1909-1971
Offsite Storage Inventory
The bulk of the Robert Fiske Bradford papers are stored offsite and must be
requested at least one business day in advance. Contact the Library at
library@masshist.org or (617) 536-1608 to request
materials. Please discuss your request with the reading room staff before
requesting cartons by barcode.
This collection is PARTIALLY PROCESSED and has received a preliminary
arrangement only.
There are restrictions on the use of this collection. Users must sign an
agreement stating that they understand these restrictions before they will be
given access to the collection.
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| Creator: | Bradford, Robert Fiske,
1902-1983 |
| Title: | Robert Fiske Bradford
papers |
| Dates: | 1909-1971 |
| Physical Description: | 40 cartons
(stored offsite), 1 oversize box, and 4 extra-tall boxes of phonograph records
(stored onsite) |
| Call Number: | OFFSITE STORAGE |
| Call Number: | Ms. N-47 (OS, XT) (onsite only) |
| Microfilm Call Number: | P-480 13 reels (microfilm)
(scrapbooks) |
| Repository: | Massachusetts Historical Society
1154 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02215
library@masshist.org |
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Abstract:
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This collection consists of the papers of Boston
lawyer and governor of Massachusetts (1947-48) Robert F. Bradford, who also
served as Middlesex Co. (Mass.) district attorney (1938-45) and Lieut. Gov. of
Mass. (1945-46). It includes personal and political correspondence, campaign
papers, and phonograph records, as well as scrapbooks of newspaper clippings.
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Robert Fiske Bradford was born in 1902, the son of Edith (Fiske) and Dr.
Edward H. Bradford. He was ninth in direct descent from William Bradford
(1589-1657). His siblings were Elizabeth (Wibbet), Edward H., and Charles H.
Bradford was educated at the Browne and Nichols School (now Buckingham, Browne
and Nichols) in Cambridge, Mass.; Harvard College (A.B. 1923); and Harvard Law
School (L.L.B. 1926). He was associated with Ropes, Gray, Boyden & Perkins
and Ely, Bradford, Thompson & Brown prior to being governor, and afterwards
was a partner with Palmer and Dodge (Boston). Bradford served as executive
secretary to the governor of Massachusetts (1931-35) and held numerous other
political offices, principally as two-term district attorney for Middlesex
County (1938-45); lieutenant governor (1945-46), and governor (1947-48). In
addition, he was affiliated with a number of educational and charitable
institutions as a trustee or director, among them Harvard College, Simmons
College, Browne & Nichols School, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary,
Norfolk House Centre, Massachusetts Hospital School, Greater Boston Council of
Social Agencies, and others (see cartons 13-14).
Robert F. Bradford married Rebecca Crowninshield Browne of Salem, Mass., in
1926. The couple had four children: Rebecca C. (Patsy, b. 1927), Ann H. (Puns,
b. 1928), Robert H. (b. 1936), and Charles Edward (b. 1941).
After losing his bid for re-election in 1948, Bradford retired from public
office and remained a partner with Palmer and Dodge for the rest of his working
career. In 1951, he developed Parkinson's Disease. During the 1950s and 1960s,
Mr. and Mrs. Bradford traveled extensively both in the United States and abroad
(see cartons 5-6). Bradford died in 1983. (See carton 5 for other biographical
and genealogical information.)
The collection is divided into eight series: I. Family and Personal Papers;
II. General Correspondence and Papers, 1939-1949; III. General Political
Papers; IV. 1944 Campaign Papers; V. 1946 Campaign Papers; VI. 1948 Campaign
Papers; VII. Scrapbooks; VIII. Other Material. Following is a box list with a
brief description at the beginning of each series.
This collection was a gift of Rebecca Crowninshield Browne Bradford.
Genealogy provided by Irving H. Chase of Lincoln Centre, Mass.
The bulk of the Robert Fiske Bradford papers are stored offsite and must be
requested at least one business day in advance. Contact the Library at
library@masshist.org or (617) 536-1608 to request
materials. Please discuss your request with the reading room staff before
requesting cartons by barcode.
This collection is PARTIALLY PROCESSED and has received a preliminary
arrangement only.
There are restrictions on the use of this collection. Users must sign an
agreement stating that they understand these restrictions before they will be
given access to the collection.
The Massachusetts Historical Society does not claim ownership to the
literary rights (copyright) to documents in this collection except for those
created by Robert F. Bradford. The Society cannot give permission to
publish or cite documents by individuals for whom it does not hold copyright.
Use of these materials does not imply permission
to publish. It is the sole responsibility of the
researcher to obtain formal permission from the owners of the literary rights
(copyright) to publish or quote from documents in this collection.
Photocopies are for personal use only. Personal
use photocopies may not be donated or deposited in
other libraries or archives, or made available to other researchers without the
written permission of the Massachusetts Historical
Society.
The collection is organized into the following series:
| | | |
| I. Family and personal papers, 1943-1971. |
| II. General correspondence and papers, 1939-1949 |
| III. General political papers, 1944-1948 |
| IV. 1944 campaign papers |
| V. 1946 campaign papers |
| VI. 1948 campaign papers |
| VII. Scrapbooks, 1945-1949 |
| VIII. Other material |
| | | | | | | |
| Carton | Barcode | Contents |
| | I. Family and personal papers,
1943-1971
Family and personal papers includes school papers for both Rebecca C. Browne
Bradford and for Robert F. Bradford. The family correspondence includes early
letters among Robert F. Bradford, his parents, and siblings, as well as later
letters among Robert F. Bradford, Rebecca C. Browne Bradford, their children,
and members of the Browne and Chamberlain families (Rebecca C. Browne
Bradford's mother and siblings). Letters written by the children's teachers,
doctors, and camp counselors are also included. There are travel records of
Robert F. Bradford and Rebecca C. Browne Bradford, 1949-71, and diaries of
Robert F. Bradford, 1957-1966, mostly the line-a-day variety. There is one
diary kept by Arthur H. Williams, kept as director of the Army and Navy
Recreation Center, Boston, Mass., 1943. How it came into the collection is not
clear.
|
| | | Robert F. Bradford's school papers |
| Carton 1 | SH 114P X | | | Robert F. Bradford's school notebooks |
| | | | | 1 vol. from Browne and Nichols school,
1917-1918 |
| | | | | 3 vols. from Harvard law school |
| Carton 1 | SH 114P X | | | Robert F. Bradford's school papers kept while at Harvard,
1920-1923 |
| Carton 2 | SH 114Q Y | | | Undergraduate and law school, essays and notes,
1921-1925 |
| Carton 2 | SH 114Q Y | | | Law school papers,
1924-1925 |
| Carton 2 | SH 114Q Y | | Rebecca Browne's personal correspondence,
1909-1948 |
| Carton 3 | SH 114R Z | | Rebecca Browne's personal correspondence,
1909-1948 |
| Carton 3 | SH 114R Z | | Postcards, ephemera, photographs, school notebooks
1913-1914and papers |
| Carton 3 | SH 114R Z | | Essays and compositions,
1914-1922 |
| Carton 3 | SH 114R Z | | Family correspondence,
1918-1920 |
| Carton 4 | SH 114 S - | | Family correspondence,
1921-1964 |
| Carton 5 | SH 114T . | | Family biographical and genealogical material; ephemera |
| Carton 5 | SH 114T . | | Robert F. Bradford and Rebecca C. Browne Bradford personal travel
records, n.d.,
1949-1959 |
| Carton 6 | SH 114U | | Robert F. Bradford and Rebecca C. Browne Bradford personal travel
records,
1960-1971 |
| Carton 6 | SH 114U | | Robert F. Bradford diaries,
1957-1964,
1966 |
| Carton 6 | SH 114U | | Arthur H. Williams diary,
1943 (Army and Navy Recreation Center) |
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| | | | | | | |
| Carton | Barcode | Contents |
| | II. General correspondence and papers,
1939-1949
General correspondence and papers includes correspondence arranged
alphabetically, covering the years 1939-1949 (with a few letters from the end
of 1938). This series was already separately designated when the papers came to
the MHS, although there is some overlapping of correspondents among this series
and the different campaign series. The correspondence is arranged
alphabetically by the last name of the correspondent, except in cases when the
person is writing solely as the representative of a specific company or
organization. When only one or two items appear for a specific person, they are
located at the beginning of that letter of the alphabet, under, for instance,
"Miscellaneous - E." Cartons 13-14 contain correspondence pertaining to
Bradford's interests as trustee or director of various institutions and
agencies, arranged alphabetically by name of institution. There is some
overlapping among these boxes and the general correspondence as far as
individual writers are concerned. For instance, Charles Almy letters appear in
the Browne & Nichols files as well as in the file for "Almy, Charles and
Elizabeth."
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| Carton 7 | SH 114V $ | | Correspondence, A - Bra |
| Carton 8 | SH 114W / | | Correspondence, Bre - Cre |
| Carton 9 | SH 114X + | | Correspondence, Cro - G |
| Carton 10 | SH 114Y % | | Correspondence, H - L |
| Carton 11 | SH 114Z 0 | | Correspondence, M - Pre |
| Carton 12 | SH 1151 A | | Correspondence, Pri- V |
| Carton 13 | SH 1152 B | | Correspondence, W - Z |
| | | Foundations, Boards, etc.: |
| Carton 13 | SH 1152 B | | | Boston Council of Social Agencies; Boston Five Cent Savings Bank;
Browne and Nichols School; Community Recreation Service of Boston, Inc.;
Foundation for Vision, Greater Boston Charitable Trust; Greater Boston
Community Council; Greater Boston Community Fund. |
| Carton 14 | SH 1153 C | | | Harvard College Board of Overseers; King's Chapel; Massachusetts
Committee of 1000; Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary; Massachusetts Hospital
School; Norfolk House Centre; Simmons College; We of Massachusetts; Winsor
School. |
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| | | | | | | |
| Carton | Barcode | Contents |
| | III. General political papers,
1944-1948
General political papers contains documents relating to Bradford's position
as district attorney (carton 15) and to his term as governor of Massachusetts
(cartons 15-17), including subject files arranged alphabetically (cartons
15-16), financial statements (carton 16), and political correspondence (cartons
16-17). Ignore folder numbers within the boxes, as they were arbitrarily
assigned and have since been re-arranged.
|
| Carton 15 | SH 1154 D | | District Attorney papers: Legal cases, memoranda, and statements;
newspaper clippings |
| | | Gubernatorial papers: |
| Carton 15 | SH 1154 D | | | Subject files,
1947-48: Includes files on the the following: Advisory Salary Standardization Board,
Attorney General, Community property rights (husband and wife), Conservation
Department, Displaced Persons Commission, Dutch elm disease, Emergency war
powers (of the Governor), Executive orders, Executive personnel, Fire
Prevention Conference (Governor's), Flood control, Forest closing (fires,
1947), Fuel, Inaugural ball, International Bank, Labor, Maps, Mayor's office,
Milk strike, Mystic River Bridge Authority.
|
| Carton 16 | SH 1155 E | | | Subject files,
1947-48: Includes files on the following: Pardons, Parker River Wildlife Refuge,
Parole Board, Resignations, Truck strike, Vetoes, Washington's birthday
reception, 1948.
|
| Carton 16 | SH 1155 E | | | Commission on Administration and Finance (Comptroller's
Bureau) |
| Carton 16 | SH 1155 E | | | Governor's Statements,
Dec. 1946 - Oct. 1948 |
| Carton 16 | SH 1155 E | | | General political correspondence,
1947-48 |
| Carton 17 | SH 1156 F | | General political correspondence,
1947-48 |
| Carton 17 | SH 1156 F | | Memoranda, statements, etc.,
1945-49 |
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| | | | | | | |
| Carton | Barcode | Contents |
| | IV.
1944 Campaign papers
Campaign papers for each campaign (1944, 1946, and 1948) are somewhat
disordered, so that it is important that the researcher check every box for the
campaign in which he or she is interested. Ignore folder numbers within the
boxes, as they were arbitrarily assigned and have since been re-arranged.
|
| Carton 18 | SH 1157 G | | Correspondence: Barnstable, Berkshire, Bristol, Dukes, Essex,
Franklin, Hampden, and Hampshire counties |
| Carton 19 | SH 1158 H | | Correspondence: Middlesex counties |
| Carton 20 | SH 1159 I | | Correspondence: Nantucket, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk (A-J)
counties |
| Carton 21 | SH 115A J | | Correspondence: Suffolk (K-R), Worcester counties; campaign
miscellany |
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| | | | | | | |
| Carton | Barcode | Contents |
| | V.
1946 Campaign papers
Campaign papers for each campaign (1944, 1946, and 1948) are somewhat
disordered, so that it is important that the researcher check every box for the
campaign in which he or she is interested. Ignore folder numbers within the
boxes, as they were arbitrarily assigned and have since been re-arranged.
|
| Carton 22 | SH 115B K | | Tours: Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk,
Plymouth, Worcester counties |
| Carton 23 | SH 115C L | | Tours: Western counties, miscellaneous counties, Gardner, New
Bedford, and general information |
| Carton 23 | SH 115C L | | Correspondence: Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Worcester
counties |
| Carton 24 | SH 115D M | | Correspondence: Suffolk County; miscellaneous correspondence and
other campaign papers. Form letters, lists of potential supporters, memoranda,
and other miscellaneous papers. |
| Carton 25 | SH 115E N | | Lists of potential supporters, materials on the primary
elections |
| Carton 25 | SH 115E N | | Engagements (speaking, interviews, appointments, invitations,
etc.) |
| Carton 26 | SH 115F O | | Speeches, addresses, congratulatory letters to other elected
officials, contributions, correspondence with Miss Nagle, and other
miscellaneous papers |
| Carton 26 | SH 115F O | | Congratulatory correspondence, Suffolk, Middlesex, Norfolk, and
Plymouth counties; congratulatory telegrams; and other miscellaneous
papers |
| Carton 27 | SH 115G P | | Campaign and speech miscellany |
| Carton 27 | SH 115G P | | Correspondence and memoranda |
| Carton 28 | SH 115H Q | | Daily schedules,
Oct.-Nov. 1946 |
| Carton 28 | SH 115H Q | | Form letters |
| Carton 28 | SH 115H Q | | Published lists of voters in Braintree and Methuen |
| Carton 28 | SH 115H Q | | Newspaper clippings,
June - August 1946 |
| Carton 29 | SH 115I R | | Newspaper clippings,
Sept.-Oct. 1946 |
| Carton 30 | SH 115J S | | Newspaper clippings,
Oct.-Nov. 1946
(2 card file boxes) |
| Carton 30 | SH 115J S | | Voter endorsements |
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| | | | | | | |
| Carton | Barcode | Contents |
| | VI.
1948 Campaign papers
Campaign papers for each campaign (1944, 1946, and 1948) are somewhat
disordered, so that it is important that the researcher check every box for the
campaign in which he or she is interested. Ignore folder numbers within the
boxes, as they were arbitrarily assigned and have since been re-arranged.
|
| Carton 31 | SH 115K T | | Correspondence and tours: Barnstable, Berkshire, Bristol, Dukes,
Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, and Middlesex counties |
| Carton 32 | SH 115L U | | Correspondence and tours: Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk, Worcester
counties |
| Carton 32 | SH 115L U | | Campaign correspondence, A - Z |
| Carton 33 | SH 115M V | | Nomination papers, lists of potential supporters |
| Carton 33 | SH 115M V | | Speeches, engagements, and miscellaneous papers |
| Carton 33 | SH 115M V | | Engagements,
Sept. 1948 and appointments to state offices,
1947-48 |
| Carton 34 | SH 115N W | | Engagements,
Sept. 1948 and appointments to state offices,
1947- 1948 |
| Carton 34 | SH 115N W | | Engagements
July-Nov. 1948 |
| Carton 35 | SH 115P Y | | General correspondence, A - Z |
| Carton 35 | SH 115P Y | | Subject files, A - M |
| Carton 36 | SH 115Q Z | | District reports, materials on veterans, and other miscellaneous
papers |
| Carton 36 | SH 115Q Z | | Memoranda, speeches, campaign diary, address book, etc. |
| Carton 37 | SH 115R - | | Memoranda, form letters, lists of potential supporters |
| Carton 37 | SH 115R - | | Daily schedules,
July-Oct. 1948 |
| Carton 37 | SH 115R - | | John Heselton correspondence |
| Carton 37 | SH 115R - | | County information files, B - H |
| Carton 38 | SH 115S . | | County information files, M - W |
| Carton 38 | SH 115S . | | Consolation letters and thank- you letters |
| Carton 38 | SH 115S . | | Lists of potential supporters and photograph requests |
| Carton 39 | SH115T | | Lists of potential supporters and photograph requests. Miscellaneous
correspondence and other campaign papers. |
| Carton 39 | SH115T | | Miscellaneous correspondence and other campaign papers. |
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| | | | | |
| Reel | Contents |
| VII. Scrapbooks,
1945-1949
On microfilm, stored ONSITE at
P-480.
33 volumes of newspaper clippings documenting Maurice J. Tobin's term as
governor (Vols. I-IV), and Bradford's political career, in rough chronological
order.
Due to their deteriorating condition, the volumes have been microfilmed and
are available on 13 reels (P-480). The original scrapbooks have been
discarded.
Note: This list was revised in March 2007. It does not
match the list on Reel 1 of the microfilm set. Three reels were added to the
set (Reels 11, 12, 13).
|
| Reel 1 | | Vol. I; Vol. II, Gov. Maurice J. Tobin,
Feb.-Mar. 1945 |
| Reel 1 | | Vol. III, Gov. Maurice J. Tobin,
Apr.-May 1945 |
| Reel 2 | | Vol. IV, Gov. Maurice J. Tobin,
Aug.-Oct. 1945
See Reel 12 for Jan.-Apr. 1946 (Vol. IVA).
|
| Reel 2 | | Vol. V, Lieut.-Gov. Robert F. Bradford,
Apr.-July 1945
See Reel 13 for Jan.-Mar. 1945 (Vol. IVB).
|
| Reel 2 | | Vol. VI, Lieut.-Gov. Robert F. Bradford,
June-Oct. 1946 |
| Reel 3 | | Vol. VII, Lieut.-Gov. Robert F. Bradford,
Oct. 1946 |
| Reel 3 | | Vol. VIII, Gov. Robert F. Bradford,
Dec. 1946-Jan. 1947 |
| Reel 3 | | Vol. IX, Gov. Bradford, Feb.-Mar.
1947 |
| Reel 4 | | Vol. X, Gov. Bradford,
Apr. 1947 |
| Reel 4 | | Vol. XI,
May 1947 |
| Reel 4 | | Vol. XII,
June-July 1947 |
| Reel 5 | | Vol. XIII, Gov. Bradford,
July 1947 |
| Reel 5 | | Vol. XIV,
Aug. 1947 |
| Reel 5 | | Vol. XV,
Sept. 1947 |
| Reel 6 | | Vol. XVI, Gov. Bradford,
Nov. 1947 |
| Reel 6 | | Vol. XVII,
Nov.-Dec. 1947 |
| Reel 6 | | Vol. XVIII,
Dec. 1947-Jan. 1948 |
| Reel 7 | | Vol. XIX, Gov. Bradford,
Jan. 1948 |
| Reel 7 | | Vol. XX,
Feb. 1948 |
| Reel 7 | | Vol. XXI,
Mar. 1948. |
| Reel 8 | | Vol. XXII, Gov. Bradford,
Apr. 1948 |
| Reel 8 | | Vol. XXIII,
June 1948 |
| Reel 8 | | Vol. XXIV,
June 1948 (cont.)
See Reel 10 for May 1948 (Vol. XXIX).
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| Reel 9 | | Vol. XXV, Gov. Bradford,
July 1948 |
| Reel 9 | | Vol. XXVI,
Aug. 1948 |
| Reel 9 | | Vol. XXVII, Gov. Bradford,
Sep. 1948 |
| Reel 10 | | Vol. XXVIII, Gov. Bradford, Oct.
1948 |
| Reel 10 | | Vol. XXIX,
May 1948 |
| Reel 10 | | Vol. XXX,
Dec. 1948-Jan. 1949 |
| Reel 11 | | Vol. XXVIIIA, Gov. Bradford,
Nov. 1948 |
| Reel 12 | | Vol. IVA, Gov. Tobin,
Jan.-Apr. 1946
Note: Clippings in this scrapbook are not in
chronological order.
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| Reel 13 | | Vol. IVB, Lieut.-Gov. Bradford,
Jan.-Mar. 1945 |
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| Carton | Barcode | Contents |
| | VIII. Other material
Other material includes miscellaneous printed material, oversize materials,
and phonograph records.
|
| Carton 40 | SH 115U $ | | Printed material |
| OS Box 1 | | | Miscellaneous oversized items
Stored ONSITE at Ms. N-47 (OS) |
| XT Box 1-2 | | | Phonograph records (various sizes)
Stored ONSITE at Ms. N-47 (XT) |
Robert Fiske Bradford papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in
ABIGAIL,
the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers
desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should
search the catalog using these headings.
| | |
| Persons: |
| | Bradford, Rebecca Crowninshield Browne, 1904-
. |
| | Bradford family. |
| | Bradford family--Genealogy. |
| | Browne family. |
| | Browne family--Genealogy. |
| | Chamberlain family. |
| | Tobin, Maurice J. |
| | Williams, Arthur H. |
| | |
| Organizations: |
| | Buckingham, Browne & Nichols. |
| | Harvard Law School--Students. |
| | Harvard University--Students. |
| | Massachusetts. Governor (1945-1947 :
Tobin) |
| | Massachusetts. Governor (1947-1948 :
Bradford) |
| | Massachusetts. Lieutenant Governor (1945-1947 :
Bradford) |
| | |
| Subjects: |
| | Family history--1900-1949. |
| | Family history--1950-1999. |
| | Massachusetts--Politics and
government--1865-1950. |
| | Scrapbooks--1945-1949. |
Printed Material
For a list of printed materials removed from this collection, see Curator of
Manuscripts.
Manuscripts
The following manuscripts were removed from the collection and cataloged
separately.
16 Jan. 1827. Suffolk County, Mass. Bond, Zachariah Fish of Boston as
principal, Thomas Darling and Thomas Johnson as sureties, bound to Michael
Riley, constable of Boston.
15 July 1830. Writ of recovery in the case of Gilman Pritchard v. Joseph W.
Revere. True Copy. Joseph W. Revere and John W. Ridgway as sureties for James
M. Robbins in a case of default. "Augustus H. Fiske Plaintiff's attorney"
written on verso.
25 Jan. 1847. Bill of sale for male African-American slave Jemy Cornish to
H.L. Whitridge by Hope H. Slatter. Printed form completed in ms.
[July 1784] Joseph Sampson and John Faunce, selectmen of Kingston, to the
Justices of the general sessions of the peace for the County of Plymouth,
recommendation that Capt. Robert Bradford be licensed to sell "spirtous liquors
out of doors." True copy.
Photographs
Two boxes of photographs removed to Photograph Archives.
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