Charles Bradbury, author of The History of Kennebunkport, was born in Arundel October 7, 1799 in the Smith Bradbury House (C-5 on the Walking Tour). He was descended from Thomas Bradbury, an agent of Sir Fernando Gorges in 1634 and a proprietor in Salisbury, Massachusetts. Charles' father, Smith Bradbury, was a Sea Captain and a merchant in Kennebunkport. His mother was Mary Hovey, daughter of Deacon John Hovey and granddaughter of Reverend John Hovey. The Reverend was a minister in Arundel from 1741 to 1768 and he kept a diary of births, marriages and other affairs of the town. Charles Bradbury may have been inspired to write The History of Kennebunkport by the Reverend's copious notes. When he was young, Charles went to sea on a few voyages himself and even became the Captain of a ship but the life of a seaman was not for him. He was a tall, handsome, highly intelligent man with a distaste for manual labor. He preferred intellectual pursuits. Andrew Walker quotes Charles in his diary as saying often, "All men are naturally lazy" .
In 1828 Charles married Juliet Walker, daughter of Captain Daniel Walker. In 1829 he became a schoolteacher. He served on the local school board, the State Legislature and the on the board of York County Commissioners. In 1847, he moved his family to Albion, Michigan where he died July 4th, 1864.
I have scanned the pages of the book that list names of residents of Kennebunkport and their genealogies. I have only OCR converted A-M. The rest to follow.