Contents <strong>1.</strong> Introduction 3 2. Early Years: 1654-1661 7 3. Seating <strong>of</strong> <strong>Bradford</strong>’s Neck: 1662-1665 12 4. 1666-1670 23 5. 1671-1677 33 6. Later Years: 1678-1690 44 7. Source Citations 57 8. Bibliography 65 9. Appendix A: Timeline 67 10. Appendix B: Suggestions for Research 72 Page 2 <strong>of</strong> 74 Copyright 2008 Adam M. <strong>Bradford</strong>
Sketch <strong>of</strong> <strong>Nathaniel</strong> <strong>Bradford</strong> <strong>Nathaniel</strong> 1 <strong>Bradford</strong> was born probably in or before 1633 1 and died in <strong>Accomack</strong> <strong>County</strong>, <strong>Virginia</strong>, sometime after the taking <strong>of</strong> the county’s list <strong>of</strong> tithables in June 1690 2 and before 19 November <strong>of</strong> that year, when his son William 2 and widow Joan petitioned for joint administration <strong>of</strong> his estate 3 . He married Alice Smith, the daughter <strong>of</strong> Richard Smith <strong>of</strong> Northampton <strong>County</strong>, <strong>Virginia</strong>, before 30 January 1660 4 , and had by her two sons: 2.<strong>Nathaniel</strong> 2 <strong>Bradford</strong> (Nath 1 ), born before his baptism on 23 June 1661 5 ; and 3.William 2 <strong>Bradford</strong> (Nath 1 ), born probably around 1662/1663 6 . Alice (Smith) <strong>Bradford</strong> died sometime after 18 October 1664, her last proven appearance in <strong>Accomack</strong> court records 7 , and before 1677 8 , by which point <strong>Nathaniel</strong> had married Joan Franklin, the sister <strong>of</strong> Henry Franklin <strong>of</strong> Northumberland <strong>County</strong>, <strong>Virginia</strong> 9 . By Joan, <strong>Nathaniel</strong> had at least one child: 4.John 2 <strong>Bradford</strong> (Nath 1 ), born probably around 1677 8 . Joan remarried to Thomas Budd <strong>of</strong> <strong>Accomack</strong> between 18 March 10 and 16 June 11 1691 and herself died sometime between October 1698 12 and October 1706 13 . Neither <strong>Nathaniel</strong>’s birthplace nor the identity <strong>of</strong> his parents is known. There is no record <strong>of</strong> his being transported to <strong>Virginia</strong> 14 and no record <strong>of</strong> any other <strong>Bradford</strong>s living on the eastern shore <strong>of</strong> <strong>Virginia</strong> prior to <strong>Nathaniel</strong>’s first appearance in the records <strong>of</strong> Northampton <strong>County</strong> in 1654 15 . Even though his origins remain a mystery, a fairly detailed picture <strong>of</strong> his life emerges from the surviving records pertaining to him. <strong>Nathaniel</strong> began his pr<strong>of</strong>essional life as a currier. By 1667, he had become a substantial landowner with a 2800-acre plantation in <strong>Accomack</strong> <strong>County</strong>. Later in his life he acquired additional tracts in <strong>Accomack</strong> as well as a plantation <strong>of</strong> 1200 acres in Sussex <strong>County</strong>, Delaware, at that time part <strong>of</strong> the territory <strong>of</strong> Pennsylvania. He also expanded his business activities, adding to his estate a tanning house and a shop for manufacturing shoes. In addition to managing his plantations, <strong>Nathaniel</strong> held several minor positions <strong>of</strong> public trust in <strong>Accomack</strong> <strong>County</strong> during the course <strong>of</strong> his life. He served on 21 juries as well as on the grand jury for 1669, and on two occasions served as an attorney for other individuals before the court. He was a constable <strong>of</strong> Northampton <strong>County</strong> in 1660, and a surveyor <strong>of</strong> the highways for <strong>Accomack</strong> <strong>County</strong> from 1665 to 1669, from 1671 to 1672, and then again from 1683 until his death. <strong>Nathaniel</strong> served in the county militia as a horseman and in 1669 was appointed a representative <strong>of</strong> the county, possibly for the purpose <strong>of</strong> making by-laws for the court. In 1676, he lent material support to the cause <strong>of</strong> Governor Berkeley in Bacon’s Rebellion. Judging from the number <strong>of</strong> his dependants and the size <strong>of</strong> his landholdings compared to other planters, <strong>Nathaniel</strong> appears to have been one <strong>of</strong> the most prosperous men in <strong>Accomack</strong> <strong>County</strong>. 16 * * * * * Characteristics <strong>of</strong> the Eastern Shore That area <strong>of</strong> <strong>Virginia</strong> where <strong>Nathaniel</strong> resided is known as the eastern shore, which throughout its history has had a reputation <strong>of</strong> being something <strong>of</strong> a world apart. Geographically, the eastern shore was virtually an island until the opening <strong>of</strong> the Chesapeake Bay bridge in 1963. Until then, the journey to the western shore was more quickly and easily made by sailing across the Chesapeake than by taking the circuitous overland route. That the eastern shore was commonly viewed as somehow separate is apparent from an <strong>of</strong>ficial pronouncement <strong>of</strong> the royal government in 1673 which referred to the entire colony as “<strong>Virginia</strong>, together with the territory <strong>of</strong> <strong>Accomack</strong>.” 17 The eastern shore <strong>of</strong> <strong>Virginia</strong> is today comprised <strong>of</strong> the counties <strong>of</strong> Northampton and <strong>Accomack</strong>, and constitutes the end point or tip <strong>of</strong> the much larger Delmarva Peninsula. The peninsula begins near the mouth <strong>of</strong> the Delaware River and is flanked on the west by the Chesapeake Bay and on the east for most <strong>of</strong> its length by the Atlantic Ocean. That portion <strong>of</strong> the peninsula that lies in <strong>Virginia</strong> is delineated on the north by its border with Maryland and on the south by Cape Charles, and is about 70 miles long with a mean width <strong>of</strong> 8 miles. It is a flat, forested region indented at regular intervals on its bay side by a series <strong>of</strong> creeks and inlets and flanked on its sea side by a curtain <strong>of</strong> marsh and islands. It was here that <strong>Nathaniel</strong> <strong>Bradford</strong> made his home. Page 3 <strong>of</strong> 74 Copyright 2008 Adam M. <strong>Bradford</strong>
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