Abner M. Bradbury Explained

Abner M. Bradbury
State Senate:Indiana
District:Wayne County
Term Start:December 5, 1836
Term End:December 3, 1838
Term Start2:December 2, 1844
Term End2:December 6, 1847
Successor2:David P. Holloway
Birth Date:8 July 1798
Birth Place:Northwest Territory, U.S.
Death Place:Cambridge City, Indiana, U.S.
Resting Place:Jacksonburg Cemetery, Jacksonburg, Indiana, U.S.
Spouse:Mary Boyd
Party:Whig Party
Children:13
Occupation:Politician
Allegiance:United States
Serviceyears:1823
Rank:Lieutenant colonel
Footnotes:[1] [2]

Abner M. Bradbury (July 8, 1798 – September 17, 1885) was an American politician. Bradbury represented Wayne County, Indiana in the Indiana House of Representatives and the Indiana Senate representing the Whig Party.

Early life and career

Abner M. Bradbury was born in the part of the Northwest Territory that would shortly become Ohio on July 8, 1798.[1] In 1814[1] or 1815, he moved to Wayne County, Indiana, settling with his father on a farm along Morgan Creek Road.[3]

Bradbury worked as a store clerk in Richmond from June 1821 until the summer of 1822.[1] In 1821, he married Mary Boyd.[1] [3] Boyd and Bradbury met while he was living in Richmond. They would go on to have 13 children.[4] Bradbury moved to Greens Fork, Indiana, where he working in a fulling mill. As of 1823, he was serving in the Indiana Militia. He earned the rank of lieutenant colonel.[1]

Career

In 1829, Bradbury was named deputy sheriff and a justice of the peace of Wayne County. That same year, he became postmaster of Jacksonburg, Indiana, serving until 1833.[1]

Political career

He served in the Indiana House of Representatives from 1832 until 1835. He lost his reelection bid. In 1836, he was elected to the Indiana State Senate. He assumed office in December 1836 and left at the end of his term in December 1838. He ran for election again in 1844, winning, and assuming office until December 1847.[2]

Bradbury was associate judge of Indiana from 1848 until 1852, when the position was abolished.[5] Also in 1848, Bradbury was a delegate at the national convention for the Whig Party.[1] In his free time, he advocated for the establishment and expansion of the Central State Hospital.[3]

Later life and death

Bradbury died in Cambridge City, Indiana on September 17, 1885.[1] At the time of his death, he was one of the oldest residents in Wayne County. Bradbury is buried in Jacksonburg Cemetery in Jacksonburg, Indiana.[6]

Legacy

Bradbury's paper are held in the collection of the Indiana State Library.[1]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Huffman . Edythe . Abner M. Bradbury papers . Rare Books and Manuscripts . Indiana State Library . 29 March 2020.
  2. Web site: Indiana Politicians By Letter . Capitol & Washington . 29 March 2020 . en . 6 March 2015.
  3. News: Death of Abner M. Bradbury. . 30 March 2020 . The Richmond Item . 19 September 1885 . 2.
  4. Book: Biographical Memoirs of Henry County, Indiana: To which is Appended a Comprehensive Compendium of National Biography--memoirs of Eminent Men and Women in the United States, Whose Deeds of Valor Or Works of Merit Have Made Their Names Imperishable .... 1902. B. F. Bowen, publisher. 261–262.
  5. Book: History of Wayne County, Indiana: Together with Sketches of Its Cities, Villages and Towns. 1884. Inter-State Publishing Company. 450.
  6. News: Abner Bradbury burial . 30 March 2020 . Hagerstown Exponent . 23 September 1885 . 3.