Provided By: John Bradbury
Kingswinford, Nr. Stourbridge, England
May 2000
Last Updated:
07/10/2005 10:24AM CDT
- Bradbury Name Spellings
- Bradbury Name Origin
- Bradbury Places
- Notable Bradburys
- Bradbury Heraldry
- Distribution of Bradburys
- Family Research
- Family Pedigree
The Bradburys
Perhaps the first thing that should be said about the
name Bradbury is that there are quite a few of us! Although our
name is not in the first division league
like Smith or Jones, there are never-the-less quite a
few Bradburys on the registers. I have made an
attempt at quantifying the number of Bradburys, which
is to be seen in Distribution of the Bradburys
Since the early 19th century the name Bradbury has
remained unchanged but in earlier times there were
numerous variations in the way the name was spelt. The reason for this
is that prior to the latter half
of the 18th century the vast majority of people were
illiterate, even to the extent of being unable to
write their own names. It was the duty of the priest
or the parish clerk to enter the names of people in
the parish register and this was done according to how
the name sounded or how they thought it should be
spelt. The local dialect could therefore influence
the spelling of a name. Even in the 19th and 20th
century names have changed but today this is a rare
event compared to the past. The earliest entries in
parish registers were often in Latin. Variations I
have personally come across and have on my databank
include Bradburrie, Bradburie, Bradberry, Bradbery,
Bradbry, Broadbury and dozens of others. All of
course are of the Bradbury Family the most common
spelling.
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The origin of surnames is very complex however it is
true to say it all started as a result of parents
either naming a child after a geographical feature, a
man-made feature, a human feature (including
nick-names); or, the occupation of the father. Our
name lies in the first category. In the Penguin
Dictionary of Surnames Bradbury is described as Old
English and a local name. The exact Old English is
brad meaning broad and burh meaning fort. Its
general meaning is a fort made of boards/planks (not
very exciting stuff!!). It is also a place name (a
village) in the County of Durham and also in the
County of Cheshire (
Bredbury
- now a suburb of
Manchester). The origin of our name therefore
probably lies in one of these two counties. My own
research and that of a colleague favours the latter
location.
The first recordings of the name are in legal
documents. A William de Bradbury is mentioned on the
assize rolls of Cheshire in 1288. As part of a
"fine" (meaning simply a financial consideration)
which was levied in 1322 there is mention of a Robert
Bradbury.
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Bradbury - Town in England, North of Darlington, at exit 60 on the
A1
Bradbury Mountain - Maine, USA
Bradbury
- Town in Maine, USA, less than 1 Km from the Canadian Border
Bradbury
- Town in Illinois, USA about 12 miles south of Charleston
Bradbury
- town in California, USA, east of Pasadena near the towns of Duarte,
and Monrovia
Chateau Bradbury Estate
Owned by Scot Anderson since 1989 is one one of Southern California's
premier locations for wedding ceremonies and receptions, corporate
events, and motion and still picture / television production.
Surrounded by two acres of lush gardens, this private residence offers
an historic and exclusive location for special events.
Located a mile or so south of the town of Bradbury, CA
Bradbury
Building Los Angeles, California. This commercial office building
has ornate Victorian cast iron interior, built 1889 to 1893.
Take a look.
Bradbury
Building Used in Movie "Blade Runner"
Bradbury
Building Interior"
Bradbury
Building Exterior"
Bradbury - a suburb of Sydney, NSW, Australia
Bradbury - a hamlet in the Mt Lofty area,
near Adelaide, Australia
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Well known present day Bradburys include:
Prof. Malcolm Bradbury - a very successful
and well
known English writer - Univ. of East Anglia
Ray
Bradbury - a prolific American Science Fiction
writer.
From the past -
Joseph Bradbury (pen name Stephon) - wrote books about
Derbyshire. Joseph was a railway clerk by day.
Sir John Swanick Bradbury - 1st Baron 1872 - 1950 -
British Government Official born at Winsford in
Cheshire. As Secretary to the Treasury (1913 - 1919)
and Chief Cashier of the Bank of England he was
responsible for the substitution of £1 banknotes and
10 shilling notes for gold coins. Treasury notes
bearing his name were nicknamed Bradburys. Bradbury bank
notes are displayed in the Bank of
England Museum, Threadneedle St London. (entrance to
the public is free).
James Ware Bradbury - born Parsonsfield, Maine in
1802, died 1901. A lawyer and leader among Maine
Democrats. US Senator 1846 - 1852.
John Bradbury
- Explorer and botanist. Born 1768 in
Stalybridge (near Manchester), England. John Bradbury
sailed to the US in 1809. After spending a few weeks
with Thomas Jefferson and his family at Monticello he
travelled to St. Louis and from there took a trip on
the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. He returned to
England and in 1817 published an account of his
experiences in Travels in the Interior of American in
the Years 1809, 1810 and 1811. He left again for
America where he settled for the rest of his life. He
died in Kentucky and is buried in Simpsonville.
Theophilus Bradbury - born Newbury Massachusetts in
1739 died Newburyport Mass. 1809. He was a lawyer and
Justice to the Supreme Court of Massachusetts, 1793 -
1803.
Thomas Bradbury (Capt.) The first Bradbury to set
foot on (now) American soil. Born (christened) 16th
Feb. 1611 in Wicken Bonhunt, Essex, England died
16th Mar. 1695 at Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts.
Thomas sailed to American in 1634, married Mary
Perkins about 1636 and had eleven children (six boys
and five girls).
Mary Bradbury (nee Perkins) achieved considerable
notoriety as she was tried for Witchcraft (one of the
infamous Salem Witches) on 26th July 1692. Several
indictments were laid against her, principally with
regard to the death of a John Carr whom she was
accused of bewitching so that he became crazed and
died. She was also accused by Samuel Endicott who
said she providing him with spoiled butter. She was
also said to have appeared to the Carrs and to
Zerababel Endicott in front of her house as a "Blue
boar". Although her husband testified on her behalf
as well as over a hundred character witnesses, she was
still convicted and jailed. She was imprisoned and is
believed to have escaped. All those in prison for
witchcraft were released the following year (1693) and
there was great atonement for the damage done to the
families as a result of the false accusations. Mary
Bradbury died on the 20th Dec. 1700 aged 85 years in
her own bed.
The ancestors of Thomas have been traced back in
England to his 5xgreat-grandfather Robert Bradbury of
Ollerset Hall, Derby. Robert was born circa 1390 and
married the daughter of Robert Davenport who lived in
Bramhall, Cheshire.
The "Bradbury Memorial" is a record of the descendants
of Thomas Bradbury in Agamenticus (York) in 1634 and
of Salisbury, Massachusetts in 1638. It contains a
brief sketch of his ancestors in England. It was
compiled by John Merrill Bradbury of Ipswich, Mass. in
1890 and it can be purchased through the Higgenson
Book Company. I believe an attempt is being made to
up-date this document but as yet (January 2000) there
has been no revised publication.
William Batchelder Bradbury
- Famous American Hymn composer. He
wrote the well known hymn ‘Jesus Loves Me’ and many others. There is an excellent link with
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/b/r/a/bradbury_wb.htm
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A coat of arms was granted in 1874 to Augustus
Beaty
Bradbury of Edinburgh. It is described as Argent, on
a mount in base vert, a Bengal tiger passant proper,
on a chief of the second two other tigers dormant also
proper As you see Heraldry has its own language!
(This section will be expanded with coats-of-arms
and other information provided by Rudy Bradbury)
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Because of the 100 year Confidentiality Law in
the
U.K. there are no official published data on surnames;
however, using the British Telecom directories and
employing a factor to take account of the average size
of UK households and the number of households without
telephones, it is possible to determine with a
reasonable degree of accuracy both the total number of
Bradburys and their distribution throughout the United
Kingdom. I estimated from research in 1996 there were
12,245 Bradburys in the U.K.at that time. The most
popular region for residency is the Midlands followed
by the North West and the North East. There are
relatively few Bradburys in London and the south
generally. I am happy to provide a regional breakdown
on request.
The 1881 Census for England, Scotland and Wales shows
a total Bradbury population of 9,196 souls. The
increase over the 115 year period, therefore, has been
28%.
Outside the U.K. there are Bradburys in most English
speaking countries but especially in America, Canada,
Australia and New Zealand. I estimate the total
world population of Bradburys today to be somewhat
over 25,000.
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For those who are researching their British
ancestors
I hope the following information will be of some use.
Parish Registers date back to 1538 in England and
Wales, to 1558 in Scotland and to 1634 in Ireland. The order for the
keeping of registers was made by
Thomas Cromwell, Vicar General on behalf of Henry
VIII. Most parish registers are incomplete and do not
go back as far as the 16th century and even the
best-preserved registers contain gaps in the mid-17th
century during the political turmoil of the Civil War;
the so called Commonwealth Period.
Prior to the keeping of parish registers (apart from
the nobility) the lives of the vast majority of the
population went completely unrecorded. Although this
is difficult to appreciate in the Year 2000 it is
nevertheless true.
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If you decide to research your own family history I
wish you luck. Research will sometimes lead to
success and sometimes frustration. It is certainly a
"labour of love" but if done properly can lead to both
interesting and fascinating results. I discovered,
for example, my own great grandmother’s maiden name
was Elizabeth Tudor; however she was not the Elizabeth
Tudor and I don’t have blue blood in my veins! At
least I don’t think so although I am still tracing my
Tudor ancestry.
Viva la Bradburys!
John Bradbury
Kingswinford, England
1st May, 2000
e-mail: john_bradbury_33@yahoo.com
Kingswinford, Nr. Stourbridge, England
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Last Updated: 7/10/2004 12:56PM CDT
Webmaster: jim@bradbury.org