1. Nathaniel Bradford of Accomack County, Virginia - Lower ...

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group of about 50 men, including Thomas Johnson, Richard Bayly and others, and set out on April 29 th to capture the King of Pocomoke, who was suspected of being the head of the conspiracy. The exact course of Scarburgh’s raid is unclear, so it is impossible to determine whether it affected the Indian villages on Matchapungo Neck, but more than one village appears to have been attacked and several Indians killed or captured. Scarburgh’s raid was unauthorized and contrary to established Indian policy, and accordingly on 10 May 1651 the Northampton Court ordered the sheriff to arrest the men who took part. Justices Argoll Yeardley and William Andrews were sent to James City to prosecute the offenders, and William Andrews was ordered on behalf of the County to send gifts to the Kings of Pocomoke and Metomkin as well as to two Indians whom Scarburgh had abducted and enchained. Scarburgh and Johnson were singled out for special prosecution as being the leaders of the raid and were indicted by Yeardley and Andrews for “going in a hostile manner among the Indians and doing them outrages contrary to the known laws of Virginia.” However, the authorities at James City must have sided with Scarburgh since both he and Thomas Johnson were acquitted. The rest of the Justices of Northampton were compelled by Scarburgh’s acquittal to admit that “there is great probability that the Indians have concluded a confederacy of acting a sudden massacre of the inhabitants of the county.” The Court provided for a company of horsemen to be formed to meet the threat. This order was signed by Stephen Charlton, Colonel Scarburgh and Thomas Johnson, but no other Justices. If further action was taken against the Indians at this time, it was not recorded – but thereafter relations with the Indians remained peaceful until 1659, when Scarburgh moved against the Assateagues just north of the Maryland border. Though Nathaniel was later a horseman in the Accomack militia, it is not clear he was even on the eastern shore at the time of Scarburgh’s 1651 raid, much less whether he took part. 65 * * * * * The “Art and Mystery” of a Currier By at least 1662, but probably earlier, Nathaniel had established himself as a currier, as we learn from two petitions lodged by Colonel Edmund Scarburgh against Nathaniel, given below. 1) [28 January 1662/63] ”Upon the peticon of Coll Edm: Scarburgh declareing & Complaining that hee hath bin at a vast charge for tanning & making shooes, and that hee hath at this present nine shoemakers that doe noe work, for want of Leather curried w ch is and hath bin through the neglect of Nathaniell Bradford Currier who by Act of Parliamt is ingaged w th in Sixteene daies in winter and eight daies in Sumer to curry all hides brought to him upon the penalty of paying Ten Shillings P hide for his defeault The Court takeing the prmises into their serious Consideration Order that y e Sherriffe cause y e Statute to be produced to the said Nathaniell Bradford that hee may not pretend Ignorance, and also that John Turner & Robert Richardson [N.B. - Nathaniel’s brother-in-law] be appointed viewers & approvers both of y e Leather sufficient Tanning and well & sufficient currying, and in case of y e absence of either of them John Tizand to bee assistant therein, And that y e y e said Nathaniell Bradford bee paid for every hide, well & sufficiently curried thirty pounds of tobacco, or a paire of shooes for each large hide, as the Imployer shall thinke fitt, and this by y e Court allowed as y e greatest of payments, and to Continue until y e Court shall be better informed of y e prizes in England.” 66 2) [18 January 1663/64] “Col. Edm. Scarburgh complained about the poor quality of leather from Nathaniell Bradford, currier, and desiring that it be improved in the future, requested that the leather be inspected. The court appointed Charles Ratcliffe, George Crumpe, Thomas Taylor, Robt. Richardson, and John Parker, tanner, to view the leather and report to the next court whether the fault lay with the tanner, currier or both.” 67 Page 14 of 74 Copyright 2008 Adam M. Bradford
The occupation of currier no longer exists, its function having largely been incorporated into the tanning process and the actual work of treating and finishing hides taken over by machines, but at one time curriers were an integral part of the production and manufacture of leather. Before the 19 th century, the currier occupied the middle step in the leather trade between the tanning of the animal hide and its transformation into a manufactured good. After an animal was killed and skinned, the hide was first delivered to the tanner, who removed any remnants of blood or tissue from the hide and then “limed” it – a process which involved washing the hide repeatedly in quicklime to prepare it to absorb the tanning solution. Next the tanner cut the hide to a useable size and dipped it in a series of solutions until the hide was thoroughly tanned. Then the hide was delivered to the currier, whose task was to finish the leather so it could be turned into a useable product, such as a saddle or a shoe. First the currier stretched the leather on a frame or rack until taut. Then he worked the hide with a “sleeker”, a short-bladed knife, to force out lingering tanning fluid. The main tool of the currier’s trade was a different implement known as the currying knife. First the currier used this implement to shave the inner surface of the skin until smooth, then to split the leather into different widths depending on its intended use. For shoe manufacture, the more pliant leather was used for the upper parts, and the stiffer leather for the soles. Having trimmed the hide, the currier began the actual currying process, which consisted of rubbing beef tallow and cod liver oil into the leather to finish it. At that point, the leather could be used for a multitude of purposes and stained or dyed. 68 The whole leather trade was intimately inter-connected and each craftsman involved, from the tanner to the cobbler, relied heavily on the others. In medieval England often many members of the same family engaged in different aspects of the trade, so that the tanner, the currier and the cobbler or saddler were all related. In fact, it was quite common in England to find curriers also engaged in tanning and the manufacture of shoes. This ended up being the case with Nathaniel. Before entering into the profession of a currier one typically had to serve an apprenticeship to learn the trade. Since so little is known of Nathaniel’s early life, it is unclear where Nathaniel learned the craft of currying, whether he served an apprenticeship on the eastern shore or elsewhere in the colonies or England; whether he learned it in the service of a stranger or an acquaintance or whether it was a family profession, knowledge of which might have been passed on to him by his relatives. Page 15 of 74 Copyright 2008 Adam M. Bradford
Page 1 and 2: 1. Nathaniel 1 Bradford of Accomack
Page 3 and 4: Sketch of Nathaniel Bradford Nathan
Page 5 and 6: in London that “no question . . .
Page 7 and 8: Nathaniel’s Early Years to Settle
Page 9 and 10: to tender our Cause; that (if ye sd
Page 11 and 12: Nathaniel as Constable & Birth of N
Page 13: Alice sold the Occahannock plantati
Page 17 and 18: approve the appointment of the King
Page 19 and 20: The fundamental division within the
Page 21 and 22: ecompense for their services. The m
Page 23 and 24: Nathaniel in the Late 1660’s: 166
Page 25 and 26: practice that another of Nathaniel
Page 27 and 28: man were the father of Nathaniel Jr
Page 29 and 30: Nathaniel as Grand Juror and Repres
Page 31 and 32: court’s reputation. Since the acc
Page 33 and 34: Nathaniel Bradford During the 1670s
Page 35 and 36: 2800 acres. In that same year Natha
Page 37 and 38: household. A Thomas Williams was a
Page 39 and 40: In 17 th century Virginia slavery w
Page 41 and 42: Mathews’ lack of payment for cert
Page 43 and 44: Governor Berkeley used the eastern
Page 45 and 46: Though tobacco was the staple of Vi
Page 47 and 48: himself was probably not in Sussex
Page 49 and 50: Now that all of Nathaniel’s land
Page 51 and 52: * * * * * Nathaniel as Attorney On
Page 53 and 54: Nathaniel’s tithables remained co
Page 55 and 56: towels, a small chest, a small brok
Page 57 and 58: Citations Introduction 1.Nathaniel
Page 59 and 60: early 1640s, Richard Smith Jr. is a
Page 61 and 62: 122.McKey, 7: 232. For knowingly co
Page 63 and 64: 219.Wesley Frank Craven, The Coloni
Page 65 and 66:
298.McKey, 7: 73. 299.McKey, 8: 49.
Page 67 and 68:
Appendix A: Timeline of Events in N
Page 69 and 70:
Apr 20 verbal bargain with Mathew S
Page 71 and 72:
1692 Feb 19 Robert Watson’s estat
Page 73 and 74:
3) Henry Bradford of the Muster Per
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