Documentary History for Hannah Smith and Stephen Bradley

The marriage of Hannah Smith, the daughter of Nehemiah, and Stephen Bradley is found in the town records for New Haven. The remainder of their documentary history is found in the pages of the records from Guilford. The Guilford records are some of the most difficult to dissect. They are scattered among a number of different volumes. The earliest town records for births, baptisms and marriages are not available. However at some point in time the town recognized that those early records were being lost to the ravages of time. In the 1800’s they set about to copy the records in a new set of ledgers. This second copy is readily accessible and easy to follow. Unlike many other such transcriptions that reorganized and reformatted the original records it appears that in Guilford they simple started on page one and tried to recopy the original just at it had originally unfolded. Also luckily for us there is an alternative source woven among the original land records. As with most of the early Connecticut towns the land records were also used to record vital records. We have included the family records from both sources. The rewritten copy is written in a beautifull hand. The land records are very rustic reflecting the fact that they were written over 300 years ago. In addition to the birth records we have a death record for the first Sarah. For Stephen and Hannah’s son Stephen 2nd we have included his marriage record to Sarah Ward and the birth record for his son Stephen 3rd. All three Stephens happen to be part of my family tree. We also have a few pages from Capt. Bradley’s will. We also have included a few documents from the life of Stephen Bradley. There is a record in which he is given a grant of land for which he is required to furnish the town with a payment in Indian Corn. The next document is a list of names that represents the leading men of Guilford. On the list Stephen is referred to as “Captain” Stephen Bradley a reflection on his standing in the Guilford Militia. The title of Capt. is also reflected in his death record. Stephen and his son Stephen 2nd both appear on the same page in the “Record of Mortality Guilford. We also have the registration for the earmarks that he and his son Stephen used for their livestock.