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William Bradford was one the leaders of the Mayflower colonists and was governor more than 30 years.He was the son of a yeoman farmer, and was self-taught. As a young man, he joined Puritan groups that met illegally in nearby Scrooby, England and was a member of that congregation when it separated from the Church of England in 1606. Bradford took major responsibility in 1617 to seek refuge in America. When John Carver, Plymouth Colony's first governor, died suddenly in April 1621, Bradford was elected to replace him. He was reelected 30 times. Bob Tisquantum, nicknamed "Squanto", lived with him and taught the Pilgrims learn to tend their crops, and where to fish and hunt. William Bradford
Baptism: 19 March 1589/90, Austerfield, York, England, son of William and Alice (Hanson) Bradford. Of Plymouth Plantation was written by William Bradford over the course of about twenty years, beginning in 1630. It is his History of the Plymouth Colony, from the origins of the Separatists churches in England to their life in Holland, and voyage on the Mayflower, plus the history of the Plymouth Colony through 1646. It is the only complete history of Plymouth that was actually written by a Mayflower passenger.
Marriages: Dorothy May, 10 December 1613, Amsterdam. Alice (Carpenter) Southworth, 14 August 1623, Plymouth.
Death: 9 May 1657, Plymouth.. Children by Dorothy: John Children by Alice: William, Mercy, Joseph
Biographical Summary
William Bradford was born in 1590 in the small farming community of Austerfield, Yorkshire. His father William died when young Bradford was just one year old. He lived with his grandfather William, until his grandfather died when he was six. His mother Alice then died when he was seven. Orphaned both from parents and grandparents, he and older sister Alice were raised by their uncle Robert Bradford. William was a sickly boy, and by the age of 12 had taken to reading the Bible, and as he began to come of age he became acquainted with the ministry of Richard Clyfton and John Smith, around which the Separatist churches of the region would eventually form about 1606. His family was not supportive of his moves, and by 1607 the Church of England were applying pressure to extinguish these religious sects. Bradford, at the age of 18, joined with the group of Separatists that fled from England in fear of persecution, arriving in Amsterdam in 1608. A year later he migrated with the rest of the church to the town of Leiden, Holland, where they remained for eleven years. Bradford returned to Amsterdam temporarily in 1613, to marry his 16-year old bride, Dorothy May. In Leiden, Bradford took up the trade of a silk weaver to make ends meet, and also was able to recover some of the estate in England that he had been left by his father, to support himself and his new wife in Leiden. They had a son, John, born about 1615-1617.
By 1620, when a segment of the church had decided to set off for America on the Mayflower, Bradford (now 30 years old) sold off his house in Leiden, and he and his wife Dorothy joined; however, they left young son John behind, presumably so he would not have to endure the hardships of colony-building. While the Mayflower was anchored off Provincetown Harbor at the tip of Cape Cod, and while many of the Pilgrim men were out exploring and looking for a place to settle, Dorothy Bradford accidentally fell overboard, and drowned.
John Carver was elected governor of Plymouth, and remained governor until his death a year later in April 1621. Bradford was then elected governor, and was re-elected nearly every year thereafter. In 1623, he married to the widowed Alice (Carpenter) Southworth, and had a marriage feast very reminiscent of the "First" Thanksgiving, with Massasoit and a large number of Indians joining, and bringing turkeys and deer. Bradford was the head of the government of Plymouth, oversaw the courts, the colony's finances, corresponded with investors and neighbors, formulated policy with regards to foreigners, Indians, and law, and so had a very active role in the running of the entire Colony. With his second wife, he had three more children, all of which survived to adulthood and married. Beginning in 1630, he started writing a history of the Plymouth Colony, which is now published under the title Of Plymouth Plantation. A number of his letters, poems, conferences, and other writings have survived.
William Bradford was generally sick all winter of 1656-1657; on May 8, Bradford predicted to his friends and family that he would die, and he did the next day, 9 May 1657, at the age of 68.
Additional Resources Will of William Bradford
William Bradford: Plymouth's Faithful Pilgrim. A biography of William Bradford. Mourt's Relation: A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth. Describes day-to-day events including arrival, exploration, building of the colony, and the first expeditions to meet the Indians. Portions are thought to have been written by Bradford.
Governor William Bradford's Letter Book. A collection of surviving letters written and received by William Bradford between 1624 and 1630, mostly correspondence with the English investors in the Plymouth Plantation.
"Ancestry of the Bradfords of Austerfield," New England Historic and Genealogical Register 83(1929):439+, 84(1930):5+.
MayflowerHistory.com, Copyright � 1994-2003. All Rights Reserved.William Bradford: Governor of Plymouth Colony William Bradford, the second governor of Plymouth colony elected to fill the place of the deceased John Carver, was responsible for the infant colony's success through great hardships. The Pilgrims were part of a strain of Puritanism known as Separatism, which denoted the aim to completely secede from the Church of England. The Pilgrims held to a Congregational rather than a Presbyterian form of church government.
Not all of the Plymouth colony were Christians, however, and some spoke of using their liberty in defiance of the Pilgrims. Unless they could be held together in unity there was little hope they would survive. The success of the Plymouth was based on covenantalism - the belief that men could form compacts or covenants in the sight of God as a basis for government without the consent of a higher authority. The church of the Pilgrims was already bound by a strict mutual covenant. But to include those outside of the church, a civil compact was drawn up - the constitution and foundation of a Christian democratic republic in the New World.
The Mayflower Compact acknowledged the right of everyone who signed it to share in the making and administering of laws and the right of the majority to rule. It was the constitution of a pure democracy, the principle of Congregational church government applied to the state. This was all the law they had for several years. It worked because they chose Christians as their leaders and all understood that they were to be self-governing under the moral law of God.
Plymouth Colony 1622 - 1626 Colonists who arrived on the three subsequent ships, together with Plymouth births, swelled the colony�s population to over 150 people by 1627, three times that of 1621. Many other changes occurred in the first seven years as well. The merchant adventurers broke up in 1624, leaving the colonists in debt and in need of alternative financial support. Unable to make their living through cod fishing as they had originally planned, the colonists turned to agriculture and trade instead. The Plantation�s chief crop, Indian corn, was traded with the Native Americans to the north for highly valued beaver skins, These were profitably sold in England to pay the colony�s debts and buy necessary supplies.
A Brief Chronology of Plymouth Colony from the Arrival of the Fortune (November 11, 1621) to the Wreck of the Sparrowhawk, Winter, 1626
Note: the dates are Old Style (Julian calendar), and the New Year begins on Lady Day (March 25).
November 11, 1621 Robert Cushman arrived with 35 persons on the Fortune.
December 13 The Fortune returned to England with Cushman, carrying the text of Mourt's Relation. By this time, 7 houses & 4 buildings had been built. Thomas Weston sold his shares of the Pilgrim venture to the remaining Adventurers.
February, Indian dangers motivated the Pilgrims to enclose their town with "pales".
February 17 Cushman reached London after his capture and detention at Ile d'Dieu.
March Town completely enclosed by palisade. Within the walls each family has a garden plot First general militia muster against possible Indian attack. Bradford again elected governor.
1622
April (beginning) Standish, 10 men, Squanto and Hobomock began a trip to the Massachusetts Indians for trade but they returned after hearing news of proposed Indian hostilities from Squanto.(These proved false. Massasoit wanted revenge for Squanto's lies but Bradford refused to hand Squanto over to him.) Men continued on their trip where they had good trade.
April 20 John Peirce received a new patent superseding the one of 1621. It was, in effect, a personal deed to Peirce and made without the knowledge and/or consent of his Pilgrim associates. Pierce's abortive attempt to bring this patent to New England on the Paragon resulted in his surrender of the document to the other Merchant Adventurers.
May (late) The Sparrow arrived with seven passengers, some letters but no provisions.
June Commenced building a fort after hearing of the Virginia Massacre of March,
1622.
June/July Arrival of the Charity and the Swan with 50 to 60 men and supplies for the Weston colony.
November Bradford and a party of men went to the Massachusetts Indians for grain. Squanto died on this trip. Weston arrived in Plymouth. The Pilgrims helped him.
February Weston's settlers at Wessagusset, short on food for the winter stole from the Indians and stirred them up against the white settlers.
February (?) First hanging. One of the Wessagusset settlers was found guilty of stealing corn. Winslow went to visit Massasoit who was sick.
March Bradford was again elected Governor. Bradford sent Winslow to Massasoit country to dissuade Dutch from interfering with the fur trade.
1623
April "Hard Times". Decision is made to change the planting procedure. Settlers are each granted acre plots to plant their own corn instead of farming in common.
May Drought threatens most of the crop.
Summer The Pilgrims resorted to fishing or clam-digging for subsistence. One or two persons are appointed to get deer which are divided among the members of the community.
June (end) The arrival of the Plantation with Captain Francis West with his commission as Admiral of New England.
August The Anne and the Little James arrived with about 60 people plus ten who did not belong to the general body (probably John Oldham and his company) and a large amount of supplies.
September 10 Winslow returned to England on the Anne to inform the Adventurers of Plymouth's situation and procure needed provisions.
September (mid) Good harvest. Captain Robert Gorges came with settlers to begin a plantation in Massachusetts and settled at Wessagusset. (Grant from the Council of Affairs for New England.)
November Gorges returned to England. The Plantation scheme proved unsuccessful.
December 27 Enactment of the 1st law recorded in the Colony's records. (Jury trial for civil and criminal cases.)
1623/1624
The Paragon arrived with letters from the Adventurers. (One gave news of Peirce handing his patent over to the Adventurers and Plymouth Colony
January 1 Cushman and Winslow received a patent for Cape Ann from Edmund, Lord Sheffield. Each person was granted one acre of land near the town. The first ship of the Dorchester Company arrived - the company was sent to Cape Ann.
March *The first cattle were brought in the Charity. There was an election of officers. More Assistants were chosen and the Governor was to have a double voice in votes. Bradford was again elected governor. Lyford arrived on the Charity. The London Adventurers insisted on sending Lyford as Plymouth's first minister.
April 10 The Little James was sunk in the mud during storm.
Spring Lyford and John Oldham (one of the "particular planters") were called before the General Court due to their opposition to the government. (Oldham was to leave immediately; Lyford given six months to leave.)
March 1 John Robinson died in Holland. Cornelius May took 30 families to New Netherlands for the Dutch West India Company.
1624 John Smith relates that Plymouth's population was about 180 persons and that 32 houses had been built.
1624/25 Captain Wollaston came to Massachusetts to begin a plantation (Mt. Wollaston).
1625
The first horses (i.e., jades or worn out horses) sent to Plymouth, but apparently did not arrive safely..
March 27 James I died; Charles I became King of England and tension for Puritans increased. Bradford is again elected governor.
Spring Oldham returned without permission. Oldham (for the second time) and Lyford are banished from Plymouth. Standish and some men are sent to Cape Ann to get the fishing stage back from West Country men. On returning to England, the Little James is captured by "the Turks." (It was filled with furs for the London Adventurers.) 1626
March Bradford is again elected governor. April Standish returned from England bringing news of Robinson's death. July (early) Allerton sent to England with a commission to deal with the Adventurers.
Peter Minuit bought Manhattan from the Indians for the Dutch West India Company. Winter, 1626/1627 The "Sparrowhawk" is wrecked on Cape Cod, and its passengers are given refuge in Plymouth.
Plymouth Colony - 1627
March Bradford again elected governor.
Spring Allerton returned with some goods. He brought a new agreement with the Adventurers (dated November 15,1626)
May 22 Division of land and livestock.
June Allerton again is sent to England to conclude an agreement with the Adventurers. He was also ordered to get a patent for the trading post on the Kennebec River.
July Bradford and others (the "Undertakers") received a 6 year monopoly of the fur trade in return for assuming Plymouth's debt of 1800 pounds. Liquidation of the joint-stock company. Adventurers sold their interest in the plantation to the settlers for 1800 pounds. 58 men shared in the division of assets - called "The Purchasers" or the "Old Comers". (Single adult men received one share; head of family received one share for each member of his household.)
Pinnace built at Manomet for fur trade.
August (early) Bradford was asked by New Netherlands's governor Peter Minuit to send representatives to discuss the fur trade issue.
January 3 Land divided by lots.
January 6 A general order issued that no building was to be covered with thatch due to the fire hazard.
1627 Cattle Division
Plymouth Colony - 1628 -1692 The years after 1627 are less well known than those of the earlier part of the decade. The land division which occurred in that year initiated the expansion of the colony beyond the original New Plymouth village. Following 1629, the great wave of Puritan immigration into Massachusetts Bay overshadowed the "Old Colony" and eventually absorbed the smaller colony in 1692.
A Brief Chronology of Plymouth Colony from 1629 until the demise of Plymouth Colony in 1692
Note: the dates are Old Style (Julian calendar), and the New Year begins on Lady Day (March 25).
1629 William Bradford elected governor.
Spring: The Reverend Ralph Smith arrives in Plymouth and is chosen as the colony�s second minister.
May: A group of 35 colonists leave Leiden; arriving in Plymouth Colony in August.
Isaac Allerton returns from England, bringing Thomas Morton back with him.
1630 William Bradford elected governor.
January: Plymouth received its third charter, granted to William Bradford & Associates from the Council for New England.
May: The second (and last) group of colonists arrive from Leiden.
September: John Billington convicted and hanged for the murder of John Newcomen.
1631 March: William Bradford elected governor.
Edward Winslow sent back to England as the colony�s agent.
June: French attack Plymouth�s trading house on the Penobscot.
Josiah Winslow, younger brother of Edward, was sent over as the Colony�s new accountant, replacing Isaac Allerton.
Roger Williams arrived in Plymouth.
1632: William Bradford elected governor.
June: Edward Winslow returned from England with a supply of trade goods.
First mention in Bradford�s history of additional settlements in Plymouth Colony. He made reference to people living across the bay in "Duxberie" and also about granting land in "Greens Harbor" [later Marshfield].
1633: January: Edward Winslow chosen governor.
Stephen Deane given permission to set up a corn mill on Town Brook.
May: A plague of insects infested the Plymouth area.
Summer: An outbreak of plague caused the deaths of more than 20 people.
Plymouth established a trading house on the Connecticut River at Matianuck (Windsor, CT).
1634: January: Thomas Prence chosen governor.
First mention of the "ward of Scituate."
Plymouth�s trading house on the Penobscot became an object of contention with Mass Bay. Two men are shot and killed. John Alden, who was there at the time delivering supplies, was arrested in Masachusett Bay. Captain Standish traveled to Boston with a letter from Governor Prence to secure Alden�s release. The matter was finally resolved.
1635: January: William Bradford chosen governor.
The French took over Plymouth�s Kennebec trading house.
August: The area hit by a hurricane, the first since the colonists� arrival in 1620.
Edward Winslow traveled back to England (this year or last) and was arrested and placed in the Fleet prison.
1636: January: Edward Winslow chosen governor.
Ralph Smith laid down his ministry and was replaced by John Reyner.
Plymouth lost its trading house on the Connecticut River to Massachusetts Bay colonists.
October: The Plymouth Court gathered its laws as "The General Fundamentals."
1637: January: William Bradford chosen governor.
March: The first mention of Cohannet, which became known as Taunton.
April: A group of ten men from Saugus in Massachusetts Bay Colony received permission to settle in Plymouth Colony. They chose the future Sandwich.
Plymouth and Mass Bay disputed over the border between the two colonies. The line was finally established between Hingham and Scituate in June, 1640.
June: Duxbury was declared a township.
The Plymouth Court declared that it would send a force to help the men of Massachusetts Bay and Connecticut against the Pequots, but the war was over before the force was sent out.
1638: March: Thomas Prence chosen governor.
June: The area was hit by an earthquake.
September: First mention of the inhabitants of "Mattacheese or Yarmouth".
Arthur Peach was condemned and executed for the murder of an Indian, the second execution in Plymouth.
Charles Chauncy was chosen to serve as minister with John Reyner, and served until 1641.
1639: William Bradford chosen governor.
March: Plymouth built its first house for a prison.
Plymouth Colony had now grown so large that they institute a system of representative government.
May: Plymouth lost the Connecticut lands.
June: First mention of Barnstable in the Court Records.
September: Ussamequin (Massaoit) and Mooanam, his son, reconfirmed the ancient treaty with Plymouth.
1640: March through November: Bounds of the various townships of Plymouth Colony set.
June: William Bradford chosen governor.
Prices of livestock fell drastically during the year.
1641: June: William Bradford chosen governor.
1642: June: William Bradford chosen governor.
August: First mention of Seekonk, which in 1645 became the town of Rehoboth.
1643: March: William Bradford chosen governor.
May: Plymouth joined with Massachusetts Bay, Connecticutt and New-Haven Colonies to form The United Colonies of New England, for mutual defence and settling of differences between them.
August: The Plymouth Court drew up orders for military discipline for Plymouth, Duxbury & Marshfield.
1644: March: William Bradford elected governor.
Plymouth Colony�s religious leader, Elder William Brewster, died.
June:Edward Winslow chosen governor.
Some colonists from New Plymouth moved to Nauset on Cape Cod.
1645: June: William Bradford chosen governor.
Plymouth Colony finally settled its debt to the last creditor, John Beauchamp, for �291 worth of lands.
August: The towns sent out a company of soldiers in an expedition against the Narragansetts.
1646: Here ends Bradford�s history.
William Bradford continued as governor.
June: Timothy Hatherly and John Browne chosen commisioners for the United Colonies
Nausett became a township.
October: Edward Winsow left Plymouth Colony for England, and never returned.
1647: June: William Bradford chosen governor.
William Bradford and John Bowne chosen commisioners for the United Colonies.
1648: First meeting house built in Plymouth.
June: William Bradford chosen governor.
William Bradford and John Bowne chosen commisioners for the United Colonies.
1649: March: Plymouth colonists purchased a tract of land from Ousamequin (Massasoit) which was later named Bridgewater.
June: Due to the "unsetled" state of affairs in England, the freemen of the colony decided to suspend elections of new officers for the coming year.
The Kennebec trade was let to William Bradford, Edward Winslow, Thomas Prence, Thomas Willet and William Paddy for three years.
October: Plymouth Colony prepared for war against Natives to the west, in case it should occur.
1650: June: William Bradford elected governor.
Thomas Prence and John Browne chosen commisioners for the United Colonies.
Timothy Hatherly allowed to set up an iron mill between Namassakeeset and Indian Head River.
June: Massachusetts Bay Colony and Plymouth Colony appointed representatives to settle the bound between them.
1651: June: William Bradford elected governor.
John Browne and Timothy Hatherly chosen commisioners for the United Colonies.
1652: March: The Court desired a public day of Thanksgiving be declared for the victory of the Parliamentarian army.
June: William Bradford elected governor.
1653: April: The towns of Plymouth Colony required to send deputies to Plymouth to agree on military orders in regards to the present variance between England and Holland.
June: William Bradford elected governor.
Thomas Prence and John Brown chosen Commissioners for the United Colonies.
1654: June: William Bradford elected governor.
Capt. Myles Standish and Capt. Thomas Willet organized a force to go against the Dutch at Manhatten.
August: Thomas Prence and John Brown chosen commissioners for the United Colonies.
John Reyner ended his term as Plymouth�s minister.
1655: May: Plymouth Colony leader Edward Winslow died at sea in the West Indies.
June: William Bradford elected governor.
1656: February: Members of the radical group, the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers, arrived in Plymouth Colony.
June: William Bradford elected governor.
William Bradford and Thomas Prence chosen Commissioners for the United Colonies.
October: Plymouth Colony�s military leader Myles Standish died.
1657: February: First complaints lodged concerning the people called Quakers.
May: William Bradford, governor of Plymouth Colony for many years, died.
June: Thomas Prence elected governor.
Thomas Prence and James Cudworth chosen commissioners for the United Colonies.
October: Laws passed against Quakers
1658: June: Thomas Prence elected governor.
Thomas Prence and Josiah Winslow chosen commissioners for the United Colonies.
The Court ordered a house of correction to be added to the Plymouth prison.
October: Second earthquake hit Plymouth area.
1659: June: Thomas Prence elected governor.
Josiah Winslow and Thomas Southworth chosen Commissioners for the United Colonies.
1660: Ousamequin (Massasoit) died sometime prior to the June Court.
June: Thomas Prence elected governor.
Josiah Winslow and Thomas Southworth chosen Commissioners for the United Colonies.
1661: June: Thomas Prence elected governor.
Elizabeth and Thomas Burse were divorced, the first such case in Plymouth Colony.
1662: June: Thomas Prence elected governor.
Josiah Winslow and Thomas Southworth were chosen commissioners for the United Colonies.
Court agreed to sell the Kennebeck trade.
August: Phillip, alias Metacom, sachem of Pokanoket, reconfirmed the treaty between himself and Plymouth Colony.
Third earthquake hit Plymouth area.
1663: June: Thomas Prence elected governor.
Thomas Prence and Josiah Winslow chosen commssioners for the United Colonies.
Minister�s house was built on lots donated by Bridget Fuller and her nephew, Samuel.
1664: June: Thomas Prence elected governor.
The Plymouth Court ordered that the tracts of land commonly called Acushena, Ponagansett and Coaksett be made into a township to be called Dartmouth.
1665: June: Thomas Prence elected governor.
Josiah Winslow and Thomas Southworth chosen commissioners for the United Colonies.
1666: June: Thomas Prence elected governor.
Josiah Winslow and Thomas Southworth chosen commissioners for the United Colonies.
1667: April: A Council of War, headed by Thomas Prence, met in Plymouth and issued military orders for the towns in the colony.
June: Thomas Prence elected governor.
Josiah Winslow and Thomas Southworth chosen commissioners for the United Colonies.
John Cotton Jr. was called to become Plymouth�s minister.
1668: March: Money was collected to help pay for the printing of Nathaniel Morton�s New-Englands Memoriall.
The township at Wannamoisett to be called Swansea.
June: Thomas Prence elected governor.
Josiah Winslow and Thomas Southworth chosen commissioners for the United Colonies.
October: The Court orders a day of thanksgiving to be held
1669: June: Thomas Prence elected governor.
Josiah Winslow and Thomas Southworth chosen commissioners for the United Colonies.
The Plymouth Court granted township status to Namasakett; its name to be changed to Middleborough.
John Cotton Jr. was chosen to be Plymouth�s minister. He served until 1699.
1670: May: A list was made of all of the freemen in the jurisdiction of New Plymouth.
June: Thomas Prence elected governor.
Thomas Prence and Josiah Winslow chosen commissioners for the United Colonies.
1671: June: Thomas Prence elected governor.
Thomas Prence and Josiah Winslow chosen commissioners for the United Colonies.
Some Natives of Cape Cod ratified a new treaty with Plymouth Colony.
The Plymouth Court revises the Colony�s laws.
July: More Cape Cod Natives engaged in a new treaty with Plymouth Colony.
The Plymouth Court and Awashonks, the Squa Sachem of Saconnett, concluded Articles of Agreement.
August: Controversy developed between Philip and the Plymouth government as Plymouth attempted to confiscate the Pokanokets� arms.
September: After intervention by Massachusetts Bay, Philip signed a new treaty, promising obedience to the Plymouth government.
1672: May: A Harvard College graduate, Ammi Ruhamah Corlet, became the teacher of Plymouth�s free school.
June: Thomas Prence elected governor.
Thomas Prence and Josiah Winslow chosen commissioners for the United Colonies.
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