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Abraham Bradley (1767-1838)
Gender:
Male
Born:
February 21, 1767
Died:
1838
Home Town:
Litchfield, CT
Later Residences:
Luzerne County, PA
Chevy Chase, MD
Washington, District of Columbia
Chevy Chase, MD
Washington, District of Columbia
Marriage(s):
Hannah Smith Bradley (unknown)
Biographical Notes:
Abraham Bradley was the son of Abraham and Hannah Baldwin Bradley. After attending the Litchfield Law School, Bradley moved to Lucerne County, Pennsylvania where he and his wife had eight children. In 1799 he was appointed Assistant Postmaster General under Pickering, holding this office for nearly 40 years. His brother Phineas also worked as an Assistant Postmaster General. Together they accomplished much of the organization of the United States Postal Department. Through the Post Office network, Bradley was able to create accurate, detailed maps of the United States. For example, his 1796 map depicted every post office in the country, as well as a timetable of schedules for deliveries and pickups on the north/south route along the East Coast. Additionally, Bradley was given 223 acres of land ...
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Education
Years at LLS:
1790
Profession / Service
Profession:
Lawyer; Political Office; Other
Admitted To Bar:
1791
Local Posts:
Judge (Lucerne County, PA) 1792-1799
Immediate Family (Why only immediate family?)
- Nancy Bradley Mulford (1778-1841)
Daughter
LFA (pre-1809) - Hannah Smith Bradley
Wife - Hannah Baldwin Bradley
Mother - Abraham Bradley
Father
Related Objects and Documents
In the Ledger:
The Citation of Attendance provides primary source documentation of the student’s attendance at the Litchfield Female Academy and/or the Litchfield Law School. If a citation is absent, the student is thought to have attended but currently lacks primary source confirmation. Records for the schools were sporadic, especially in the formative years of both institutions. If instructors kept comprehensive records for the Litchfield Female Academy or the Litchfield Law School, they do not survive. Researchers and staff have identified students through letters, diaries, family histories and genealogies, and town histories as well as catalogues of students printed in various years. Art and needlework have provided further identification of Female Academy Students, and Litchfield County Bar records document a number of Law School students. The history of both schools and the identification of the students who attended them owe credit to the early 20th century research and documentation efforts of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel and Samuel Fisher, and the late 20th century research and documentation efforts of Lynne Templeton Brickley and the Litchfield Historical Society staff.
CITATION OF ATTENDANCE:
Handwritten list of names on loose papers titled "prior to 1798," inside Catalogue of Litchfield Law School (Hartford, CT: Press of Case, Tiffany and Company, 1849).
Secondary Sources:
Charles S. Bradley, "A Sketch of the Bradleys of Washington," A Paper Read before the Columbia Historical Society, Tuesday, May 13th, 1902.
Kilbourne, Dwight C. The Bench and Bar of Litchfield County, Connecticut 1709-1909. Litchfield, CT: Published by the Author, 1909.
The Portolan: Journal of the Washington Map Society Issue 77, Spring 2010. "Picturing a Networked Nation: Abraham Bradley's Landmark U.S. Postal Maps" by Larry Caldwell and Michael Buehler.
Kilbourne, Dwight C. The Bench and Bar of Litchfield County, Connecticut 1709-1909. Litchfield, CT: Published by the Author, 1909.
The Portolan: Journal of the Washington Map Society Issue 77, Spring 2010. "Picturing a Networked Nation: Abraham Bradley's Landmark U.S. Postal Maps" by Larry Caldwell and Michael Buehler.
Contact Us
Do you have more information for the Ledger?
If you have family papers, objects, or any other details you would like to share, or if you would like to obtain a copy of an image for publication, please contact us at curator@litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org.