James W. Bradbury

Who was James W. Bradbury?

James Ware Bradbury was a United States Senator from Maine.

Born in Parsonsfield, Maine, he attended the common schools and Gorham Academy. After graduating from Bowdoin College in 1825, he became principal of Hallowell Academy and founder of the first normal school in New England, at Effingham, New Hampshire, in 1829.

He then studied law, was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Augusta, Maine, in 1830. There he was for a time editor of the Maine Patriot, and was prosecuting attorney for the county from 1834 until 1838. He was a member of the Baltimore convention of 1844, which nominated James K. Polk for the presidency.

He was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1847, until March 3, 1853, when he declined to be a candidate for reelection. While in the Senate he chaired the U.S. Senate Committee on Printing and the U.S. Senate Committee on Retrenchment. He was chairman of a select committee on French spoilations.

He served as a trustee of Bowdoin College in 1861 and was corresponding secretary of the Maine Historical Society and then president of that body from 1867 to 1887.