Alden Bradford

Alden Bradford
5th Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth
In office
1812–1824
Preceded byBenjamin Homans
Succeeded byEdward D. Bangs
Personal details
Born(1765-11-19)19 November 1765
Duxbury, Massachusetts
Died26 October 1843(1843-10-26) (aged 77)
Boston, Massachusetts
Alma materHarvard College, 1786
OccupationPolitician, clergyman, writer

Alden Bradford (19 November 1765 – 26 October 1843) was an American politician, clergyman and author who served as the 5th Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth.

Biography

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Alden Bradford was born in Duxbury, Massachusetts on 19 November 1765.[1] He graduated from Harvard in 1786 and received a degree of LL.D. there.[2] He was then ordained as a Congregational church pastor, serving in Wiscasset, Maine. After moving to Boston he served from 1812 to 1824 as secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.[2] At times a bookseller and journalist, his works included a History of Massachusetts and Memoir of the Life and Writings of Rev. Jonathan Mayhew.[3]

He was a descendant of Plymouth Colony governor William Bradford (c. 1590 – 1657).[4]

Alden Bradford built (or arranged to have built) the Bradford House, built 1794, a historic house in Wiscasset Historic District.[4]

He died in Boston on 26 October 1843.[2][1]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Morison, Samuel Eliot (November 1921). "Memoir of Alden Bradford". Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society. LV: 153. Retrieved 21 March 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ^ a b c "The Late Alden Bradford, Esq". Christian Examiner and General Review. Boston, MA: James Munroe and Company: 375. January 1844. Retrieved 21 March 2023 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ Bradford Family History (American Genealogical Research Institute, 1978).
  4. ^ a b Wolcott Andrews (1972). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Wiscasset Historic District / "Wiscasset Point"". National Park Service. Retrieved 15 July 2016. with 12 photos from 1972
Political offices
Preceded by 5th Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth
1812–1824
Succeeded by