Broadwell Name Study

Profile managers: L Sauls [send private message], Rob Neff [send private message], and One Name Studies WikiTree [send private message]

How to Join

The project is currently open, so anybody can edit, but to collaborate please contact the project leaders Rob Neff and L. Sauls or post a comment/question at the foot of the page. Thanks!

Even without officially joining, you can add any of your Broadwell profiles to the project by putting this template into the bio section: {{One Name Study|name=Broadwell}}

Goals

This is a One Name Study to collect together in one place everything about the Broadwell surname and the related variants of that name. The spelling has been surprisingly consistent since the 1600's, but rarely Broadwill, Brodwell, even Brawdwell have been seen, other variants may exist. The hope is that other researchers like you will join our study to help make it a valuable reference point for people studying lines that cross or intersect.

Family Overview

The Broadwells come from the Tewkesbury area, in Gloucestershire, England. William Broadwell who died in 1689 is the first Broadwell known to be in the American colonies, first mentioned in 1677 in New Jersey (apparently moved there from Connecticut). Two daughters of Richard Broadwell, a Quaker, also crossed the ocean, recorded in Philadelphia County of Pennsylvania by 1685. No sons are known to be in Philadelphia so the Broadwell name was not preserved in Pennsylvania.

The Broadwell family in New Jersey helped settle Elizabethtown (now Elizabeth, basically a suburb of New York city). They married into the Lindsley family, who had helped settle Newark, New Jersey.

Of William's descendants, one group went north into New York state, another group went to Ohio (before it was a state) and then Illinois (right at the beginning of statehood). By now there is likely a Broadwell or Broadwell descendant in all 50 states.

Brushes with History

There are several Revolutionary War veterans (good claims, but not yet verified), as well as a father-in-law (Major Joseph Lindsley) who may have met with George Washington; later Norman Broadwell argued a case against Abraham Lincoln; two Broadwell houses near Cincinnati are in the historic registry, Moses Broadwell built one of the oldest surviving brick structures in Illinois. The grandson of Moses laid out a town called Broadwell in Illinois, on historic Route 66. An even smaller town of Broadwell exists in Athens county, Ohio.

On the infamy side, Dick Broadwell was a member of the Dalton Gang in Kansas, and killed in October 1892, while attempting to flee a bank robbery. Three other members of the gang died immediately, Dick was able to get out of town on horseback, but succumbed a short distance away.

Samuel Morse (of telegraph and Morse code fame) is a distant cousin, thru William I's wife Mary Morse.

A Broadwell descendant, William H. Parsons was a Colonel and possibly Major General in the Civil War for Texas, briefly a state senator before being appointed by Ulysses S. Grant to a post in the federal government. His half-brother Albert Parsons was apparently not a Broadwell descendant, but deserves perhaps an honorary shout-out - he served in the Confederate Army, then apparently had a change of heart. He helped former slaves register to vote, and got threatened and beaten for his efforts. Albert then moved to Chicago and was involved in labor unions and speaking at rallies. Although not present at the Haymarket Riot, he was convicted of inciting the crowd and was hanged.

Task List

In no particular order:

• Was Edward Broadwell really the father of William Broadwell? Can we go farther back?
• Who really was/were the wife/wives of William Broadwell III?
• Getting actual records from the National Archives or other proof of American Revolution ancestors, including: Moses, William IV, Samuel, Simeon, and Jacob
• Also tracing the Lindsley/Lindly/Linsey line as the two families intersect several times while in northern New Jersey.
• We're missing Broadwells who migrated to NY. The Andrew Broadwell book (see resources) could be useful for that.
• Also missing some Broadwells that stayed in the Cincinnati region, and a couple that pop up down south, such as the "famous steamboat captain James Broadwell", who was involved in the "Great New Orleans Kidnapping Case".
• What is the ancestry of Judge James Bradwell? He was born in England, he and his wife were very interesting people, see his Wikipedia entry. Why did they go from England to Utica NY, to Jacksonville IL (both towns where Broadwells lived), unless seeking out Broadwells?
• Was William B. involved in the Oklahoma Land Rush, as a son's find-a-grave record claims?
• Broadwells in the Oklohama Census of 1890 need to be incorporated into the tree.
  • 3/3/18 added, but not connected.
• Fit in miscellaneous people like Lewis and unconnected Broadwells already on WikiTree.
• Fra Broadwell Dana sounds interesting

Resources

• List of Broadwells on Wikitree

• G2G feed of questions tagged "Broadwell".

• Orphaned Broadwell profiles on WikiTree.

• Unsourced Broadwell profiles on WikiTree.

• Unconnected Broadwell profiles on WikiTree.

• National Archives Applications for headstones for military service. Broadwells are on pp. 551-560 (2 pages each). This implies Broadwell is a rare name, since there are nearly 2000 entries from Brisbois, Charles to Brown, Edward, and only 5 are Broadwells.
• Broadwell overview as a story, starting in 1600's colonial America, following my branch to Ohio and Illinois, with brief descriptions of other interesting Broadwells.
• Broadwell Family of Clinton County, New York, by Andrew Broadwell, 1962
• Early Settlers of Sangamon County (Springfield, Illinois) early history - all the Broadwell family tree in this book has been entered into Wikitree.
• First Settlers of Passaic Valley, all the Broadwell information in this book has been entered, except Polly/Hannah, which Mary is she really the daughter of? Also could be more in-law information in the book.
• First Settlers...another link
• New Jersey wills
• Baxter Broadwell and family migration from New Jersey -> Ohio -> Illinois, including role at Fort Amanda in the War of 1812.
• "The Broadwells of Clayville and their Roots, vol III", published by Sangamon State University
• Clayville History and the Moses Broadwell house
• Space page with many New Jersey Sources