Author: Bradford, Thomas
Biography:
BRADFORD, Thomas (1782-1808: ancestry.co.uk)
He was baptised on 3 Feb. at Westbourne, West Sussex, the son of Thomas Bradford and Frances Hussey, who had married at Havant, Hampshire, in 1781. A sister, Frances Sophia Heather, was born the following year. Nothing is known of his education but a newspaper death notice gave his occupation as linen draper. He married Mary Blagden on 22 May 1806 at St. Peter the Less, Chichester. They had a daughter, Mary Blagden Bradford. He died on 27 Aug. 1808 at Chichester, aged 26, and was buried at St. Mary’s, Rumboldswhyke. He left an estate of over £3000 to his widow, daughter, and other members of his family including his niece, Frances Bradford Titchener, which has enabled identification. His Poetical Pieces, listed here, includes a sonnet on his death and an epitaph by William Hayley (q.v.) and a memorial preface which gives no facts but praises his natural genius in the service of Christian devotion and resignation. His own poems were all religious and included a poem on his “Sickness” and intended burial at “Rumbold’s Whyke.” On the day of his burial William Walker wrote to William Hayley suggesting an engraving by William Blake (q.v.) as frontispiece but it never appeared. (ancestry.co.uk 11 June 2023; findmypast.co.uk 11 June 2023; Englishman 1 June 1806; Kentish Weekly Post 2 Sept. 1808; Hampshire Chronicle 5 Sept. 1808; G. E. Bentley Jr., William Blake: The Critical Heritage [2002], 117) AA