Arthur Howe Bradford (November 19, 1883 – August 29, 1973) was a notable

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs it ...

minister and preacher.

Early life and education

He was born in Montclair,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

to the Rev. Amory Howe Bradford and Julia Maria (Stevens) Bradford. Through an entirely paternal line he was descended from Mayflower passenger William Bradford. His father was a notable clergyman, the minister of the First Congregational Church of Montclair for 40 years. He attended Montclair High School and graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

in 1905, where he was a member of

Psi Upsilon Psi Upsilon (), commonly known as Psi U, is a Fraternities and sororities in North America, North American fraternity,''Psi Upsilon Tablet'' founded at Union College on November 24, 1833. The fraternity reports 50 chapters at colleges and univers ...

and the

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...

. He studied at Union Theological Seminary and was ordained in 1909. He received Doctor of Divinity degrees from Brown University and

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...

. He also received an honorary Master of Arts degree from Yale and an honorary Doctor of Human Letters degree from

Bryant College Bryant University is a private university in Smithfield, Rhode Island. It has two colleges, the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Business, and is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. History Butler Exc ...

in 1951.

Career

Bradford worked at the

Union Settlement Union Settlement is one of the oldest settlement houses in New York City, providing community-based services and programs that support the immigrant and low-income residents of East Harlem since 1895. It is East Harlem’s largest social service ...

in New York from 1908 to 1909. He then served as an associate minister at South Congregational Church in Springfield, Massachusetts from 1909 to 1912, and minister of

East Parish Congregational Church Grace Congregational United Church of Christ is a Protestant church located in Rutland, Vermont. Its address is 8 Court Street. History The church's congregation first gathered in 1788 as East Parish Congregational Church. The current church b ...

Rutland (city), Vermont The city of Rutland is the seat of Rutland County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 15,807. It is located approximately north of the Massachusetts state line, west of New Hampshire state line, ...

from 1913 to 1918. He was seventh senior minister of Central Congregational Church in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

, serving for 34 years, from 1918 until the church's centennial in 1952. During his ministry, he ended the practice of pew renting at the church. In 1965, the church dedicated a new

Aeolian-Skinner Æolian-Skinner Organ Company, Inc. of Boston, Massachusetts was an American builder of a large number of pipe organs from its inception as the Skinner Organ Company in 1901 until its closure in 1972. Key figures were Ernest M. Skinner (1866– ...

organ "in honor and appreciation of the ministry of Arthur Howe Bradford D.D." After retiring from Central Church, he served as an interim pastor at New England churches for the next 15 years. He was a trustee of

from 1925 to 1952, and served as the

Lyman Beecher Lyman Beecher (October 12, 1775 – January 10, 1863) was a Presbyterian minister, and the father of 13 children, many of whom became noted figures, including Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry Ward Beecher, Charles Beecher, Edward Beecher, Isabella Be ...

lecturer at

Yale Divinity School Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...

in 1940. He served as the first president of the

Rhode Island Council of Churches Rhode may refer to: *In Greek mythology: :*Rhodos, goddess and personification of the island of Rhodes :*Rhode, one of the fifty daughters of Danaus * ''Rhode'' (spider), a genus of spiders *Rhode (surname) *Rhode, County Offaly, an Irish town *Rh ...

, and as a trustee of the

Champlin Foundation Champlin may refer to: People *Champlin (surname) Places *Champlin, Minnesota, United States, a city * Champlin Creek, New York *Champlin, Ardennes, a French commune in the Ardennes department *Champlin, Nièvre, a French commune in the Nièvre d ...

and other institutions. He was a member of the

American Missionary Association The American Missionary Association (AMA) was a Protestant-based abolitionist group founded on in Albany, New York. The main purpose of the organization was abolition of slavery, education of African Americans, promotion of racial equality, ...

, the

Religious Education Association The Religious Education Association is the world’s oldest and largest association of scholars and researchers in the field of religious education. It is a nonprofit member association, serving as a professional and learned society for scholars a ...

and the

Knights of Pythias The Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization and secret society founded in Washington, D.C., on . The Knights of Pythias is the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress. It was found ...

. He was a direct descendant of William Bradford, Governor of

Plymouth Colony Plymouth Colony (sometimes Plimouth) was, from 1620 to 1691, the first permanent English colony in New England and the second permanent English colony in North America, after the Jamestown Colony. It was first settled by the passengers on the ...

Family life

He married Frances Eugenia Price of

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behi ...

in 1911. They had several children including Arthur Jr., Amory Howe Bradford, Jean Bradford, and J. Allyn Bradford. His son, Amory, was general manager of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' and father of

Peter A. Bradford Peter A. Bradford is a former member of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission who teaches energy policy and law at the Vermont Law School. He is the author of ''Fragile Structures: A Story of Oil Refineries, National Security and the Coast of Ma ...

. When he died in 1973, he was residing in

Jaffrey, New Hampshire Jaffrey is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,320 at the 2020 census. The main village in town, where 3,058 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined as the Jaffrey census-designated place (CDP) a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradford, Arthur Howe 1883 births 1973 deaths Religious leaders from New Jersey People from Montclair, New Jersey Middlebury College alumni Brown University alumni Yale University alumni Union Theological Seminary (New York City) alumni Bradford family