Mary Ledbetter was the daughter of Richard Ledbetter II and Mary Walton.710

Mary Ledbetter Bradley - Goodbread was the daughter of Richard Ledbetter Jr., who had married about 1737 in Brunswick Co. VA Mary Walton. Mary Ledbetter, a daughter of George Walton and Elizabeth Rowe, was deeded 367 acres of land in Brunswick Co., by her father on 4 Nov. 1741 (Deed Bk 1, P 496). Richard Jr. and Mary (Walton) Ledbetter had three sons and three daughters, as evidenced by Mary Ledbetter's will in Brunswick Co. VA in 1779. (Will Bk 5, page 56). In her will Mary Ledbetter stated her daughter Mary Bradley, recently widowed, was planning to deed her deceased husband John Bradley's land to her brother Richard Ledbetter, and that if this was done, Mary Bradley was to get some of her mother's land in Brunswick County (that which had not been given to George Ledbetter). But, if the Bradley land was not transferred to Richard then the land was to go to her son Richard Ledbetter. Mary Bradley was given three slaves.

About 1770 Richard Ledbetter III and his sister Mary and husband, John Bradley moved to North Carolina. Richard III later moved to Georgia, and of course, Mary, left a widow in 1778 in Rutherford C9., NC, married John Goodbread.

Mary Goodbread, widow of John Goodbread, was quite a character in her old age. Rutherford Co. Deed Book 32-33, page 35, on 14 Dec. 1818 Mary Goodbread deeded to her two sons, Phillip and John Goodbread, for 500 pounds, 100 acres of land at her death, land on Cedar Creek, Grassy Branch of Broad River. In Rutherford County Court Minutes of October 1824, on motion of John Bradley, Mary Goodbread was ordered to appear before Justice Court, to show cause if any, she may have, why a guardian may not be appointed for her. Then the following January, on 8th Mary executed another deed, this time to Isaac Ledbetter, Sr., as trustee for the benefit of her daughter Sarah Ledbetter and her children, giving her a negro girl called Silvey and her increase. This gift had strings attached, for the slave was to be for the sole and exclusive benefit of her daughter and children, and Sarah's husband Walton Ledbetter is to keep hands off this property, and with the proviso that "should my said daughter who is now living with me at any time leave me, then in that case said Negro is not to be taken out of my possession during my lifetime". Added to this deed is an additional statement before the signing of the instrument, in which it states the parties have agreed that the Negro girl Silvey's child that she now has or shortly is to have is to be the property of Elizabeth Bradley, daughter of John Bradley, her son. Both the deed and the addition were signed by Mary Goodbread with an X.

On July 12, 1825 her son John Bradley was granted letters of administration of the estate of Mary Goodbread, deceased. He posted bond of 500 pounds with another son, John Goodbread (John, Jr.) as security.

John Goodbread had five children. I think the first one was by a previous wife and that he and Mary Ledbetter Bradley had four:
<1> Catherine Goodbread;
<2> Sarah Goodbread born about 1780;
<3> Thomas Goodbread;
<4> Phillip Goodbread, born about 1784;
<5> John Goodbread, Jr., born about 1785.

John Bradley, Sr. died 24 June 17, 1778, after a fall from the roof of a building at Col. Andrew Hampton's place. He evidently dictated his will and signed it while on his death bed. In 178S, 86 and 87 the sons and daughters of John Bradley Sr. and his first wife brought Court action to revoke this will and many witnesses were called. The witnesses testified that there was a total eclipse of the sun at the time John Bradley fell; that his wife Mary was sent for and when she arrived, asked him if he had made his will, as the older children would take everything and she wanted him to provide for her small children. The will was filed in old Tryon County and shows he left five shillings each to his sons by both marriages, as well as his married daughters. The balance of his estate, land, cattle and household furniture were left to his wife Mary on that day in 1778, and the next year Mary Ledbetter-Bradley married John Goodbread.

WILL:24 Jun 1778 Tryon Co, NC pr OCt 1778. John BRADLEY. Daughter Sarah MORGAN, daughter Anna JONES, son by my 1st wife: John BRADLEY. son Richard BRADLEY, son by my 2nd wife John BRADLEY. Son George Warton BRADLEY, daughter Mary BRADLEY, son Edward BRADLEY, son Isaac BRADLEY, son James Terry BRADLEY, son John W. BRADLEY. Wife Mary BRADLEY. Executors: My wife and Richard LEDBETTER. S: John (X) Bradley. Wit: Jonatham HAMPTON, Andrew HAMPTON, Jonas WILLIAMS.

FULL TRANSCRIPT:

'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.

Source: 'Smoky Mountain Clans, Volume 2', Donald B. Reagan, 1983, p 133-135.

John Goodbread married Mary Ledbetter Bradley, widow of John Bradley, on 28 April 1779 in Rutherford County. Mary Ledbetter's line can be traced back to Henry Ledbetter, Sr., who was born near Durham, England in about 1625. He appears to have emigrated, along with other Ledbetters, settling in Charles City County, Virginia. John and Mary Goodbread had five children: Sarah, Catherine, Thomas, Phillip, and John Jr. John Goodbread, Sr. died in Rutherford County in 1814. His will shows that he was wealthy, as he bequeathed to his four living children a total of fourteen slaves and over 700 acres of land.709 In the 1810 census of Rutherford County, Mary Goodbread is listed as head of the household, suggesting that John died prior to that time, even though his will was not probated until 1814.

JOHN GOODBREAD, Sr.,57 son of Phillip Sr. and Catherine Goodbread, was born about 1751, probably in Pennsylvania and died in Rutherford Co. NC between 1808 and July 1814. His wife Mary is shown as head of the household on the 1810 census of Rutherford Co. and it is not known if he was already deceased, or if simply not at home. His will, dated 28 Dec. 1807 was not probated until July 1814. (Rutherford Co. Will BK C, page 15). In the will he disposes of a number of slaves to his wife Mary and children. The land is divided between his two sons, John Jr. and Phillip, and Phillip was named Executor of the Estate. His son Thomas is deceased at the time the will was written and John included a bequest of a negro woman Beck and her child Sinthy to his grandson Benjamin Hyder Goodbread "son of Thomas Goodbread deceased".

John Goodbread, along with his father and brothers, served from 30 Oct. to 30 Dec. 1777 in Capt. Robert Porter's Co. "Gil in the American Revolution. In 1782 John, along with two of his brothers, was accused of becoming a Loyalist and fighting on the side of the British. No record of a pay voucher for John Goodbread is found in the British records, although such was found for his two brothers, Phillip and Thomas. John again served in the American cause as shown by Pay Voucher 1784 Morgan District, and was a patriot for the duration of the Revolution. For his alleged service as a Tory John Goodbread had his lands confiscated, but regained them when he again joined the American cause. North Carolina Colonial Records, Vol. 21, page 657 gives a report of James Miller, Commissioner of Confiscated Property, stating that in 1780 he received beef cattle from Mrs. Mary Potts to the amount of a bond she owed John Goodbread, then in arms and with the enemy, and whose property Miller conceived was confiscated and forfeited to the State. In the same Volume, page 814 is another report in 1790 by James Miller, referring to this previous report and states "Goodbread hath since returned and instituted a suit against the said Mary Potts and recovered the amount of said bond.

John Goodbread was a farmer and owned a large estate in land and slaves. Land records indicate he owned land on Main Cove Creek including the mouth of the first creek below the land of his father, Phillip Goodbread, Sr. He also owned land on both sides of Cedar Creek of Broad River, on Grassy branch, adjoining Thomas Morris and Bradley. In his wi11 he describes his land as that "where I now live and all my land lying on Seader Creek to the amount of 675 acres more or less."

John Goodbread married in Rutherford Co. by bond dated 28 Apr. 1779 the widow Mary Ledbetter-Bradley. Mary Ledbetter was the daughter of Richard, Jr. and Mary (Walton) Ledbetter, and was born in Brunswick Co. VA about 1744 and married about 1760 John Bradley, by whom she is said to have had seven Bradley children. We know definitely she had a son John Bradley who was administrator of her estate. John Bradley, Sr. had stated in his will he had two sons named John, one by his first wife and one by his second wife, Mary Ledbetter. Mary also had a daughter Mary Bradley, for John Goodbread sued for recovery of land that had been entered by Alexander Ervin and John Goodbread stated that it was 110rfant's land and that her father John Bradley had entered said lands in his time and that sd Goodbread has receipts for to show for the patten fees.” Ervin then gave up his claim to the land. Also, granddaughter Mary Bradley is mentioned in her grandmother Mary Walton Ledbetter's will written in Nov. 1778, which bequeathed this granddaughter a slave. In addition to John and Mary Bradley, Mary's other Bradley children were: George Walton, Edward, Isaac, James Terry and Johnson Bradley. I think Mary Ledbetter was about sixteen years old when she married John Bradley about 1760-62, was widowed in 1778, married John Goodbread in 1779 when she was about 35 years old and had four Goodbread children, not five~ as I think John Goodbread's daughter Catherine Warton Morris, mentioned in his will, was a daughter of a first wife, name unknown.