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

The fundamental division within the Court came to a head in June of 1653. In that month, one of the
Justices, Captain Thomas Johnson, a partner of Scarburgh’s in his 1651 raid, went so far as to assemble
many of the shore’s inhabitants in Dr. George Hacke’s field, where he publicly read orders of the County
Court which he found distasteful and incited the people gathered there to oppose them. Justice Stephen
Horsey, like Stephen Charlton a signer of the Northampton Protest, added to the public tumult by calling
his fellow Justices a “company of asses and villyanes”. Sensing their authority in jeopardy, the Court
applied for help from Governor Bennett and the assembly at James City, representing the agitation of
Johnson, Horsey, Scarburgh and others in a seditious light. In response, the Assembly ordered the
subscribers of the Northampton Protest to be removed from office and dealt out the same treatment to
Colonel Scarburgh, who was commonly known to have been a prime mover behind the Protest, though not
a signer. On 29 July 1653, the governor, having personally come to Northampton County, held a court of
investigation which fined several Justices of Northampton for words and deeds deemed harmful to the
authority of Virginia’s Parliamentary Commisioners. Before the Governor’s arrival on the shore, an order
had also been issued calling for the arrest of Colonel Scarburgh for conspiring to sell arms to the Indians,
since he was rumored to have a substantial stock of weaponry in one of his ships that happened to be
engaged in trade with them. Before the Governor’s arrival Scarburgh fled Virginia, making arrangements
for the disposition of his estate among his children should he be unable to return.
Scarburgh Ascendant, The Restoration of the Monarchy, Formation of Accomack County
The year 1653 saw the nadir of the fortunes of Scarburgh’s political faction: its leaders either deprived of
power or forced to flee the colony, their desire for action against the Dutch and the Indians thwarted, and
their political influence crushed by the residence of the governor on the shore for nearly a full year.
Afterwards their fortunes rebounded. By 1656, both Argoll Yeardley and Nathaniel Littleton had died,
leaving Colonel Obedience Robins as the lone holdout of stature in the Court against those in Colonel
Scarburgh’s camp. By then, Scarburgh had managed to become cleared of the allegations against him, and
his position was restored. In 1659, he gained authority from the Assembly at Jamestown for an expedition
against the Assateagues just across the Northampton border in Maryland in retaliation for certain
depredations committed upon the Marylanders. In that year, Scarburgh was himself a member of the
Assembly, and he no doubt used his influence there to secure the authority to proceed against the
Assateagues. Since we find Nathaniel Bradford so frequently associated with Scarburgh, and since we
know Nathaniel was later a horseman in the county militia, it’s natural to wonder whether he may have
taken part in this raid against the Assateagues, though the names of the participants are not recorded.
In 1660, Charles II was proclaimed the rightful King of England, putting an end to
over a decade of rule by Parliament under the Commonwealth and by Oliver
Cromwell during his Protectorate. In the summer of that year the erstwhile
governor, William Berkeley, was rewarded by Charles II for his loyalty to the
crown and reinstated as governor of Virginia. Two years later, Scarburgh’s old
rival Obedience Robins passed away. The year after that, Scarburgh and his
associates were able to secure at long last a project they had worked towards for
over a decade: the division of the eastern shore into two counties. In 1663
Accomack County was created from Northampton County, giving “King
Scarburgh”, as many of his neighbors referred to him, his very own kingdom. 75
Birth of William Bradford
By the time of the formation of Accomack County out of Northampton County, Nathaniel Bradford had
purchased, even if he wasn’t already seated on, his plantation at Matchapungo. It was around this time,
specifically around 1662 or 1663, that Nathaniel’s second son William was born. 76
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Nathaniel’s Jury Service
In the first year of Accomack County’s existence Nathaniel appeared frequently in court as a juror, mostly
in cases involving stolen, killed or injured livestock. Cattle and pigs in 17 th century Virginia were generally
Page 19 of 74 Copyright 2008 Adam M. Bradford