Bradley, Joseph H.

Born: 1803-03-22 Washington, D.C.

Died: 1887-04-03 Washington, D.C.

Flourished: Washington, D.C.

Joseph H. Bradley was a prominent attorney and son of Abraham Bradley, the first assistant postmaster general in the early years of the U.S. Post Office. After receiving his early education in Washington, DC, schools, Joseph H. matriculated to Yale College, graduating in 1821. From 1821 to 1824, he worked in the office of the clerk of the U.S. Supreme Court and read law. Bradley earned admission to the Montgomery County, Maryland, bar in November 1824, and the District of Columbia bar in April 1825. In December 1825, he married Lucy S. Tuttle of New Haven, Connecticut. This union would result in five children. Bradley gravitated to the Whig Party, attending several Whig national conventions as a delegate representing the District of Columbia. In 1860, Bradley was living in Washington's Fourth Ward and owned real property valued at $20,000 and a personal estate of $2,000. Among his numerous high-profile cases, Bradley defended John H. Surratt for conspiracy in the plot to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln.

Obituary Record of Graduates of Yale University Deceased During the Academical Year Ending in June, 1887 (New Haven: Yale University, 1887), 354; Obituary, The Evening Star (Washington, DC), 4 April 1887, 1:6; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Ward 4, Washington, DC, 276; Gravestone, Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, DC.