James B. Bradwell

James Bolesworth Bradwell (April 16, 1828 – November 30, 1907) was a prominent Illinois lawyer, judge, and politician.

James B. Bradwell was born April 16, 1828, at Loughborough, England, the son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Gutridge) Bradwell. Sixteen months after his birth, Bradwell's family moved to Utica, New York. In 1833, they moved to Jacksonville, Illinois, and the next year to Wheeling, Illinois. Bradwell subsequently grew up on a farm in Cook County, Illinois. Educated initially in a log schoolhouse, Bradwell later attended Wilson's Academy in Chicago and Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois.

After graduating, Bradwell worked as a journeyman in Chicago in a variety of different trades. He gained a reputation as an outstanding process artist, and produced the first halftone ever made in Chicago, a portrait of Melville Fuller.

In 1852, he married Myra Colby, with whom he would have four children. An early feminist, Myra Bradwell would, in 1892, become the first woman admitted to the bar in Illinois. Following their marriage, James and Myra Bradwell moved to Memphis, Tennessee where they opened a school

In 1854, Bradwell was admitted to the bar and the couple moved to Chicago in 1855. In 1861, he was elected County Judge of Cook County, with jurisdiction over all probate matters in Cook County. During the American Civil War, he was an active supporter of the Union and opponent of the copperheads. In addition to passionate addresses, Bradwell wrote and performed songs promoting the Union cause, thus gaining him the nickname of the "sweet singer of Cook County".

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