Background
Theophilus Bradbury was born on November 13, 1739, at Newbury, Massachusetts. He was a descendant of Thomas Bradbury who settled at Salisbury, Massachusetts, in 1638, and the son of Theophilus and Ann (Woodman) Bradbury.
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Theophilus Bradbury
Edit ProfileEducation
Theophilus Bradbury attended the public schools there, proceeding in due course to Harvard College where he graduated in 1757.
Career
Bradbury went to Falmouth (now Portland) and taught in the grammar school, at the same time studying law. On his admission to practise before the court of common pleas in May term 1762, he opened an office in Falmouth, being the first resident lawyer in that part of the country. In 1763, he was appointed a collector of excise, and in 1765 was admitted to the bar of the superior court.
For eleven years, he and David Wyer, who had followed him a year later, were the only lawyers in the district, and between them monopolized all the legal business.
In 1777, he was appointed state attorney, but the destruction of Falmouth by the British in 1775 had prostrated all business, and in 1779, he resigned, went to Newburyport, Massachusetts, and commenced practice anew in that town. Assisted by his family associations, he quickly acquired a prominent place in public life, representing his district in both branches of the General Court.
In 1795, he was elected to the Fourth Congress as a representative from Massachusetts and was re-elected to the Fifth Congress in 1796. He was counsel for Newburyport in the suit which was brought against that town by the proprietors of the common land in the town of Newbury alleging that the respondents had in 1771, taken possession of certain of the common land, called "the middle shipyard, " and had never made compensation.
The case, which was of intense local interest, was heard at the April term of the court of general sessions at Salem 1797, and terminated in favor of Bradbury's clients. The same year, he was appointed a justice of the supreme judicial court of Massachusetts. Upon the bench he displayed those qualities of courtesy and dignity combined with extensive knowledge of law and procedure which had distinguished his career as a practitioner.
In February 1802, he had a paralytic stroke, which rendered him incapable of performing his judicial duties. It appearing that there was no reasonable ground to hope that he would ever be able to resume his seat on the bench, he was in July 1803, removed from office on the address of the two branches of the General Court the sole constitutional method available for meeting such a contingency.
He only survived two months, dying at Newburyport, on September 6.
Achievements
Connections
Theophilus Bradbury was married in 1762 to Sarah, daughter of Ephraim Jones of Falmouth.
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Born
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Died
September 6, 1803 (aged 63) -
Resting place
Buried Newburyport Cemetery. -
Nationality
American -
Political Party
Federalist