John William Bradford Sr. (abt. 1690 - abt. 1753)

Born about 1690 in Scotland

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Marr) Bradford — married about 1717 (to about 1748) in Prince William Co., Virginia [uncertain]

Descendants

Died about 1753 at about age 63 in Prince William County, Virginia

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Biography

John Bradford was born about 1690 in Scotland. ^[1]

He emigrated to America on the ship "Temperance" as a headright of William Peirce. ^[1]

He resided at Marr's Run, Virginia.

John William Bradford married about 1717 in Virginia to the widow, Mrs. Mary (Marr) Kingcart ^[2] (daughter of John Marr) ^{[3] [1]} and they had 9 known children.

Mary and her first husband, Thomas Kingcart, had a daughter, Martha Kingcart (m1: John McBee; m2: Dr. William Kerns).

In 1720 parts of Richmond and Stafford counties went into the formation of King George County, Virginia where John resided.

John Bradford received a land grant that adjoined land owned by the Marr Family. This land had been originally surveyed for Thomas Kingcart, the late husband of John's wife, Mary (Marr) Kingcart.

On 22 December 1722 he resided in King George County, Virginia when a land survey was made. ^{[4] [5]}

In 1728 from William Russell. he purchased another 125 acres of land which adjoined land owned by the Marr Family. ^[6]

In 1731 part of King George County went into the formation of Prince William County, Virginia which included his land.

In 1737 he resided on the same land in Prince William County, Virginia. ^[7]

In 1748 John Bradford received a land grant of 309 acres which adjoined his other land in Prince William County, Virginia. ^[8]

He died about 1750 in Prince William County, Virginia.

In 1753 his widow, Mary Bradford, appeared as plaintiff in a suit. ^[9]

In 1759 part of Prince William County went into the formation of Fauquier County, Virginia.

His widow, Mary (Marr) Kingcart Bradford, died on 06 July 1775 in Fauquier County, Virginia.

Marriage

Husband: John Bradford 1690-1748

Wife 1: Mary (Marr) Kingcart 1695-1775

Children: ^[2]

1. John Bradford, Jr. 1721-c1767
2. Daniel Braford 1723-1796; m: Alice Morgan
3. Hannah Bradford, b: 1725; m: Lazarus Taylor
4. Dianah Bradford, b: 1726; m: John Duncan, Jr.
5. Sarah Bradford, b: 1727; m1: William Taylor; m2: Hose Rose
6. Alexander Bradford 1728-1808; m: Jemima Jones
7. William Bradford 1730-1759; m: Mary Morgan
8. Benjamin Bennett Bradford, b: 1735; m: Ann Allen
9. Joseph Bennett Bradford, b: 14 Nov 1738; d: 30 Jul 1828; m1: Miss George; m2: Margaret Wilson; m3: Susan(nah) Bush Jones.

Extract

"Tennessee Ancestors" August 2007; p88

In a Bradford family article by Mrs. Philip Hiden & published in 1945 "Tyler's Quarterly" she stated ...

"In her research on this family, the writer ... was put in touch with a lovely and gifted lady, Miss Augusta Bradford (August 10, 1865 - September 21, 1942), daughter of Judge William M. Bradford (1827-1895) of Chattanooga. Judge Bradford, prior to 1884, had received from Mr. Thomas H. Robinson of Fauquier County, also a Bradford descendant, a letter giving a short account of "John Bradford's family" based on a Bible record made many years before and no longer extant. Miss Bradford lent this letter and a voluminous typed article on the family to the writer. The article compiled by several persons was completed probably about 50 years ago ..."

Much later in her Bradford article, Hiden discussed confusion regarding Joseph "Bennett Bradford's birth date and stated ...

"It seems unfortunate that Mr. Robinson, when he had access to the old Bradford Bible, now destroyed, copied only the names of John Bradford's children without adding their birth dates."

Although the statements regarding a family bible did not seem odd when they were first encountered, the reappearance of a missing Bradford document forced a re-evaluation of the bible references. In retrospect, it is rather implausible to think someone copying down family data from a family bible would go to that much trouble, yet neglect to copy dates as well. This material would seem to have come not from a bible record at all. Instead, the document transcribed below would seem to have been the original source material for Thomas H. Robinson's pre-1884 letter - and the basis for all of the core Bradford work.

Analysis of the document, using the known time frames of the births and deaths of Bradford descendants, has helped determine when it was likely created. Since some individuals were specifically referred to as dead, while others were noted as living, or living and unmarried, it was possible to narrow the period to the first quarter of the nineteenth century. The document was found in the personal papers of Stella Louise? (Green) Sprouse, a greatgranddaughter of Thomas Grayson Bradford (William, Daniel, John), and there are many reasons to believe that Thomas G. Bradford himself was the author.

Thomas G. Bradford was born 30 April 1784 in Fauquier County, Virginia. He had two children: one being Caroline Adelaide Bradford (born 2 September 1817) wife of Samuel Robinson. This Robinson couple had among their children ...

- a son Thomas H. Bradford (born 22 May 1842) - author of the pre-1884 letter; and

- a daughter Susan Washington6 Robinson (born 23 May 1854). The document of interest descended from the family of this latter woman.

An interlining regarding William Bradford stated "... married Mary Morgan. sister to my grandmother ...". That is absolute proof that the document was created by a grandchild of Daniel Bradford, as he was the only Bradford who married a sister of Mary Morgan (Alsy Morgan). Thomas G. Bradford was, in fact a grandchild of Daniel Bradford. Even the nature of the material suggests it was compiled by Thomas G. Bradford, as he was uniquely positioned to acquire and preserve the specific information contained in the document. He was born in Fauquier County, but Hiden's article reveals he left Fauquier as a young man and joined cousins in Kentucky who were then engaged in a newspaper business started by his uncle, John Bradford, founder of the Kentucky Gazette in 1787. He then moved to the Nashville, Tennessee, area, buying a newspaper there from another Bradford cousin.

After a period in Tennessee, Thornas Bradford's first wife died, and he - in the early 1820's – returned to Fauquier County and married there a second time in 1822. His father, William Bradford, was then still alive ("Tennessee Ancestors" Aug 2007 p89) in Fauquier County, while his uncle, John Bradford, was still alive (and presumably still accessible by mail in Lexington, Kentucky).

Two primary groups of Bradfords exhibited middle names in this document. One group consisted of the descendants of that uncle John Bradford (Daniel, John). An occasional middle name appears here and there. The other group consisted of Thomas Grayson Bradford and his siblings, with middle names included for all except one. Surely, others of the Bradfords had middle names – yet those middle names were provided for a very narrow selection of Bradfords. This was also a very telling inclusion.

Using clues from the language regarding the living and the dead, the document’s time frame can be pinpointed specifically to the 1819 to 1825 time period. Using further analysis of the specifics of the material – who was included, and who was not – and known movements of Thomas Bradford (grandfather of Thomas H.6 Robinson), this examination attributes the authorship to him with crucial data on the first three generations being provided by his then-still-living father, William Bradford, and uncle, John Bradford, both these men being sons of Daniel Bradford.

There is a surviving 1822 marriage bond in Fauquier County, Virginia, for the second marriage of Thomas Bradford. Comparison of the signature on that bond to the handwriting of the document in question absolutely supports this suggestion of authorship. Thomas Bradford likely compiled this material after his return to Fauquier County simply was a way of preserving his and his father’s personal knowledge of the family.

As to how this material was used in the creation of the extended family histories, on a regular basis, Hiden Bradford's article included direct quotations - enclosed in quotation marks - from the material she was provided. Those quotations usually referenced family members she had been unable to trace further. In almost every instance, the quotations exactly duplicated language found in the material transcribed here, making it clear that - at the very least - Hiden had access to significant quotations out of this material. However, she made no reference in her article to the document itself, instead referencing her access to both the pre-1884 letter and to the lengthy family material that had been compiled following the receipt of that letter.

It seems unlikely that the either the pre-1884 letter or the typed family profile held by Miss Augusta Bradford included a complete quote of the document transcribed here. If either of these items had included such a full quote, it would be expected that Hiden would have herself deduced the time frame for the creation of this earliest material (and its true nature). Instead, Hiden's description of the letter as "... giving a short account of John Bradford's family ..."would suggest that the Robinson letter, at most, summarized the family as laid out in the original, though occasionally directly copied from this earlier item. Blank spaces left in the original would indicate it was intended as a work in progress. A full transcription of the original 1820's document follows.

[Note: Material inside of brackets is explanatory and was not in the original.

The numbering order for generations follows a standard numbering system ...

Generation 1 is the immigrant, John Bradford

Generation 2 is his children

3 is grandchildren

4 is great grandchildren.

"John Bradford, a Scotchman, came to Virginia, about [corner of page torn off] years ago, he married the widow [Mary] Kingcart, her maiden name Marr, sister to Daniel Marr's grandfather - & sister of the ("Tennessee Ancestors" Aug 2007 p90) grandmother of Benj. Hardin a member of congress. By this marriage there was born John, Dan (who died without marrying), Daniel, Hannah, Dinah, Sarah and Alexander.

William married Mary Morgan, sister to my grandmother [interlined here],

(father of Henry [Bradford] & Nancy [(Bradford)] Fowler); Joseph & Benjamin (twins),

- the father died [when Joe and Ben were] at the age of four years.

The mother had one Kingcart daughter [Martha] who married John MacBee and had one child (John)

when her husband died, and she married Dr. William Kerns, by whom she had several children."

Daniel Bradford [s/o John Bradford & Mary Marr] married Alsey Morgan [daughter of Charles Morgan a Frenchman], by whom Enoch he had Mary, John, William, Charles, Benjamin, Violetta, Sarah, Caty, Fielding, and Simon. (Note: Benjamin and Simon never married)

Mary [d/o Daniel Bradford & Alice Morgan] married William Allen, and had the following children: Charles, Daniel, Clary, Alsey, Ann & William.

John Bradford [s/o Daniel Bradford & Alice Morgan] married Elizabeth James, by whom [torn – he] had the following children: Benjamin, Margaret, Daniel, James, Polly, Dinah, [torn – Char]les & Fielding.

William Bradford [s/o Daniel Bradford & Alice Morgan] married Francis Fowke by whom he had the following children: Thomas Grayson, Caroline Matilda, Issachar Harrison, Theoderick Fowke, Frederick Augustus, Rowena Louisa, Hervy Hermes, and Arthur.

Alexander Bradford [s/o John Bradford & Mary Marr] married Jemima Jones, by whom he had Elizabeth, Jane, Mary, Susanna, John, Lucinda, Austin, Joseph, Margaret, Sarah, William A. and Alexander.

Elizabeth [d/o Alexander Bradford & Jemima Jones] married Joseph Morgan, and had the following children: Thornton, Lizay, Sarah & Joseph, who married Sally Martin [daughter of George Martin].

John Bradford [s/o same] married Elizabeth Blackwell, by whom he had the following children: Ann, Armistead, Elizabeth, John, Hiram, Juda, Violetta Bradford [d/o Daniel Bradford] married Thomas Mauzey, by whom she had but left a few years after a widow, which she remains no child,

Sarah Bradford [d/o Daniel Bradford] married Austin Bradford [s/o Alexander], but had no child. Charles Bradford [s/o Daniel Bradford] married [blank - Elizabeth] Heath by whom he had Henry, Charles Andrew Heath, Julia and Fielding [blank) who all died without issue except Julia who having [married] a Mr. [John] Finley in Washington County, Pennsylvania, moved to Illinois, where she died and left [torn] little daughters who are now in care of their grandmother [torn] in [Washington? County? Torn]

John Bradford of Daniel - his daughter Margaret [d/o John Bradford & Elizabeth] married William [no. actually Andrew] Barbee, and lived near Lexington, Kentucky. She had many children.

His son Benjamin [s/o John Bradford & Elizabeth] married Rebecca Tunstall, by whom John [Bradford], a young man now engaged at the painting business, Thomas Tunstall [Bradford) now engaged in the printing office in Lexington, Andrew James Jackson [Bradford], also in the printing office, Elizabeth [Bradford] unmarried now in Lexington with her grandfather, [blank] is with Dinah Tennessee Ancestors, August 2007, Page 91 Hart [d/o John Bradford & Elizabeth] on the Ohio River - Benjamin [Bradford] is with James Morgan Bradford [s/o John Bradford & Elizabeth] near New Orleans. Benjamin and wife are both dead. [the previous refers to Benjamin Bradford (son of John Bradford & Elizabeth James) and his wife Rebecca Turnstall both being dead]

[NOTE HERE BEFORE CONTINUING: "Benjamin and wife are both dead" shows the core document was created no earlier than 1819, the year Benjamin Bradford's wife Rebecca Tunstall d: 1819]

- his son Daniel [s/o John Bradford & Elizabeth] married [blank - Eliza P.] Russel, daughter of Gen. Wm Russel of Fayette County, by whom he had seven children.

- his son Charles [s/o John Bradford & Elizabeth James] married [blank] by whom he had several children & then died.

- his daughter Polley [d/o John Bradford & Elizabeth James] married William Story, by whom she had several children, Lavina, [blank] Charles & [blank]

- his daughter Dinah [d/o John Bradford & Elizabeth James] married William Hart, by whom she had several children.

- his son James Morgan Bradford [s/o John Bradford & Elizabeth James] married [blank] Bradford, [actually Sophia Elizabeth] daughter of David Bradford of Louisana by whom he had several children. His son Charles Bradford married [blank].

[SECTION 2]

Hannah [d/o John Bradford & Mary] married Lazarus Taylor, and had Argyle, Leanna, John, WiIdee Thomas, Susanna Bradford (who died without heir), Jenny, Joseph her Argyle [Taylor] married the widow [Mary] Ashby (maiden name Tibbs, by her he had Parthenia, Lucretia, & others and had now lives in Woodford county).

[NOTE HERE BEFORE CONTINUING: Argyle Taylor, res: Woodford County; d: 08 Jan 1826.

1. Argyle Taylor, res: Woodford County; d: 08 Jan 1826
2. Leanna Taylor, m: Peter Lehugh, who lived at Front Royal, and had several children
3. John Taylor, occ: Baptist preacher; res: Frankfort, KY
4. Thomas Taylor, res: Dunkard's bottom of Cheat River
5. Taylor Susanna, m: a man by the name of "Hughes"; res: Cowpasture River in the western parts of Virginia
6. Jenny Taylor, m: Col. Singleton in Woodford County
7. Joseph [Taylor], m: [Nancy] Howard; res: Woodford County.

Sarah Bradford (d/o of John Bradford & Mary); m: William Taylor by whom she had Tennessee Ancestors Aug 2007 p92

Leroy Taylor, m1: Parmenas Taylor; m2: [Hose] Rose.

Dinah Bradford [d/o John Bradford & Mary] m: John Duncan, by whom she had ...

1. John [Duncan] (killed by a ball in the revolution)
2. William [Duncan] now in Harrison County. Kent;
3. Charles [Duncan] [torn area] was an artificer in war;
4. Alexander [?];
5. Joseph [Duncan], m: Jemima Marr, Chloe [appears to be something written, then a blank] Susanna.
6. Chloe [Duncan], m: [blank];
7. Leanna [Duncan], m: a man by the name of [Goring] White, and now lives near Russelville;
8. Susanna Duncan, m: [blank]
9. Rosana Duncan, m: Leander
10. Murphy - her oldest daughter, m: Joseph Daniells, oldest son Lewis.

In closing, the luxury of now having access to this document allows some further conclusions to be drawn, based on what has been assessed as to its authorship (asserted here as being Thomas Grayson Bradford, with important assistance on the earlier generations from his father, William Bradford).

William Bradford was born 8 April 1751 in Prince William County, Virginia, in that part that became Fauquier County. He died circa 1825 in Fauquier.

His father, Danie Bradford, was in his later seventies when he died circa 1800 in Fauquier County. William Bradford would have then been about forty-nine. Daniel Bradford would have been an important source for information about his own parents and siblings. William Bradford would have personally known most or all of his aunts and uncles - and many of his cousins. Additionally, William Bradford would have had decades of adult interaction with his father and ample opportunity to refresh his recollections of the aunts and uncles and grandparents.

Some of the previous work regarding a few of these families was published in Tennessee Ancestors (1997 and 1999) and focused on Sarah Bradford, who married first William Taylor and second a "Rose". The earlier articles detailed the children and grandchildren of her two Taylor sons: Leeroy Taylor and Parmenas Taylor, as well as their Taylor ancestry. The published work then addressed the issue of her "Rose" husband, asserted as likely being Bennett Rose, and followed that with a discussion of the Rose children who would have been born to her second marriage. What little is recounted in this early document regarding the Taylors is consistent with what had been previously learned about them.

William Bradford was about a year younger than Leeroy Taylor and a few years older than Parmenas Taylor. He certainly would have known them both and would have been able to remember whether there were additional Taylor siblings. William Bradford would have been about ten years old when his Taylor uncle died. That explains why he would have been able to remember the name - William Taylor. When the Bennett Rose family removed from Virginia, William Bradford would have been in his early teens. The oldest of Sarah Bradford's "Rose" children would have been under the age of three - which would explain why he could remember neither their names nor the given name of their Rose father. Since there was no further contact with this branch of the family, nothing further was known and nothing further was revealed.

The primary Bradford families of Jefferson County, Tennessee, were descended from Joseph Bradford, twin of Benjamin Bradford. At some point, Joseph Bradford gained a [middle?] name of Bennett. It is unclear as to whether he was given this [middle?] name by his parents or whether he instead assumed such a name for himself. Under any circumstance, his Virginia records always showed him as Joseph Bradford while his North Carolina and Tennessee records were uniformly under the name Bennett Bradford.

None of Joseph Bradford's wives or descendants were named in the original document, an issue that is consistent with the circa 1765 removal of this family from Virginia. It was Joseph "Bennett” Bradford's grandson William McDermott Bradford (14 February 1827, Jefferson County, Tennessee - 12 June 1895, Hamilton County, Tennessee) who was the driving force in producing the lengthy typed profile of the family entrusted to his daughter Augusta Bradford, librarian at the Chattanooga Public Library.

Research Notes

John Bradford 1690-1748 was a greatgrandson of Gov. William Bradford of Mayflower. ^[2]

A possible ancestor of who was also named John Bradford, b: 1500s England. He was imprisoned in 1554 for his religious convictions and was a cellmate of Dr. Rowland Taylor at Kings Bench Prison in London, England. This John was burned at the stake in 1558. His sons and relatives fled to Scotland.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} "From Log Cabins to the White House" by Mary Brewer; William Bradford, John's grandson, son of Daniel, wrote in the 1820s ... "John Bradford, a Scotchman, came to Virginia, about [corner of page torn off] years ago, he married the widow [Mary] Kingcart, her maiden name Marr, sister to Daniel Marr's grandfather - & sister of the grandmother of Benj. Hardin - Sarah Marr - a member of [U.S.] Congress."
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} John Bradford and Mary Marr
3. ↑ Prince William County, Virginia Records for Will of John Marr
4. ↑ Loose Papers of Land Office, Archives Division, Virginia State Library
5. ↑ S. Land Office, Northern Neck Grants book-A p15; land grant of 07 Mar 1722/3; on southeast side of Marr's Run and falling into a Great Marsh Run, adjoining the lands of James Warren; land surveyed for Thomas Kingcart, deceased & now in said Bradford's possession; (land went from King George County > Prince William County > Fauquier County, Virginia)
6. ↑ "Genealogies of Virginia Families"
7. ↑ 1737 Quit Rent Roll of Prince William County, Virginia; for John Bradford with 250 acres
8. ↑ Loose Papers of Land Office, Archives Division, Virginia State Library; 1748 "Mr. John Bradford of Prince William County, Virginia had a grant of 309 acres; 200 acres of this being wasteland, joining his own 250 acre tract ... to a white oak corner to the said Bradford's antient tract and in the line of Mr. Marr"
9. ↑ Prince William County, Virginia Order Book 1752 1753 p113

• "The Bradfords of Virginia in the Revolutionary War and their kin" by Nelle Rhea White; Whittet & Shepperson of Richmond, VA c1932; call#929.273 B727

• The Genealogy Bug by Mary Ann Duncan Dobson

• http://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.2.1/MZ8Y-B81 Ancestral File] on FamilySearch.org for John Bradford

• reynoldspatova.org b: Prince William County, Virginia

Acknowledgements

• Bradford-5248 was created 16 Oct 2018 by Brenda Duncan

• Bradford-627 was created 18 Jun 2011 by Pamela Payne