The Thomas Bradford family papers contain the incoming correspondence of the Philadelphia lawyer's family. Many of the earliest letters in the collection relate to Thomas Bradford's personal finances, and much of the collection consists of letters written to Thomas and his wife Elizabeth by their children. Vincent L. and Juliet S. Bradford frequently wrote of their daily lives while living in Niles, Michigan, in the 1830s, where he worked as a lawyer. Thomas Budd Bradford also sent news to his father about his life in Michigan and about the Presbyterian Church in Warminster, Pennsylvania, after his return to Philadelphia. He frequently mentioned religion. Elizabeth Bradford, who married William T. Dwight, often wrote from her home in Portland, Maine, sharing family news. Other personal correspondence includes several letters of condolence written in March 1841, following a child's death, and a late letter from Thomas Bradford's grandson, Henry E. Dwight, who gave his opinion on American military action in Mexico (December 1, 1846). The collection also holds two drafts of an unsigned letter to President John Tyler, recommending William Bradford for the head of the Philadelphia Post Office (August 14, 1843).
Also included is a selection of personal correspondence addressed to Elizabeth Ann Bradford, wife of Samuel Bradford, Jr., of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, throughout the 1840s. She primarily received letters from female friends. Samuel and Elizabeth Bradford's relationship to the Thomas Bradford family is unclear.
Thomas Bradford, Jr., a descendant of Philadelphia printer William Bradford (1663-1752), was born on September 11, 1781, and attended the University of Pennsylvania. He studied law with William Todd and was admitted to the bar in October 1802. He subsequently became a prestigious lawyer in the Philadelphia area. He and his wife, Elizabeth Loockerman (1779-1842) of Dover, Delaware, were married on May 8, 1805, and had five children: Vincent L. (b. 1808), Elizabeth L., Benjamin Rush, William, and Thomas Budd (1816-1871). Thomas Bradford, Jr., died on October 25, 1851. Vincent became a lawyer and married Juliet S. Ray. They lived in Niles, Michigan, and Vincent was elected to the State Senate in 1837, before returning to Philadelphia in the 1840s. Thomas Budd Bradford graduated from Williams College in 1833 and became a Presbyterian minister, moving temporarily to Michigan. In 1840, he returned to the Philadelphia area, where he presided over a congregation until moving to the Loockerman family estate in Dover, Delaware, in 1850. He had no children with his first wife, Henrietta Singer (d. 1851), and had four surviving children with his second wife, Lucinda Porter: Thomas Budd, Lucinda Hall, Robert, and William Hall. Elizabeth L. Bradford married Reverend William T. Dwight of Portland, Maine, and they had several children, including Henry E. Dwight.
Samuel Bradford, Jr. (1803-1885) worked with several Philadelphia-based railroad companies throughout the 19th century. He and his wife, Elizabeth Ann Wood of Newburyport, Massachusetts, had two surviving daughters: Elizabeth and Annie. His relationship to the Thomas Bradford family is unclear.