George Bradburn

George Bradburn (March 4, 1806 – July 26, 1880) was an American politician and Unitarian minister in Massachusetts known for his support for abolitionism and women's rights. He attended the 1840 conference on Anti-Slavery in London where he made a stand against the exclusion of female delegates. In 1843 he was with Frederick Douglass

He became associated with the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1839 and he brought forward related radical legislation. He led a movement which repealed a marriage law. After this change, "People in Massachusetts, wishing to marry, are under no necessity of comparing complexions" After they arrived many took the opportunity to tour England. Bradburn was able to visit various places including Blenheim Palace, Eaton Hall, Stratford on Avon, Oxford University and Warwick Castle. William Lloyd Garrison, who was not there until the 17th, Henry Grew spoke in favour of the men's rights to exclude women despite his daughter being one of the excluded delegates. The American women had to join the other female observers like Lady Byron and were not allowed to participate in the convention. Not only was the equality of the sexes debated, but Bradburn said that "introducing any such words as 'Christian,' 'Religious,' and the like, by which persons of any religion whatever, or of no religion whatever, should be excluded from the Anti-Slavery platform. caption=Blackburn is on the left edge in this painting which is of the 1840 Anti-Slavery Convention. was completed in a small room at the Freemasons hall where the convention was held. Bradburn commented that he felt that he had been given "too much severity or sharpness," but Haydon assured him that he looked "revolutionary" when giving his speeches. Bradburn made time after a visit to France to complete a third sitting on August 3, 1840. Other sources also place Bradburn there at Pendleton in Indiana on September 16, 1843, when the attack took place.

From 1846 to 1849, Bradburn edited the, "Pioneer and Herald of Freedom" in Lynn, Massachusetts.

1850

In 1850 in Boston, Bradburn married Frances H. Parker. Although she later would become an invalid and prevent him from taking up overseas positions, she was the one who eventually completed his memoirs. That year he was working for the Boston Chronotype and he attended the two-day National Woman's Rights Convention which was held in Brinley Hall, Worcester. The convention was called to order by Sarah H. Earle, and chaired by Paulina Wright Davis of Rhode Island on October 23, 1850. There were 268 delegates, but the vast majority were from Massachusetts. The news of the convention was widely reported, but frequently in a disparaging way. Only four local newspapers were thought to deal with the subject well and one of those was the Lynn Pioneer (which was edited by Bradburn).

In 1851, George and Frances moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where Bradburn helped to edit the True Democrat, a daily newspaper. After two years he went on lecture tours where he would sometimes speak every night for 26 days. His lectures at this time were not only political but drew on his experiences in Europe in 1840. He was able to use his trip to London as the basis of entertaining and informative lectures.

In 1859, he occupied the pulpit of a Unitarian church in Athol, Massachusetts, and resided there for another two years. He made good friends there and returned to visit ever summer for the next twenty years. He took a job in a customs house which had been organised by his friend Samuel Chase, but he sadly missed his ability to work. At the end of his life he called out to William A. White, who his wife remembered as a friend from his time lecturing to thousands.

Death At Bradburn's funeral in 1880, Lysander Spooner read a eulogy and was a pallbearer. His wife published his biography in 1883. Lydia Maria Child wrote "Surely in this country, and within this century, no other cause has so tested the moral natures of men and women, as did the anti-slavery cause in its early days: and no one who knew George Bradburn at that time will doing question his right to a high place among the tried and true."