USA > Maine > Genealogical and family history of the state of Maine, Volume I > Part 102
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I shall miss your untiring energy, careful regard for public expenditures, and intelligent and fearless advice.
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1 wish for you in the station to which you go and in all your future service In the Navy the utmost success, and for you and yours abundant health and happiness.
Sincerely yours,
WILLIAM HI. MOODY,
Secretary. Captain R. B. Bradford, U. S. N.,
1522 P St., N. W., Washington, D. C.
The administration of the Bureau of Equip- ment while Rear Admiral Bradford was chief thereof, was especially noted for establishing the first United States naval coal depots ; the acquisition of the first naval colliers and coal barges ; and the purchase and use of coal hand- ling machinery. When he left the Bureau there were nineteen foreign, insular and do- mestic coal depots, built and building and sites acquired for several additional. A large num- ber of experiments were made for the purpose of ascertaining the best coal mined in the United States for naval use. A system of making annual contracts for coal in foreign ports for the use of navy ships in time of peace at less than current rates was inaugu- rated. A method of supplying ships with fresh water for boilers in time of war and peace by means of water ships, barges and boats, at greatly reduced rates, was perfected. Experi- ments with wireless telegraphy were exten- sively made and the system adopted for naval use. The use of electricity on ship board, es- pecially for revolving gun turrets, was largely extended. He conceived and had surveyed under his own instructions, the route for the present trans-Pacific submarine telegraphic cable and then caused the cable laying charts to be prepared. This survey was pronounced by experienced English cable engineers the best ever made. He also drew the require- ments for guarding the interests of the United States in time of war in connection with this cable which had to be accepted before the sur- veys were conveyed to the cable company. The Navy Hydrographic office was transferred to the Bureau of Equipment during his term of office and he secured new and improved offices and work rooms, reorganized it, enlarged its capacity and output, and made great progress in chart making and ocean surveys. The con- struction of confidential charts for war pur- poses was commenced. The administration of the Naval Observatory was much improved and the work of the Nautical Almanac Office brought up to date. Perhaps the most noted change of all was the very great additions to facilities for equipment work at navy yards and stations by the construction of new build- ings and shops fully equipped with modern tools and machinery. The appropriations for the Bureau were more than quadrupled during
his administration and over $37,000,000 was expended under his supervision without loss.
When Rear Admiral Bradford ceased to be Chief of Bureau, he resumed his lineal rank on the Navy Register-that of captain. It is believed that the act of voluntarily relinquish- ing the rank of rear admiral for that of cap- tain in order that he might go to sea in com- mand of a ship, constituted a precedent. In accordance with his wish, he assumed com- mand of the U. S. battleship "Illinois," Octo- ber 27, 1893. ' At that time she was probably the best ship in the navy. The "Illinois" was attached to the North Atlantic Squadron and cruised from the coast of New England to the West Indies. The winter months were spent south where the squadron engaged in tactical exercises and manoeuvres. During squadron tactical manoeuvres off the south coast of Cuba, March 1, 1904, the steering gear of the battleship "Missouri" became disabled and she rammed the stern of the "Illinois." One of the propeller shafts. of the latter ship was dis- abled, and a hole torn in the port quarter ; she was kept from sinking by promptly closing her water-tight compartment doors. A court of in- quiry on this disaster was ordered. Not only was Captain Bradford acquitted of all blame, but his conduct was highly commended. This accident made it necessary for the "Illinois" to proceed to the Navy Yard at New York for re- pairs. The hole in her underwater body was stopped by means of a wall built on the inside of fire brick and cement, and then braced with timbers. This having been done, she proceeded early in March under one engine, convoyed by a tug and a collier, and arrived safely off New York during a snow storm. After repairs were completed, the "Illinois" proceeded the lat- ter part of May to Martha's Vineyard Island, where she had her annual record target prac- tice. In this practice she obtained the highest score of any ship in the squadron. In the meantime, the squadron of battleships had sailed from the south for the Mediterranean, and the "Illinois," after coaling, sailed from Newport, Rhode Island, June 17, to join her consorts. Calling en route at Gibraltar, she joined the commander-in-chief at Trieste, Aus- tria, July 13. A short cruise with the squad- ron in the Mediterranean followed, and then all ships returned to the United States, calling on the way at the Azores. Target practice off Martha's Vineyard Island again followed, and later the "Illinois" proceeded to the Navy Yard, New York, for docking.
On November 7, 1904, after a little more
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than one year's service afloat, Captain Brad- ford was detached from the command of the "Illinois" and ordered to command the Atlan- tic Training Squadron. He assumed command at Hampton Roads, Virginia, November 8, 1904, with the cruiser "Minneapolis" as flag- ship. On November 23, 1904. he was promoted to the grade of rear-admiral, and ordered as commander-in-chief of the Atlantic Training Squadron, then consisting of eleven ships. These ships were primarily for training young seamen, but incidentally they performed a large amount of cruiser service on the Atlantic Coast, in the Gulf of Mexico and West In- dies ; they also participated in the fleet manoeu- vres of the North Atlantic Squadron, going south for the winter months. This duty was pleasant and interesting.
On April 1, 1905, the Navy Department or- ganized the large number of ships in the At- lantic into a fleet of three squadrons. While at Pensacola, Florida, Rear Admiral Bradford was detached on that date from the command of the Atlantic Training Squadron and ordered to command the third squadron of the Atlantic Fleet, with the U. S. S. "Olympia" as flag- ship. On May I, following, the Third Squad- ron was ordered to proceed to the West Indies on detached duty, with special instructions in connection with affairs in Santa Domingo. The Dominican Republic was largely in debt to citi- zens of several foreign countries and was pay- ing neither interest nor principal. Upon being pressed by the respective governments of the debtors and reprisals being threatened, an ap- peal was made to the United States for aid, chiefly in consequence probably of the policy of that country to preserve the territorial in- tegrity of American Republics. The United States then undertook to collect all Dominican import duties, the only source of revenue of the country, applying a portion to defray the legitimate expenses of the Dominican govern- ment and the cost of collection, and forming a sinking fund with the balance to pay foreign indebtedness. It was a notorious fact that the import duties of Santa Domingo had not been honestly collected for many years and that large smuggling operations were permitted. This act of the United States was unpopular with a class of Dominican politicians who chiefly made a living by graft, and they threatened to declare war against their government. Several small uprisings had already taken place. Rear Admiral Bradford was directed to aid and pro- tect the collectors of customs, to prevent revo- lutions and stop the introduction of arms, am- munition and munitions of war into the coun-
try. The latter really required belligerent rights when the arms were in foreign ships. It was to the interest of foreigners, however, that the United States should succeed in its ultimate purpose, also that good order should be maintained in Santa Domingo. Rear Ad- miral Bradford did not fail to point out these facts and succeeded in carrying out his orders to the letter. While engaged on this duty he had from six to twelve ships under his com- mand. He remained in West Indian waters until January, 1906, when he proceeded to Hampton Roads with four ships that were much in need of repairs. He remained in the waters of the Chesapeake until June 18, 1906, when he sailed with four ships on a cruise to the Madeiras and Azores. He was directed to reach Bar Harbor on his return, July 20. His four ships anchored early that morning off the mouth of Famchman's Bay, but were pre- vented from entering port until the afternoon of the 23rd, on account of a dense fog. The statutory date of his retirement was July 22d, his sixty-second birthday, and upon arrival he received orders detaching him from command and ordering him to his home on that day, which had already passed. On account of this fact his time in command was extended until the 28th, on which day he hauled down his flag-thus terminating his active career afloat. His retirement, however, under the law, of necessity, dated from July 22, 1906.
The following quotation is made from a somewhat extended notice of the retirement of Rear Admiral Bradford, which appeared in the Army and Navy Journal of August 4, 1906:
"From the above outline it will be seen that Admiral Bradford's professional career has been one of manifold activities involving large responsibilities and requiring the broadest training and experience. It is a simple state- ment of truth to say that he has proved equal to every task to which he has been assigned, that he has realized the highest ideals of the American Navy Officer, and that the Service which he has adorned has been enriched by his example and influence."
The following is quoted from the Army and Navy Register of August 4, 1906, on the same subject :
"Rear Admiral Bradford, U. S. Navy, was transferred to the retired list on July 22, and has since relinquished his command afloat. No officer has gone on the retired list with a better record than does Rear Admiral Bradford. His service has been a long and distinguished one, marked by loyalty to the best traditions of the service and great industry in the performance of his duties, to whatever official task he may have been assigned. The naval service benefited materially and especially by the administration of Rear Admiral Bradford at the head of the Bureau of Equipment, where his conduct of the af- fairs of that branch of the Navy Department is felt to- day for the liberality, fearlessness, and determination of the officer's policy. The active list of the Navy suffers a distinct loss by the retirement of Rear Admiral Brad- ford."
Rear Admiral Bradford married, when a lieutenant. May 26, 1875, at Newport, Rhode Island, Harriet Stanhope, daughter of Samuel
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and Elizabeth Cornell ( Stanhope) Engs, born November 16, 1847, at Newport, Rhode Is- land. Children: 1. Elise, born at Newport, Rhode Island, July 5, 1876; married, at Wash- ington, D. C., January 8, 1902, to Rev. Ed- ward Darlington, son of John Oliver and Katharine Lacey (Darlington) Johnson, born December 27, 1873, at Schuylkill Haven, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania. Children: i. Elizabeth Engs, born June 27, 1903, at Bruns- wick, Maine. ii. Bradford, born April 19, 1908, at West Pittston, Pennsylvania. 2. Katharine Engs, born at Newport, Rhode Is- land, August 15, 1881 ; married, at Washing- ton, D. C., April 17, 1906, to Howard Angell, son of Leverett Ellery and Clara (Kingsley) Brockway, born November 22, 1870, at Brook- lyn, New York. 3. Rose Mary, born at New- port, Rhode Island, September 2, 1883.
(For early generations see preceding sketch.)
(V) Samuel, son of Major
BRADFORD William Bradford, married Hannah Rogers, who bore him seven children. He had the title of Lieu- tenant, and lived in Duxbury, about one-third of a mile northeast from the mouth of Island creek. After filling numerous local offices, he died in April, 1714, aged forty-six years.
(VI) Gamaliel, third son and seventh child of Lieutenant Samuel and Hannah (Rogers) Bradford, was born in Plymouth county, Mas- sachusetts, May 18, 1704, and died in 1778. He lived in Duxbury, from which town he was chosen a member of the governor's coun- cil and judge of the court of Plymouth county. He served in the administration of Governor William Shirley during part of his term of office, and in the administration of Governor Jonathan Belcher, the service in the govern- or's council being between 1730 and 1756. He married, August 30, 1728, Abigail Bartlett ; children, born in Duxbury, Plymouth county,
Massachusetts : I. Abigail. 2. Samuel. 3. Gamaliel. 4. Seth. 5. Peabody (Paybody). removed to Turner, Maine ; married, July 29. 1788, Hannah Freeman, ceremony performed by Rev. John Strickland, pastor of Congre- gational church in Turner, Maine. 6. De- borah. 7. Hannah. 8. Ruth. 9. Peter (q. v.). IO. Andrew, twin of Peter, born January 2, 1745; graduated Harvard College, A. B., 1771, A. M. 1774, died 1837.
(VII) Peter, fifth son and ninth child of Gamaliel and Abigail (Bartlett) Bradford, was born in Duxbury, Massachusetts, June 2. 1745. He married, at Pembroke, Plymouth
county, Abigail Loring, and they removed to the District of Maine, locating at Kingsfield, and being among the first settlers of that place in 1764. The first settlers were largely from Plymouth county, and the town as first incor- porated included Waterville, which was set off as a separate town in 1802. He later removed his family to Readfield, same county, and died there in December, 1833. He was prominent in revolutionary times, being a judge, and long a member of the colonial assembly. Chil- dren, born in Winthrop, Maine: 1. Judith, April 27, 1770. 2. Priscilla, June 16, 1773, married William Rand. 3. Alexander, De- cember 18, 1776. 4. Nathaniel. 5. Polly, married - Rollins, of Winslow. 6. Bet- sey, born 1785; married Joshua Merritt, of Portland, Maine. 7. Martin (q. v.). 8. An- drew, married Almira Merritt.
(VIII) Martin, third son and seventh child of Peter and Abigail (Loring) Bradford, was born in Duxbury, Massachusetts, September 22, 1790, and died April 29, 1873. He mar- ried, March 22, 1813, Tyla ( Emily) Hayden, born February 26, 1791, died May 12, 1865. He was a farmer, and became one of the first settlers of St. Albans, Somerset county, Maine. Children : I. Charles Gamaliel, born April 28. 1814. 2. Mary H., April 4, 1816. 3. Peter A., November 26. 1818. 4. Abigail L., March 8, 1821. 5. Andrew, March 31, 1823. 6. Jane P., June 26, 1825. 7. James H., April 1, 1827. 8. Anna K., June 5, 1829. 9. Olive S., August 26, 1831. IO. Emily A., December 30, 1833. II. Sidney K., May 10, 1836. 12. George S .. November 19, 1839.
(IX) Charles Gamaliel, eldest son of Mar- tin and Tyla (Hayden) Bradford, was born in Vassalboro, Maine, April 28, 1814, and died in Detroit, Somerset county, May 31, 1868. He removed to Mattawamkeag, Penobscot county, Maine, where he was among the first incorporators of the town, February 14, 1860. and served as selectman. He was a farmer and lumberman. He was a member of the Methodist church. He married (first) Janu- ary, 1841, Emily White, of Wayne, Maine, who died November 23, 1842; (second). Oc- tober 15, 1850, Mary Prentiss, of St. Albans, born in South China, Kennebec county, July 20, 1823, died at Mattawamkeag, July 13, 1867, daughter of Jesse and Mary (Varney) Prentiss. She was a descendant of Valentine Prentiss (I), who came to Roxbury, Massa- chusetts, in 1631, through John (2), born in England, Valentine (3). born about 1680. Jo- seph (4), born March 26, 1747, and Jesse
. Fother.Nr
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aFost .. . al Publ
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STATE OF MAINE.
(6), born February 22, 1785, who married Mary Varney, of China, Maine, and became the parents of Mary Prentiss, wife of Charles Gamaliel Bradford. Children of Charles Gamaliel and Mary (Prentiss) Bradford: I. Chester, see forward. 2. Tyla, born May 29, 1856, died in 1857. 3. Jane Prentiss, born April 3, 1858, died July 27, 1888. 4. Eliza- beth Mary, born August 8, 1860; married Ar- thur T. Smith, of Waltham, Massachusetts. 5. Ernest W. ; see forward.
(X) Chester, eldest surviving son of Charles Gamaliel and Mary (Prentiss) Brad- ford, was born in St. Albans, Maine, May 3, 1852. Beginning in the common schools, he was otherwise self-educated. He followed various pursuits until he was twenty-four years of age, when he began his professional work as a solicitor of patents, devoting his spare time to the study of law, more particu- larly patent law. He was soon admitted to the bar, and in 1892 to the bar of the supreme court of the United States. He has practiced his profession constantly, and is now senior member of the firm of Bradford & Hood, with offices in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is a char- ter member of the Columbia Club of Indian- apolis, which was organized as a political club to further the interests of the late General Harrison during his presidential candidacy, but which was developed into a permanent or- ganization, and is now probably the leading club in the state. In religion he is a member of the Second Presbyterian church. He married, at Indianapolis, Indiana, December 29, 1891, Ruby S. Claypool, born near Terre Haute, Indiana, March 14, 1866. Her father, Judge Solomon Claypool, born August 17, 1829, died March 19, 1898, was a member of the Indiana legislature at the age of twenty- seven, and circuit judge at twenty-eight, serv- ing on the bench seven years. He married Hannah M. Osborne; children : Anna C., John W., Hannah M., Ruby S. (wife of Ches- ter Bradford), Mary Alice, Lucy G., and Eliz- abeth C. Children of Chester and Ruby S. (Claypool) Bradford: Hannah May, born November 19, 1893; Ruby Claypool, October II, 1895; Ernestine Elizabeth, February 22, I90I.
(X) Ernest Wilder, youngest child of Charles Gamaliel and Mary (Prentiss) Brad- ford, was born in Mattawamkeag, Penobscot county, Maine, May 23, 1862. Left an orphan by the death of his parents, his mother dying July 13, 1867, and his father, May 31. 1868. he was taken by his father's cousin, Charles
Edward Cushman, to live in his family on his farm in Winslow, Kennebec county, Maine, and remained with these relatives working on the farm and attending the district school when opportunity was afforded until he was seventeen years of age, when he begun an en- tirely self-dependent career. He took a three years' course at Oak Grove Seminary, Vas- salboro, Maine, where he was graduated in the spring of 1882, paying his expenses with money earned during vacations and outside of school hours in term time.
He removed to Indianapolis, Indiana, in May, 1882, at the instance of his brother Ches- ter, who was conducting a patent law business in that city, and was a clerk in his brother's office until the spring of 1887, when he pur- chased a half interest in the business. During his first year in Indianapolis he took a course in law at the Central Law School of Indiana, and was graduated LL.B. in April, 1883, sec- ond in a class of about twenty students, com- pleting a two years' course of study in one school year. He had charge of his brother's office in Washington, D. C., at the time the partnership was formed by Chester and Er- nest Wilder Bradford as C. & E. W. Brad- ford, attorneys and counsellors-at-law and patent lawyers, with offices in Washington, D. C., and Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1893 he sold out his partnership interests with his brother Chester and established a law business in Washington on his own account. He was admitted to practice in the supreme court of Indiana in 1883, and the supreme court of the United States in 1893, and meantime in many of the district and circuit courts of the United States. He was a charter member of the Co- lumbia Club of Indianapolis. He is past grand master of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows in the District of Columbia, and secre- tary of the General Military Council, Patri- archs Militant, I. O. O. F .: also past grand of Beacon Lodge, No. 15, and past chief patri- arch of F. D. Stuart Encampment, No. 7, I. O. O. F. He is a member of the Society of the Mayflower Descendants in the District of Columbia by right of descent from William Bradford. he being of the eighth generation in lineal descent, and secretary of the Society. He is also past president of the Maine Asso- ciation of the District of Columbia, and nat- urally very popular among the sons and daughters of Maine residing there. Mr. Bradford never married. His office in Wash- ington, District of Columbia, is in the Wash- ington Loan and Trust Company's building.
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(For ancestry see William Bradford I.)
(VII) Martin, son of
BRADFORD Ezekiel and Betsey (Chand- ler) Bradford, was born in Duxbury, Massachusetts, October 17, 1763. Ile accompanied his parents to Turner, Maine, where he became the owner of a farm of five hundred acres of land and was one of the leading men of the town. He died June 7, 1832. He married, in 1790, Prudence Dilling- liam, born October 17. 1757, died September 5, 1822: children : Martin. Calvin, Anna, Ezekiel, Freeman and Richmond, next men- tioned.
(VIII) Dr. Richmond, youngest child of Martin and Prudence (Dillingham) Bradford, was born in Turner. April 30, 1801, and died after a long illness, December 21, 1874. He studied medicine in Minot and at Bowdoin College, graduating from the latter institution in the famous class of 1825; took the degree of M. D. in 1828, and commenced practice in Turner, after which he practiced a while in Lewiston Falls and the city of Portland, and finally removed to Auburn, where the latter part of his life was passed. In 1845 he relin- quished allopathy for homoeopathy, which he thereafter practiced. He had a large practice, and at the time of his death was the oldest physician in the county, also one of its best linguists. He was a trustee of Lewiston Falls Academy for many years, a deacon and treas- urer of the Congregational church, and a de- voted Christian. He married, in Turner, Sep- tember 3, 1829, Arcy Cary, born February 15, 1797, died July 5, 1855, in Portland. She was the daughter of Daniel and Mehitable ( Brett) Cary, of Bridgewater. Children: I. George Richmond, born 1831. 2. Herbert Cary, see forward. 3. Clara French, born 1835. 4. Theodore Dwight, born 1838. Dr. Bradford married (second) Mary Howe, in Portland, Maine, November 16, 1859. No children.
(IX) Dr. Herbert Cary, second son of Dr. Richmond and Arcy (Cary) Bradford, was born in Turner, August 24, 1833. He studied medicine with his father, was a student at the Medical School of Maine, at Bowdoin College, and at the Homoeopathic Medical College of Philadelphia, from which he was graduated in 1856. He immediately began the practice of his profession in Lewiston, where he still con- tinues and where he has attained an enviable reputation. His practice steadily increased from year to year. and is now one of the largest and most select in the city, of which he is also one of the highly respected citizens. He is a member of Maine Homoeopathic So-
ciety. He married Julia Melinda Fales, born February 17, 1834, at Thomaston, Maine, died October 14, 1887, at Lewiston, Maine, daugh- ter of Oliver and Mary (Spear) Fales, the former of whom was born at Thomaston, No- vember 17, 1778, died December 10, 1858, at Rockland, and the latter born at Rockland, Maine, January 16, 1799, died January 18, 1884, at Lewiston. Mr. and Mrs. Fales were the parents of four children : Mary Thomas, Oliver Bailey, Edward S. and Julia Melinda. Children of Dr. and Mrs. Bradford: 1. Car- rie Adams, born June 3, 1862, resides at home. 2. William Herbert, see forward.
(X) Dr. William Herbert, son of Dr. Her- bert Cary and Julia Melinda ( Fales) Brad- ford, was born in Lewiston, Maine, January I, 1866. He attended the Lewiston public school ; he received the degrees of A. B. and A. M. from Bowdoin College in 1888 and 1891, respectively, and that of M. D. in 1891 at the Medical School of Maine, and is now practicing his profession in the city of Port- land, making a specialty of surgery, in which line he is highly successful. He is instructor in surgery and clinical surgery in the Medical School of Maine, is serving in the capacity of surgeon at the Maine General Hospital, which position he has occupied for eight years, and for seven years previously was assistant sur- geon at the same institution. He is consulting surgeon to the Maine Eye and Ear Infirmary and the Children's Hospital of Portland. He is a member of Maine Medical Association, American Academy of Medicine, Portland Medical Club, Cumberland County Medical Association and Pathological Club. Dr. Brad- ford married, at Portland, September 4, 1901, Marcia Bowman Knight, born in Portland, October II, 1869, daughter of George H. Knight, of Portland. Children: I. William Herbert Jr., born August 19, 1902. 2. George Knight, born June 22, 1908. Dr. Bradford is a Congregationalist, and his wife a member of the Unitarian church.
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