The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
William Bradford was born January 19, 1721 at Hanover Square, New York. The Bradford family was key in the cultivation of printing in the American colonies, and William learned the trade from his uncle Andrew Bradford and from training abroad in London. In 1742, he returned to Philadelphia to pursue several ventures involving printing, and insurance, and trade, and married Rachael Budd. As opposition to Great Britain increased, Bradford was well suited to influence the revolutionary cause through communication, publishing several journals and newspapers, and financing. His zeal would elevate him into the leadership of the Sons of Liberty, and it was his newspaper that would feature the segmented snake with the theme "Unite or Die." Once deciding to join the American Revolutionary War as a soldier, Bradford would see combat as a Major at the Battle of Trenton and would be wounded at the Battle of Princeton. Bradford rose to the rank of Colonel and was the overall commander in charge of Philadelphia, PA. In 1777, he would serve as the Chairman of the PA Naval Board. On September 25, 1791, Bradford died in Philadelphia, PA. William Bradford would have a son Thomas Bradford on May 4, 1745, who would himself attain the rank of Lt. Colonel. Thomas would marry Mary Fisher on November 18, 1760.
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Patriot biographies must be the original work of the author, and work submitted must not belong to another person or group, in observance with copyright law. Patriot biographies are to be written in complete sentences, follow the established rules of grammar, syntax and punctuation, be free of typographical errors, and follow a narrative format. The narrative should unfold in a logical manner (e.g. the narrative does not jump from time period to time period) or have repeated digressions, or tell the history of the patriot's line from the patriot ancestor to the author. The thinking here is that this is a patriot biography, not a lineage report or a kinship determination project or other report published in a genealogy journal. The biography should discuss the qualifying service (military, patriotic, civil) of the patriot ancestor, where the service was rendered, whether this was a specific state or Continental service, as well as significant events (as determined by the author) of the patriot's life. This is the entire purpose of a patriot's biography.
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Send your submission1, in a Microsoft Word compatible format, to patriotbios@sar.org for inclusion in this space 1Upon submission of a patriot biography, the patriot biography becomes the property of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, and may be edited to conform to the patriot biography submission standards.