Earliest Known Bradshaws

From These Roots -

The Earliest Known Bradshaws

BRADSHAWE / BRADSHAW

Earliest Known BRADSHAWS
and the Origin of their Name

BRADSHAGH, BRADSHAIGH, BRADSHAWE, BRADSHAW, BRADSHAY, BRAIDSHAW - (First found seated in Lancashire, some say in very early times, before the coming of William the Conqueror. Also, seated in Cheshire & Leicestershire, Derbyshire & Buckinghamshire), and seems to have Welsh origins.

Originally the "Shaw" part of our family name seems to be of old Welsh origin, pronounced as "Shay", meaning "woods". The "Brad" part meaning "Broad" or "Vast", giving us a clue into their vast holdings of land from an earlier time, where we find that the estates of the BRADSHAWS in Cheshire, Derbyshire and Buckinghamshire were large and wooded.

The BRADSHAWE Family Arms shown here (below), is a likeness of the one that once hung in Marple Hall in Cheshire, England.

Description: "a stag at gaze, under a vine tree , fructed proper"

CLICK HERE To Learn more about the BRADSHAWE Family Armorials
Although there were serveral branches of this family seated throughout England, our focus will be on the Bradshawe families seated in Derbyshire & Cheshire.

Duffield, Derbyshire, England
Duffield is a large village situated four and a half miles north of Derby. At the Parish Church of St Alkmunds, there is a wall monument to Anthony Bradshaw, his wife and their 20 children. Anthony Bradshaw was a barrister and the deputy steward of Duffield Firth, a former hunting forest between Duffield and Wirksworth. In the will of Henry Stanley, 1594, he refered to his "cousin William Bradshaw, gentleman of Duffield, Derbyshire". So wee see that there was a family tie between the two families. There also exists an old burial record for a "Thomas Bradshaw, 22 April, 1594, Gentleman, brother to wife of Henry Stanley", which again reveals that the BRADSHAW & STANLEY families were related. We shall now see why this is important in the history of the BRADSHAW family.

Henry BRADSHAWE (I), who was by all accounts, born in Derbyshire in 1606, but removed to Cheshire where he rented "The Place, later known as Peace Farm, part of the lands of Marple, belonging to Sir Edward STANLEY . Sir Edward, sometime later, decided to divide up his estates of Marple and Wybersley manor, and sell them to four of his tenants. It is thought that Henry Bradshawe's children were all born in the old house at Peace Farm. On his death, in 1620, Henry was succeeded by his son Henry Bradshawe (II).

Henry Bradshawe (II), inherited his father's lands and Marple Hall. In 1594, He married Catherine, the daughter and heiress of Ralph Winnington of Offerton, who bore him 6 children, but died soon after giving birth to their last child in 1624.

The CHILDREN of Henry BRADSHAWE (II) and Catherine WINNINGTON:

1. William Bradshawe, William, was baptised in January 1597, but died in November of that year.
2. Dorothy Bradshawe, was baptised in August 1598, and married George NEWTON, of Newton in
   Longdendale;
3. Anne Bradshawe, was baptized in November 1599, and married John FALLOWES, of Fallowes Hall, in Alderley;
4. Henry Bradshawe, (III), the eldest surving son, was baptised in January, 1601, became a Col. in the Parliamentary Army under
   Crowell, & inherited Marple Hall & it's vast estate;
5. John Bradshawe, was baptized in December of 1602, and married Mary MARBURY (no issue). John went on to become the
   Lord President of the High Court of Justice, which condemned King Charles (I) to death, and is said to be the most distinguished
   man that this part of Cheshire has ever produced.
6. Francis Bradshawe, was baptized on 13 January, 1604, of whom so little seems to be known, although he was known to be living in 1637.

Catherine was buried just a few days later, on 24 January 1604.

Marple, or Merpel, as it was written when the name first appeared on the pages of history, was omitted from the Domesday Survey made by William (I) in 1086. It lay inside the boundary of Macclesfield Forest, which seems to have been considered a waste land at that time. The name of Marple is of Welsh origins, and is believed to be derived from either "maere hop hyll", meaning "The hill at the boundary valley", or from "maere pill", which means, "The stream at the boundary".

Henry Bradshawe (III) inherited his father's estates in 1654, and pulled down most of the original farm house in 1658, known as "The Place" and also as Peace Farm, replacing it with the Marple Hall we know from pictures, or perhpas from distant memory. Henry (III) was succeeded by Henry (VI), who made considerable additions to the Hall, including the stables and other outbuildings in 1668. The clock tower was added by Henry (V) in 1685. Small additions were made by subsequent owners, but not until John Bradshawe-Isherwood (I) inherited in 1801, was any significant modernisation work carried out.

Marple Hall was passed down through many generations of the family, eventually passing to Henry Bradshaw-Isherwood (II) in 1924. He only lived at the Hall for a short period before placing it in the hands of caretakers. In 1929, Henry sold most of the furniture and contents. On his death in 1940, the Hall passed to his nephew Christopher Isherwood. Christopher moved to America and relinquished his interests in the Hall to his younger brother Richard. The Manor was turned over to the caretakers, who apparently maintained the Hall by giving guided tours. Eventually, it began to fall to ruin and when the caretakers retired, it soon came to it's demise. Marple Hall was eventually sold to the Coucil, but by then it could not be restored and sadly in 1957, was demolished. All that remains today is a memorial stone on the ground near where the front entrance had once been.

(from the Marple website - http://www.marple-uk.com/JBrad1x.htm )

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHESHIRE WILLS
http://www.fhsc.org.uk/wills/ibb-ivy.htm

At the new UK On-Line Records website, I found the following wills:

1492-1857 proved at the Chester diocesan consistory court and now held at the Cheshire Record Office. It brings together the supra wills (for estates of 40 pounds and over), the infra wills (less than 40 pounds), the disputed wills and the registered wills, most of which were previously listed separately. These wills cover roughly the old county of Cheshire as it existed prior to 1974.

ISHERWOOD, HENRY BRADSHAW MARPLE HALL ESQ 1801 1
ISHERWOOD, JAMES BRADSHAWE POYNTON 1828

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

John Bradshawe, Lord President of the High Court Justice

Poor Jack BRADSHAWE

Probably the most famous Bradshaw known, is John BRADSHAW. John BRADSHAWE married early, to Mary MARBURY, dau of John Marbury. She died young and they had no children. John never remarried, so had no issue. Being the third son, he was not to inherit his father's lands and title. In Grammar school, tradition has it, that he wrote the following prophetic lines upon a gravestone there:

My brother Henry must heir the land,

My brother Frank must be at his command,

Whilst I, poor Jack, will do that

That all the world shall wonder at.

He attended school and became a lawyer in 1627. He went on to become the Lord President over the High Court of Justice in England, and in 1648, presided as such over the High Court of Justice that tried & condemned King Charles (Stewart) I.
When Charles (II) was restored to the throne, John's body was exhume, hung on a gallows and decapitated, along with others who had been involved in the trial and execution of Charles (I).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope that you will go to the above web site, for this is but an abbreviation of the incredible story, and you are missing so much if you don't take the time to go to the Marple website, and read the whole story about Judge John Bradshawe.

BACK to Table of Contents

Go to Virginia BRADSHAWS

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The BRADSHAWS Who Came to AMERICA

The American BRADSHAWES are believed to be the descendants of this family.

LEGEND has it that most of the BRADSHAWS fled England after Charles (II) came to the throne, fearing losing their own heads. They are believed to have taken refuge in Ireland, Scotland, France and the colonies of North America. Perhaps this story is true. However, no documentation that I have found so far, shows this to be the case. I find the explanation that Bradshaws had to leave England only because of their surname and connection to judge John Bradshawe a bit hard to swallow, since there were many Bradshaws who remained in England, even Cheshire at Marple Hall. Their names are to be found in Historical Records, Church & Civil archives alike of Bradshaws living throughout Great Britain, and to many of the Colonies where they maintained leadership positions, power and remained affluent. There is no indication of their having been punished, exiled, or executed because of Judge Bradshaw. Indeed, the descendants of Henry Bradshaw kept and maintained the Grand Estate of Marple hall for well over three hundred years! It could be that some were exiled to the many Colonies and other places, i.e. Ireland, the Americas, India, Australia, etc., but why some and not all?

The Bradshaw family might have come to America seeking wealth and status, as they had been disposessed of their home and natal estate of Henry Bradshaw, through their lines of descent. Money was what made one important in Great Britain, and for those who had formerly been born and reared in nobility and status, it would likely be sought after feverishly. Status - one could only obtain and maintain status with land....lots of land and lots of money. The Virginia Colonies offered both. So, they came to the Virginia Colonies for the abundance of land that was available through the Charters that were granted from King James. The land in Virginia was most desired by those seeking to establish large farms for growing Tobacco, the crop in high demand in Europe at that time. Coffee houses and smoke shops were all the rage in England from the late 16th Century, through the 19th Century. The early records concerning the Bradshaws shows that they were Tobacco Growers from the onset. Cotton was yet another crop that was sought after. It took money and lot of it to go to the Americas and buy the chartered lands of Virginia and then to establish tobacco crops, which indicates that they were not without some political "pull" in England. Virginia was very much under England's control, and much exportation came out of Virginia for the Crown. Land was not given to just anyone in Virginia in the beginning. You had to apply for land and get approved through the Crown to obtain land through charters, and still these lands would remain under English Rule, especially in Virginia. If they escaped England because of their Surname, Virginia would have been the LAST place they would have gone to escape the Crown! However, being exiled to the Americas was a common method of dealing with Political outcasts, or those nobles who caused the Crown some "embarrassment". They were given the choices of prison, death, or being exiled to the Americas, and that meant the Virginia Colonies...your choice! This, I can believe might have been the case for the Bradshaws to immigrate to America.

The Following accounts may demonstrate the reason for my above theories.

VIRGINIA and Early Immigrants

The London Company, established by Henry Wriothelsey, [3^rd Earl of Southampton -Shakespeare’s patron], sent out three ships: the Susan Constant, the Discovery, and the Goodspeed. The passenger list was made up of 143 families of people from all walks of life: “Reprobates of good families “ (William Byrd - an 18^th Century Virginia writer). The ships landed on 26 April, 1607. The new land was called “Virginia”, in honor of Queen Elizabeth., the “virgin queen”. The colony, established on 14 May, 1607, was named Jamestown for King James, who had recently come to the thrown since the death of Queen Elizabeth.

Virginia claimed all the land from the coastal boundaries along the Atlantic Coast, inland to the Mississippi River. Founded by Englishmen, the colony reflected the English way of life, creating a House of Burgesses in 1619, to handle local problems, but still under the direct rule of the English Sovereignty. Slave trade was established to help cultivate the virgin soil and the colony became prosperous with the cultivation of tobacco, which was all the rave in England. King James thought tobacco should be outlawed, stating that it was a “filthy habit” and very ungodly. But it soon became a money crop for the crown, and he was persuaded to end his “preaching” against it. Cotton also became a money crop and the land barons acquired more slaves to cultivate their crops, growing more and more wealthy, but becoming more and more dependent upon their slave-labor. It was, by the early part of the 19^th century, the status quo for the wealthy southern agricultural states, but also existed in the northern states as well.

The First Bradshaws in Virginia

The earliest known BRADSHAW to come to America was Richard BRADSHAW, age 20 years, born ca. 1601, Ireland. He came to the Virginia Colony on 16 February, 1621, on the ship 'Temperance' with Victor HARVEY and his son. (Ref. Orig. List of Emigrants 1600-1700, by Hotten in Virginia 16 Feb., 1623).

On March 8th, 1650, Richard BRADSHAW went (or returned) to England, and brought back 7 persons and received 345 acres in Northumberland co, Virginia. Northumberland was the 9th of the Original "Shires" or counties and took the northern section that prior to 1648 was recorded as York & James City counties. (REF: Patent Book No. 3, page 270). ]

I found these two records intriguing because, in the Bible of an Bradshaw-Vaughn, my Great-great Grandmother, she had written that an early BRADSHAW came to this country with a man named Victor Harvey, who came with 7 sons and no wife.

In 1654, Ed WALSH (or WELSH) received 900 acres (50 acres per person) for bringing 18 people to Virginia. There was among them, a John BRADSHAW, born ca. 1600 and RICHARD BRADSHAW. [were these two men brothers? - ]

Lewis BURWELL and Thomas VAUSE were given 2300 acres April 18, 1648 for bringing 46 people. One of them was a 'William BRADSHAW'.

It is yet to be found for sure when and how our John BRADSHAW arrived in the United States.
One account has John BRADSHAW arriving in America in 1687 on the ship "Endeavor". Another account of his arrival has him coming from Ireland transported by Richard KENNON in 1683. This account is somewhat backed up by court records in Henrico County, Virginia which show this transportation. KENNON did not put in his claim for land until April 1, 1690, at which time he put in a claim for 8,000 acres.

COPYRIGHTS on All Original Works: The information posted on this site are the conclusions & views of this webmaster, based upon the little known historical data, so should not be seen as necessarily true or accurate, and is my original work.

BACK to Table of Contents

Other Sources:

Fairbairn's Crests of the Families of Great Britain & Ireland (pg. 70)
Oldest English families of BRADSHAWE, comes from http://www.marple-uk.com
(Go there to see and read more about this family)
"Early Virginia Immigrants, 1623-1666", by George Greer
"Original List of Immigrants, 1600-1700" by Hotten
"Cavaliers and Pioneers" by Nell M. Nugent
Bradshaw family history data, extracted from LDS films - The Family History Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
BRADSHAW Family Records of Anne Wickliffe Bradshaw Musser
BRADSHAW Family Records of Mark Arlsan
BRADSHAW Family Records & photos shared by Michael LaForest

Much Thanks to my friend, Anne Wickliffe Bradshaw Musser, who was my mentor in searching for my Bradshaw Families in Virginia, and who so graciously and freely shared all her years of hard work with me. She has encouraged me and pointed me towards records or places to look for them. Many people have her to thank and should.

All rights are reserved and protected under the Federal Laws of Copyright.