Person:Sarah Unknown (2181)

The July 2001 issue of the NEHGR gives her name as Sarah, based on a court record referring to the Widdow Sarah Griswell, and denies that she is the daughter of Thomas Tracey. The point of the article is to suggest that Sarah married second Major William Bradford, the son of Governor Bradford. William had three wives - first Alice Richards (d. Dec 1671), second traditionally “widow Wiswell” by whom he had a son in 1675 and third Mary Wood [Holmes], whose first child was born in 1677. The Massachusetts Wiswell family is quite small, and there is no one who could have been this missing widow. Bradford’s will refers to land that Joseph’s mother had up in Norwich, which fits with land held by Francis Griswold. (The only others with holdings at that time who died before 1673 were William Backus and John Mason, neither of which had a widow who could have remarried.) In addition, two of Francis’ daughters were married in Plymouth, which makes little sense for a family from Norwich, unless their mother had moved to Plymouth with her new husband. How might they have met? William’s brother John was settled in Norwich -- he could have played matchmaker for his newly widowed brother and lovely widowed neighbor.

1. ↑ David Jay Webber, "Major William2 Bradford's Second Wife: Was She the Widow of Francis2 Griswold?", in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society)
   155 (2001):245ff.

   "In summary, I believe it to be highly likely that Major William2 Bradford's second wife, heretofore identified as "a widow Wiswall," was actually Sarah (_____) Griswold, the widow of Francis2 Griswold of Norwich. The evidence is admittedly indirect, and no definitive proof for this identification can be produced at this time. But in my opinion the evidence points strongly in this direction."

2. ↑ Birth year estimated based on birth years of her known children and possible last child.