William Bradford (1590-1657) Biography: Born in Yorkshire,
England, William Bradford was one of the first "pilgrims" to
sail across the Atlantic on the Mayflower and settle in
Plymouth, Massachusetts. As a teenager Bradford left his family
home for Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, where he joined a small
community of religious believers who had "separated" from the
Church of England. Because English law considered it an act of
treason to choose a "particular" over the "national" church, the
Scrooby community moved: first to Holland, then to the New
World. Bradford was elected governor of the new colony, a
position he held until the last five years of his life. He
composed two History volumes, the first of which was preserved
in the Plymouth church records, the second of which was
considered lost until located in the bishop of London's home.
The latter manuscript was published in 1856 and returned to the
United States by ecclesiastical decree in 1897, where it was
deposited in the State House in Boston. Of Plymouth P