During an attack by Indians on the morning of May 22, 1758, Joshua Bradford, his wife Hannah and their infant son, Winslow were brutally murdered. Joshua, the great-grandson of Governor William Bradford of Plymouth, Massachusetts was one of the first twenty-two original settlers in Meduncook, He had arrived a few years earlier from Kingston, Massachusetts. He built his homestead on a point just off Garrison Island. The British had erected a fort to help protect the settlers on the island during the settlement at Meduncook. When the tide was low the island was accessible to the mainland only by foot.
On the morning of the attack the soldiers at the fort spotted a group of Indians. Believing the Indians were on their way to attack they fired warning shots. Seeing the approaching Indians, Joshua believing they were of the same tribe as Chief Moxie, who he had recently rescued near his homestead after the chief had fallen through the spring ice still on the river, did not take heed. He thought that his bond of friendship with the chief would protect him and his family, that they would be safe from harm. The Indians attacked Joshua, killing him, his wife Hannah, and their youngest son, Winslow.
Their daughter, Melatiah, hid under the bed with her brother, Elisha. When Elisha cried out she crept out and made a mad dash for the fort. The Indians saw her and started in pursuit. One of them gave her an ugly wound that is said to have severed her lower ribs from her spine. A soldier from the garrison succeeded in rescuing her. She survived her wounds, married and raised a large family in Vermont.
Before fleeing, the Indians took two of the Bradford boys with them. Joshua Jr., and Benjamin, ages eleven and six. They took them north to Canada. They were given little to eat and left to gather their own food. Their captors made them work like slaves but eventually they escaped and made it back to their family. They both eventually married and raised large families. Joshua Jr. , stayed in Maine, in Meduncook which has now become Friendship. Benjamin removed to Canada with the British Loyalists in the 1780s. He settled outside of St. Andrews, Charlotte Co., New Brunswick and had at least eight children.
At the time of the attack the youngest surviving children went to live with Hannah’s sister, Deborah Bradford Sampson in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. Deborah would have a child two years later. also named Deborah who would become famous in American history. When 20 years old, she disguised herself as a man and enlisted in the Continental Army taking part in the Revolutionary War.
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| Bradford Point
Photo taken by Jason Gaudet
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| Monument for Joshua and Hannah Bradford on Garrison Island
Photo taken by Margaret Watten Gagnon
Friendship, ME-2011
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Note: There are many stories and oral histories about the attack on the Bradford family on the internet. Some are part of genealogies where family oral history has passed down personal accounts of what happened to the family. I hope you will do a search for further information about this tragic event in our family. Joshua and Hannah Bradford were my sixth great grandparents.
Website credits for this article:
An interview with Margaret Gagnon, a descendant of Joshua Bradford Jr., November 7, 2007
http://www.msad40.org/fvs/Finding_Friendship/Finding_Friendship_08/Adult%20Webpages/GagnonFindingFriendship.html
A blog by Jason Gaudet, a descendant of Benjamin Bradford
http://newbrunswickresearcher.blogspot.com/2012_07_01_archive.html
History of Friendship, Maine-From A Gazetteer of the State of Maine-By Geo. J. Varney-Published by B. B. Russell, 57 Cornhill, Boston 1886
http://history.rays-place.com/me/friendship-me.htm
The "Loyalist", Benjamin Bradford
http://www.heritagecharlotte.com/bradford/benjaminbradfordloyalist.html
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