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Governor William Bradford (c. 1588–1657)
Alice Carpenter (1590–1670)
William Bradford's English Ancestry [18]
Generation 0
___ Bradford was probably born about 1435 and was perhaps of Bentley in the parish of Arksey, co. York.
Generation 1
Peter Bradford, the son of the above, was probably born about 1460. He died between 17 January 1542, when he wrote his will, and 19 March 1542/3, when it was proved. He apparently outlived at least two wives.
Generation 2
Robert Bradford, the son of Peter Bradford, was probably born about 1487 and was of Tickhell, co. York. He died between 28 November 1552, when he wrote his will, and 5 October 1553, when it was proved. He married first ___. He married second Elizabeth ___. She is perhaps the Elizabeth who was buried on 21 October 1556 in Tickhill.
Generation 3
William Bradford of Austerfield, the son of Robert Bradford and his first wife, was buried 10 January 1595/6 in Austerfield. He married first ___. He married second Margaret, the daughter of William Fox of Harworth, on 19 October 1567.
John Hanson married Margaret Gressam on 23 July 1560 in Austerfield.
Generation 4
William Bradford of Austerfield, the son of William Bradford and his father's first wife, was buried on 15 July 1591 in Austerfield. He married Alice Hanson on 21 June 1584.
Alice Hanson, the daughter of John and Margaret (Gressam) Hanson, was buried on 23 May 1597 in Austerfield. She married second Robert Briggs on 23 September 1593 in Austerfield. He was buried on 16 August 1629.
William was a yeoman farmer; Alice was the daughter of the village shopkeeper. [4]
Generation 5
William Bradford was baptized on 19 March 1589/90 in Austerfield.
William Bradford, son of William and Alice (Hanson) Bradford, was born about 1588 in Austerfield, Yorkshire. [1] He was baptized there on 19 March 1589/90. [2] He died on 9 May 1657 and was buried at Plymouth. [1] He married first Dorothy May [1] of Wisbech, Cambridgeshire on 10 December 1613 in Amsterdam. [2][3, says 30 Nov and that Dorothy is of Witzbuts, England][4, 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. [2] There is controversy over whether Dorothy is the daughter of John or Henry May. [2] William married second the widow Alice Carpenter Southworth [1] on 14 August 1623. [1] It was the fourth marriage in Plymouth. [1]
Alice, the daughter of Alexander Carpenter, was baptized on 3 August 1590 in Wrington, North Somerset. [2] She died on 26 March 1670 [1][2, 26 or 27 March] in Plymouth. [1] The Plymouth Colony records say, "Plymouth, Mrs. Alice Bradford, widow of Gov. William, [died] March 26, 1670 or '71. A most excellent woman; ae. about 80." [5] Alice married first Edward Southworth. [6] He died in 1623. [6]
Edward was a silk worker in Leiden and one of the members of Rev. John Robinson's church. He did not come to New England. [6][7]
"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." [4]
In 1608 William went to Holland and joined the pilgrims. [1] 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. [4][8] He learned Dutch and some Latin. [4] In recognition of his standing in the community, William became a citizen of Leiden in 1612. [8] At some point, poor business decisions led to the loss of a significant portion of his inheritance. [8] 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. [8]
William and his first wife Dorothy came to New England on the Mayflower. They left their only child behind. [1][6]
On 15 November 2020, after landing on Cape Cod, Captain Miles Standish commanded an exploring expedition. William Bradford, Stephen Hopkins and John Tilley accompanied them. [6] William was one of seven men who went out to explore the freezing cold night of 6 December and had an encounter with hostile Indians. [6]
Dorothy drowned on 7 December 1620 while she was still on the Mayflower and her husband was exploring on land. [1] "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." [4]
Alice (Carpenter) Southworth arrived in New England in the summer of 1623 on the supply ship Anne. [8]
Stratton [9] quotes a September 1623 letter from Capt. Emmanuel Altham of the Little James describing William's and Alice's wedding:
And now to say somewhat of the great cheer we had at the Governor's marriage. We had about twelve pasty venison, besides others, pieces of roasted venison and other such good cheer in such quantity that I could wish you some of our share. For here we have the best grapes that ever you [saw]—and the biggest, and divers sorts of plums and nuts which our business will not suffer us to look for.
Massasoit and 120 of his warriors attended the festivities. [8]
Alexander Carpenter's Children
Children of Alexander Carpenter:
i. Mary Carpenter was born about 1576. She died on 19 or 20 Mar 1667, age 91. [19, The author says that the church records say that she is Alice Bradford's sister and a member of the church at Duxbury; in comments published after the original article, the author says that the year may be 1687.] She was never married. [19, author's comment]
William and Alice Bradford wrote a letter to Mary, in Wrington, on 19 Aug 1664. Referring to the death of "our aged mother" they invite her to come to New England "though we are grown old and the country more unsettled than ever ... " [19]
ii. Alice Carpenter was baptized on 3 August 1590. She married first Edward Southworth. She married second Governor William Bradford.
iii. Agnes Carpenter of Wrentham died before 27 May 1617. She married Samuel Fuller of London in Leiden as his second wife. [3] Alice Carpenter witnessed her sister's wedding. [3] Samuel married first Elsie Glascock. He married third Bridget Lee on 27 May 1617 in Leiden. [3]
iv. Julia Ann Carpenter married George Morton of York on 23 July 1612. Her father Alexander and her sister Alice were witnesses.
George was a merchant of York. [6]
The Mortons came to Plymouth on the Anne in 1623. [6]
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. [1] He was the primary leader of the Pilgrim fathers; William Brewster was the church elder; Edward Winslow handled diplomatic business. [4]
William Bradford received three lots on the south side of the brook to baywards in the 1623 Plymouth land division. [3] He, his wife Alice, and his children William, Jr. and Mercy were in lot 11 of the 22 May 1627 Plymouth cattle division. [3]
The Pilgrims borrowed heavily from English merchant adventurers to come to America. Their money making efforts were unsuccessful, and in 1627 eight colonists, known as undertakers, renegotiated and undertook to repay the debt in return for a monopoly on the fur trade and other considerations. These undertakers were William Bradford, John Howland, Myles Standish, Isaac Allerton, Edward Winslow, William Brewster, John Alden and Thomas Prence. [1][6]
On 2 January 1632/3 the General Court appointed William to a committee to assess taxes on the colonists, payable in grain or the equivalent. [9] He was again on the committee to set rates on 2 January 1633/4. Both years he was assessed relatively high taxes. [10]
William 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." [11]
In the last days of his life, William studied Hebrew. [8] He began to feel unwell in the winter of 1657 and died on 9 May. [8] 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, Captain Thomas Willet and Lieutenant 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." [my spelling]. [12]
On 23 November 1664, Alice Bradford, the widow of William Bradford, late of Plymouth, sold Richard Sears of Yarmouth two pieces of land containing 40 acres at a place called Sasuet for twenty pounds. [14] Sasuet was an Indian name for a place then in east Yarmouth and now in Dennis and Brewster.
In her will, dated 29 December 1669, Mistress Alice Bradford asked to be "Intered as neare unto my Deceased husband; Mr. William Bradford as Conveniently may be". [2] She made bequests to her sister Mary Carpenter; her sons Constant Southworth, Joseph Bradford and Captain William Bradford; her friend Thomas Prence; her grandchild Elizabeth Howland, the daughter of her son Thomas Southworth; Elizabeth's son James Howland; her maid Mary Smith. Alice left an extensive estate, including books. [2]
Children of William Bradford and Dorothy May:
i. Lieutenant John Bradford was born about 1618 in Leiden. [2] He died in 1678 [1] in Norwich, New London, Connecticut. [2, says before 21 September 1676] He married Martha Bourne, the daughter of Thomas and Martha Bourne of Marshfield. [1] He left no children. [1]
John did not accompany his parents on the Mayflower, instead he was left with his mother's parents in Amsterdam and arrived in New England when he was 11 years old. [8]
John was of Duxbury in 1645. [1] He was deputy to the General Court from Duxbury in 1652. [1] He moved to Marshfield and was deputy to the General Court from Marshfield in 1653. [1]
Children of William Bradford and the widow Alice Carpenter Southworth:
ii. Maj. William Bradford was born on 17 Jun 1624 in Plymouth and died there on 20 Feb 1703/4. He married first Alice Richards. He married second the widow Wiswall. He married third Mary (Wood or Atwood) Holmes.
iii. Mercy Bradford was born before 1627. [1] She married Capt. Benjamin Vermayes of Boston on 21 December 1648 [1] in Plymouth. [2, says "or Fearmayes"] He died at "Ginne" before 28 (9) 1665. [2, "Africa?"] Mercy left no known children. [2]
iv. Joseph Bradford was born in 1630. [1] He died on 10 July 1715, age 85. [2] He married Jael Hobart on 25 May 1664. [1] Jael was the daughter of Reverend Peter Hobart, the first minister of Hingham, and Elizabeth Ilbrook. [1][2] She was baptized on 30 December 1643 in Hingham and died on 14 Apr 1730 in Kingston. [2]
Children of Alice Carpenter and Edward Southworth, adopted by William Bradford after his marriage to Alice: [8]
i. Constant Southworth was probably born about 1614/1616 in Leiden. [9] He died on 10 March 1678[/9] in Duxbury. [7] He married Elizabeth Collier on 2 November 1637 in Plymouth. [9]
Constant came to Plymouth in 1628, probably on the White Angel. [9] He is in the Duxbury section of the 1643 list of those between 16 and 60 able to bear arms in Plymouth Colony. [11] He was a soldier in the Pequot War of 1637-8. [13] He was treasurer, Assistant and ensign in the Duxbury military company. [9]
Constant signed his will on 27 February 1678/9. He named his wife Elizabeth; his sons Edward, Nathaniel and William; his daughters Mercy Freeman, Alice Church, Mary Alden, Elizabeth Southworth (provided she did not marry William Fobes) and Priscilla Southworth; grandson Constant Freeman; cousin Elizabeth Howland; brother Thomas Freeman. His inventory was taken on 15 March 1678/9. [9]
ii. Captain Thomas Southworth was born about 1616. He died on 8 December 1669, age about 53, "a great and good man &c". [15] He married Elizabeth Reynor. [16]
Thomas made his will on 18 November 1669; it was proved on 1 March 1669. He left his real estate in Plymouth to his daughter Elizabeth Howland; he left her husband Joseph Howland his rapier and belt. He left bequests to Thomas Faunce, Deborah Morton, William Churchill, and his brother Constant Southworth, whom he charged for the support of his wife "in her poor condition." [17]
References:
1. G.M. Fessenden, "A Genealogy of the Bradford Family," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 4 (1850): 39–50.
2. Robert S. Wakefield, William Bradford of the Mayflower and His Descendants for Four Generations 3rd ed. (n.p.: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1991).
3. Editors, "Items from the City Records at Leyden," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 15 (1861): 30–32.
4. William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation, 1620–1647, edited with and introduction and notes by Samuel Eliot Morison (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001), Introduction.
5. Elijah Hayward, "Plymouth Colony Records," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 9 (1855): 317.
6. William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation, 1620–1647, edited with and introduction and notes by Samuel Eliot Morison (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001).
7. Bess Miner Southworth, Southworths in England, America, 1189-1968 (n.p.: n.p., 1968).
8. Nathaniel Philbrick, Mayflower (New York: Viking, 2006).
9. Eugene Aubrey Stratton, Plymouth Colony: Its History and People 1620 - 1691 (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1986).
10. Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, "Plymouth Colony Rates," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 4 (1850): 252–3.
11. Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, "List of Those Able to Bear Arms in the Colony of New Plymouth 1643," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 4 (1850): 255–259.
12. "2020: William Bradford," webpage, AmricanAncestors (https://mayflower.americanancestors.org/william-bradford-biography : accessed 7 April 2023.
13. Hosea Starr Ballou, "Dr. Thomas Starr, Surgeon in the Pequot War and his Family Connection," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 89 (1935): 172–
14. Editors, "Plymouth Colony Records of Deeds," Mayflower Descendant 34 (1937) 22–32.
15. Claire Dietz, trans., Records of the Colony of New Plymouth, 1633 -1689, Pub. Boston 1857, Pub. Baltimore 1976.
16. Ann Smith Lainhart and Robert S. Wakefield, Mayflower Families Through Five Generations, v. 23 Family of John Howland (Plymouth: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 2006).
17. Justin Winsor, "Abstracts of the Earliest Wills in the Probate Office, Plymouth," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 7 (1853): 179.
18. William Bradford Browne, "Ancestry of the Bradfords of Austerfield, co. York," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 83 (1929): 439–464; 84 (1930): 5–17.
19. Kidder, Frederic, "Letter of Mary Carpenter," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 14 (1860): 194–5, 377–8. This should be a letter to Mary Carpenter.
12-Jan-2024