Martha Bradstreet land papers

circa 1801-circa 1871

Martha Bradstreet (August 10, 1780 - December 17, 1871) was born in Antigua, West Indies and died in Bennettsville, New York. She and her older brother Samuel were the natural children of Major Samuel Bradstreet of the 40th Regiment of Foot, who died in Antigua in December, 1779. He was the stepson and relative of Major General John Bradstreet (1714-1774) of Nova Scotia, who died in New York City. Both men were colonial officers in the British Army. Philip Schuyler (1733-1804) was Major General John Bradstreet's executor.

Martha's father Samuel and his sister Elizabeth Bradstreet Livius were the children of British Army officer John Bradstreet, a cousin of Major General John Bradstreet, and Mary Aldridge. Bradstreet's widow married Major General Bradstreet; they had two daughters, Martha Bradstreet (died 1782) and Agatha Bradstreet Evans (died February 9, 1795). Martha and Samuel's mother brought them to Major Bradstreet's sister in England, Elizabeth Livius (died May 4, 1795), when Martha was an infant. Martha was raised by her mother and by Bradstreet relatives, including Livius; she lived in Ireland and England while growing up. Samuel was raised by Livius and joined the British Army at a young age. He would later become involved in litigation with his sister in New York State.

Through her Bradstreet relatives, Martha inherited lands in New York State, notably tracts in Cosby's Manor in the Mohawk River Valley from the estate of Major General John Bradstreet. Cosby's Manor originated as a land grant to New York colonial governor William Cosby, running along both sides of the Mohawk River in what are now Herkimer and Oneida Counties.

In addition to other family bequests received by Samuel and Martha, Elizabeth Livius designated Martha as her sole heir. Martha legally jeopardized her inheritance from Livius when she married Mathew Codd in Ireland in 1799 without the consent of the British executor Charles Gould (later Sir Charles Morgan), required for marriage before the age of 21. Under the terms of that will Samuel then became sole heir. That estate would later revert to Martha, and Gould's consent to her marriage was ultimately obtained. Gould held lands and funds in trust for Bradstreet family members and was empowered to carry out transactions on their behalf; some were delegated to his son Edward Goold in New York.

Martha and Mathew Codd emigrated to New York in 1799. In 1801, having reached legal age, she and her husband began what would be a long legal battle to reclaim her property rights while seeking redress for lands the executor had sold in the meantime.

Martha Bradstreet filed for divorce from Mathew Codd in 1816, which was granted by decree in 1817. She successfully petitioned the New York State Legislature to restore her maiden name, and to legally allow the Codd children to change their surname to Bradstreet, in 1817 and 1818 respectively. Martha Bradstreet lost her claim to Cosby's Manor lands in the U.S. Supreme Court case of James Jackson, Ex Dem. of Martha Bradstreet, v. Henry Huntington, 30 U.S. 402 (1831), but she and her family continued using legal means to assert various property interests.