Page:Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography volume 4.djvu/396

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298


VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY


29, 1849. (laughter of Major Edmund and Anne Elizabeth (Tazewell ) l>radford. Chil- dren : I. Anne Tazewell, born October 27, 1872; married. April 19, 1898, Richard Cor- bin I'yrd; child, Richard Walke, born Au- gust 19, 1899. 2. Mary W'illoughby, born October 13, 1875. 3- I-ittleton Tazewell, born February 12, 1877, died March 10, 1901. 4. Richard Calvert, born October 31. 1878, died June 21, 1879. 5. Gertrude Abyvon, born March 7. 1880; married Edward D. Tayloe ; child, Edward T. 6. Dorothy Brad- ford, born July 6, 1881. 7. Diana Talbot. b(jrn Decemljcr 20. 1887; married Rufus I'arks; children. Nathaniel Gorham and Littleton Walke.

(The Bradford Line).

W illiam liradford, who was the first of the family to come to America, was the son of William and Ann Bradford, of Leistershire, I'.ngland. He was born in 1660 and baptized at Harwell Church. He came to Pennsyl- vania with \\' illiam i'enn in the ship "Wel- come" in i()82. They landed at New Castle, below Philadelphia, that place not having \et been laid out, nor a house built. He re- turned to England in 1685 and on April ist of that year was married to Elizabeth Sowle. daughter of Andrew Sowle of Lon- don, printer and publisher. He was of the Quaker faith, an intimate friend of George Fox and of William Penn and a "First Pur- chaser" of the soil of Pennsylvania under him, and one of the persons selected by him to be a witness to his charter of liberties for Pennsylvania, dated April 15, 1682. To William Bradford is due the introduction of the art of printing in the Middle British Colonies. In 1693 '""^ removed to New York and was appointed crown printer to the gov- ernment, lie printed the New York Gazette in October, 1725, which was the first news- paper in the colony. He was a vestryman of Trinity Church and is interred in the churchyard. He died May 25, 1752. In the year 1863 the New York Historical Society commemorated the 200th anniversary of his birth at a special service at Trinity Church, when the ancient broken tomb stone was removed to the hall of the Llistorical So- ciety and replaced by a handsome monu- ment erected in his honor by the corporation of Trinity Church.

William Bradford (2nd), son of William (II and I^lizabeth (Sowle) Bradford, was


born in Philadelphia about 1688. He re- moved to New York in 1693 and died there about 1759. He was a printer, and married, November 25, 1716, Sitje Santvooch, daugh- ter of Abraham and Vroutje (Van Horn) Santvooch, of New York.

Colonel William Bradford (3d), son of William and Sitje (Santvooch) Bradford. was born January 19, 1721, at Hanover Square, New York, the residence of his par- ents. He came to Philadelphia at an early age and learned the printers art at his uncles' ofifice in that city. . After reaching maturity he went to England for a time and upon his return established a printing and publishing house in Philadelphia. In 1747 he was a lieutenant in the Philadelphia As- sociates (old French war) ; in 1756 a captain in the I">ench and Indian war. He was one of the signers of the "New Importation" revolution of 1765 and also one of the "Sons of Liberty," was a member of the convention of Pennsylvania, 1774-75; became captain of militia in 1775. In July, 1776, when the revolutionary war began he had reached the age of fifty-six years and from his age was exempted from military duty, but the call of his country was imperative with him and forsaking all private interests, he followed at once her standard to the field. He entered into active service in July, 1776, as major of the Second Battalion of Pennsylvania Mili- tia. His son W'illiam, afterwards attorne}- general of the United States under Wash- ington, being in the same brigade with him. He was with the army that crossed the Delaware, December 25, 1776, and was severely wounded at Princeton. Returning wounded from the campaign of Trenton he used his press energetically in opposition to (ireat Britain ; was made member of the Pennsylvania Navy Board, and chairman of it May 31. 1777. He was an active partici- pant in the defence of Fort Mifflin in the autumn of 1779. About 1780 he retired from all public and private business to the "manor of Moreland" where he passed the declining years of his life ; he died there on September 25, 1791. He married on August 18, 1742. Rachel lUidd, daughter of Thomas Budd and Deborah (Langstaft'l Budd. of lUicking- h.am. New Jersey, and was the father of six children.

Lievitenant-Colonel Thomas L.radford. son of Colonel W^illiam (3) and Rachel (Budd) Bradford, was born in Philadelphia.