My Genealogy Hound

Plymouth, Massachusetts, Governor William Bradford, grave and tombstone, photos

The Grave and Tombstone of Governor William Bradford, Burial Hill Cemetery, Plymouth, Massachusetts. Bradford was born Maarch 19, 1590 in Austerfield, Yorkshire, England and died May 9, 1657 in Plymouth at the age of 67. Bradford arrived on the Mayflower in 1620, was a signer of the Mayflower Compact and served five times between 1621 and 1657 as the Governor of Plymouth Colony. William Bradford was also the author of Of Plymouth Plantation which was his journal detailing life in Plymouth Colony during the twenty-five year period between 1621 and 1646.

The inscription on the tombstone reads: "Under this stone rest the ashes of William Bradford, a zealous puritan and sincere christian. Governor of Plymouth Colony from April 1621 to 1657 (the year he died aged 67) except 5 years which he declined." An inscription beneath in Latin reads: "Oua patres difficillime adepti sunt nolite turpiter relinquere" which translates to: "What our forefathers with so much difficulty secured, do not basely relinquish." See the additional photo below.

A photo of the opposite side of the Governor William Bradford tombstone. This cemetery sits on a hill overlooking the harbor at Plymouth, Massachusetts which can be seen in the background. The inscription on the monument reads: "William Bradford of Austerfield, Yorkshire, England. Was the son of William and Alice Bradford. He was Governor of Plymouth Colony from 1621 to 1633, 1635, 1637, 1639 to 1643, 1645 to 1657."