Guide to the James Ware Bradbury Papers, 1817-1891, undated
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James Ware Bradbury Papers, George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine
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James Ware Bradbury (1802-1901), a member of Bowdoin's Class of 1825, practiced law in Augusta, Maine (1830-1876), at different times partnering with Horatio Bridge, Lot M. Morrill, James W. Bradbury, Jr., (Bowdoin 1861) and others. He edited the Maine Patriot (1830-1831) and was Kennebec County's prosecuting attorney (1834-1838). He served in the U.S. Senate from 1847 to 1853, was a member of the judiciary committee throughout his tenure and chair of a select committee on French spoliations (1852). He declined a second term, preferring to return to private practice.
Appointed corresponding secretary of the Maine Historical Society, he became its president in 1874 and served in that office until 1890. He also served as Bowdoin Overseer (1850-1860) and Trustee (1860-1901).
Bradbury married Eliza A. Smith of Augusta in 1834; they had four sons.
Correspondence (1836-1890) makes up the bulk of the collection. Also included are accounts and other financial records (1854-1891); documents, drafts and other material relating to Bradbury's law firm's business (1817-1885); and documents, broadsides, notes, newsclippings, obituaries, and other miscellaneous personal records (1847-1890).
This series contains professional and family correspondence. Of note are a few letters to or from James G. Blaine, Samuel Cony, John A. Dix, Millard Fillmore, William P. Frye, William DeWitt Hyde, Andrew Johnson, William P. Preble, and Samuel Wells; the most extensive exchanges were with Bangor, Maine, lawyer Lewis Barker and resident Mark Barker, Saco, Maine, lawyer George A. Emery, Captain John W. Gregorie of South Carolina, John W. Hodgdon of Dubuque, Iowa, and Portland, Maine, lawyer George E.B. Jackson. Also includes an invitation from President Millard Fillmore dated December 7, 1850.
Arranged chronologically; a small portion at the end is arranged alphabetically.
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1836-1890
n.d.
Fragments
Contains financial records and documents related to Bradbury's law practice. Material includes a lease, a bond, a summons, deeds, memoranda, account information, insurance, promissory notes, receipts, and tax information.
No restrictions.
Accounts
Bonds
Insurance
Lease
Miscellaneous
Notes and memoranda
Paper re: case Lint v. Smith
Promissory notes
Quit claim deeds
Receipts
Summons
Tax
Personal documents relating to state appointments, real estate transactions, Bradbury's law partnership, deeds, and taxes.
No restrictions.
Appointments
Misc. notes and documents
Notes and correspondence
Taxes and Deeds
Bowdoin catalogue from 1851 (with James C. Bradbury listed as an instructor and Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain listed as a junior sophister). College bills, a ticket of merit, clippings, school registers, obituaries, court-related documents, and documents related to Bangor Theological Seminary.
No restrictions.
Bangor Theological Seminary
Bowdoin catalogue
Bowdoin material misc.
Clippings
Obituaries, etc.
Printed material
School registers