Bradford Family Collection (c. 1760-1976)
Drew Archival Library
DAL.MSS.024

Collection Overview:
Title: The Bradford Family Collection
Dates: c. 1760-1976
Bulk Dates: 1790-1890
Creator: The Bradford Family
Accession/Call Numbers: DAL.MSS.024
Repository: Drew Archival Library
Quantity: 20+ boxes
Language: English

Administrative Information:
Access Restrictions: The Bradford Family Collection is open to researchers. There are no restricted materials in the collection
Acquisition Information: The Gershom Bradford House located on 931 Tremont Street in Duxbury, MA was donated, along with all its contents, to the Duxbury Rural and Historical Society in 1968 by Gershom Bradford and Edward W. Bradford. The manuscript material taken from the house is now the Bradford Family Collection at the Drew Archival Library.
Administrative Note:
Related Collections:
Prefered form of citation: DAL.MSS.024, the Bradford Family Collection of the Duxbury Rural & Historical Society.

Scope and Content: Finding Aid in process.

Biographical Information: The Bradford Family of Duxbury lived at 931 Tremont Street in a home now owned by the Duxbury Rural and Historical Society and operated as the Bradford House Museum.

Capt. Gershom Bradford (1774-1844) was born in Duxbury to Col. Gamaliel Bradford and Sarah Alden. In 1801 he married Sarah Bradford Hickling (1772-1861) of Boston, the daughter of merchant William Hickling and Elizabeth Hodson. During their early married life, the Bradfords boarded in Dorchester but in 1808 they built their Federal-style home at 931 Tremont Street, Duxbury, on land that had once been owned by Gershom’s father (his brother, Capt. Gamaliel built across the street and brother Capt. Daniel built behind). Gershom Bradford was a successful master mariner, mostly in the trans-Atlantic merchant trade. He retired from the sea in 1826 and for many years was the Town of Duxbury’s Treasurer and Tax Collector. He died quite suddenly in 1844. His wife, Sarah, lived for almost 20 more years, dying in 1861.

The Bradfords had four daughters, Maria Weston Bradford (1804-1864), Lucia Alden Bradford (1807-1893), Elizabeth Hickling Bradford (1809-1890) and Charlotte Bradford (1813-1893). Other than Maria, who married Rev. Claudius Bradford, the sisters did not marry. They were all involved in social causes of the day, most notably abolition and temperance. Charlotte was a Civil War nurse and the matron of the United States Sanitary Commission’s Home for Wives & Mothers in Washington, DC. Lucia joined Charlotte in DC for a period of six months during the war. Elizabeth was a keen amateur botanist and artist.

The Bradfords were from a large family that included some of the most notable New Englanders of their time. These family members included Massachusetts Secretary of State, Alden Bradford; Transcendentalists Sarah Alden (Bradford) Ripley and George Partridge Bradford; abolitionists Dr. Gamaliel Bradford and Rev. Claudius Bradford. Their extensive correspondence includes these figures and others.

SERIES I – CORRESPONDENCE

Series I.A – Bradford Family Correspondence (1790-1890)

Scope and Content: Correspondence to and from the first and second generations; includes Capt. Gershom Bradford, Sarah B. (Hickling) Bradford, Maria W. Bradford, Lucia A. Bradford, Elizabeth H. Bradford and Charlotte Bradford. Arranged chronologically

BOX 1

1790-1828

BOX 2

1829-1891

BOX 3

Series I.B – Correspondence to the Bradford Family (1795-1893)

Scope and Content: Correspondence to the Bradford Family (first and second generations). Arranged by author and alphabetically. Correspondents include, but are not limited to, Alden Bradford, Claudius Bradford, Capt. Daniel Bradford, Sarah Alden (Bradford) Ripley, George Patridge Bradford, George Wood Brewer, Ezra Weston, and Dr. Gamaliel Bradford.

Folder 1 Alden Bradford (c. 1802-1838)
Folder 2 Charles F. and Eliza H. Bradford (1863-c. 1880)
Folder 3 Claudius Bradford (1833-1861)
Folder 4 Capt. Daniel Bradford Sr. (1795-1833)
Folder 5 Dr. Gamaliel Bradford Jr. (1828-1835)
Folder 6 George Patridge Bradford (c. 1823-1890)
Folder 7 Sarah (Drew) Bradford (copies of 1805 letters)
Folder 8 Charles Brewer and wife
Folder 9 George Wood Brewer
Folder 10 Augustus Chamberlain
Folder 11 James and Almeda Ellison (1821-1869)
Folder 12 Sarah Alden (Bradford) Ripley
Folder 13 Lucia (Alden) Smith
Folder 14 Thomas Spooner
Folder 15 Ezra Weston II and IV
Folder 16 Nathaniel Winsor Jr.
Folder 17 Various Authors, A-B
Folder 18 Various Authors, C-Q
Folder 19 Various Authors, R-W

Series I.C – Capt. Gamaliel Bradford Correspondence (1796-1820).

Scope and Content: Includes letters to Capt. Gershom Bradford, Sarah B. (Hickling) Bradford as well as letters to his wife, Elizabeth (Hickling) Bradford and his daughter, Sarah A. B. Ripley. Also included are journals addressed to “Marcus.”

Biographical Sketch:

Capt. Gamaliel Bradford (1763-1824)) was the son of Col. Gamaliel Bradford and Sarah (Alden) Bradford. He was raised on his father’s 90 acre Duxbury farm. As a young man he fought in the American Revolution. After the war he became a successful sea captain and merchant. In 1792 he married Elizabeth Hickling (sister to Sarah Bradford (Hickling) Bradford). Although they built a house on Tremont Street in Boston, they spent most of their married life in Charlestown, MA. Together they had seven children: Sarah Alden (Bradford) Ripley, George Partridge Bradford, Dr. Gamaliel Bradford, Martha Tilden (Bradford) Bartlett, Margaret Stevenson (Bradford) Ames, George Partridge Bradford, and Hannah Rogers (Bradford) Fiske.

BOX 4

Series I.D – Lane Family Correspondence (1882-1893)

 Scope and Content: Letters to the Bradford sisters from their cousins, Fanny Bradford Lane and WIlliam Bradford Clark. Many are from travels, including Europe and Egypt.

Biographical Sketch:

Fanny Bradford Clark Lane (1829-1898) was the second daughter of Dr. Gamaliel Bradford and Sophia Rice, making her the grand-niece of Capt. Gershom Bradford and the first cousin once removed to the Bradford sisters. She married Dr. Eliphalet Mackenzie Clark in 1853 and moved to Detroit, Michigan where Clark became a merchant and industrialist. The couple had three children, William B. Clark (1857-1898), Dr. Franklin H. Clark (1862-1916), and Rebecca H. Clark (1863-1875). After her husband’s death in 1871, Fanny returned to Boston and married the widower George Martin Lane in 1878. Lane was a professor at Harvard College and had three children of his own, Gardiner M., Louisa, and Katherine W. The correspondence in this sub-series contains letters written by Fanny Lane to the Bradford sisters from her trips overseas. Also in this series are numerous letters written by William B. Clark to his great-aunts, Elizabeth and Lucia Bradford.

Folder 1 William B. Clark Correspondence (1882-1883)
Folder 2 William B. Clark Correspondence (1885-1886)
Folder 3 William B. Clark Correspondence (1887)
Folder 4 William B. Clark Correspondence (1888-1890)
Folder 5, William B. Clark Correspondence, n.d.
Folder 6 Fanny B. Lane Correspondence (1888-1891)
Folder 7 Fanny B. Lane Correspondence (1891-1892) – trip to Egypt and Europe

1. Fanny B. Lane (Cairo, Egypt) to Lucia A. Bradford (Duxbury, MA), Nov. 22, 1891
2. Fanny B. Lane (Egypt) to Lucia A. Bradford (Duxbury, MA), Dec. 16, 1891
3. Fanny B. Lane (Egypt) to Lucia A. Bradford (Duxbury, MA), Jan. 3, 1892
4. Fanny B. Lane (Egypt) to Lucia A. Bradford (Duxbury, MA), Jan. 18, 1892
5. Fanny B. Lane (Egypt) to Lucia A. Bradford (Duxbury, MA), Feb. 12, 1892
6. Fanny B. Lane (Egypt) to Lucia A. Bradford (Duxbury, MA), Feb. 25, 1892
7. Fanny B. Lane (Egypt) to Lucia A. Bradford (Duxbury, MA), Mar. 12, 1892
8. Fanny B. Lane (Cairo, Egypt) to Lucia A. Bradford (Duxbury, MA), Mar. 24,1892
9. Fanny B. Lane (Venice, Italy) to Lucia A. Bradford (Duxbury, MA), Apr. 10, 1892
10. Fanny B. Lane (Paris, France) to Lucia A. Bradford (Duxbury, MA), Apr. 26, 1892
11. Fanny B. Lane (Paris, France) to Lucia A. Bradford (Duxbury, MA), May 22, 1892
12. Fanny B. Lane (France) to Lucia A. Bradford (Duxbury, MA), June 12, [1892]
13. Fanny B. Lane (France) to Lucia A. Bradford (Duxbury, MA), June 22, [1892]
14. Fanny B. Lane (France) to Lucia A. Bradford (Duxbury, MA), July 1, 1892
15. Fanny B. Lane (Rouen, France) to Lucia A. Bradford (Duxbury, MA), July 29, 1892
16. Fanny B. Lane (The Hague, Netherlands) to Lucia A. Bradford (Duxbury, MA), Aug. 11, c. 1892
17. Fanny B. Lane (Amsterdam) to Lucia A. Bradford (Duxbury, MA), Aug. 20, c. 1892

Folder 8 Fanny B. Lane Correspondence (1893)

BOX 5

Series I.E – Kent Family Correspondence

Scope and Content: Letters to and from the family of Rev. Benjamin Kent and his wife, Eleanor (Bradford) Kent. Included are letters from their daughters, Eloise, Isabel, Josie and Laura. Also, letters from Eleanor’s sister, Louisa Esther (Bradford) Thomas.

Biographical Sketch:

Rev. Benjamin Kent (1794-1859) and his wife, Eleanor Bradford (1802-1885), were related to the Bradford Family through the marriage of Capt. Gershom Bradford’s daughter, Maria Bradford, to Rev. Claudius Bradford.

Rev. Benjamin Kent graduated from Harvard Divinity School and was invited to Duxbury to become the co-minister with the Rev. John Allyn of the First Parish Church. Shortly thereafter, in 1827, he married Eleanor Bradford. The couple moved into a house built for them by the First Parish congregation at 992 Tremont Street. Kent had a tumultuous tenure as the minister in Duxbury while the town was divided over the cost of maintaining two ministers. He began to suffer from debilitating headaches and was eventually taken to the insane asylum. He retired from the ministry and moved with his family to Roxbury where he and his wife operated a private girls’ boarding school. The Kents had four daughters (nieces of Claudius and Maria Bradford): Eloise Kent (1828-1912), Isabel Kent (1831-1912), Josephine Gannett (Kent) Copeland (1833-1907) and Laura Ann (Kent) Hooper (1836-1902).

SERIES II – Ships’ Papers

Scope and Content: Capt. Gershom Bradford’s documents, including log books, bills of ladings, cargo lists, receipts, crew lists, permissions, letters of instruction, documents from foreign ports, etc. from Bradford’s numerous voyages as a merchant sailor. Also included are papers from his brother, Capt. Gamaliel Bradford.

BOX 6
Ships’ Papers, 1800-1817

Folder 1  Ship Industry (1800)
Folder 2  Ship Industry crew receipts (1800)
Folder 3  Bark Columbia (1801-1802)
Folder 4  Brig Orion (1801-1802)
Folder 5  Brig Lydia Head (1802-1804)
Folder 6  Brig Lydia Head correspondence (1802-1804)
Folder 7  Brig Lydia Head (1803-1804)
Folder 8  Brig Lillach correspondence (1805-1807)
Folder 9  Brig Lillach (1805-1807)
Folder 10 Brig Lillach (1805-1807)
Folder 11 Brig Mercury (1807-1808)
Folder 12 Bark Mary, Gamaliel Bradford (1807)
Folder 13 Brig Success (1809-1810)
Folder 14 Brig Patriot (1811)
Folder 15 Schooner Flora (1811)
Folder 16 Sloop John (1813-1814)
Folder 17 Brig Elizabeth correspondence (1815-1818)
Folder 18 Brig Elizabeth account books (1815-1816)
Folder 19 Brig Elizabeth (1815-1816)
Folder 20 Brig Elizabeth (1817)
Folder 21 Brig Elizabeth (1818)
Folder 22 Brig Elizabeth (1818)

BOX 7
Ships’ Papers (1818-1825)

Folder 23 Schooner Cowlstaff (1818-1819)
Folder 24 Brig Sicily (1821)
Folder 25 Brig Sicily (1822)
Folder 26 Brig Sicily (1823)
Folder 27 Brig Sicily (1824)
Folder 28 Business Correspondence (1824)
Folder 29 Business Correspondence (1825)
Folder 30 Brig LeGrange (1824-1825)
Folder 31 Brig LeGrange (1825)
Folder 32 Brig Margareth (1825)
Folder 33 Miscellaneous

BOX 8
Log Books

Log of Brig Jerusha, Capt. Gamaliel Bradford (1791-1793)
Log of Brig Jerusha, Capt. Gamaliel Bradford (1793)
Log of Ship Mary, Capt. Gamaliel Bradfrod (1798-1799)
Log of Lillach, Capt. Gershom Bradford (1806)
Log of Brig Mercury, Capt. Gershom Bradford (1807-1809)
Journal of Brig Elizabeth, Capt. Gershom Bradford (1818)

Map Drawer

Oversized Folder 1  Crew Lists (1801-1825)

1. Brig Orion, 1801
2. Brig Lydia Head, 1803
3. Brig Lydia Head, 1804
4. Brig Lillach, 1805
5. Brig Lillach, 1806
6. Brig Lillach, 1806
7. Brig Success, 1809
8. [Brig Success], 1809
9. Schooner Flora, 1810
10. Brig Patriot, 1811
11. Brig Patriot, 1812
12. Brig Elizabeth, 1815
13. Brig Elizabeth, 1816 [on exhibit, Reading Room]
14. Brig Sicily, c. 1820-1824
15. Brig Sicily, c. 1820-1824
16. Brig Sicily, 1821
17. Brig Sicily, 1824
18. Brig Sicily, portage bill, c. 1824
19. Brig LeGrange, 1825

Oversized Folder 2 

1. Ship’s Passport, Schooner Cowstaff, signed by James Madison, 1819
2. Permission, Lilac [Lillach], signed by Thomas Jefferson, 1806

Oversized Folder 3 Shipping Documents

1. Notice from the port of Amsterdam, 1788
2. Port Clearance from Baltimore, Lillach, 1806
3. Cargo price list for Leghorn, Italy, 1806
4. Account, Lillach, 1807
5. Bill of Sale for Patriot, 1811
6. Passenger List, Elizabeth, 1816
7. Freight list, Elizabeth, [1816]
8. Freight list, Elizabeth, 1817
9. Italian Dept. of Health re: putrid fish, Cowlstaff, 1819 [in Italian]
10. Bill of Sale for LeGrange, 1824
11. Account, Schooner John Allyn, 1836
12. Blank certificate, n.d.
13. Blank Manifest, n.d.
14. Blank list of passengers, n.d.

Oversized Folder 4 Shipping Documents

1. Crew and Passenger List, Liverpool, for Elizabeth, 1818
2. Export Manifest, Baltimore for Brig Sicily, 1821
3. Health clearance for the Sicily from Messina, Sicily, 1822 [in Italian]
4. Health clearance for the Sicily from Palermo, Sicily, 1824, [in Italian]
5. Directions for Port of Figura, Portugal, n.d.

BOX 9

SERIES III – Legal Documents and Deeds (1793-1894)

Folder 1 Estate of Col. Gamaliel Bradford,1793-1818
Folder 2 Estate of Col. Gamaliel Bradford, Inventories, c. 1804
Folder 3 Accounts of Mary Bradford, 1807-1833
Folder 4 Heirs of Continental Army Veterans, 1854-1855
Folder 5 Land Deeds of Col. Gamaliel Bradford, 1765-1801
Folder 6 Land Deeds of Capt. Gershom Bradford
Folder 7 Miscellaneous legal documents
Folder 8 Settlement of Lucia and Charlotte Bradford’s estate, 1893-1894
Folder 9 Estate of Perez Bradford, 1799-1802

Oversized Folder – Map Drawer

• Estate of Col. Gamaliel Bradford, signed by Daniel Bradford, Executor, 1808
• Deed, Jonathan Smith and others to Gershom Bradford, 1836

BOX 10

SERIES IV Financial Documents

Folder 1. Sarah Bradford Account Book, 1815-1822
Folder 2. Household receipts, 1798-1809
Folder 3. Household receipts, 1810-1817
Folder 4. Household receipts, 1818-1820
Folder 5. Household receipts, 1821-1822
Folder 6 Household receipts, 1823-1827
Folder 7. Household receipts, 1830-1840
Folder 8. Household receipts, 1850s
Folder 9. House construction, repairs and furnishings, 1809-18xx
Folder 10.  Receipts for Education (1818-1825)

1. Receipt, Joseph Carter, dancing, 1818
2. Receipt, Jairus Lincoln, instructing Lucia and Elizabeth, 1818
3. Receipt, Jairus Lincoln, instructing Elizabeth
4. Receipt, Jairus Lincoln, instructing 2 daughters, 1819
5. Receipt, Jairus Lincoln, instructing Lucia and Elizabeth, 1819
6. Receipt, Jairus Lincoln, instructing Lucia, 1819
7. Receipt, Belinda Loring, schooling children, 1819
8. Receipt, Jairus Lincoln, instructing children, 1820
9. Receipt, Jairus Lincoln, piano forte instruction and barn rent, 1820
10. Receipt, Abigail Kent, schooling Lucia, Elizabeth, and Charlotte, 1821
11. Receipt, Emma W. Sampson, schooling Elizabeth, 1821
12. Receipt, Emma W. Sampson, instructing Lucia and Elizabeth, 1822
13. Receipt, Simon Whiting, penmanship, 1822
14. Receipt, Simon Whiting, dancing, 1825

Folder 11. Medical receipts (1808-1859)

1. Receipt, Dr. John C. Warren, Boston, 1808
2. Receipt, Dr. Rufus Hathaway, 1817
3. Receipt, Dr. Rufus Hathaway, 1820
4. Receipt, Dr. Rufus Hathaway, 1821
5. Receipt, Dr. John Porter, 1821
6. Receipt, Dr. John Porter, 1854
7. Receipt, Dr. John Porter, 1859

Folder 12. Alden Store Accounts and Receipts, 1807-1826
Folder 13. N. Ford and Sons Receipts, 1854-1855
Folder 14. N. Ford and Sons Receipts, 1856-1859
Folder 15. N. Ford and Sons Receipts, 1860-1863
Folder 16. N. Ford and Sons Receipts, 1864-1867
Folder 17. N. Ford and Sons Receipts, 1868-1872
Folder 18. Bradford Town Tax Receipts,1813-1831
Folder 19. Duxbury Town Tax Receipts, 1840s
Folder 20. Duxbury Town Tax Receipts, 1850s
Folder 21. Duxbury Town Tax Receipts, 1860s
Folder 22. Maria Bradford Board, 1863-1864
Folder 23. Parish House Accounts, 1831-1834
Folder 24. Bradford & Palfrey Accounts, 1802

• Two Gamaliel Bradford Ledgers, 1801-1802
• Bradford & Palfrey Ledger, 1803

BOX TBD

SERIES V – Town of Duxbury Tax Collector Documents

Scope and Content: From 1829 to 1844, Capt. Gershom Bradford was the Treasurer and Tax Collector for the town of Duxbury. The Series includes his yearly notebooks of taxpayers, payments on behalf of the Alms House and Overseers of the Poor, and various documents related to his role in the town government. Also included is the paper sachel that held the tax bill notebooks.

Folder 1 Tax Collector notebooks, 1831
Folder 2 Tax Collector notebooks, 1832
Folder 3 Tax Collector notebooks, 1833
Folder 4 Tax Collector notebooks, 1834
Folder 5 Tax Collector notebooks, 1835-1836
Folder 6 Tax Collector notebooks, 1837-1840
Folder 7 Tax Collector notebooks, 1842
Folder 8 Overseers of the Poor Accounts, 1829-1841
Folder 9 Overseers of the Poor Accounts, 1841
Folder 10 Overseers of the Poor Accounts, 1841
Folder 11 Overseers of the Poor Accounts, 1842
Folder 12 Town Treasurer accounts, 1826-1829
Folder 13 Town Treasurer accounts, 1830
Folder 14 Town Treasurer accounts, 1831
Folder 15 Town Treasurer accounts, 1832-1843
Folder 16 Town Treasurer accounts, 1844

BOX TBD (Same # as Financial Documents)

SERIES – Town of Duxbury Teacher Recommendations, 1836-1839

Scope and Content: The series contains 27 Duxbury school committee recommendations for teachers. The language of each recommendation is similar. Each verifies that the teacher has good moral character and is otherwise qualified to teach in a district school. Included is Charlotte Bradford’s recommendation, 1838.

1. Charlotte Bradford, 1838
2. Nathaniel Dean, 1838
3. Olive C. Delano, 1836
4. Mary P. Ellis, 1837
5. Rosetta Ford, 1836
6. Rosetta Ford, 1837
7. Edmund Gifford, 1837
8. Susan T. Goodspeed, 1836
9. Susan Goodspeed, 1837
10. Hannah Harlow, 1838
11. N. P. Hathaway, 1836
12. Joseph Hewett, 1837
13. Charles A. Latham, 1836
14. Judith W. Maglathlen, 1838
15. Henry B. McLauthlin, 1837
16. Ralph Partridge, 1836
17. Ralph Patridge, 1837
18. Welthea Partridge, 1836
19. Welthea Partridge, 1837
20. Sarah F. Sampson, n.d.
21. Abby W. Simmons, 1838
22. Henry Skinner, 1837
23. Thomas Stetson, 1836
24. Avid Thomas, 1836
25. Avis Thomas, 1838
26. Persis Thomas, 1836
27. Erastus Wentworth, 1836

BOX TBD

SERIES TBD – Alamancs (1815-1869)

Scope and Content: Members of the Bradford family recorded daily activities, weather, crops, events, etc., on the monthly memoranda pages in the yearly Boston Alamanc. In some years, the author was prolific and made notes almost daily; in other years, there were very few entries.

1. Boston Register, Gershom Bradford, used as a journal aboard the Elizabeth,1815
2. Boston Almanac, Sarah H. Bradford, 1839
3. Boston Almanac, Gershom Bradford, 1840
4. Boston Almanac, [Gershom Bradford], 1841
5. Boston Almanac, Gershom Bradford, 1842
6. Boston Almanac, [Gershom Bradford], 1843
7. Boston Almanac, [Gershom Bradford], 1844
8. Boston Almanac, Elizabeth H. Bradford, 1846
9. Boston Almanac, unknown owner, 1847
10. Boston Almanac, unknown owner, very few entries, 1847
11. Boston Almanac, unknown owner, very few entries, 1848
12. Boston Almanac, unknown owner, very few entries, 1849
13. Boston Almanac, unknown owner, very few entries, copy 2, 1849
14. Boston Almanac, unknown owner, very few entries, 1851
15. Boston Almanac, Sarah H. Bradford, very few entries, 1853
16. Boston Almanac, Sarah H. Bradford, 1854
17. Ladies Almanac, unknown owner, no entries, 1855
18. Boston Almanac, Sarah H. Bradford, very few entries, 1855
19. Boston Almanac, Sarah H. Bradford, 1856
20. Boston Almanac, Sarah H. Bradford, 1857
21. Boston Almanac, unknown owner, very few entries, 1858
22. Boston Almanac, Sarah H. Bradford, 1859
23. Boston Almanac, Sarah H. Bradford, 1861
24. Boston Almanac, [Elizabeth H. Bradford], 1862
25. Boston Almanac, unknown owner, 1864
26. Ladies Almanac, unknown owner, no entries, 1869

BOX TBD

Series: Lucia Alden Bradford

Folder 1. Bradford Cookbook of handwritten recipes
Folder 2. Lucia A. Bradford Scrapbook, 1834 [on exhibit in Bradford House]
Folder 3. Lucia A. Bradford notes
Folder 4. Lucia A. Bradford artwork

Series: Elizabeth Hickling Bradford

Folder 1. Union Martha Washington Relief Society Receipts, 1851-1858
Folder 2. Union Martha Washington Relief Society Correspondence, 1851-1853
Folder 3. Elizabeth Bradford, notebook of poetry, c. 1819

BOX TBD

SERIES TBD- Hickling Family Papers

Scope and Content: Papers of the Hickling family of Boston. Of special note are the papers relating to the legal and financial difficulties of William Hickling, a distiller in Boston. He was the grandfather of Sarah Hickling Bradford. In the 1770s he fell into debt and blamed his son, Thomas Hickling, for not paying loans on which the elder Hickling was liable. These documents contrast sharply with the commonly held belief that William and Thomas Hickling fell out over the elder’s loyalist views. It appears that Thomas Hickling may have relocated to the Azores to escape debts for which his father went to jail.

Biographical Sketch: William Hickling (1704-1775) was a distiller and storeowner in Boston in the years prior to the American Revolution. He and his wife, Sarah Sale, had ten children, including Thomas Hickling (1744-1834) and William Hickling Jr. (1742-1790). Thomas Hickling settled on St. Michaels in the Azores, where he was appointed US Vice Consul after the Revolution. By his first wife, Sarah Green, he was the grandfather of the Boston historian William Hickling Prescott.

Folder 1 Hickling & Sons account book, leather-bound, 1767-1793
Folder 2 William Hickling notebooks, c. 1770s
Folder 3 William Hickling and Thomas Hickling legal documents

1. Bill of sale for a brigantine, 1767
2. Bill of for schooner Defiance, 1769
3. Bill of sale for the Brigantine Betsey, 1769
4. Bill of sale for the schooner Chance, 1769
5. Deposition (in French), 1768
6. Power of Attorney, 1769
7. Will of William Hickling, 1783
8. William Hickling estate inventory,
9. Copy of Elizabeth Hodson Hickling birth certificate, 1813

Folder 4 Correspondence (1768-1783)

1. John W. Hanson (Port au Prince) to Captain Garrish, Mar. 15, 1768
2. Unknown author to “Friend Hickling,” Jul. 19, 1768
3. William Holland (Falmouth) to William Hickling [Boston, MA], Nov. 22, 1769
4. Samuel & Jonathan Smith to William Hickling, Nov. 6, 1769
5. William Hickling & Son (Boston, MA) letter to [Thomas Hickling, Azores], May 5, 1770
6. William Hickling (Boston, MA) to [Thomas Hickling, Lisbon], Nov. 27, 1770
7. William Hickling (Boston, MA) to [Thomas Hickling], Nov. 27, 1770
8. William Hickling (Boston, MA) to Mayne & Coy, Merchants (Lisbon), Nov. 27, 1770
9. William Hickling to unknown recipient, re: legal troubles, c. 1770
10. Letter re: Schooner Defiance to St. George, c. 1770
11. Agreement between Richard Everson and Thomas Hickling, Nov. 22, 1771
12. Richard Everson to William Hickling, Apr. 7, 1772
13. G. Lettis to William Hickling, Apr. 20, 1772
14. Letter asking for an extension of a loan and poem, 1773
15. [William Hickling] (Boston, MA) to “Kind Sir,” Jul. 23, 1773
16. Jno Frothingham to William Hickling, Oct. 2, 1783

Folder 5 Correspondence re: legal trouble, 1770s

1. Rough draft of letter asking for assistance by William Hickling, c. 1770
2. Rough draft of letter from William Hickling to Thomas Hickling, c. 1770
3. Letter fragment, c. 1770
4. Note by William Hickling from jail to his “ungrateful son,” Thomas Hickling, c. 1770s
5. Note by William Hickling, c. 1770s
6. Illegible note, c. 1770
7. Note, unknown author, offering partnership in distilling business, c. 1770s

Folder 6 Hickling Accounts (1766-1772)

1. Receipt for cotton hose, 1766
2. Promissory Note from Ely Dodge Jr. to Thomas Hickling, Feb. 27, 1767
3. Promissory Note from Ely Dodge Jr. to Thomas Hickling, n.d.
4. Promissory Note from Thomas Hickling to William Hickling, Oct. 18, 1768
5. Promissory Note from Thomas Hickling to Sarah Hickling, Oct. 22, 1768
6. Receipt from Thomas Hickling, Oct. 21, 1768
7. List of Notes and Bills from Thomas Hickling to William Hickling, 1769
8. Promissory Note to Thomas Hickling, Sep. 2, 1769
9. Thomas Hickling Account page, 1770
10. Receipt of Sherriff William Tyng, c. 1770
11. Receipt for loan of 50 old tenor to Thomas Hickling, c. 1770
12. Account for schooner Defiance, 1770
13. Bill from Isaac Viburt for repairs on schooner Defiance, 1770
14. Receipt for insurance on the Fortune, c. 1771
15. Payment demand, John Codman, Jul. 16, 1770
16. G. Lettis cargo agreement, Nov. 6, 1771
17. Portage bill for Schooner Fortune, 1771
18. Charges of Capt. Everson, 1771
19. Account of Richard Everson, 1772
20. Bill for sails for schooner Defiance, 1770
21. Receipt for payment to G. Lettis, Jun. 30, 1772

Folder 7 Hickling deeds, accounts, 1796-1845
Folder 8 Estate of Elizabeth Hickling papers, 1828

Oversized folder

1. Declaration from Thomas Hickling, re: 2,000 pound debt, Jun. 23, 1770

BOX TBD

SERIES TBD Claudius and Maria Bradford Papers

Scope and Content: This series includes the sermons of Claudius Bradford and the household accounts of Claudius and Maria Bradford. Note: Correspondence from Claudius Bradford can also be found in SERIES I.B; correspondence to and from Maria Bradford can also be found in SERIES I.A

Folder 1 Claudius Bradford (Yellow Springs, OH) to Maria Bradford (Duxbury, MA),1859-1860
Folder 2 Correspondence to Claudius Bradford (1851-1859)
Folder 3 Correspondence to Maria Bradford (1861-1863)
Folder 2 Claudius Bradford Sermons, c. 1850-1853
Folder 3 Claudius Bradford Recommendations, 1829-1851
Folder 4 Claudius Bradford teaching material
Folder 5 Claudius Bradford Acct/Memo books,1850-1852
Folder 6 Claudius Bradford Bills and Receipts, 1829-1835
Folder 7 Claudius Bradford Bills and Receipts, 1840-1842
Folder 8 Claudius Bradford Bills and Receipts, 1843
Folder 9 Claudius Bradford Bills and Receipts, 1844
Folder 10 Claudius Bradford Bills and Receipts, 1845
Folder 11 Claudius Bradford BIlls and Receipts, 1846
Folder 12 Claudius Bradford Bills and Receipts, 1847
Folder 13 Claudius Bradford Bills and Receipts, 1848
Folder 14 Estate of Claudius Bradford, 1863-1864
Folder 15 Daily diary of Maria Bradford, 1864 [on exhibit at Bradford House]
Folder 16 Calling Cards, c. 1810-1864

BOX TBD

SERIES TBD – Charlotte Bradford and Lucia A. Bradford’s Civil War Papers (1862-1890)

Scope and Content: Civil War nurse Charlotte Bradford’s papers, including her two diaries and numerous letters. Also included are the Civil War papers of Charlotte Bradford’s sister, Lucia, who volunteered at the USSC’s Home for Wives and Mothers in Washington, DC, in 1864.

Folder 1 Charlotte Bradford Correspondence, Hosptial Transport Ships, 1862
Folder 2 Charlotte Bradford Correspondence, US Army Nurse, 1862-1863
Folder 3 Charlotte Bradford Correspondence, Home for Soldiers/Home for Wives & Mothers, 1863-1865
Folder 4 Correspondence to Charlotte Bradford, re: Civil War, 1864-1886
Folder 5 Charlotte Bradford diary I, 1862-1863
Folder 6 Charlotte Bradford diary II, 1863-1865
Folder 7 Charlotte Bradford notebook, Home for Wives & Mothers, 1863-1864 [on exhibit, Bradford House]
Folder 8 Charlotte Bradford Home for Wives & Mothers, notes, 1864
Folder 9, Lucia A. Bradford Home for Wives & Mothers, notes, 1864
Folder 10 Lucia A. Bradford Correspondence, 1864
Folder 11 Charlotte Bradford Civil War Pension, 1890

BOX TBD

Series Gershom Bradford II

Scope and Content: The series contains Gershom Bradford II’s papers. Most notable are his Civil War orders and the numerous documents relating to his long career in the U.S. Coastal Survey, later the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. The letter books and notebooks are primarily his professional correspondence.

Biographical Sketch: Gershom Bradford II (1838-1918) was the son of Maria Weston Bradford and Rev. Claudius Bradford. Although he never lived in the Duxbury Bradford House Museum, he spent much of his youth visiting his grandparents and aunts. He is the subject of the “Gingerbread Boy” portrait that hangs in the museum.

Gershom Bradford II went to sea in 1854, at age 16, aboard the xx, owned by Charles Brewer, a friend of the Bradfords. He also worked as a miner in Calfornia. During the Civil War, he initially worked as a camp inspector for the United States Sanitary Commission before joining the U.S. Coastal Survey, mapping rivers in the South. He remained with the Coastal Survey for the remainder of his career. 

In 1866, while in San Francisco, CA, in command of the U.S. Coastal Survey schooner Marcy, he met and married Minnie Granville Winsor (1850-1831). She was born in Duxbury to Capt. Charles F. Winsor and Mary Ann Weston. Minne remained at sea with Gershom Bradford II for much of his career. They retired to Washington, DC.

[object – Leather Wallet, embossed in gold lettering, “Gershom Bradford 1863-1910, U.S. Coast Survey]

Folder 1 Contents of Leather Wallet, 1863-1870
Folder 2 Contents of Leather Wallet, 1870-1910
Folder 3 Gershom Bradford II Correspondence, 1856-1919
Folder 4 Gershon Bradford II Civil War correspondence, 1863-1864
Folder 5 Gershom Bradford II Civil War orders, 1863-1865
Folder 6 Gershom Bradford II notebook, n.d.
Folder 7 Gershom Bradford II notes, n.d.
Folder 8 Gershom Bradford II U.S. Coastal Survey papers, 1879-1883
Folder 9 Gershom Bradford II U.S. Coastal Survey papers, 1880-1882
Folder 10 Gershom Bradford II U.S. Coastal Survey papers, 1882
Folder 11 Gershom Bradford II U.S. Coastal Survey papers, 1882

BOX TBD

• Letter book of Gershom Bradford II, 1876-1883
• Letter book of Gershom Bradford II 1883-1884
• Letter book of Gershom Bradford II, 1887-1888

BOX TBD

• Notebook, letters received by Gershom Bradford II, 1879-1881
• Notebook, letters received by Gershom Bradford II, 1881-1882
• Notebook, letters received by Gershom Bradford II, 1882-1883

BOX TBD

Series Caroline W. Hunt Bradford 

Scope and Content: Letters found in a desk in the Bradford House museum belonging to Caroline (Wadsworth) Hunt Bradford. There are a total of ten letters in the series. Six are from her friends, Eliza and Francis Bacon. These letters were written when Caroline was married to her first husband, Allen Melville Hunt. Two of the letters were written by Clara and William Parker (1851) shortly after Caroline’s second marriage. The Parkers were acquaintances of Capt. Daniel Bradford. 

Biographical Sketch:

Caroline (Wadsworth) Hunt Bradford (1812-1904) was born in Duxbury, the daughter of Wait Wadsworth, Jr. and Priscilla Stetson. Her first husband, Allen Melville Hunt, died in 1843. She married her second husband, Capt. Daniel Bradford, Jr. (1811-1882) in 1846. Daniel was a master mariner, primarily in the China trade. The couple lived on St. George Street in Duxbury. Caroline had one son by Hunt, Clarence (1843-1854), who died at age 10.

Correspondence
Diary
Papers

BOX TBD

SERIES TBD Bradford Family Ephemera

Folder

• Sarah B. Bradford’s hair
• Gershom Bradford’s hair
• Maria Bradford’s hair

BOX TBD

SERIES TBD – Knapp Family Papers

Scope and Content: The papers of Rev. Frederick Newman Knapp [FNK] and his, wife, Lucia Alden (Bradford) Knapp [LABK]. The series includes family correspondence, including numerous letters written by Frederick Newman Knapp and Lucia Knapp during the Civil War when Knapp was part of the United States Sanitary Commission’s office of Special Relief in Washington, DC. Many letters are to Knapp’s parents, Jacob Newman Knapp and Lousia (Bellows) in Walpole, NH. Also included is a bound volume of handwritten sermons by Rev. John Pierce, who served as the the Unitarian minister of Brookline, MA from 1797-1849.

SERIES TBD.A Correspondence

Folder 1 FNK to Jacob and Louisa Knapp, 1843-1853
Folder 2 FNK to Jacob and Louisa Knapp, Jan-Feb 1855
Folder 3 FNK to Jacob and Louisa Knapp, Mar-May 1855
Folder 4 FNK to Jacob and Louisa Knapp, Jun 1855 – Nov 1856
Folder 5 FNK to Jacob and Louisa Knapp, Jun 1857 – Dec 1859
Folder 6 FNK to Jacob and Louisa Knapp, Nov-Dec 1860
Folder 1 FNK  to Jacob and Louisa Knapp, 1861
Folder 2 FNK to Jacob and Louisa Knapp, 1862
Folder 3 FNK to Jacob and Louisa Knapp, 1863
Folder 4 FNK to Jacob and Louisa Knapp. 1864
Folder 5 FNK to Jacob and Louisa Knapp, 1865

Folder Gershom Bradford II to FNK n.d.
Folder  Gershom Bradford II to LABK (1863-1873)
Folder  Gershom Bradford II to LABK  (1878-1883)
Folder Gershom Bradford II to LABK (1884-1889)
Folder Gershom Bradford II to LABK (1891-1898)

BOX TBD

Series Charles Henry Thomas Papers

Scope and content: Charles H. Thomas was related to the Bradfords through his wife, Louisa Bradford (the sister of Rev. Claudius Bradford). Charles H. Thomas’ son, John Bradford, gave these papers to his cousin Gershom Bradford III, along with the Kent Family Papers (Series TBD). The series consists of Thomas’ legal work on various estates and mortgages.

Biographical Sketch: Charles Henry Thomas (1807-1894) was the son of John Thomas and Lucy Turner. He was the grandson of Marshfield, MA Loyalist, Nathaniel Ray Thomas. His father, John Thomas, sold the family’s estate to Daniel Webster. Webster became a close friend of the Thomas family, particularly Charles H. Thomas. In 1833, he married Louisa Bradford. They lived in Duxbury for many years on Cedar Street before moving to Rutland Street in Boston.

Folder 1 Estate of F. G. Ford
Folder 2 Estate of F. G. Ford
Folder 3 Estate of George M. Soule
Folder 4 Estate of George M. Soule
Folder 5 Ford and Soule Estates
Folder 6 Thomas Marshfield Property
Folder 7 Death of Nathaniel Ray Thomas, 1840
Folder 8 Thomas and Bullard
Folder 9 Thomas and Bullard
Folder 10 Thomas family
Folder 11 Death of Rev. Benjamin Kent, 1859
Folder 12 Miscellaneous papers
Folder 13 Charles H. Thomas Securities
Folder 14 Spinney Mortgage
Folder 15 Settlement for Salt Meadow, Marshfield
Folder 16 E. H. Sampson
Folder 17 Daniel Webster

SERIES TBD – Genealogy

Hodson Family Genealogy
News Clippings of Deaths, Marriages

SERIES TBD (Hattie Bradford?)

Sheet Music for the Piano owned by Hattie (Phipps) Bradford.

I See Her Still in My Dreams by Stephen C. Foster; Firth, Pond & Co., New York (1857)
Love on the Brain by Mrs. Parkhurst and Mrs. Kidder; W. Jennings Demorest, New York (1865)
Sweets for the Sweet, A Collection…; J. L. Peters & Bro., St. Louis (1866)
The American Hymn by M. Keller; Oliver Ditson & Co., Boston (1866)
Gipsy’s Warning by Charles Grobe; D. S. Holmes, Brooklyn (1866)
Love Chivalry by L. M. Gottschalk; Oliver Ditson & Co., Boston [c. 1868]
Dreaming of Home & Mother by John P. Ordway MD.; G. D. Russell & Co., Boston (1868)
Soiree Musicale (Maiden’s Prayer by T. Badarzewska); White, Smith & Co., Boston (1869)
C. A. White’s Home Songs by C. A. White; White, Smith & Co., Boston (1870)
Select English Songs (Song of the Old Bell by Odoardo Barri); White, Smith & Co., Boston [c. 1870]
Select English Songs (‘Tis When to Sleep by H. R. Bishop); White, Smith & Co., Boston [c. 1870]

Down by the Sea Beat Shore by Louis C. Elson; White, Smith & Co., Boston (1875)
Only a Message Home by C. A. White; White, Smith & Co., Boston (1876)
Song Album by Favorite Authors; White, Smith & Co., Boston (1881)
Longing for the Mountains by F. Frederick; J. L. Peters, St. Louis (1883)
Marguerite by C. A. White; White, Smith Music Publishing, Boston (1883)
Papa’s Pet by Richard Stahl; W. A. Evans & Bro., Philadelphia (1883)
Gems of the Waltz (Boccacio by Suppe); W. A. Evans & Bro., Boston [c.1883]
Choice Collection of Popular Pieces (Slumber Song); W. A. Evans & Bro., Boston (1883)
Heavenly Chimes by Charles Kinkel; J. L. Peters, St. Louis (1883)
Standard Gems by R. Zeckwer (Le Carrilon by Alfred Jaell), Oliver Ditson & Co. (1884)

Bouquet of Beautiful Duets by Stephen Glover (In the Starlight), Oliver Ditson & Co. [c. 1884]
The Fisher Maiden by Harry C. Talbert; Oliver Ditson, Boston (1884)
Murmuring Waves by Chas. D. Blake; White, Smith & Co., Boston (1884)
Annie O’ the Moy by John Wiegand; J. Fischer & Bro., New York (1884)
The Merry Princess Gavotte by F. T. Baker; F. A. North & Co., Philadelphia (1885)
Golden Sunset by Frank C. Turner; White, Smith & Co, New York (1886)
African Patrol March by E. C. Ramsdell; White, Smith & Co., Boston (1886)
Two Songs by Adeline Train; G. Schirmer, New York (1893)
Where the Sweet Magnolia Blooms by Sterling & Von Tilzer; Shapiro, Bernstein & Von Tilzer, New York (1899)
Three Characteristic Scotch Pieces by W. Caven Barrow; The John Church Co., New York [c. 1890]

Melodie Mignonne by Arthur Cleveland Morse; Oliver Diston Co., Boston (1919)
Serendade Populaire by Arthur Cleveland Morse; Oliver Distson Co., Boston (1919)
Valse Poeme by Arthur Cleveland Morse; Oliver Diston Co., Boston (1919)
Valse Caressante by Arthur Cleveland Morse; B. F. Wood Music Co., Boston (1920)
Berceuse Russe by Arthur Cleveland Morse; Oliver Ditson Co., Boston (1920)
Since I Gazed in Your Dear Eyes by Arthur Cleveland Morse; Oliver Ditson Co., Boston (1921)
Charmian Petit Air de Ballet by Arthur Cleveland Mores; Oliver Ditson Co., Boston (1922)

The Messiah by Handel, Published by Oliver Ditson & Co., New York (1889)
Dwight’s Journal of Music: A Paper of Art and Literature, Boston (1872)
The Opera: A Collection of Trios, Quartets and...(Come with the Gypsy Bride); Ditson & Co. (1877)
The Musical Record: A Journal of Music, Art, Literature ed. by Dexter Smith (1884)
North’s Philadelphia Musical Journal; F. A. North & Co., Philadelphia (1886)
Dexter Smith’s, (c. 1880)

SERIES TBD – Gershom Bradford III

Scope and Content: The series includes the correspondence and manuscripts for articles and books published by Gershom Bradford III.

Biographic Sketch: Gershom Bradford III (1879-1978) was the son of Laurence Bradford and Hattie (Phipps). He and his brother, Edward Bradford, were the fourth generation and last owners of the Bradford House Museum. They donated the house to the Duxbury Rural & Historical Society in 1968. Gershom Bradford attended the Millbrook School and Partridge Academy in Duxbury. In 1900 he graduated from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and went to to serve on survey vessels of the U.S. Geodetic Survey and was appointed Nautical Expert in the Hydrographic Office in 1908. He also served as Editor of Pilot Charts and the Hydrographic Bulletin for many years. He was a member of the United States Navy. In 1917, when he was 38 years old, he was a navigator aboard the New York State schoolship, USS Newport. He later conducted his own School of Navigation. He was a prolific writer of both nautical subjects and local Duxbury history. He published over 50 articles and 4 books. He married Mary Whelpley Lightfoot on August 4, 1909, in Washington, DC. They lived on Reservoir Road for much of their life, but summered in Duxbury. He died in Washington, DC, at the age of 98, and was buried in Duxbury, Massachusetts.

BOX X
Gershom Bradford III correspondence, including letters from his brother, Edward Bradford, and letters to Duxbury residents Lura Cushman, Ruth Wakefield, and Alice Berriman. Also manuscripts of articles and illustrations of Bradford’s book, In With the Sea Wind.

BOX X
Folder 1 Prints of ship portraits, postcards
Folder 2 Correspondence, Office Coast and Geodetic Survey to Gershom Bradford, 1900-1902
Folder 3 Nautical Training School material, 1899-1907
Folder 4 Nautical Notes
Folder 5 Correspondence, Charles H. Bradford to Gershom Bradford, 1944
Folder 6 Correspondence, Edward and Barbara Bradford to Gershom Bradford, 1944
Folder 7 Correspondence to Gershom Bradford, 1944
Folder 6 Newsclippings, Dr. Charles H. Bradford, 1943
Folder 8 Correspondence, various
Folder 9 Bradford House to Duxbury Rural & Historical Society, 1968-970
Folder 10 Bradford family land to Duxbury Yacht Club, 1961-1962
Folder 11 Newsclippings of Duxbury and South Shore history

Box X
Materials in this box were found in a trunk in the Bradford House in 2017. Folders include research for articles. Folder titles correspond to the envelopes labeled by Gershom Bradford III.

Folder 1 Pilgrims of Duxbury
Folder 2 Exploration and Early Settlement
Folder 3 Valuable Manuscripts
Folder 4 Seamanship
Folder 5 Ship Hulls
Folder 6 Nautical Articles
Folder 7 Articles
Folder 8 Articles for Information
Folder 9 Articles of Information
Folder 10 Nautical Data for Reference
Folder 11 Geographical Nautical Data
Folder 12 Nautical Data, WWII
Folder 13 Miscellaneous Nautical Information
Folder 14 Nautical Instances
Folder 15 Nautical Biographies
Folder 16 Speed Records
Folder 17 Navigation
Folder 18 Henry B. Hyde
Folder 19 Private Signal Flags
Folder 20 Interesting Letters
Folder 21 Book Reviews
Folder 22 Dictation and Phrases
Folder 23 Great Storm
Folder 24 Wrecks and Derelicts in North Atlantic
Folder 25 Phenomena
Folder 26 Meteorological
Folder 27 Sea Fights

BOX X
Materials in this box were found in an “Empaco File” and contain research notes, correspondence, news clippings, and information compiled by Gershom Bradford III, c. 1915-1970. The files are in the original order under headings A-Z.

Folder 1 A, 1961-1968
Folder 2 B, 1930-1971
Folder 3 C, 1902-1972, mostly related to Gershom Bradford’s career
Folder 4 D, 1962
Folder 5 E/F, 1901-1963, much on Gershom Bradford’s medical history and career
Folder 6 G, 1922-1969
Folder 7 H/I/J, 1947-1971
Folder 8 K/L, 1919-1968
Folder 9 M, 1951-1971
Folder 10 N/O, 1917-1967
Folder 11 P/Q, 1971-1972