Information Sheet
R Bradford family.
647
Papers, 1722-1998.
Eight record
storage boxes.
These are papers collected by Dr. Vance A. Bradford
while conducting genealogical research on the Bradford
family. Included are six boxes of
correspondence with and about descendants of Samuel Bradford of Snow Hill, Maryland, and
two boxes of papers from the Duncan homestead in
southern Phelps County, Missouri.
Vance Arthur Bradford was born on a farm near Plato, Missouri,
on 16 November 1910. He was the son of
William Henry Bradford and Grace Evelyn Matthews Bradford. He received an M.D. degree, specializing in
surgery, from the University
of Oklahoma in 1938. On 26 May 1940 he married Margaret Elizabeth
McRae in Oswego, New York, on 26 May 1940. Dr. Bradford died in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,
on 23 October 1998.
Dr. Bradford’s genealogical research began around
1970 and eventually developed into a quest to identify all of the descendants
of Samuel Bradford of Snow Hill,
Maryland, who died in about
1812. One of Samuel’s sons, Adam
(1775-1849), was a pioneer resident of what is now Phelps County, Missouri,
and was a direct ancestor of Vance A. Bradford.
Many field trips and a voluminous correspondence resulted in the
publication in 1985 of Bradford
Descendants, an 811-page summation of Dr. Bradford’s research.
The Bradford family
papers have been divided into two sections.
The first, and largest (six record-storage boxes) section consists of
Dr. Bradford’s genealogical correspondence, arranged alphabetically by correspondent. Also included in this section are documents
and papers related to his ancestors that Dr. Bradford acquired on his research
trips. These materials have been filed
under the name of the person to whom they refer. The “Folder List” notes the name of each of
the correspondents and documented persons.
The second section, in two record-storage boxes,
consists of papers apparently collected by Annie Duncan Freeman, a kinswoman of
Dr. Bradford’s, and removed from the Duncan homestead
in southern Phelps
County by Dr.
Bradford. These papers have been
arranged by name and topic.
The Bradford family
papers will be a useful supplement to researchers who have consulted Bradford Descendants and who desire to
see the original correspondence and documents that led to and supported its
publication.
Shelf List for this collection
Folder List for this collection
Index cards for this collection
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