620 while she was still on the Mayflower and her husband was exploring on land. [Ref] "It may be that [William] suspected (as do we) that Dorothy Bradford took her own life, after gazing for six weeks at the barren sand dunes of Cape Cod." [Ref: introduction]
William was chosen Governor of Plymouth Colony in 1621, after the death of John Carver, and he was re-elected every year but five until his death in 1657. [Ref] William was the primary leader of the Pilgrim fathers; William Brewster was the church elder; Edward Winslow handled diplomatic business. [Ref: introduction]
William Bradford received three lots on the south side of the brook to baywards in the 1623 Plymouth land division. [Ref] He, his wife Alice and his children William, Jr. and Mercy were in lot 11 of the 22 May 1627 Plymouth cattle division. [Ref]
The relations between the Plymouth colonists and the Adventurers became fraught as the colonists' indebtedness to the Adventurers grew. In 1627 eight leading men of Plymouth joined four Adventurers in London in undertaking responsibility for the repayment of the entire debt in return for certain monopolies granted to them by other colonists. These eight men, who along with the four Adventurers called Undertakers, included William Brewster, Edward Winslow, Miles Standish, William Bradford, John Howland, John Alden, Isaac Allerton and Thomas Prence. [Ref]
On 2 Jan 1632/3 the General Court appointed William to a committee to assess taxes on the colonists, payable in grain or the equivalent. [Ref][Ref] He was again on the committee to set rates on 2 Jan 1633/4. Both years he was assessed relatively high taxes. [Ref]
He is in the Plymouth section of the 1643 list of those between 16 and 60 able to bear arms in Plymouth Colony; one of only four referred to as "Mr.". [Ref]
In the last days of his life, William studied Hebrew. [Ref] He began to feel unwell in the winter of 1657 and died on 9 May. [Ref] The day that he died he made a nuncupative will, asking Mr. Thomas Prence for help with his bequests. He left his wife Alice his stock in the Kennebec trade. He said that he had already given land to John and William and asked for a bequest to be made to Joseph. He appointed Mr. Thomas Prence, Capt. Thomas Willet and Lieut. Thomas Southworth to be the supervisors of his estate. He said to them, "I commend to your wisdom some small bookes written in my own hand to be improved as you shall meet." [spelling changed]. [Ref]
Children of William Bradford and Dorothy May:
Children of William Bradford and the widow Alice Carpenter Southworth:
MAJ. WILLIAM BRADFORD (1624 - 1704) of Plymouth
Parents: Gov. William Bradford and Alice Carpenter
Maj. William Bradford was born on 17 Jun 1624 [Ref] in Plymouth. [Ref ] He died on 20 Feb 1703/4 [Ref] in Plymouth. [Ref] He married first Alice Richards. [Ref] He married second the widow Wiswall. [Ref] Weber [Ref] argues that his second wife may have been the widow of Francis Griswold. He married third Mary (Wood or Atwood) Holmes [Ref] about 1676. [Ref] Mary was the daughter of John Wood (Atwood) and Mary Masterson [should this be Sarah?] and the widow of Rev. John Homes. [Ref] She was born about 1643 in Plymouth. [Ref] She died on 6 Jan 1714/5 [Ref] in Plymouth. [Ref]
William was the commander-in-chief of the Plymouth forces during King Philip's War. [Ref] He was Assistant Treasurer and Deputy Governor of Plymouth in 1682 - 86 and 1689 - 91. [Ref] He lived in Kingston.[Ref]
On 23 Apr 1650 William Bradford deeded land to his son William upon his agreement to marry Alice, daughter of Mr. Thomas Richards of Weymouth. [Ref]
In 1664, a lot was laid out for Capt. William Bradford near Namasket (Middleborough). [Ref]
On 10 Jun 1679 Maj. William Bradford released all his rights to Paul Sears in land at Sesuet that his mother had sold to Richard Sears, deceased, late of Yarmouth, father of Paul Sears. [Ref]
In his will, dated 29 Jun 1703 and proved 10 Mar 1703/4, William names his wife Mary; sons David, Ephraim, Hezekiah, John, William (deceased), Thomas, Samuel, Joseph and Israel; daughters Mercy Steel, Hannah Ripley, Melatiah Steel, Mary Hunt, Alice Fitch and Sarah Baker. [Ref]
Children of William and Alice Richards
Children of William and the widow Wisall:
He married first Anne Fitch on 5 Oct 1698. [Ref][Ref argues that the records prove that it was Joseph, not his half-brother Thomas, as claimed by Ref] He married second Mary (Sherwood) Fitch [Ref] after 25 Feb 1715/16 (int.) in New London. |
Thomas Fitch of Bocking
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Thomas Fitch |
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Mary (Fitch) Sherwood |
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Capt. Daniel Fitch |
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Anne Fitch |
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Mary (Sherwood) Fitch |
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Children of William and Mary (Wood or Atwood) Holmes:
ALICE BRADFORD (abt. 1659 - 1745)
Parents: Maj. William Bradford and Alice Richards
Alice was born about 1659 in Plymouth. [Ref] She died on 15 Mar 1745, age 84, in Canterbury, Windham, CT. [Ref] She is buried in the Cleveland Cemetery in Canterbury. [Ref] Alice Bradford married first as his second wife Rev. William Adams of Dedham [Ref] on 29 Mar 1680. [Ref] William, the son of William Adams, was born on 27 May 1650 in Ipswich. [Ref] He died on 17 Aug 1685 [Ref][Ref] in Dedham. [Ref] William married first Mary Manning of Cambridge. [Ref] Mary, the daughter of William Manning, died on 24 Jan 1679. [Ref] He graduated from Harvard College in 1671. [Ref] William was the second minister of Dedham [Ref], ordained on 3 Dec 1673. [Ref] Alice married second Maj. James Fitch on 8 May 1687 in Norwich. [Ref]
In March 1544/5 Alice Fitch was recommended to and accepted as a member in the Congregational Church in Canterbury. [Ref]
The following is (despite the unexpected first name) the inscription from her tombstone: [Ref]
In Memory of Mrs Abee Fitch
Daughter to Honbl Wm. Bradford Esq
Lieut Govr Of ye Colony of New plymuth Relict of ye Honorble James Fitch Esq
Late of Canterbury
A person of Rare qualities & Excellent Indowments
An Example of Virtue & Patrn of piety
She after an exemplary Life Fell Asleep March ye 15 A D [broken] 84 years of
her age
Children of Alice Bradford and William Adams:
References
Cemeteries
Johnson, Alfred, trans., "Inscriptions in the Cleveland Cemetery, Canterbury, Conn.", New England Historical and Genealogical Register 70, 1916.
Court Records
Court Records, Laws and 17th Century Texts, Plymouth Colony Archive Project, http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/users/deetz.
Family Genealogies
Allen, William, "Descendants of Alice Bradford," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 9, 1855.
Browne, William Bradford, Ancestry of the Bradfields of Austerfield, co. York," in Roberts, Gary Boyd, ed., English Origins of New England Families: From the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Co., 1985.
Crowell, F. E., New Englanders in Nova Scotia, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1938.
Fessenden, G. M., "A Genealogy of the Bradford Family," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 4, 1850.
Sherwood, W. L., "Fitch - Bradford - Sherwood," Notes and Queries Section, New England Historical and Genealogical Register 39, 1885, 388.
Venard, Haskell, "The Family of Major James Fitch of Norwich and Canterbury, Conn.," The American Genealogist, 46, 1970, 36 - 46.
Wakefield, Robert S., William Bradford of the Mayflower and His Descendants for Four Generations, 3rd ed., General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1991.
Walworth, Hon. Reuben H., "Minutes Relative to the Bradford Family," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 14, 1860.
History
Philbrick, Nathaniel, Mayflower, Viking, New York, 2006.
Stratton, Eugene Aubrey, Plymouth Colony: Its History and People 1620 - 1691, Salt Lake City, Ancestry, 1986.
Local Histories
Editors, "Sketches of the Early History of Middleborough, in the County of Plymouth," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 2, 1849, 213-220, 330-344.
Personal Records
Bradford, William, Of Plymouth Plantation, Alfred A. Knopf , New York, 2001, with an introduction and notes by Samuel Eliot Morison.
Public Records
Editors, "Items from the City Records at Leyden," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 15, 1861, 30 - 32.
Editor, "Major William Bradford's Confirmation of his Mother's Deed to Richard Sears with an Autograph of John Alden," Mayflower Descendant 25, 1923, 49-51.
Hayward, Elijah, "Plymouth Colony Records," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 9, 1855, 313-318.
Shurtleff, Nathaniel B., "Plymouth Colony Rates," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 4, 1850 252-3.
Puzzles
Hunt, J. G., "A Possible Added Morton-Bradford Connection," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 111, 1957, 68.
Vital Records
Barbour Vital Records for Windham County Connecticut
Somerby, H. G., "Extracts from the Register Books of Austerfield in Yorkshire, 1561 - 1631," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 4, 1850, 177.