My ancestor John Bradshaw (born ca. 1664) came from England to Henrico County, Virginia (USA) in 1687 as a headright of Richard Kenyon. See my web site on the family of John Bradshaw in the USA (http://arslanmb.org/genealogy-public/bradshaw/bradshaw.php).
I am just starting my research on the Bradshaws in Lancashire County, England. Recent DNA findings indicate that my John Bradshaw is closely related to those Bradshaws. Thomas Bradshaw (son of a John Bradshaw) was born in Orrell (in Wigan Parish) and baptized 26 March 1809 at the parish church of Upholland. A descendant of his has a y-chromosome haplotype that matches a descendant of John Bradshaw (of Henrico County, Virginia) on 65 of 67 markers. Family Tree DNA estimates a probability of 88.5% that the most recent common ancestor of these two branches of the Bradshaw family was within 5 generations of John Bradshaw (of Henrico County, Virginia, born ca. 1664).
My notes from English records (censuses, parish registers, etc.) are presented here, along with some preliminary groupings of families. See Explanation of Format of Descendant Listings.
There are two John Bradshaws baptized at the church in Upholland who are of the right age to have been the immigrant to Virginia:
John Bradshaw (son of James Bradshaw, of Dalton), born 1 August 1665
John Bradshaw (son of Roger Bradshaw, of Holland [Upholland]), born 16 August 1665
We have no proof that either of these are the same one who went to Virginia, but perhaps there is some record in England that would provide a further clue. The Kenyon family lived in Little Hulton, about 12 miles to the east of Upholland.
There is a Bradshaw (also spelled Bradshaigh) family in the English nobility (https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1660-1690/member/bradshaigh-roger-i-1628-84) who lived in the area in and around Wigan Parish in Lancashire. This family is likely related to our Bradshaws from the same place, but we need confirmation via genetic testing to be sure. If we can find someone with clear documentary evidence proving their descent from this Bradshaigh/Bradshaw family (of the nobility), I would like to ask them to get a y-chromosome DNA test at Family Tree DNA of at least 67 markers to compare to the genetic signature of John Bradshaw of Henrico County, Virginia and the Thomas Bradshaw from Orrell.
This article shows a clear connection between the Bradshaigh and Kenyon families in this part of Lancashire. What is the connection between John Bradshaw of Henrico County, Virginia and this Sir Roger Bradshaigh? Was Roger Bradshaw of Upholland (father of John Bradshaw, born 16 August 1665) a close relative? (This Roger Bradshaw of Upholland, #wv in my Bradshaw database, was buried there on 18 September 1704. He probably married 14 December 1662 at the All Saints Church in Wigan to Ellen Gerrard. She was buried 19 December 1682 at Upholland. Roger Bradshaw is listed as a labourer on his burial record, so he may not have been closely related to the Baronet.)
Sir Roger Bradshaigh, 3rd Baronet (from Wigan)
Censuses:
1841 - Lancashire Co., Wigan District
1841 - rest of England
1851 - Lancashire Co., Wigan District
1851 - rest of England
1861
1871
1881
1891
Other Notes:
Descendant Listings of Family Groups:
The descendant ID of each Bradshaw family group starts with the letter "w" followed by another letter. For example, family "wr" is Ralph Bradshaw (died 1700 around Dalton, Wigan Parish), family "we" is William Bradshaw (married Anne Lindlay? in Standish, Standish Parish in 1661), family "ws" is Samuel Bradshaw (married Grace Challiner in Wigan, Wigan Parish in 1716, died 1742 around Upholland, Wigan Parish), etc. I don't know how each family is related to the others, but will try to link them and expand this listing to include other Bradshaws in the area. I have started with those around Upholland, Orrell, Pemberton, and Wigan in Wigan Parish, since that is where the DNA connection has pointed.
Links:
OnLine Parish Clerks for the County of Lancashire
UK Census Collection (Ancestry.com) - by Subscription
The National Archives (UK)
If you would like to comment on any information contained within, or wish to correspond with me about this family, please send me an e-mail message at: contact@arslanmb.org. Additions and corrections are greatly appreciated. I am especially interested in receiving information obtained from primary sources (parish registers, census listings, Bibles, cemeteries, vital records, probate and land records, etc.) and photographs and digital images relating to this branch of the Bradshaw family so that I can incorporate them into this page. Also, I would like to provide links to other pages on the Internet that deal with Bradshaw genealogy.
Mark B. Arslan