Pioneers of St. Clair County, Michigan - Person Sheet
Pioneers of St. Clair County, Michigan - Person Sheet
NameMaj. William BRADFORD 
FlagsMayflower Descendant
FatherGov. William BRADFORD , MCS-02 (1590-1657)
MotherAlice CARPENTER (~1590-1670)
Individual Notes
• Res Northside of Jones River in section known as Stony Brook, Kingston. Inherited large estate from father. Maj Comm-in-chief of Plymouth Forces at Great Swamp Fight 1675 and severely wounded. Dep Gov of Plymouth 1682-6, 1689-91.107
Spouses
Individual Notes
ChildrenJohn (1653-1736)
William (1655-1687)
Thomas (~1658-1731)
Alice (1659-1746)
Mercy (-<1720)
Hannah (1662-1738)
Melatiah (1664->1739)
Samuel (~1667-1714)
Mary (1668-1720)
Sarah (1671-<1712)
Individual Notes
• Torrey gives as [?Mary/?Sarah Post?].17
• Name unknown but she is said to be a Widow Wiswall, maiden name Fitch, for which there is no primary evidence.106
• The chief reason why a satisfactory identification of the “widow Wiswall” has eluded Bradford family researchers is that there simply was no widow Wiswall who could have married Major William Bradford about 1673.3091
For all of these reasons I would like to propose the hypothesis that Major William(2) Bradford’s second wife, identified by Bradford family tradition as “a widow Wiswall,” was actually the widow of Francis(2) Griswold. According to this hypothesis the pronunciation and spelling of the name became garbled after a few generations of oral transmission, or perhaps through the smearing of an early written record that is no longer extant.3091
In summary, I believe it to be highly likely that Major William(2) Bradford’s second wife, heretofore identified as “a widow Wiswall,” was actually Sarah (____) Griswold, the widow of Francis(2) Griswold of Norwich.3091
• Name unknown but she is said to be a Widow Wiswall, maiden name Fitch, for which there is no primary evidence.106
• The chief reason why a satisfactory identification of the “widow Wiswall” has eluded Bradford family researchers is that there simply was no widow Wiswall who could have married Major William Bradford about 1673.3091
For all of these reasons I would like to propose the hypothesis that Major William(2) Bradford’s second wife, identified by Bradford family tradition as “a widow Wiswall,” was actually the widow of Francis(2) Griswold. According to this hypothesis the pronunciation and spelling of the name became garbled after a few generations of oral transmission, or perhaps through the smearing of an early written record that is no longer extant.3091
In summary, I believe it to be highly likely that Major William(2) Bradford’s second wife, heretofore identified as “a widow Wiswall,” was actually Sarah (____) Griswold, the widow of Francis(2) Griswold of Norwich.3091
ChildrenJoseph (1675-1747)
Individual Notes
• Widow of Rev. John Holmes.2032
ChildrenIsrael (~1677-1760)
Ephraim (1685-<1746)
David (<1687-1730)
Hezekiah (<1687->1761)