William Bradford, Governor of Plymouth Colony

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William Bradford

• Birth: on or before 19 March 1589/90 - Austerfield, Yorkshire, England
• Christened: 19 March 1589/90 - St. Helen's Chapel, Austerfield, Yorkshire, England
• Parents: William Bradford and Alice Hanson (or Morton)
• Spouses: Dorothy May, Alice Carpenter
• Death: 9 May 1657 - Plymouth, Plymouth Colony
• Burial: 12 May 1657 - Burial Hill, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts

William Bradford (c.1590 – c.1657) was an English Separatist leader in Leiden, Holland and in Plymouth Colony. He emigrated to the New World on the "Mayflower" in 1620, signing the Mayflower Compact, and then serving as Plymouth Colony Governor five times covering about thirty years between 1621 and 1657. His memoir, "of Plimouth Plantation," has been called "'an American classic' and 'the pre-eminent work of art' in seventeenth-century New England."

See more at Wikipedia, Pilgrim Hall Museum, Find A Grave Memorial# 124, about.com .....

Family

Married

1. on 10 Dec 1613 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands to Dorothy May, b abt 1597, died Dec. 7, 1620, Cape Cod Harbor, (now Provincetown) MA. Records suggest she was the daughter of Henry May.
2. on 14 Aug 1623 in Plymouth, Plymouth, MA to Alice Carpenter (1590-1670), widow of Edward Southworth. She was the daughter of Alexander Carpenter and Priscilla Dillen.

William and Dorothy had one child, a son:

1. John Bradford; b. c 1615, Leyden, Holland; d. Sep. 7, 1679, Norwich CT. Married Martha Bourne; no known children.

William and Alice had three children:

1. William Bradford b: 16 Jun 1624 in Plymouth, Plymouth, MA. Married 1) Alice Richards 2) Sarah Tracy, widow Griswold 3) Mary Atwood, widow Holmes
2. Mercy Bradford b: 1627/1630 in Plymouth, Plymouth, MA. Married Benjamin Vermayes; no known children.
3. Joseph Bradford b: 1627/1630 in Plymouth, Plymouth, MA. Married Jael Hobart.

A good genealogy link to follow as of 5 Oct 2013 is Pedigree of: William Bradford 1589/90-1657 by Phillips Verner Bradford. (EH)

Descendants

Wikipedia maintains a list of the descendants of William Bradford who have achieved noteworthy standing in numerous fields.

Phillips V. Bradford, Sc.D. noted in 2005:

"From statistical analysis, I can estimate that there are about 4 million descendants of Gov. Wiliam Bradford of Plymouth in the US alive today. And, about 10,000 of us, still bear the family name."

biographical information

From Find A Grave Memorial# 124

William Bradford was a leader of the separatist settlers of the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, and was elected thirty times to be the Governor after John Carver died. He was the second signer and primary architect of the Mayflower Compact in Provincetown Harbor. His journal (1620-1647), published as Of Plymouth Plantation. It was a handwritten journal detailing the history of the first 30 years of Plymouth Colony. Large parts of this journal have been republished a number of times.

Bradford, along with Edward Winslow and others, contributed material to George Morton, who merged everything into a book, published in London in 1622, nicknamed Mourt's Relation, which was primarily a journal of the colonists' first years at Plymouth.

Bradford is credited as the first to proclaim what popular American culture now views as the first Thanksgiving.

At an early age William was attracted to the "primitive" congregational church, in nearby Scrooby, and became a committed member of what was termed a "Separatist" church, since the church-members had wanted to separate from the Church of England. By contrast, the Puritans wanted to purify the Church of England. The Separatists instead felt the Church was beyond redemption due to unbiblical doctrines and teachings. When James I began to persecute Separatists in 1609, Wm. fled to the Netherlands, along with many members of the congregation. These Separatists went first to Amsterdam before settling at Leiden.

Bradford married his 1st wife, Dorothy in Amsterdam. While at Leiden, he supported himself as a fustian weaver. Shifting alignments of the European powers (due to religious differences, struggles over the monarchies and intrigues within the ruling Habsburg clan) caused the Dutch government to ear war with Catholic Spain, and to become allied with James I of England. Social pressure (and even attacks) on the separatists increased in the Netherlands. Their congregation's leader, John Robinson, supported the emerging idea of starting a colony. Bradford was in the midst of this venture from the beginning. The separatists wanted to remain Englishmen (although living in the Netherlands), yet wanted to get far enough away from the Church of England and the government to have some chance of living in peace. Arrangements were made, and Wm. with his wife sailed for America in 1620 from Leiden aboard the Mayflower.

On December 7, 1620, before the colony was established, Bradford's wife died. She died while the Mayflower was at anchor in Provincetown Harbor. However, there are no contemporary accounts of the circumstances of her death, only a later mention of drowning by Cotton Mather in Magnalia Christi Americana. Bradford included only brief mention of her passing in his own writing. There is a widely circulated story that she committed suicide because the Mayflower was a moored ship, but this is derived from a work of historical fiction published in the June, 1869 issue of Harper's New Monthly Magazine. This claims that they had decided to leave their young son in the Netherlands, and his wife was so stricken with sadness that she took her own life. Regardless of this fictional treatment, there is no proof of suicide.

The first winter in the new colony was a terrible experience. Half the colonists perished, including the colony's leader, John Carver. Bradford was selected as his replacement on the spring of 1621. From this point, his story is inextricably linked with the history of the Plymouth Colony.

William's 2nd wife Alice came to Plymouth aboard the "Anne" in July 1623 following the death of her 1st husband, Edward Southworth. They married and had 3 children. Alice helped raise John, the son of his 1st marriage. Alice's sons from her first marriage arrived in Plymouth sometime after 1627 and presumably lived with their mother and stepfather.

Wm. died at Plymouth and was interred at Plymouth Burial Hill. On his grave is etched:

"qua patres difficillime adept sunt nolite turpiter relinquere" "What our forefathers with so much difficulty secured, do not basely relinquish."

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Colonial Governor William Bradford's English Origins

From http://heraldry.celticradio.net/printpage.php?type=family&id=78ernor

In 1575, there lived in Austerfield, Yorkshire County, England, one William Bradford. It has been found impossible to trace the family beyond this point but there is strong probability that this William Bradford was a relative of the celebrated preacher martyr, John Bradford, who was burned at the stake at Smithfield [Eng.], January 31, 1555, for his opposition to papacy. It has also been supposed that this William Bradford was a relative of a Bradford who participated in connections with Thomas Stafford, son of Lord Stafford, in a rebellion against the hated Queen Mary, for which he was executed at Tyburn, May 29, 1557.

There is evidently some reason why the founder of the family in this country, the celebrated Pilgrim, who will hereafter be known as [Governor] Gov. William, was always silent on the subject of his own family, notwithstanding his numerous writings on the early colonists.

It may be interesting to mention that the name of Bradford is supposed to have originated at a time when families were frequently called after places near their homes, and that the first family of this name lived near a "broad ford." The name is frequently spelled Bradfurth and Bradfourth, in the church records of England. The family of William Bradford, of Austerfield, belonged to a class called yeomanry, which was at that time next to the gentry, and had the right to use coats-of-arms. They usually owned [the] lands they occupied, and were, to use the language of today, farmers of large estates. This William Bradford has four children, viz.: William, Thomas, Robert, and Elizabeth. The dates of their birth are not known, but Robert was baptized June 25, 1561, and Elizabeth July 16, 1570. The oldest son, William, married Alice Hanson, June 21, 1584. She was the daughter of John Hanson, the only man in Austerfield at that time besides William Bradford who paid taxes to the crown. William Bradford and Alice Hanson had the following children: Margaret, born March 8, 1585; Alice, born October 30, 1587; and William the Pilgrim, baptized March 19, 1589/90. The Pilgrim's father died July 1591, leaving him an orphan. He went to live with his grandfather and upon the death of the latter in January 1595/96 was cared for by his uncles, Thomas, Richard (?) [??], and Robert Bradford.

Gov. William in his younger days was prevented from entering into the pursuits of his relatives by the state of his health, but having inherited a comfortable estate, he was well provided for. When 12 years old, he manifested great interest in the Scriptures and sought the company of Richard Clifton and other Puritan preachers. Profiting by their teachings, he soon embraced the Puritan faith. In 1607, Gov. William, in company with the other Puritans, moved to Holland, in order to be able to enjoy freedom of worship. While on his way, he was imprisoned at Boston, England, for a time on account of his religious belief. They first went to Amsterdam but soon moved to Lydon [Lyden]. At this place, Gov. William Learned the art of dyeing silk, and when he came of age, sold his estate in England and engaged in commerce.

In 1620, Gov. William, in company with other Puritans, when to England from Holland and embarked in the Mayflower for America. In 1621, he was chosen Governor and re-elected every year until 1657 except the years 1633-34, 1636, 1638-44. In all, he served 30 years as governor, often against his wishes and during the five years he was not governor, served the colony in some capacity as a public officer. Gov. Bradford, according to Cotton Mather, was well acquainted with Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, particularly the latter. He spoke French and Dutch fluently, and well understood history, philosophy, and theology. He was the only historian of Plymouth Colony, and his "prose writings were above mediocrity." Gov. Bradford's manuscript history of Plymouth Colony, of two hundred and seventy pages, descended to his grandson, John, who presented it with some other manuscripts and a letter-book formerly belonging to the governor to the New England Library. These manuscripts were deposited in the tower of the old South Church, Boston, for safe keeping and so far as known were there when the city was taken by the British in 1775. It will be remembered that the British soldiers used this church as a riding school during their occupancy of the city.

When Boston was evacuated in the spring of 1776, Gov. Bradford's manuscript history of Plymouth Colony, and many other valuable documents, among them his letter-book, were missing. The letter-book was discovered in a grocery store at Halifax, Nova Scotia, some years after (a large portion of it having been destroyed) and sent to the Massachusetts Historical Society. The history could not be found, and it [was] supposed that it had been destroyed. Previous to 1775, several early colonial historians had mad extracts from this history and the tenor of these extracts was known by those well versed in early colonial history. In 1855, it was discovered by the Massachusetts historian, Rev. John S. Barry, that a volume entitled "A History of the Protestant Episcopal Church in America" by Samuel, Lord Bishop of Oxford, London, 1846, contained extracts from a manuscript in the Fulham Library similar to some of the above mentioned. The Fulham Library is a manor-house or palace, located in the village of Fulham, a few miles from London! This palace is the residence of the Lord Bishop of London. This discovery having been brought to the attention of the Massachusetts Historical Society, an agent was employed to examine the Fulham manuscripts. The result of the examination was that the manuscripts proved beyond a doubt to be the original history of Plymouth Colony written by Governor William Bradford's own hands. The Society had the manuscript opened and published. The publication was in 1856. The original manuscript still remains in the Fulham Library, England, and the agency by which it reached there from New England Library, Boston, is still unknown.

Gov. Bradford, while living in Holland, married Dorothy May, and English Puritan December 10, 1613. By this marriage he had one son who did not come over in the Mayflower, but in another vessel some years later. The Governor's wife, Dorothy, was drowned in Cape Cod harbor, December 17, 1620. August 14, 1623, the Gov. married Alice Carpenter Southworth, widow of Edward Southworth. Gov. Bradford died at Plymouth, May 9, 1657. His wife Alice died at the same place March 26, 1670, aged about 79 years.

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English Separatist and leader of settlers at Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Bradford_(Plymouth_Colony_governor)

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Type the following into your browser and you will see pictures of Gov. William Bradford's gravestone, with authentic details.

Gov William Bradford findagrave

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mayflower_passengers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Bradford_(Plymouth_Colony_governor)

William Bradford (c.1590 – 1657) was an English Separatist leader in Leiden, Holland and in Plymouth Colony was a signatory to the Mayflower Compact. He served as Plymouth Colony Governor five times covering about thirty years between 1621 and 1657. His journal, Of Plymouth Plantation, covering the period from 1620 to 1657 in Plymouth Colony is an important historic document.[2]

Contents [hide]
1 English Origins
1.1 Separatist congregation 1.2 In Leiden and London 2 Voyage preparations and the Speedwell 2.1 The Mayflower voyage 2.2 Anchored and first explorations at Plymouth Colony 2.3 Loss of first wife 2.4 Great sickness 2.5 Early service as governor 3 Literary works 4 Family 5 Will, death and burial 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External links English Origins[edit]

The Manor House, Austerfield, South Yorkshire—birthplace of William Bradford William Bradford was born to William and Alice Bradford in Austerfield, Yorkshire, England, being baptized on March 19, 1589/90.[3] In a time when most were farmers of modest means,[4] the Bradford family owned a large farm and were considered wealthy and influential.[5]

According to surgeon and historical researcher George J. Hill, Bradford's grandfather was William Bradfurthe who had at least four children, including Bradford's father, and was likely of noble ancestry.[6]

Bradford's childhood was marked by numerous deaths in the family. He was just over a year old when his father died. When he was four years old, his mother remarried and Bradford was sent to live with his grandfather.[3] Two years later, his grandfather died and he returned to live with his mother and stepfather. A year later, in 1597, his mother died. Bradford thus became an orphan at age 7 and was sent to live with two uncles.[3]

His uncles wanted young Bradford to help on the farm and later noted in his journal that he suffered at that time from a "long sickness" and was unable to work. He instead turned to reading. He became familiar with the Bible and classic works of literature. This, too, is seen by some as a key factor in his intellectual curiosity and his eventual attraction to the Separatist Church.[7]

Separatist congregation[edit] When Bradford was 12 years old, a young friend invited him to hear the Rev. Richard Clyfton preach 10 miles away in All Saints Church, Babworth. Clyfton was a minister who believed that the Church of England ought to institute strict reforms to eliminate all vestiges of Catholic practices. Proponents believed this would result in a more pure Christian church. Bradford was inspired by Clyfton’s preachings, even though he was forbidden by his uncles, Bradford continued to attend his sermons.[8]

During one meeting Bradford befriended William Brewster, who was a bailiff and postmaster.[9] His residence was at Scrooby Manor, four miles from Austerfield. During frequent visits, Bradford borrowed books from Brewster, and Brewster regaled the young man with stories of the efforts about church reform taking place across England.[9]

When King James I took the English throne in 1603, he declared he would put an end to church reform movements, and deal harshly with radical critics of the Church of England.[10] By 1607, secret meetings were being held at Scrooby Manor and about 50 reform-minded individuals began to celebrate the Sabbath led by Richard Clyfton and Rev. John Robinson. This group decided that reform of the Church of England was hopeless and they would sever all ties, and became known as Separatists.

The weekly meetings of the Separatists attracted the attention of the Archbishop of York, and many members of the congregation were arrested in 1607.[4] Brewster was found guilty of being "disobedient in matters of religion" and was fined. Some members were imprisoned and others were watched, according to Bradford, "night and day" by those loyal to the archbishop.[4] Adding to their concerns, the Scrooby congregation learned that other Separatists in London had been imprisoned and left to starve.[11]

When the Scrooby congregation decided in 1607 to leave England illegally for the Dutch Republic (where religious freedom was permitted), William Bradford determined to go with them. The group encountered several major setbacks in trying to leave England, most notably their betrayal by an English sea captain who had agreed to bring the congregation to the Netherlands but instead turned them over to authorities.[12] Most of the congregation, including Bradford, were imprisoned for a short time after this failed attempt.[13] By the summer of 1608, however, the Scrooby congregation, including 18-year-old William Bradford, managed to escape England in small groups and relocated to Leiden in the Dutch Republic.

In Leiden and London[edit]

A modern view of the city of Leiden featuring the Hooglandse Kerk William Bradford arrived in Amsterdam in August 1608. Having no family with him, Bradford was taken in by the Brewster household. The Separatists, being foreigners and having spent most of their money in attempts to get to the Dutch Republic, had to work the lowest of jobs and live in poor conditions. After nine months, the congregation chose to relocate to the smaller city of Leiden.[14]

Bradford continued to reside with the Brewster family in a poor Leiden neighborhood known as Stink Alley.[15] Conditions changed dramatically for Bradford, however, when he turned 21 and was able to claim his family inheritance in 1611. Bradford bought his own house, set up a workshop as a fustian weaver, and earned a reputable standing.[16]

In 1613, Bradford married Dorothy May, the daughter of a well-off English couple living in Amsterdam. The couple was married in a civil service, as the Separatists could find no example of a religious service in the Scriptures.[17] In 1617, the Bradfords had their first child, John Bradford.[18]

In 1619 William Bradford sold his house in Leiden and in March 1620 appears in tax records in London being taxed for personal property at the Duke’ Place, Aldgate. Aldgate was an area of London known to be the residence of numerous Hollanders as well as many religious dissenters. Some familiar Mayflower names of families living in the area included Allerton, Tilley, Sampson and Hopkins. And early in 1620 a family who were acquaintances of the Bradfords in Leiden were also their London neighbors and would play a major part in William Bradford’s life in a few years. They were Edward and Alice (Carpenter) Southworth and their two sons who were residing at Heneage House, the Duke’s Place, in Aldgate. Southworth was a highly respected leader of the Leiden group and would die in 1621/22 with his wife Alice coming out to Plymouth on the Anne in 1623 to become the wife of widower William Bradford.[19]

Voyage preparations and the Speedwell[edit] By 1617, the Scrooby congregation began to plan the establishment of their own colony in the Americas.[20] Although the Separatists could practice religion as they pleased in the Dutch Republic, they were troubled by the fact that, after nearly ten years in the Netherlands, their children were being influenced by Dutch customs and language. Therefore, the Separatists commenced three years of difficult negotiations in England to seek permission to settle in the northern parts of the Colony of Virginia (which then extended north to what would eventually be known as the Hudson River).[21] The colonists also struggled to negotiate terms with a group of financial backers in London known as the Merchant Adventurers. By July 1620, Robert Cushman and John Carver had made the necessary arrangements and approximately fifty Separatists departed Delftshaven on board the Speedwell.[22]

It was an emotional departure. Many families were split as some Separatists stayed behind in the Netherlands, planning to make the voyage to the New World after the colony had been established. William and Dorothy Bradford left their three-year-old son John with Dorothy's parents in Amsterdam, possibly because he was too frail to make the voyage.[22]

According to the arrangements made by Carver and Cushman, the Speedwell was to meet with the Mayflower off the coast of England and both were destined for the northern part of the Colony of Virginia. The Speedwell, however, proved to be not structurally sound to make the voyage and some of the passengers were transferred aboard the Mayflower making for crowded conditions. Joining the Scrooby congregation were about 50 colonists who had been recruited by the Merchant Adventurers for their vocational skills which would prove useful in establishing a colony.[23] These passengers of the Mayflower, both Separatist and non-Separatist, are commonly referred to today as "Pilgrims." The term is derived from a passage in Bradford's journal, written years later, describing their departure from the Netherlands:

...With mutual embraces and many tears, they took their leaves of one another, which proved to be the last leave to many of them...but they knew they were pilgrims and looked not much on those things, but lifted their eyes to heaven, their dearest country and quited their spirits...[24]

The Mayflower voyage[edit] Main article: Mayflower

Signing the Mayflower Compact 1620, a painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris 1899 The Mayflower departed Plymouth, England on September 6/16, 1620. The small, 100-foot ship had 102 passengers and a crew of 30-40 in extremely cramped conditions. By the second month out, the ship was being buffeted by strong westerly gales, causing the ship‘s timbers to be badly shaken with caulking failing to keep out sea water, and with passengers, even in their berths, lying wet and ill. On the way there were two deaths, a crew member and a passenger, but the worst was yet to come after arriving at their destination when, in the space of several months, almost half the passengers perished in cold, harsh, unfamiliar New England winter.[25]

On November 9/19, 1620, after about 3 months at sea, including a month of delays in England, they spotted land, which was the Cape Cod Hook, now called Provincetown Harbor. And after several days of trying to get south to their planned destination of the Colony of Virginia, strong winter seas forced them to return to the harbor at Cape Cod hook, where they anchored on November 11/21. The Mayflower Compact was signed that day, Bradford being one of the first to sign.[25][26]

Anchored and first explorations at Plymouth Colony[edit] Up to this time, Bradford, aged 30, had yet to assume any significant leadership role in the colony. When the Mayflower anchored in present-day Provincetown Harbor and the time came to search for a place for settlement, Bradford volunteered to be a member of the exploration parties.[27] In November and December, these parties made three separate ventures from the Mayflower on foot and by boat, finally locating what is now Plymouth Harbor in mid-December and selecting that site for settlement. During the first expedition on foot, Bradford got caught in a deer trap made by Native Americans and hauled nearly upside down.[28] During the third exploration, which departed from the Mayflower on December 6, 1620, a group of men including Bradford located present-day Plymouth Bay. A winter storm nearly sank their boat as they approached the bay, but the explorers, suffering from severe exposure to the cold and waves, managed to successfully land on Clark's Island.[29]

During the ensuing days, they explored the bay and found a suitable place for settlement, now the site of downtown Plymouth, Massachusetts. The location featured a prominent hill (now known as Burial Hill) ideal for a defensive fort. There were numerous brooks providing fresh water. Also, the site had been the location of a Native American village known as Patuxet; therefore, much of the area had already been cleared for planting crops. The Patuxet tribe, between 1616 and 1619, had been wiped out by plagues resulting from contact with English fishermen—diseases to which the Patuxet had no immunity.[30] Bradford later wrote that bones of the dead were clearly evident in many places.[31]

Loss of first wife[edit] When the exploring party made their way back on board, he learned of the death of his wife, Dorothy. The day after he had embarked with the exploring party, Dorothy fell over the side of the Mayflower and drowned.[32] Bradford recorded her death in his journal.[33]

Great sickness[edit] The Mayflower arrived in Plymouth Bay on December 20, 1620. The settlers began building the colony's first house on December 25. Their efforts were slowed, however, when a widespread sickness struck the settlers. The sickness had begun on the ship.[34]

On January 11, 1621, as Bradford was helping to build houses, he was suddenly struck with great pain in his hipbone and he collapsed. Bradford was taken to the "common house" (the only finished house built then) and it was feared he would not last the night.[35]

Bradford recovered but many of the settlers were not so fortunate. During the months of February and March 1621 sometimes two or three people died a day. By the end of the winter, half of the 100 settlers had died.[36] In an attempt to hide their weakness from Native Americans who might be watching them, the settlers buried their dead in unmarked graves on Cole's Hill and made efforts to conceal the burials.[37] During the epidemic, there were only a small number of men who remained healthy and bore the responsibility of caring for the sick. One of these was Captain Myles Standish, a soldier who had been hired by the settlers to coordinate the defense of the colony. Standish cared for Bradford during his illness and this was the beginning of a bond of friendship between the two men.[38] Bradford would soon after Carver's death be elected governor and, in that capacity, he would work closely with Standish. Bradford had no military experience and therefore would come to rely on and trust Captain Myles Standish advice on military matters.[39]

Early service as governor[edit] On March 16, the settlers had their first meeting with the Native Americans who lived in the region when Samoset, a representative of Massasoit, the sachem of the Pokanoket, walked into the village of Plymouth. This soon led to a visit by Massasoit himself on March 22 during which the leader of the Pokanoket signed a treaty with John Carver, then Governor of Plymouth. The treaty declared an alliance between the Pokanoket and Plymouth and required the two parties to aid each other militarily in times of need.[40] Bradford recorded the language of the brief treaty in his journal. He would soon become governor and the clause of the treaty that would occupy much of his attention as governor pertained to mutual aid. It read, "If any did unjustly war against [Massasoit], we would aid him; if any did war against us, Massasoit should aid us."[41] This agreement, although it secured for the English a desperately needed ally in New England, would result in tensions between the English and Massasoit's rivals, such as the Narragansett and the Massachusett.[42] In April 1621, Governor Carver collapsed while working in the fields on a hot day. He died a few days later. The settlers of Plymouth then chose Bradford as the new governor, a position he would retain for most of the rest of his life.[43]

The elected leadership of Plymouth Colony at first consisted of a governor and an assistant governor. The assistant governor for the first three years of the colony's history was Isaac Allerton. In 1624, the structure was changed to a governor and five assistants who were referred to as the "court of assistants," "magistrates," or the "governor's council." These men advised the governor and had the right to vote on important matters of governance, helping Bradford in guiding the evolution of the colony and its improvised government.[44][45] Assistants during the early years of the colony included Thomas Prence, Stephen Hopkins, John Alden, and John Howland.[46]

Literary works[edit]

The front page of the Bradford journal William Bradford's most well-known work by far is Of Plymouth Plantation. It was a detailed history in manuscript form about the founding of the Plymouth colony and the lives of the colonists from 1621 to 1646.[47] Bradford's journal is described as a retrospective account of his recollections and observations. The first work was written in 1630; the second was never finished, but "between 1646 and 1650, he brought the account of the colony's struggles and achievements through the year 1646."[48] As Walter P. Wenska states, "Bradford writes most of his history out of his nostalgia, long after the decline of Pilgrim fervor and commitment had become apparent. Both the early annals which express his confidence in the Pilgrim mission and the later annals, some of which reveal his dismay and disappointment, were written at about the same time."[47] In Of Plymouth Plantation, Bradford drew deep parallels between everyday life and the events of the Bible. As Philip Gould writes, "Bradford hoped to demonstrate the workings of divine providence for the edification of future generations."[48]

In 1888 Charles F. Richardson referred to Bradford as a "forerunner of literature" and "a story-teller of considerable power;" Moses Coit Tyler called him "the father of American history."[49] Many American authors have cited his work in their writings; for example, Cotton Mather referenced it in Magnalia Christi Americana and Thomas Prince referred to it in A Chronological History of New-England in the Form of Annals. Even today it is considered a valuable piece of American literature, included in anthologies and studied in literature and history classes. It has been called an American classic and the pre-eminent work of art in seventeenth-century New England."[49] The Of Plymouth Plantation manuscript disappeared by 1780,[50] "presumably stolen by a British soldier during the British occupation of Boston" and reappeared in Fulham, England.[48] Philip Gould states, "In 1855, scholars intrigued by references to Bradford in two books on the history of the Episcopal Church in America (both located in England) located the manuscript in the bishop of London's library at Lambeth Palace."[48] A long debate ensued as to the rightful home for the manuscript. Multiple attempts by United States Senator George Frisbie Hoar and others to have it returned proved futile at first. According to Francis B. Dedmond, "after a stay of well over a century at Fulham and years of effort to [e]ffect its release, the manuscript was returned to Massachusetts" on May 26, 1897.[51]

Bradford's journal, even though it did not become Of Plymouth Plantation, was also published. It was contributed to another work entitled Mourt's Relation which was written in part by Edward Winslow, and published in England by one of Bradford's contemporaries. Published in 1622, it was intended to inform Europeans about the conditions surrounding the American colonists at the Plymouth Colony. As governor of the Plymouth Colony, his work was considered a valuable contribution and was thus included in the book. Despite the fact that the book included a large amount of Bradford's work it is not typically referenced as one of his significant works due to the fact that it was published under someone else's name.

Bradford's Dialogues are a collection of fictional conversations between the old and new generations. In the Dialogues, conversations ensue between "younge men" and "Ancient men," the former being the young colonists of Plymouth, the latter being "the protagonists from Of Plymouth Plantation" (Sargent 413).[52] As Mark L. Sargent states: "By bringing the young from Plymouth Plantation and the ancients from Of Plymouth Plantation into 'dialogue,'...Bradford wisely dramatizes the act of historical recovery as a negotiation between the two generations, between his young readers and his text."[52] Today, only a small portion of the Dialogues remain; however, a modified copy made by Nathaniel Morton exists.

Family[edit]

Provincetown, Massachusetts memorial to Pilgrims who died at sea or on board the Mayflower in Cape Cod Harbor in Nov./Dec. 1620 William Bradford married:

Dorothy May in Amsterdam, Holland on December 10, 1613. Their marriage record indicates she was 16 years old and was from Wisbech in Cambridgeshire. The record also notes a Henry May, who may have been her father. William and Dorothy had one son. Her death and memorial: On December 17, 1620, Dorothy fell from the deck of the Mayflower into the icy waters of Cape Cod Harbor, where the ship was anchored, and drowned. This was while her husband was with others on an expedition ashore. She was one of four Mayflower passengers who died between Dec. 4/14 and 8/18, 1620, including Edward Thomson, Jasper More (age 7 years), and James Chilton. William Butten, who was the first to die, did so on November 16. They are all commemorated on two cenotaphs in Provincetown - one at Winthrop Street Cemetery and one at the Mayflower Passengers Who Died At Sea Memorial. Their burial places ashore are unknown and may have been unmarked in those very early days after the Mayflower landing. The death of these five persons was just a precursor of the deaths to come, consuming about half the Mayflower company in that first bitter winter of 1620-1621.[53] Alice (Carpenter) Southworth, age about 32, in Plymouth on August 14, 1623. She had arrived on the ship Anne some weeks earlier. Alice was the widow of Edward Southworth. She was one of five daughters of Alexander and Priscilla Carpenter of Wrington, co. Somerset in England, all being of Leiden about 1600. Alice brought two sons to her marriage – Constant, born about 1612, and Thomas, born about 1617. Alice and William had three children. She died in Plymouth on March 26, 1670 and was buried on Burial Hill in Plymouth near her husband's stone.[54][55][56][57] Child of William and Dorothy Bradford:

John was born in Leiden, Holland, about 1617. He married Martha Bourne by 1650 but had no known children. He died in Norwich, Connecticut, sometime before September 21, 1676. Children of William and Alice Bradford:

William was born on June 17, 1624 in Plymouth and died there on February 20, 1703/4. He was buried on Burial Hill in Plymouth. William married: 1. Alice Richard after April 23, 1650 and had ten children. She died in Plymouth on December 12, 1671. 2. Sarah (____) Griswold about 1674 and had one son. 3. Mary (Wood) Holmes about 1676 and had four children. Mercy was born before May 22, 1627 and may have been dead before her father's 1657 will as she was not mentioned. She married Benjamin Vermayes on December 21, 1648 in Plymouth but had no known children.[58] Joseph was born about 1630. He married Jael Hobart on May 25, 1664, in Hingham and had three children. He died in Plymouth on July 10, 1715.[58] Will, death and burial[edit] William Bradford had delayed writing his will in hopes that he could obtain the services of his friend, Thomas Prence. But "feeling himself very weak and drawing on to the conclusion of his mortal life," he made out a nuncupative will on the day of his death. In it he stated that his sons John and William had already been provided with lands from his estate and requested that his son Joseph be made "in some sort equal to his brethren out of my estate." He further requested, “My further Will is that my Dear and loving wife Alice Bradford shall be the sole Executrix of my estate.”[59]

William Bradford died on May 9, 1657 and was buried on Burial Hill in Plymouth where a large stone monument exists in memory of William Bradford's life.

The estate inventory for William Bradford was taken on May 22, 1657.[58][60]

See also[edit] List of descendants of William Bradford (Plymouth governor) Notes[edit] Jump up ^ Abrams, 150. Jump up ^ The fast and thanksgiving days of New England by William DeLoss Love, Houghton, Mifflin and Co., Cambridge, 1895. ^ Jump up to: a b c Schmidt, 6. ^ Jump up to: a b c Schmidt, 17. Jump up ^ Schmidt, 4. Jump up ^ Mayflower Quarterly v. 79, No. 4, p.p. 328-341 Jump up ^ Schmidt, 7. Jump up ^ Schmidt, 8 ^ Jump up to: a b Schmidt, 9. Jump up ^ Schmidt, 12. Jump up ^ Goodwin, 12. Jump up ^ Schmidt, 21. Jump up ^ Goodwin, 27. Jump up ^ Schmidt, 33 Jump up ^ Schmidt, 35. Jump up ^ Philbrick, 17. Jump up ^ Schmidt, 37 Jump up ^ Goodwin, 38. Jump up ^ Mayflower Quarterly, vol. 79, no. 4 December 2013, p. 333 Jump up ^ Schmidt, 40. Jump up ^ Philbrick, 19 ^ Jump up to: a b Philbrick, 23. Jump up ^ Philbrick, 25. Jump up ^ Bradford quoted in Schmidt, 51. ^ Jump up to: a b Eugene Aubrey Stratton, Plymouth Colony: Its History and People, 1620-1691, (Salt Lake City: Ancestry Publishing, 1986), p. 413 Jump up ^ George Ernest Bowman, The Mayflower Compact and its signers, (Boston: Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1920). Photocopies of the 1622, 1646 and 1669 versions of the document pp. 7-19. Jump up ^ Schmidt, 80. Jump up ^ Schmidt, 69. Jump up ^ Philbrick, 70-73. Jump up ^ Philbrick, 79. Jump up ^ Philbrick, 80. Jump up ^ Philbrick, 76. Jump up ^ Doherty, 73. Jump up ^ Goodwin, 114. Jump up ^ Philbrick, 85. Jump up ^ Schmidt, 88. Jump up ^ Philbrick, 90. Jump up ^ Haxtun, 17 Jump up ^ Philbrick, 114. Jump up ^ Philbrick, 99. Jump up ^ Goodwin, 125. Jump up ^ Philbrick, 114. Jump up ^ Schmidt, 97. Jump up ^ Goodwin, 159. Jump up ^ Stratton, 145. Jump up ^ Stratton, 151, 156, 281, 311 ^ Jump up to: a b Wenska, 152 ^ Jump up to: a b c d Gould, 349 ^ Jump up to: a b Wenska, 151. Jump up ^ Morison, Samuel Eliot (1952). Of Plymouth Plantation, 1620-1647. Knopf. pp. xxx. ISBN 978-0394438955. Jump up ^ Dedmond, Francis B (1985). "A Forgotten Attempt to Rescue the Bradford Manuscript". The New England Quarterly (Boston: Colonial Society of Massachusetts and Northeastern University) 58 (2): 242–252. doi:10.2307/365515. ISSN 0028-4866. ^ Jump up to: a b Sargent, 413. Jump up ^ Memorial of Dorothy Bradford Jump up ^ Memorial for Alice (Carpenter) Southworth Bradford Jump up ^ Mayflower Quarterly, v. 79, no. 4, pp. 328, 334 Jump up ^ Charles Edward Banks, The English Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgrim Fathers: who came to Plymouth on the Mayflower in 1620, the Fortune in 1621, and the Anne and the Little James in 1623 (Baltimore, MD.:Genealogical Publishing Co., 2006) p. 117 Jump up ^ Eugene Aubrey Stratton. Plymouth Colony: Its History and People, 1620–1691, (Ancestry Publishing, Salt Lake City, UT, 1986) p. 258 ^ Jump up to: a b c A genealogical profile of William Bradford, (A collaboration between Plymouth Plantation and New England Historical Genealogical Society) [1] Jump up ^ Mayflower Quarterly, vol. 79, no. 4, p. 338 Jump up ^ Memorial of William Bradford References[edit] Abrams, Ann Uhry (1999). The Pilgrims and Pocahontas: Rival Myths of American Origin. Boulder: Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-3497-7. Doherty, Kieran (1999). William Bradford: Rock of Plymouth. Brookfield, Connecticut: Twenty-First Century Books. ISBN 0-585-21305-4. Goodwin, John A. (1920) [1879]. The Pilgrim Republic: An Historical Review of the Colony of New Plymouth. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. OCLC 316126717. Gould, Philip (2009). "William Bradford 1590-1657". In Lauter, Paul. The Heath Anthology of American Literature: Beginnings to 1800 A. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. pp. 348–350. ISBN 0-618-89799-2. Haxtun, Annie A. (1899). Signers of the Mayflower Compact. Baltimore: The Mail and Express. OCLC 2812063. Philbrick, Nathaniel (2006). Mayflower: A Story of Community, Courage and War. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-311197-9. Sargent, Mark L. (1992). "William Bradford's 'Dialogue' with History". The New England Quarterly (Boston: Colonial Society of Massachusetts and Northeastern University) 65 (3): 389–421. doi:10.2307/366325. ISSN 0028-4866. Schmidt, Gary D. (1999). William Bradford: Plymouth's Faithful Pilgrim. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-8028-5148-2. Stratton, Eugene A. (1986). Plymouth Colony: Its History & People, 1620–1691. Salt Lake City: Ancestry Incorporated. ISBN 0-916489-13-2. Wenska, Walter P. "Bradford's Two Histories: Pattern and Paradigm in 'Of Plymouth Plantation'". Early American Literature (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press) 13 (Fall 1978): 151–164. ISSN 0012-8163.

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2nd Signer of the "Mayflower" Compact

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William Bradford (c.1590 – c.1657) was an English Separatist leader in Leiden, Holland and in Plymouth Colony. He emigrated to the New World on the "Mayflower" in 1620, signing the Mayflower Compact, and then serving as Plymouth Colony Governor five times covering about thirty years between 1621 and 1657. His memoir, "of Plimouth Plantation," has been called "'an American classic' and 'the pre-eminent work of art' in seventeenth-century New England."

1.on 10 Dec 1613 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands to Dorothy May, b abt 1597, died Dec. 7, 1620, Cape Cod Harbor, (now Provincetown) MA. Records suggest she was the daughter of Henry May. 2.on 14 Aug 1623 in Plymouth, Plymouth, MA to Alice Carpenter (1590-1670), widow of Edward Southworth. She was the daughter of Alexander Carpenter and Priscilla Dillen.

William's 2nd wife Alice came to Plymouth aboard the "Anne" in July 1623 following the death of her 1st husband, Edward Southworth. They married and had 3 children. Alice helped raise John, the son of his 1st marriage. Alice's sons from her first marriage arrived in Plymouth sometime after 1627 and presumably lived with their mother and stepfather.

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http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=124

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William Bradford was one of the leaders of the PILGRIMS who established PLYMOUTH COLONY. He was its governor for more than 30 years. His History of Plymouth Plantation, 1620-1647, first printed in full in 1856, is a minor classic, reflecting the unusual qualities of the man and the values of the small group of English separatists who became known as Pilgrims.

Bradford was born in March 1590 in Austerfield, Yorkshire, the son of a yeoman farmer. He was self-taught. As a young man, he joined Puritan groups that met illegally in nearby Scrooby and was a member of that congregation when it separated from the Church of England in 1606. Bradford was among the 125 Scrooby separatists who sought (1608) religious sanctuary in Holland.

When the congregation decided (1617) to seek refuge in America, Bradford took major responsibility for arranging the details of the emigration. The term Pilgrim is derived from his description of himself and his coreligionists as they left Holland (July 22, 1620) for Southampton, where they joined another group of English separatists on the MAYFLOWER. Bradford was one of about a dozen original Scrooby church members who sailed for America on the Mayflower.

When John CARVER, Plymouth Colony's first governor, died suddenly in April 1621, Bradford was unanimously elected to replace him. He was reelected 30 times. In 1640, Bradford and the group of original settlers known as the "old comers" turned over to the colony the proprietary rights to its lands, which had been granted (1630) to him by the Warwick Patent and then shared by him with the old comers.

During the period of his governorship, and especially during the first few years, Bradford provided the strong, steady leadership that kept the tiny community alive. He strove to sustain the religious ideals of the founders and to keep the colony's settlements compact and separate from the larger neighboring colonies. Bradford died on May 9 or 19, 1657.

The home in England of William Bradford (of the Mayflower company) was just outside of London Wall on the high road entering the city at Alddgate in the vicinity of Heneage House.

He was one of the Pilgrams who where called "Brownists - or - rebels against the Church of England", he was one of the three elders, including John Robinson, and William Brewster who led this group. They faced torture and possible death by burning at the stake if they persisted in their faith under the harsh rule of James VI of Scotland, then on England's throne. In 1608 they found an escape route to Holland, uprooted themselves from their native Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Nottinghamshire, and fled. Wrote William Bradford later, "Many of the children, by the great incentiousness of youth were drawn away by evil example."

He became an early convert to the Separatist Church, opposing the wishes of his family, at the nearby Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England, and he was imprisoned at Boston in Lincolnshire for attempting to escape to Holland with others at the age of only 18 years old. He managed, after many difficulities and disappointments in reaching Holland around 1607. It is said (by Cotton Mather) that he was living in Holland when he became of full age and sold his lands in England. Here he served a Frenchman at the working of silks, or in other words "put himself as apprentice to a French Protestant, who taught him the art of silk dyeing." He was registered as a citizen of Leyden, 30 March 1612 as William Bradford, Englishman, in Holland.

He was a person of study as well as action; and he obtained a notable skill in languages, the Dutch tongue was almost as vernacular to him as the English, the French tongue he could manage, the Latin and Greek he mastered, but Hebrew he studied most of all.

After Bradford had resided in Holland about half a score of years he and his first wife, Dorothy May came over in the MAYFLOWER, leaving behind their only child, John. Governor William Bradford was the 2nd signer of the "Mayflower Compact" He was chosen as one of the Colonial Governors at the age of thirty-one (as Governor John Carver's succesor) unanimously elected. By June of 1656 he was the chosen Governor for the thirty first time.

"He was a person of excellent temper, as appears by his admirable management of the peevish and forward humors of the people, under the inexpressible hardships they suffered the first three or four years of their settlement, but he bore a part in them all himself and animated the people by his own example. It may be observed that Bradford was a sensible man, of a strong mind, a sound judgement, and a good memory. he had read much of history and philosophy, but theology was his favorite study. He was a diligent letter writer and an excellent one. He was able to express himself readily and properly, and did not fear a disputant."

He left a library consisting of two hundred and seventy-five volumes, no small collection when we remember the times. In his attempt at poetry the muses woo'd in vain; his verses are prosaic, rough and inelegant.

Some of them appear in Morton's Memorial from which is selected the following:

"From my years young in days of youth, God did make known to me His truth, And call'd me from my native place, For to enjoy the means of grace. In wilderness he did me guide And in strange lands for me provide, In fears and wants, though weal and woe, A pilgrim, past I to and fro; Oft left of them whom I did trust; How vain it is to rest on dust; A man of sorrows I have been And many changes i have seen, Wars, wants, peace, plenty, have I known, And some advanced, others thown down. The humble poor, cheerful and glad, Rich, discontent, sower and sad When fears and sorrows have been mixt. Consolations came betwixt. Faint not poor soul, in God still trust, Fear not the things thou suffer must; For whom he loves he doth chastise And then all tears wipe from their eyes."

He was empowered to appoint a deputy governor to relieve his labor, but he never did so. Although New Plymouth was still a small colony, the governor's duties were heavy; for he was chief justice, minister of foriegn affairs, speaker of the General Court and auditor of the treasury. He was also their clerk or secretary. It was the duty of the Governor to entertain strangers, especially those who came on public affairs (such as the French Jesuit, Driullette;).

Military and Civil Service: Governor of Plymouth Colony and author of "History of Plymouth Plantations.

"The last Will and Testament Nuncupative of Mr. William Bradford seni[?]: Deceased May the Ninth 1657 and exhibited to the court held att Plymouth June 3d 1657.

Bibliography: Bradford, William, Of Plymouth Plantation, 1620-1647, ed. by S. E. Morison (1952); Langdon, G. D., Jr., Pilgrim Colony: A History of New Plymouth, 1620-1691 (1966); Smith, Bradford, Bradford of Plymouth (1951); Westbrook, Perry D., William Bradford (1978); Willison, G. F., Saints and Strangers (1945).

Married 2nd the widow of Edward Southworth. First Marriage:Dorothy May Who drowned 1620 while at anchor in Plymouth bay. Left Son John in Lieden Holland while he came to the Colonies.

William Bradford came on the Mayflower with his wife Dorothy (May).  She fell off the Mayflower and drowned when it was anchored in Cape Code (Provincetown) Harbor.  Some historians believe this may have been a suicide.

This was an accidental drowning.  The story of the suicide, affair with Captain Chrostopher Jones, etc. comes from a fictional "soap opera" story published in a national women's magazine in 1869--a story published as truth by the author, based on "family stories", but which the author later admitted was an invention of her own imagination.  For further information on this, see Mayflower Descendant 29:97-102 , and especially 31:105.  

After the death of John Carver, he was elected governor of the Plymouth colony, and continued in that capacity nearly all his life. He also wrote "Of Plymouth Plantation", chronicalling the history of the Plymouth colony, and the events that led up to their leaving England for Holland, and later to New England.

WILLIAM BRADFORD quotes:

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[THEY PREPARE TO DEPART HOLLAND]

"So they left that goodly and pleasant city which had been their resting place near twelve years; but they knew they were pilgrims, and looked not much on those things, but lift up their eyes to the heavens, their dearest country, and quieted their spirits."

[THE MAYFLOWER DEPARTS HOLLAND]

"The next day (the wind being fair) they went aboard and their friends with them, where truly doleful was the sight of that sad and mournful parting, to see what sighs and sobs and prayers did sound amongst them, what tears did gush from every eye, and pithy speeches pierced each heart; that sundry of the Dutch strangers that stood on the quay as spectators could not refrain from tears. Yet comfortable and sweet it was to see such lively and true expressions of dear and unfeigned love. But the tide stays for no man, calling them away that were thus loath to depart, their reverend pastor falling down on his knews (and they all with him) with watery cheeks commended them with most fervent prayers to the Lord and His blessing. And then with mutual embraces and many tears they took their leave one of another, which proved to be the last leave to many of them."

[DEATH AT SEA]

"And I may not omit here a special work of God's providence. There was a proud and very profane young man, one of the seamen, of a lusty, able body, which made him the more haughty; he would always be contemning the poor people in their sickness and cursing them daily with grievous execrations; and did not let to tell them that he hoped to help to cast half of them overboard before they came to their journey's end, and to make merry with what they had; and if he were by any gently reproved, he would curse and swear most bitterly. But it pleased God before they came half seas over, to smite this young man with a grievous disease, of which he died in a desperate manner, and so was himself the first that was thrown overboard. Thus his curses light on his own head, and it was an astonishment to all his fellows for they noted it to be the just hand of God upon him. . . In all this voyage there died but one of the passengers, which was William Butten, a youth, servant to Samuel Fuller, when they drew near the coast."

[THE MAYFLOWER ARRIVES AT CAPE COD]

"Being thus arrived in a good harbor, and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of Heaven who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean, and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof, again to set their feet on the firm and stable earth, their proper element."

[OVERVIEW OF CONDITIONS AFTER ARRIVAL]

"But here I cannot but stay and make a pause, and stand half amazed at this poor people's present condition; and so I think will the reader, too, when he well con siders the same. Being thus passed the vast ocean, and a sea of troubles before in their preparation . . . they had now no friends to welcome them nor inns to entertain or refresh their weatherbeaten bodies; no houses or much less towns to repair to, to seek for succour . . . and for the season it was winter, and they that know the winters of that country know them to be sharp and violent, and subject to cruel and fierce storms, dangerous to travel to known places, much more to search an unknown cost. Besides, what could they see but a hideous and desolate wilderness, full of wild beasts and wild men--and what multitudes there might be of them they knew not. . . . If they looked behind them there was the mighty ocean which they had passed and was now as a main bar and gulf to separate them from all the civil parts of the world."

[PILGRIMS PLACE IN HISTORY]

"May not and ought now the children of these fathers rightly say: 'Our fathers were Englishmen which came over this great ocean, and were redy to perish in this wilderness, but they cried unto the Lord, and He heard their voice and looked on their adversity . . . Let them therefore praise the Lord, because He is good: and His mercies endure forever.' . . . When they wandered in the desert wilderness out of the way, and found no city to dwell in, both hungry and thirsty, their soul was overwhelmed in them. Let them confess before the Lord His lovingkindness and His wonderful works before the sons of men."

[THE FIRST WINTER]

"But that which was most sad and lamentable was, that in two or three months' time half of their company died, especially in January and February, being the depth of winter, and wanting houses and other comforts; being infected with the scurvy and other diseases which this long voyage and their inaccommodate condition had brought upon them. So as there died some times two or three a day in the foresaid time, that of 100 and odd persons, scarce fifty remained. And of these, in the time of most distress, there was but six or seven sound persons who to their great commendations, be it spoken, spared no pains night nor day, but with abundance of toil and hazard of their own health, fetched them wood, made them fires, dressed them meat, made their beds, washed their loathsome clothes, clothed and unclothed them. In a word, did all the homely and necessary offices for them which dainty and queasy stomachs cannot endure to hear named; and all this willingly and cheerfully, without any grudging in the least, showing herein their true love unto their friends and bretheren; a rare example and worhty to be remembered. Two of these seven were Mr. William Brewster, their revered Elder, and Myles Standish, their Captain and military commander, unto whom myself and many others were much beholden in our low and sickly condition. And yet the Lord so upheld these persons as in this general calamity they were not at all infected either with sickness or lameness. And what I have said of these I may say of many others who died in this general visitation, and ohters yet living; that whilst they had health, yea, or any strength continuing, they were not wanting to any that had need of them. And I doubt not their recompense is with the Lord."

[INDIAN RELATIONS]

"All this while the Indians came skulking about them, and would sometimes show themselves aloof off, but when any approached near them, they would run away; and once they stole away their tools where they had been at work and were gone to dinner. But about the 16th of March, a certain Indian came boldly amongst them and spoke to them in broken English, which they could well understand but marveled at it. At length they understood by discourse with him, that he was not of these parts, but belonged to the eastern parts where some English ships came to fish . . . his name was Samoset. He told them also of another Indian whose name was Squanto, a native of this place, who had been in England and could speak better English than himself. Being, after some time of entertainment and gifts dismissed, a while after he came again, and five more with him, and they brought again all the tools that were stolen away before, and made way for the coming of their great Sachem, called Massasoit. Who, about four or five days after, came with the chief of his friends and other attendance, with the aforesaid Squanto. With whom, after friendly entertainment and some gifts given him, they made a peace with him (which hath now continued this 24 years.)" [written in 1645]

[TWO ACCOUNTS OF THE FIRST THANKSGIVING, the first written by WILLIAM BRADFORD, the second written by EDWARD WINSLOW]

"[BRADFORD] They began now to gather in the small harvest they had, and to fit up their houses and dwellings against the winter, being all well recovered in helth and strength and had all things in good plenty. For as some were thus employed in affairs abroad, others were exercised in fishing, about cod and bass and other fish, of which they took good store, of which every family had their portion. All the summer there was no want; and now began to come in store of fowl, as winter approached, of which this place did abound when they first came . . . And besides waterfowl there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc."

"[WINSLOW] Our harvest being gotten in, our Governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a more special manner rejoice together, after we had gathered the fruit of our labours. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help besides, served the Company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst the rest their great king, Massasoit with some 90 men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted. And they went out and killed five deer which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our Governor and upon the Captain and others."

[EDWARD WINSLOW ON INDIAN AND ENGLISH WOMEN]

"[The poor Indian women] sold their coats from their backs, and tied boughs about them, but with great shamefacedness (for indeed they were more modest than some of our English women)."

                      London vs. Leyden contingents

Many people are aware that the passengers of the Mayflower were fleeing religious persecution. What most people don't realize is that the majority of the passengers were strangers picked up from London, whose passage to America on the Mayflower helped the religious seperatists pay the excessive expenses involved with sending a ship to the New World.

The following is a list, as best as known, of the members of both contingents (by head of the household--wives and children are assumed to belong to the same contingent). The Leyden contingent are the "religious seperatists", and the London contingent are the "strangers" whose passage helped pay the expenses of the Mayflower.

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Leyden contingent:

Isaac Allerton; William Bradford; William Brewster; John Carver; James Chilton; Francis Cooke; John Crackstone; Moses Fletcher; Edward Fuller; Samuel Fuller; John Goodman; William Holbeck; Degory Priest; Thomas Rogers; Thomas Tinker; John Turner; Thomas Williams; Edward Winslow; Gilbert Winslow

London contingent:

John Billington; Richard Britteridge; William Butten; Robert Carter; Humility Cooper; Edward Doty; John Hooke; Steven Hopkins; John Howland; John Langmore; William Latham, Edward Leister; Christopher Martin; Desire Minter; Richard More (and three siblings); William Mullins; Solomon Prower; John Rigdale; Henry Samson; George Soule; Elias Story; Edward Tilley; John Tilley; Richard Warren

                           Pilgrim Possessions:

Here is an abrieviated sample of some clothing, tools and books in the possession of this Pilgrim at his time of death:

William Bradford (d. 1657): white blankets, green rug, snaphance and matchlock muskets, Holland sheets, hemp sheets, Holland tablecloths; CLOTHES: suit with silver buttons, black briches and red wastecoat, lead colored suit with silver buttons, black coat, green gown, violet cloak, one black and one colored hat, light-colored cloak, six pairs of shoes; one great beer bowl, wine cup; BOOKS: French Acadamy; History of the Church; History of the Netherlands; Peter Martire on the Romans; Bodin's Commonwealth; Mayers works on the New Testament; Luther on the Gallations; Speed's General Description of the World; Calvin's Commentary on the Acts; Downhams 2nd part on Christian warfare; Taylers Liberty of Prophesy; Gouges' Domestical Duties; Mr Ainsworth on Genesis and Exodus; Calvin on Genesis; Gifford Refuted; Physics book; and two Bibles.

(Mayflower Passenger List By Family Groupings) William Bradford, Dorothy (May), wife

                         Will of William Bradford

The last Will and Testament Nunckupative of Mr William Bradford senir: Deceased May the Ninth 1657 and exhibited to the court held att Plymouth June 3d 1657

Mr William Bradford senir: being weake in body but in prfect memory haveing Defered the forming of his Will in hopes of haveing the healp of Mr Thomas Prence therin; feeling himselfe very weake and drawing on to the conclusion of his mortall life spake as followeth; I could have Desired abler then myselfe in the Desposing of that I have; how my estate is none knowes better then youerselfe, said hee to Lieftenant Southworth; I have Desposed to John and William alreddy theire proportions of land which they are possessed of;

My Will is that my son Josepth bee made in some sort equall to his brethern out of my estate;

My further Will is that my Deare & loveing wife Allice Bradford shalbee the sole Exequitrix of my estate; and for her future maintainance my Will is that my Stocke in the Kennebecke Trad be reserved for her Comfortable Subsistence as farr as it will extend and soe further in any such way as may bee Judged best for her;

I further request and appoint my welbeloved Christian ffrinds Mr Thomas Prence Captaine Thomas Willett and Lieftenant Thomas Southworth to be the Suppervissors for the Desposing of my estate according to the prmises Confiding much in theire faithfulnes

I comend unto youer Wisdome and Descretions some smale bookes written by my owne hand to bee Improved as you shall see meet; In speciall I Comend to you a little booke with a blacke cover wherin there is a word to Plymouth a word to Boston and a word to New England with sundry usefull verses;

These pticulars were expressed by the said William Bradford Govr the 9th of May 1657 in the prsence of us Thomas Cushman Thomas Southworth Nathaniell Morton; whoe were Deposed before the court held att Plymouth the 3d of June 1657 to the truth of the abovesaid Will that it is the last Will and Testament of the abovesaid Mr William Bradford senir.

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William Bradford was born in 1590 in the small farming community of Austerfield, Yorkshire. His father William died when young Bradford was just one year old. He lived with his grandfather William, until his grandfather died when he was six. His mother Alice then died when he was seven. Orphaned both from parents and grandparents, he and older sister Alice were raised by their uncle Robert Bradford. William was a sickly boy, and by the age of 12 had taken to reading the Bible, and as he began to come of age he became acquainted with the ministry of Richard Clyfton and John Smith, around which the Separatist churches of the region would eventually form about 1606. His family was not supportive of his moves, and by 1607 the Church of England were applying pressure to extinguish these religious sects. Bradford, at the age of 18, joined with the group of Separatists that fled from England in fear of persecution, arriving in Amsterdam in 1608. A year later he migrated with the rest of the church to the town of Leiden, Holland, where they remained for eleven years. Bradford returned to Amsterdam temporarily in 1613 to marry his 16-year old bride, Dorothy May. In Leiden, Bradford took up the trade of a silk weaver to make ends meet, and also was able to recover some of the estate in England that he had been left by his father, to support himself and his new wife in Leiden. They had a son, John, born about 1615-1617 in Leiden.

By 1620, when a segment of the church had decided to set off for America on the Mayflower, Bradford (now 30 years old) sold off his house in Leiden, and he and his wife Dorothy joined; however, they left young son John behind, presumably so he would not have to endure the hardships of colony-building. While the Mayflower was anchored off Provincetown Harbor at the tip of Cape Cod, and while many of the Pilgrim men were out exploring and looking for a place to settle, Dorothy Bradford accidentally fell overboard and drowned.

John Carver was elected governor of Plymouth, and remained governor until his death a year later in April 1621. Bradford was then elected governor, and was re-elected nearly every year thereafter. In 1623, he married to the widowed Alice (Carpenter) Southworth, and had a marriage feast very reminiscent of the "First Thanksgiving," with Massasoit and a large number of Indians joining, and bringing turkeys and deer. Bradford was the head of the government of Plymouth, oversaw the courts, the colony's finances, corresponded with investors and neighbors, formulated policy with regards to foreigners, Indians, and law, and so had a very active role in the running of the entire Colony. With his second wife, he had three more children, all of whom survived to adulthood and married.

Beginning in 1630, he started writing a history of the Plymouth Colony, which is now published under the title Of Plymouth Plantation. He continued writing his history of Plymouth through about 1651.  Bradford's History is one of the primary sources used by historians, and is the only thorough history of Plymouth Colony that was written by a Mayflower passenger.  It is required reading in a number of collegiate American History courses, and an edition of it was edited by MayflowerHistory.com historian Caleb Johnson (see Amazon.com link to the right).  A number of his letters, poems, conferences, and other writings of William Bradford, have also survived.   William Bradford was generally sick all through the winter of 1656-1657; on May 8, Bradford predicted to his friends and family that he would die, and he did the next day, 9 May 1657, at the age of 68.

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References

• Gov. William Bradford from www.mayflowerhistory.com
• “How the Planters from Virginia Saved the Plymouth Colony.” The William and Mary Quarterly, vol. 12, no. 1, 1903, pp. 52–54. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1914744. Accessed 5 Sept. 2023.
• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Bradford-70
• https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/9HCJ-14M/details?spouse=L4JV