Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

lowing children: i. John, of whom fur-
ther. 2. Thomas, of whom further. 3.
Anne. 4. Elizabeth. 5. Mary.
John Bradley, son of John and Frances
(Fairfax) Bradley, an eminent physician
and a graduate of Cambridge, married
Anne Freeman. They were the parents
of the following children : i. Henry. 2.
Thomas, born in 1583. 3. Frances, born
in 1585. 4. Matthew, born in 1588.
Thomas Bradley, son of John and
Frances (Fairfax) Bradley, of Louth,
married Ann Chapman, sister and co-heir
of Sir Peter Chapman, of London. They
had the following children : i. John, born
in 1576. 2. Anne. 3. Elizabeth, born in 1584.
4. Audrey, born in 1590.
There are several distinct branches of
the Bradley family in the United States,
the founders of which came from England.
The first Bradleys in the American
Colonies are said to have come from the
market town of Bingley, in the West Riding
of Yorkshire. About the beginning
of the seventeenth century William Brad-
ley was born in B ingley. According to tra-
dition handed down in different branches
of the family, he was a friend of Cromwell,
and the History of Bingley, Eng-
land, states that he was a major in the
Parliamentary Army, and removed to
New Haven, Connecticut. William Bradley
resided for a time in Branford and
Guilford, later removing to New Haven,
where he took up his residence in what is
now North Haven and had large landed
interests there. He was the first landowner
in the village. Founders of other
branches of the Bradleys are : Francis
Bradley, ancestor of the Fairfield family,
and Daniel Bradley, founder of the Haver-
hill, Massachusetts, Bradleys.
Burke's Armory gives fifteen coats-ofarms
for the name Bradley. The arms
borne by the Connecticut Bradleys and
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
the descendants of William and Francis
Bradley are given above. The symbolic
description of the arms is as follows
The shield is red—red in heraldry denotes
boldness, daring blood and fire — "a burning
desire to spill blood for God and
42
Country." Silver stands for purity, jus-
tice and peace. The chevron represents
the rafters of a roof and was often given
to ambassadors and eminent statesmen
as a reward for the protection (as under a
roof) they gave their king and country.
The boar symbolizes a well-armed, undaunted
and courageous warrior, who re-
sists his enemies bravely and never thinks
of flight, the same as the boar, who will
fight to the bitter end. The Bradley arms
are engraved on the silver tankard owned
by the granddaughter of the first William
Bradley, of New Haven. They are the
same as the armorial bearings "Confirmed
by the Deputies of Camden ... to
Francis Bradley of Coventry, grandson of
William Bradley, County York, 'Her,
Visitation.'
"
(I) William Bradley, of New Haven,
Connecticut, was born in England, about
1620. He settled in New Haven, and
married there, February 18, 1645, Alice
Pritchard, daughter of Roger Pritchard,
of Springfield, Massachusetts. He died in
1690, and she in 1692. Children, with dates
of baptism: i. Joseph, January 4, 1646.
2. Isaac, 1647 (?). 3. Martha, October,
1648. 4. Abraham, of whom further. 5.
Mary, April 30, 1653. 6. Benjamin, April
8, 1657. 7. Hester (or Esther), September
29, 1659. 8. Nathaniel, February 26, 1660-
61. 9. Sarah, June 21, 1665.
(II) Abraham Bradley, son of William
Bradley, was baptized October 24, 1650,
and died October 19, 1718. He married,
December 25, 1673, Hannah Thompson,
born September 22, 1654, died at New
Haven, October 26, 1718. Abraham Brad-
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