James W. Bradbury

James Ware Bradbury (June 10, 1802 – January 6, 1901) was an American attorney and politician from Maine. A Democrat, he served as a United States Senator from 1847 to 1853.

Early life James W. Bradbury was born in Parsonsfield, Maine on June 10, 1802, the eldest son of Dr. James Bradley and Ann (Moulton) Bradbury. He attended the local schools of Parsonfield, academies in Saco, Maine and Limerick, Maine, Gorham Academy in Gorham, Maine, and Effingham Academy in Effingham, New Hampshire. Bradbury graduated third in his class, was selected for Phi Beta Kappa, and was chosen to deliver a graduation ceremony oration. Among his classmates were Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Josiah S. Little, Jonathan Cilley, Nathaniel Hawthorne, John Stevens Cabot Abbott, and George B. Cheever.

Start of career Bradbury taught school after graduating from Bowdoin and became principal of the academy in Hallowell, Maine.

A Democrat in politics, in addition to practicing law he was for a year the editor of the Maine Patriot, a Democratic newspaper. In 1846, he was elected to the Bowdoin College board of overseers. In 1861 he was elected to Bowdoin's board of trustees, and he served as chairman of the board's finance committee for more than 20 years. He was a member of the Maine Historical Society beginning in the 1840s, and was the organization's president from 1867 to 1887. In 1872, Bradbury received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Bowdoin College.

Upon the death of former Iowa senator George Wallace Jones in 1896, Bradbury became the last living person who served in the Senate during the 32nd Congress. Bradbury died in Augusta on January 6, 1901. He was buried at Forest Grove Cemetery in Augusta.

Family On November 25, 1834, Bradbury married Eliza Ann Westbrook of Augusta. They were the parents of four sons, and she died in 1879. His son Henry W. married Louisa H. Gregorie, daughter of Thomas Hutson Gregorie.