United States Senator from Maine
(1802-1901) Born in Parsonfield, Maine, he graduated from Bowdoin College, in Maine. He was the principal of Hallowell Academy, and founder of the first normal school in New England, at Effingham, N.H., in 1829. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1830, and commenced practice in Augusta, Maine, serving as a prosecuting attorney, 1834-38. He was a U.S. Senator, from 1847-53; serving as the chairman of the Committee on Printing, and he also served on the Committee on Retrenchment. He was president of the Maine Historical Society, from 1867-87.
Signature With State: 6 x 1 5/8, in ink, James W. Bradbury, of Maine. The upper loop of the "J" in "James" is slightly cut off.
Bowdoin College Trivia: Famous Civil War General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, former Colonel of the 20th Maine Infantry, was an alumni of Bowdoin College as was James W. Bradbury. Chamberlain served as a professor and president of the college. During the war Chamberlain earned the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the battle of Gettysburg. |