Auburn’s Medical and Spiritual Leader
Richmond Bradford was born in Turner, Maine, in 1801. His father was a deacon named Martin Bradford and his mother was named Prudence Dillingham. He grew up in Turner and attended high school there as well in neighboring Buckfield. Bradford had to work hard for his education. He did not come from a wealthy family and in order to afford tuition he had to tutor others on the side. Still, at the age of 21, Bradford earned admission to Bowdoin as a member of the sophomore class of 1825. He spent his first year in Brunswick boarding at Mr. J. Grows’ with John S. C. Abbot, George Barrell Cheever, Cyrus Hamlin Coolidge, and Joseph Jenkins Eveleth. Coolidge and Bradford seem to have become especially close at Grows, as they continued to live with each other in Maine Hall their junior and senior years. Bradford may have also had friends in the Athenean Society. Several times the Executive Government fined Bradford for neglecting his work and unexcused absences, suggesting that he was not the most motivated member of his class. However, Bradford was asked to participate in a conference during the class exhibition his junior year along with Seward Wyman. Their topic was “The Power Exerted in Society by Talents and Wealth.” At Commencement he took part in another conference on “The Comparative Influence of Wealth, Education and Natural Disposition in Promoting Personal Happiness.” This time his partners were Cullen Sawtelle and William Hale and the three boys were ranked together as sixteenth in their class.
After graduation Bradford remained for a few years in Brunswick to obtain his M.D. from Bowdoin’s Maine Medical School. After becoming a licensed doctor in 1829, Bradford moved back to his native Turner and began to practice medicine in the Lewiston Falls area. That same year Bradford married a woman named d’Arcy Cary. The Bradfords’ first child, George, arrived the next year, quickly followed by Herbert, Clara, and Theodore. The young family moved to Auburn, Maine, in 1835, where Bradford became the town’s first doctor. He built a house for his family on High Street and for many years it was the only residence in the area. He would practice medicine for the rest of his life, eventually becoming the oldest physician in the county and one of the most respected. Because of a conversion experience at Bowdoin, Bradford became a committed Christian and member of the Congregationalist Church. In Turner, he succeeded his father as the church deacon and the superintendent of the Sunday School. Later he became the deacon and treasurer of Auburn’s Congregational Church. He would even take over for the reverend when he was too fatigued to read scriptures. Bradford also had a deep interest in education. He was a trustee of the Lewiston Falls Academy and would regularly oversee their examinations. Moreover, Bradford was considered one of the best Latin and Greek linguists in his part of Maine. He could often be found reading classical texts whenever he had free time.
Tragedy struck Bradford in 1852, when his eldest son George passed away. Just three years later Bradford lost his wife d’Arcy. Bradford’s other three children outlived him and went on to find success. Herbert and Theodore both graduated from Bowdoin and became doctors in Lewison and New York City, respectively. Clara remained at home and cared for her father in his later years. In 1859, Bradford married for a second time to a woman named Mary Howe. However, this marriage was short lived as Mary died in 1865. Bradford would follow her nine years later. The physician had battled chronic bronchitis for most of his life, but had resisted it through a combination of “self-denial and precision of life.” However, in the latter half of 1874 the condition proved too much for Bradford and he confined himself to his house. He passed away that December, at the age of 73.