I expect that everyone is now thoroughly confused but as I promised it gets worse. John Bradley left a will which was dated 23 June 1778. It is transcribed from the original hand-written will now in North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, North Carolina. In the Name of God Amen, I John Bradley of the County of Tryon & State of North Carolina Being at present the Weak of body yet of perfect mind and memory praise be theretofore given to Almighty God Do make ordain constitute and appoint this my last Will & Testament in manner & Form following That is to Say first and Principally I Recommend my Soul into the hands of Almighty God hoping the Merits Death and passion of Jesus Christ my Saviour to obtain Remission of all my Sins and to inherit Everlasting life and as to my body I Leave it to the Earth to be Decently Buried at the Discretion of my Exrs hereafter named And as Touching the Disposition of all such Temporal Good Things as it hath pleased Almighty God to bestow upon me on this World I leave and Bequeath them as followeth - First I will that all my just Debts be payed together with all my Funeral Charges Item I Leave unto my Son Thomas Bradley five Shilling Sterling to be paid out of my Estate Item I Leave unto my Daughter Sara Morgan five shilling Sterling to be Levied out of my movable Estate Item I Leave unto my Daughter Anne Jones five Shilling to be Levied likewise out of my Estate Item I leave unto John Bradley my Son by my first wife five Shilling to be Levied likewise out of my Estate Item I leave unto my Son Richard Bradley five Shillings to be Levied out of my Estate Item I Leave unto my Son John Bradley Son by my Second wife five Shilling to be Levied out of my Estate Item I Leave unto my Son George Walton Bradley five Shilling to be Levied out of my Estate Item I Leave my Daughter Mary Bradley my Son Edward Bradley my son Isaac Bradley my Son James Terry Bradley my Son Johnson Bradley Five Shillings Sterling to be payed to Each of them out of my Movable Estate Item I Leave unto my Loving wife Mary Bradley One Hundred acres of Land being part of the Tract of Land belonging to Jones Williams Likewise four Hundred acres of Land Lying near Wommack's Fort in Burke County Likewise all [rest of the line is illegible] Likewise my Negroes Wench Nan & her children Likewise two Mares One Colt & one horse Likewise Seventeen head of Cattle Likewise all my Household Furniture With the rest of my Estate both real & personal all money & moneys due my Just Debts payed Which I Leave and Bequeath to my Loving Wife Whom I appoint ordain & Constitute and as one of the executors of this my Last Will and Testament Also Richard Ledbetter I also appoint as Executor with her of this my Last Will & Testament hereby Revoking Disannualling and making void all former Wills Testament Legacies or Executors by me heretofore Make Given Granted appointed Constituted or Ordained and Ratifying andConfirming this & this only to be my Last Will and Testament In Witness Whereof I have hereunto Set my hand and Seal this 23rd Day of June Anno Domini 1778 Signed Sealed Published ) His & Declared by the Testator) John X Bradley (Seal) John Bradley as his Last ) Mark Will & Testament before ) this witnesses ) Jonathan Hampton Andw Hampton His Jones X Williams Mark This last Will and Testament of John Bradley was proven in the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions of Tryon County, North Carolina on Tuesday, October 20, 1778. In the Court Minutes of Tryon County, North Carolina, it was ordered that Letters Testamentary issue to Mary Bradley, relict of the said deceased and Rich'd Ledbetter, Exrs of said Will on said deceased's Estate, pursuant to which Mary Bradley qualified as Executrix. This will was probated 20 October 1778. Mary Ledbetter re marries in 1779 and John is obviously her first husband. But now we have two sons called John and one called Johnson. Did he do this on purpose just to confuse us??? My first thought is that there were 2 John Bradley Srs. I would love to hear some input on any of this. Here are some of John Sr's dealings Notes Following the flow of migration to the South in Virginia John Bradley came as a young lad with his parents before 1755 to Brunswick County, Virginia, then later moved to Granville County, North Carolina. On 8 April 1761, John Bradley bought 270 acres of land from Richard Coleman for 54 Pounds. This land was on the Howel's Branch of Hawtree Creek in Granville County, North Carolina. On 23 February 1771, James Walker of Granville County, to subscribers hereto annexed, in Bute County, for goodwill, love, and affection, Deed of Gift to one acres of land including the new Meeting House on Six pound Waters for the use of subscribers and their heirs as long as the said Meeting House shall last or be repaored for the service of God: ...John Bradley...' This church was located in the watershed of Sixpound Creek, just east of Hawtree Creek where John Bradley lived. On 7 January 1772, John Bradley mortgaged 300 acres of land in the forks of Hawtree Creek to secure a debt (60 Pounds) that he owed Robert Turnbull of Dinwiddie County, Virginia. This land joined the lands of James Hardwick, William Bauthrop, and James Laughter. To pay off the debt to Robert Turnbull on 24 June 1772, John Bradley of Bute County, North Carolina and Robert Turnbull of Dinwiddie County, Virginia sold 300 acres of land on the Howel's Branch, Hawtree Creek for 187 Pounds 10 Shilling Stearling Virginia money to Henry Foote of Bute County, North Carolina. Circa 1773, John Bradley and his family migrated to Tryon County, North Carolina from Bute County, North Carolina. They traveled on the 'Indian Trading Road' which ran from Virginia to Catawba and Cherokee Indian Nations in western North Carolina. On 5 October 174, John Bradley bought 280 acres of land in the forks of Potts Creek from Thomas Beatty and Hugh Beaty of Rowan County, North Carolina and Robert Armstrong of Tryon County, North Carolina, executors of Estate of Francis Beaty, late of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, for 50 Pounds Proclamation money. This land joined the lands of Daniel Warleigh and _______ Sherrill. During a period of five years after his arrival here, John Bradley purchased 100 acres of land in Rutherford County, North Carolina from Jones Williams and 400 acres of land near Wommack's Fort in Burke County, North Carolina. Family tradition says John Bradley was hurt when he fell inside Fort Hampton during the eclipse of the sun on 23 June 1778. The eclipse of the sun occurred in western North Carolina between the hours of 10 A.M. and 12 Noon. {I love this bit..being able to pinpoint where John was by the eclipse of the sun nearly 220 years ago! Genealogy shouldn't be just the gathering of names and dates. It's all the history involved and the family lore} The will and extracts were kindly gathered for me by Jerry Penley (Penjacc@aol.com) who loves to go hunting for information. He gives his source: 'Smoky Mountain Clans, Volume 2', Donald B. Reagan, 1983, p 133-135. I do hope all this generates some discussion. Unfortunately I am off for a week so won't be able to check until I return but please let me hear something. Thank you Philippa