USA > Maine > Biographical encyclopedia of Maine of the nineteenth century > Part 8
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But new duties still awaited him. In October he accepted the appointment of Com- missioner of Maine to Washington, to inaugurate a system of coast defences for the loyal States. The fort at the mouth of the Kennebec was one result of his mission. His bodily strength at this time had suffered but little impairment, his mental powers none at all. This visit to Washington was his last public service, the graceful rounding off of a long life of public usefulness and duty, and was wholly acceptable to the Legislature and Governor of Maine, as also to the National Government.
Returning from a journey to Boston, July 4, 1862, his friends were for the first time admonished of his failing strength. He soon perceived this himself, and said, "I fail to - regain my strength, and I do not know as I desire to." He died July 25, 1862. Calm and unruffled, as in the days of his manly strength, he checrfully awaited the summons of death with the dignity of a philosopher and the meekness of a Christian.
As citizen, neighbor, and friend, his life had been most exemplary. "The care of schools, the education of the young, the opening of highways, the establishment of lines of communication by means of stage-coaches and of steamboats, before the advent of rail- ways, were among the matters carefully looked after by him ; as well as the building of churches, hotels, and other public cdifices. He was an advocate, and an exemplar too, of the doctrine of encouragement to homc industry, in the building of foundries, factories, and other works for employing capital and labor. His fine physical organization, the labors of his early life, his cheerful spirit, temperate habits, moral culture, promptitude, thoroughness, and love of system and order, and his extraordinary self-reliance and self- control, were all elements of his splendid success in life. His home was the most charm- ing theatre of all his virtues. There his qualities of mind and heart shone with most benign lustre. In religious belief and association Mr. Williams was a Unitarian, and he was a liberal supporter of the Unitarian Church. He was a kindly and generous but often secret helper of others who were struggling with adversity or difficulty. With every opportunity for self-indulgence, he maintained to the last the virtues of an almost austere simplicity, with the wisest private and public generosity, realizing the measure of Solon's rule, that he to whom Divinity continues happiness unto the end, we call happy.
Reuel Williams was married on the 19th of November, 1807, to Sarah Lowell, daughter of the Hon. Danicl Cony of Augusta. Of their nine children,-one son and eight daughters,-five survived the death of their honored sire.
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RADBURY, JAMES WARE, Lawyer and ex-United States Senator, Augusta, Maine.
The common ancestor of the Bradbury family in America, was Thomas, who was born in the County of Essex in old England, baptized in the church of Wicken Bonant, February 28, 1611, and came to New England as the agent of Ferdinando Gorges about the year 1634. He first came to Agamenticus, now York, in the District of Maine, married Mary Perkins of Ipswich, and settled in Salisbury, Massachusetts, about the year 1636. He was made a Free- man by taking the required oath in 1639, and Representative to the General Court in 1651, '52, '56, '57, '60, '61, and '66. He was subsequently chosen Recorder of the County Court, and his volumes of records which are still extant are models of neat- ness and accuracy. July 28, 1692, he placed upon the records of the court an origi- nal and noble vindication of his wife from the charge of witchcraft. This was after the execution of Rev. Mr. Burroughs, when a large number of the principal inhabi- tants of Salem had fallen under the charge. He had ten children, from whom the different families of Bradbury in this country are descended. His oldest son, Wymond, married Sarah, daughter of the celebrated Robert Pike, who in many respects was the fore- most man of his time. While zealous in the support of Christianity, he opposed ecclesiastical tyranny, stoutly resisted the persecution of the Quakers, and the mad de- lusion that led to the prosecutions for witchcraft.
Wymond Bradbury had eight children. The first, Wymond, Jr., was born May 13, 1669. He married Maria, daughter of Rev. John Cotton of Plymouth, and re- moved to York, Maine. Their third son, John, born September 9, 1697, became a distinguished man in his day, a ruling spirit in the Church, and was generally known as "The Elder." He married Abigail Young, and their oldest child, Cotton, was born October 8, 1722.
John Bradbury, "The Elder," was an ardent Whig before and at the time of the War of the Revolution. He was several times a member of the Provincial Legis- lature of Massachusetts, a member of the Executive Council, Judge of Probate, Judge of the County Court, and it was said of him that he ruled both the church and the minister. While he was a Whig, his minister strongly sympathized with the Government, and called himself loyal, although the Whigs called him a Tory. It is related that on a certain occasion, prior to the breaking out of the war, the minister preached a sermon upon "Filial Obedience," and when near its close he paused, and said, " Application; England is the mother; the Colonies are the daughters." The Elder sitting in front of the pulpit, rapped with his cane and
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cried out, " None of that, sir." The minister paused for a few moments, and then plucked up courage to begin again, "England is the mother; the Colonies are the daughters;" whereupon the Elder sprang to his feet and cried out, "None of that, sir. Sit down, sir," with such tone and emphasis that the parson, who knew that the congregation were largely with the Elder, took his seat without further delay.
Theophilus, a brother of the "Elder," married Ann Woodman, and was the father of Judge Theophilus, who was educated by his uncle Jabez, who resided in Boston.
Cotton Bradbury, before mentioned, married Ruth Ware, and their eighth child, James, was born April 21, 1772. This James was the father of James Ware, the subject of this sketch. He was born in the town of York, where he obtained a good educa- tion by availing himself of such advantages as the times offered, and studied medicine in his native town. In 1800 he settled in Parsonsfield and established himself in his profession, where he continued in extensive and successful practice for upwards of forty years. It falls to the lot of few men to have aided in their professional life so large a number of honorable members of the profession as did Dr. Bradbury. A list was shown the writer of some fourteen young gentlemen who commenced and pursued to a grcater or less extent their medical studies with him, several of whom achieved much distinction in their profession. In 1801 Dr. Bradbury married Mrs. Ann Moulton, daughter of Deacon Samuel Moulton, who came from Newburyport to Parsonsfield in 1784, and widow of William Moulton, a distant relative of her father, who had one son, Alvah Moulton, who became a highly successful physician and settled in Ossipee, New Hampshire, and reared a large family remarkable for their intelligence and success. By this marriage Dr. Bradbury had three children, namely, James W., Samuel M., and and Clarissa Ann. His wife died in 1835. He married again in 1837, and by this wife had onc son, Cotton M. The subject of this notice, James W. Bradbury, was born in Par- sonsfield, attended the public schools in his native town, for a term or two the acade- mies at Saco, Limerick, and Effingham, New Hampshire, and then fitted for college at Gorham, under Preceptor Nason. He entered the Sophomore Class at Bowdoin College in the autumn of 1822, and was graduated in 1825. In that somewhat celebrated class were Longfellow, Little, Hawthorne, Cilley, Abbott, Cheever, and others who became men of note. Josiah Stover Little, by common consent, took the first rank for scholar- ship in the class. At Commencement there were three English orations assigned to the class : Little had the Valedictory, and Longfellow and Bradbury had the other two.
After graduating, Mr. Bradbury was Preceptor of the Hallowell Academy for a year. At that time the society in Hallowell was cultivated and literary much beyond what is usually found in places of its situation and size. Dr. Benjamin Vaughan, formerly a Member of the English Parliament, had removed from London and taken up his residence there, and he and his family gave a tone to society, and the good Doctor
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was ever trying to do some kind act to improve the condition of all classes. After a year at Hallowell, Mr. Bradbury entered upon the study of law with Rufus McIntire of Parsonsfield ; after a year here he entered the office of Ether and John Shepley, and completed his studies with them. Ether Shepley was afterward the distinguished Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, and John the Reporter of Decisions. At the close of the three years, which was the time then required for the study of the profes- sion of law, there was an interval of three months before a term of the court at which he could be admitted, and Mr. Bradbury went to Effingham, New Hampshire, in the autumn of 1829, and opened a school for the instruction of teachers. The notice of so novel a school brought in a large class,-some fifty or more,-who were instructed for the term ; substantially the same mode of teaching being introduced that has since been adopted in our normal schools. Most of the pupils had taught school, or contemplated doing so immediately. They were all put into one class, and drilled daily in the methods re- commended to be employed in instructing in all the branches then taught in the common-schools. This is believed to be the first normal school taught in New Eng- land. At any rate, Mr. Bradbury had never heard of one at that time, and the importance of such schools was forced upon him while visiting the public schools of the period.
In 1830 Mr. Bradbury came to Augusta, which had but a short time previous been made the capital of the State, and opened an office for the practice of the law. At that time the bar of Kennebec County was perhaps unsurpassed by any in the State ; contain- ing many distinguished names, among which may be mentioned Reuel Williams, Peleg Sprague, George Evans, Frederick Allen, Timothy Boutelle, Samuel Wells, William Emmons, H. W. Fuller, and Hiram Belcher. To obtain foothold in a field so occupied required not only ability, but labor and untiring effort. He was devoted to his profession, and by close attention to business he succeeded, by the commencement of 1834, in secur- ing a large and remunerative practice, which continued undiminished until he was elected to the U. S. Senate in 1846. During these sixteen years he has often said, in the hearing of the writer, that he thought he worked harder than any other man on the Kennebec. The business of his office was probably unsurpassed by any in the State. He was con- stantly employed from morning till night on consultations and office business, and in the numerous trials before the jury and the court arising from his extensive practice. As an attorney his business best showed the estimation in which he was held. He was a sound and discriminating lawyer, a skilful and eloquent advocate, who never failed to do justice to the cause of his client. In 1833 he formed a partnership with Mr. Horatio Bridge, which continued for a year, when Mr. Bridge left the practice for other pursuits. In 1838 Richard D. Rice, afterward Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, entered his office as a student ; and upon his admission to the bar, so extensive was Mr. Bradbury's
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practice, that he admitted him into partnership under the firm-name of Bradbury & Rice. This partnership continued until 1848, when Mr. Rice was appointed by Governor Dana Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, from which place he was soon appointed one of the Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court.
Upon the appointment of Judge Rice to a seat on the bench, Mr. Bradbury took into partnership Lot M. Morrill, Esq., who had recently come to Augusta from Readfield. This partnership of Bradbury & Morrill continued for some years, and until Mr. Morrill was elected to the U. S. Senate. In 1856 Joseph H. Meserve, Esq., was admitted as the junior member of the firm. He was a young man of great promise, but died in 1864, when James W. Bradbury, Jr., became a member of the firm with his father, who had kept up his business largely for the purpose of establishing his son in the profession. The son was a young man of excellent character, and had the confidence of the community in a remark- able degree. His early death in 1876 was a crushing blow to the family.
When Mr. Bradbury came to Augusta in 1830, in order to enable himself to become better acquainted with the people of the State, he took the editorship of the Maine Patriot for one year. The paper was Democratic in sentiment, and Mr. Bradbury commenced life and has always remained from conviction and principle a decided Democrat. He believes that a strict adherence to Democratic principles, as expounded by the fathers and as exem- plified by the general policy of Democratic administrations, is best calculated to secure the rights of the people and the permanency of the Union. While openly and firmly maintain- ing his own views on political questions, he always conceded the equal right of others, and his social relations were never disturbed on account of difference of political opinion. He never allowed politics to interfere with business. In 1835 he was appointed attorney for the county by Governor Dunlap, and held the office for four years, as it was an office in the line of his profession, and an aid rather than impediment to a young lawyer in the way of his business. From the time of settling in Augusta he took a leading part in the political movements of the day, and especially in organizing and harmonizing the political forces of his party in the county and in the State. When the contest arose between the Jackson Democrats who supported Mr. Van Buren and the friends of Mr. Calhoun, Mr. Bradbury took a decided stand in favor of the former. He was elected a delegate to the Baltimore Convention in 1844, in which the supporters of Mr. Van Buren had a decided majority, but not the necessary two thirds required under the rules to make a nomination. They determined, however, if Mr. Van Buren could not be nominated, that they and not their opponents in the convention. should make the selection. After a struggle which lasted for days, they presented the name of James K. Polk, which was received with great demonstrations of joy, and he was at once nominated by the convention and elected by the people over Henry Clay, the ablest and most popular candidate to be found in the ranks of the National Republican Party. During the canvass Mr. Bradbury departed from his
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usual custom, and left his office to take the stump for Mr. Polk, speaking often and in different parts of the State. The admission of Texas was the leading issue between the parties, and he urged strongly the admission to prevent this section of the country from coming under British influence. The organization of the Democratic Party in the State for that campaign was largely due to his efforts. We can now see that if Texas had been an independent nation, with a flag of her own under the patronage of England, our late civil war might have had a very different termination. Time has shown the wisdom of the policy that secured that vast domain to the Union.
At the session of the Maine Legislature of 1846, Mr. Bradbury was chosen U. S. Senator for the term commencing March 4, 1847. He took his seat in the Senate, December 10, 1847, at the commencement of the session. Thirteen days after, his col- league, Hon. John Fairfield, fell a victim to a hazardous surgical operation, and on the 27th of December Mr. Bradbury announced his death to the Senate and pronounced a fitting eulogium upon his life and character. Mr. Bradbury's entrance into the Senate happened at a very interesting period of our history, whether we regard the composition of the Senate or the subjects presented for discussion and action, Among the members of the Senate were Webster, Calhoun, Clay, Benton, Cass, Douglas, Seward, Chase, and other names of great distinction. Foremost among them were Webster, Clay, and Calhoun, differing from each other, yet each of such surpassing intellect and power as is only to be found in the lapse of centuries. The massive power, the persuasive eloquence, clear perception, and strong will of the popular leader ; and the subtle skill, and rapid, condensed reasoning of the logician, were seen in these mighty men in their greatest perfection. When Mr. Bradbury took his seat in the Senate the Mexican War was raging, and he gave his hearty support to President Polk's Administration in all its measures to sustain and strengthen our army then in the heart of Mexico, surrounded by vastly more numerous hostile forces. Strange as it may now appear, the addition of ten regiments to our small army was stoutly resisted by the opponents of the Administration, and in the House there were those who refused to vote supplies to our army in the field. Mr. Wyman B. S. Moor was appointed by the Governor to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Mr. Fairfield, until a successor should be elected by the Legislature. The ratification of the treaty of peace with Mexico was strongly opposed, and came near being defeated. Mr. Bradbury and his colleague, Mr. Moor, both advocated and sustained the ratification, and the measure was finally secured. Mexico was then in so disturbed and distracted a condition that, if the treaty had been rejected, it was feared that not only the Administration but the Government of that coun- try would have gone to pieces. Mr. Bradbury was made Chairman of the Committee on Printing, a member of the Committee on Claims, and of the Judiciary Committee. He continued to serve on the Judiciary Committee to the close of his term. It was then not only an important, but a laborious position, as that committee for a long time had no clerk,
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and the docket had to be kept and the bills drawn by the members. A large share of the real work of Congress is done by the committees, of which the members who make long speeches sometimes do a very small part. During all his term of service Mr. Bradbury did not shrink from doing his full share of the work.
The slavery question began more and more to excite the attention of Congress, upon the attempt to form Governments for the territory acquired from Mexico. The Senate claimed that the Territories were the common property of all the citizens of the United States, and that they had the right to migrate into them with their families, including their slaves, and that Congress had no right to deprive them of this privilege. This was met by the denial of the right of the citizens of any State to carry their local laws into the Terri- tories, and the assertion of the power of Congress to prohibit slavery therein. A select committee appointed for the purpose in July, 1848, by its chairman, Senator Clayton, reported a bill to establish the Territorial Governments of Oregon, California, and New Mexico. This bill led to a long discussion, in which the leading members of the Senate took part. Mr. Bradbury opposed the bill on the ground that it avoided the question as to whether Congress had or had not the power to legislate upon the subject of slavery in the Territories; and instead, presented a different issue, namely, whether slavery can go into the Territories in the absence and not in the face of a law of Congress ; also because it devolved upon the court the discussion of questions that properly belonged to Congress to determine, throwing upon that tribunal responsibilities that do not properly belong to it, and left the real question unsettled. He wished to have the controversy ended, and this bill would fail to do it.
Mr. Bradbury ever regarded the Administration of President Polk as one of the most important in our history. It was during this Administration that Texas was added to the Union, and we acquired by the treaty with Mexico the Territory of California and New Mexico, out of which several States have already been formed, embracing in all an area of imperial dimensions containing about nine hundred thousand square miles, rich in agricul- tural and mineral resources, and nearly three times as large as the present area of the thirteen original States.
In the campaign of 1848 General Taylor was elected President. During the contest his friends had called out from him letters upon the subject of proscription of officers on account of their political opinions, in which he declared that, in case of his election, he would remove no person from office on account of his politics. Soon after his induction into the office of President, systematic, wholesale removals were made in most, if not all, of the Departments. In December, 1849, Mr. Bradbury introduced a resolve that the President be requested to cause to be laid before the Senate all the changes which had been filed or proposed in any of the Departments against individuals who had been removed from office since the previous 4th of March, with a specification of the cases,
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if any, in which the officers charged had had the opportunity to be heard, and a statement · of the number of removals under each Department. This resolution led to protracted debate, in which Smith of Connecticut and Ewing of Ohio took a leading part in defence of the Administration. Mr. Bradbury made an elaborate speech on the subject, show- ing in detail the practices of different Administrations in respect to proscription of their political opponents, the number of offices held by each party under different Administrations, and the number of removals made under Presidents Jackson, Van Buren, Harrison, and Tyler. The object of this discussion was to vindicate the Democratic Party from the charge of proscription-which was most emphatically accomplished, the records showing that the Democratic Administrations had been much less proscriptive than those of their opponents, and that it was not the Democratic Party but their opponents that were in practice the party of proscription. The letters of General Taylor and the practice under his Administration were held up side by side in striking contrast.
Mr. Bradbury's experience on the Committee of Claims showed him the necessity of having some tribunal to investigate the claims made upon the Government, where the evidence in support of them should be taken upon notice, and an opportunity for cross- examination, instead of mere ex-parte affidavits of unknown deponents, often in the hand- writing of the claim agent. Early in 1849 he introduced a resolution for the appointment of a Board of Commissioners. When the subject was before the Senate in 1850,' he offered, by way of amendment to the bill reported by the committee on his resolution, a care- fully prepared bill, with all the guards requisite to protect the interests of the Government, which was accepted and passed the Senate, but did not pass the House at that session. The bill establishing the Court of Claims grew out of this, and is substantially the same.
Mr. Clay returned to the Senate near the close of 1849, when the agitation upon the slavery question had become more intense, and Congress had been unable to agree upon governments for the Territories. The more conservative had tried in vain to secure an adjustment, while the extremists from the North and South would be satisfied with nothing short of their utmost demands. Mr. Clay, appreciating the danger, attempted to bring about a compromise. A large committee was appointed, from .which Mr. Clay reported a bill covering the matter in controversy, including an adjustment of the boundaries of Texas and the payment by the United States for territory claimed by and relinquished by her to the United States. This bill was assailed by the Senators holding extreme views, both from the North and the South. It was claimed by the latter that everything of importance was conceded to the North, and that there was hardly enough left to the South to save her honor. When the time for final action arrived, it was found that a sufficient number of Senators were in favor of the bill to secure its passage, excepting upon the amount of indemnity to be paid to Texas for the release of her terri- tory under the proposed boundary. This disagreement blocked the passage of the bill.
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Mr. Bradbury proposed an amendment to obviate the difficulty, providing for the appoint- ment of commissioners to meet commissioners appointed on the part of Texas, and agree upon a boundary and equivalents, which, when adopted by Congress, should be conclusive. After a warm debate the amendment was agreed to by a close vote. After its adoption, Mr. Pierce of Maryland, who had professed to be a friend of the Conference Bill, moved to strike out the section to which this clause had been added, and by his vote succeeded in carrying it, thus putting everything afloat again. But for this strange action of the Senator from Maryland, the compromise would have passed at once, on the amendment offered by Mr. Bradbury, which removed all the obstacles in the way.
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