USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : containing carefully prepared histories of every city and town in the county, Vol. II > Part 97
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It was at this period that he attended the scientific lectures at Harvard College, given by Professor Win- throp, in company with young Baldwin. He after- ward took up the occupation of teaching, and was invited to take charge of a school in Concord, New Hampshire, then called Rumford, in 1770. While thus engaged he became acquainted with Mrs. Sarah Rolfe, widow of Benjamin Rolfe, to whom he was married in 1772. By this union he came into possession of considerable property. The new social position acquired brought him in contact with Governor Wentworth, of that state, who, rec- ognizing his talents, gave him a commission as major in the 2d New Hampshire Regiment .. This promotion over the heads of officers already in the service caused the bitterest feelings on their part towards him, while the attitude of loyalty to Great Britain held by the governor caused his friends, Thompson among them, to be held as " unfriendly to the cause of liberty." Major Thompson had also about this time given shelter to two deserters from the British army in Boston ; but, on learning that they wished to return, he interceded with Gen- eral Gage for this purpose, and asked, as a precau- tion, that he (Thompson) might not be known in the matter. The transaction leaked out, however, and Thompson was brought before the " sons of liberty " to answer to the charge of toryism. The charge was not sustained, but he was the object of constant suspicion, and at length his house was mobbed by a party of excited patriots, and he fled in haste to Woburn. Just before this his daughter, afterwards the Countess Sarah, was born. Thomp- son found, on his arrival at his native place, that he had reached no harbor of safety. The suspicions against him had travelled to the town before him. An arrest and examination before a committee of his townsmen resulted in his discharge, and a rec- ommendation to public confidence. But, feeling insecure, he went for a time to Charlestown. At this time the war had opened, and no evidence is offered from any quarter to show his hostility to the patriot cause. He applied to Washington fo:
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Birthplace of Count Rumford.
553
WOBURN.
a commission in the army, which was not given. The refusal is believed to have been founded on the animosity of the officers of the New Hampshire regiments. This rebuff touched him deeply, and . the feeling was intensified when, on his return to Woburn, a company was sent to arrest him. His persecutors were foiled by the presence of mind of his friend Baldwin. Thompson wrote to his father- in-law at Concord that he " had done nothing to merit such cruel usage, and he could not bear any longer the insults that had been offered him." He determined, therefore, to leave the vicinity, if not the country. He left Woburn quietly for Newport, Rhode Island, where he was taken ou board a British frigate, which soon after came to Boston. Here he remained through the winter. Upon the evacuation of the town, in March, he was despatched to England as bearer of the news. Ile was immediately taken into favor, and a place was made for him in the office of Lord George Germaine, one of the English ministers. In four years from the time of his arriving in England he was appointed an under secretary of state. Toward the close of the war he was commissioned as a colo- nel of dragoons, and came to America in the ser- vice of England. For a little time he was in South Carolina, and acted as a partisan commander against General Marion, and was afterwards sta- tioned on Long Island, at the head of a regiment of refugee dragoons. He saw but little active service, and on the declaration of peace returned to Eng- land. Obtaining leave of absence for the conti- nent of Europe, he visited Austria with a view of obtaining military service against the Turks. He was warmly received by the emperor ; but the war soon closing he came to Munich, where he entered the service of the elector of Bavaria, whom he had previously met at Strasburg, and who had been favorably impressed by his talents and accomplish- ments. As grand chamberlain of the prince he at once set about important reforms in the government. He thoroughly reorganized the military department, not only introducing a better standard of discipline and economy, but founded army workshops and military gardens, where the soldiers could employ their time and talents in mechanical and agricul- tural pursuits, to their own personal advantage as well as the benefit of the state. These things being accomplished, he set about reforming the system of beggary pervading Munich and its suburbs. This mendicancy was of the most shameless and extor- tionate character, and needed a wise and firm hand
to control it. Thompson was fully equal to the emergency. He made such careful preparations for the execution of his projects, that the whole body of beggars was arrested on a certain day, and consigned to a large and well-arranged workhouse, and the lazy and troublesome vagabonds set to useful employment. Sir Benjamin (he had been knighted by George III. on leaving England) also instituted other social reforms, greatly improved the breed of horses and of horned cattle, and con- verted an old hunting-ground near Munich into an attractive park. This spot, nearly six miles in cir- cumference, is still known as the English Garden, and is a favorite resort of the people of the city. Within it is a monument to the memory of its founder, on which are inscribed the sentiments of affection and gratitude he inspired in all classes in Bavaria. As other evidence of the esteem in which he was held, he was invested by the elector with many titles of honor. . He was made major-general of cavalry, a privy councillor of state, and first min- ister of war. A little later, in 1791, he received the rank of a count of the Holy Roman Empire. In selecting the title to accompany it he chose that of Rumford, the town in New Hampshire where he had once resided. In carrying out the plans in which he had been so laboriously engaged, the health of Count Rumford was much enfeebled. He went to Italy for relief, but not improving as rap- idly as he wished, he returned to England. There he received great attention. His advice and opinions on many scientific and other matters were much sought for, and he published a series of essays em- bodying his views on social and sanitary reforms.
During the time Count Rumford was engaged in these public labors he gave much attention to philosophical subjects. Heat was one of those to which he applied his investigations with great boldness and success. Modern scientists are tar- dily awarding to him the honor of first announcing the modern doctrine of heat, and the great law of the correlation and the conservation of the physical forces. He also experimented on fireplaces and cooking ranges, and to him, as the original inves- tigator, is due nearly all the modern improvements in these matters of domestic comfort and economy.
In the war that followed the French Revolution Austria was involved. The Bavarians wishing to hold a neutral position, Count Rumford was sent for to act as head of the Council of Regency. His skilful management resulted in maintaining the de- sired neutrality. New honors were conferred upon
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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
him for this important service. The heavy labors of the count again brought him into an enfeebled condition, and he determined to once more revisit England. The elector acceded to his wishes, and appointed him as Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of St. James. The English government de- clined to receive him, as, in its views of the matter, no British-born subject could divest himself of his perpetual allegiance. Count Rumford solicited an audience, but his request was unnoticed. He was greatly chagrined, and did not soon forget this rebuff. During the administration of Washing- ton he was publicly solicited to return to the United States, and a correspondence was opened to bring about such a result, but it failed of its purpose. In 1799 Count Rumford suggested the establish- ment of a public institution for the diffusion of knowledge, and the application of the mechanical arts and the discoveries in natural philosophy to the common purposes of life. His clear presenta- tion of the subject, and his enthusiasm in advocat- ing it, led to its formation. This institution was the Royal Society of London, which has done so much in the direction indicated.
Leaving England again in 1803, he went to the continent, where he resided for the rest of his life. In 1804 (his first wife never leaving America, and having been dead some years) he married the widow of the celebrated French chemist, Lavoisier, and went to live with her at Auteuil, a suburb of Paris. Here he pursued with his usual zeal and penetration his philosophical studies, and in the companionship of Cuvier, - the distinguished naturalist, - and a few other intimate friends, passed the remaining years of his life. He carried his scientific prin- ciples into his dress and diet, for even in winter he wore white clothing, and always regulated his meals by a strict regimen. Believing that broad wheels to carriages were of easier motion and draught than those in ordinary use, he had them constructed for his own vehicles, and whenever he
rode through the boulevards of Paris attracted special attention. Count Rumford died at An- teuil in August, 1814, after a very short illness.
The career of this man was more remarkable than that of any other American, unless we. except Franklin. Like Franklin, his genius was essen- tially scientific and practical, but in addition he had intellectual traits which the former did not possess. As a diplomatist and organizer he was certainly his equal, as witness his successful inan- agement, amidst much opposition, at Munich. What he might have accomplished on the field cannot be known, as circumstances did not give him the opportunity of demonstrating this attribute of his mind. It is to be regretted that the genius of so eminent an American should not have displayed itself more fully on its native soil. If such had been the case, his claims to the gratitude and es- teem of his countrymen, if not more certainly due to him, would have been more surely awarded.
The house in which Benjamin Thompson was born is still standing, in the north village of Wo- burn. From the period of his leaving the country his name and reputation were both held in light esteem among his townsmen, as the old prejudice against toryism did not easily wear away. Of late, however, his fame has revived, and a success- ful effort was made a year or two ago to secure the Thompson estate to posterity as a memorial of one of New England's foremost sons. It was pur- chased by a subscription from collateral descend- ants and persons interested in the project, and is held by them under the title of the Rumford His- torical Association. A few necessary repairs have been made on the building, which will be carefully preserved, and within which will be gathered such memorials of Count Rumford as are to be secured. Thus after many years of unmerited neglect he will receive in some measure the honor due to such an illustrious son.
APPENDIX.
JUDICIAL HISTORY AND CIVIL LIST.
THE first step looking to the establishment of conrts in the colony was taken by the Court of Assistants of August 23, 1630, which constituted those persons holding the offices of governor and deputy-gov- ernor, justices of the pcace. Saltonstall, Johnson, Endicott, and Lndlow were also appointed jus- tices, with the same jurisdiction as the law conferred on such officers in England.
Except in those cases where justices had jurisdiction, the judicial anthority, in both civil and criminal canses, was exercised by the Court of Assistants. Juries of inquest, and also for the trial of persons presented by such juries, were impanelled by the governor. In November, 1633, the court ordered the secretary to issue his process to the beadle for summoning twenty-four jurors, who were to bc named by the secretary. In 1634 an order was made that no trial affecting life should be held without a jury regu- larly chosen by the freemen. Grand juries were first established in September, 1635.
After the division of the colony into shires county courts were established,1 which were held by the magis- trates who lived in the county, or any others who would attend, together with such other persons as the freemen of the county should from time to time nominate and the General Court approve; making the whole number five, of whom three were competent to hold a court. The county conrts had jurisdiction in testamentary matters, but without any well-settled form of procedure, the judges, in most cases, exercising discretionary power in the distribution of estates. When they established a general rule they nearly conformed to the rules governing personal estate in England, except that the eldest son was given a double portion. In the distribution of real prop- erty the widow usually received only her dower; but the circumstances of the family were taken into consideration. The conveyance by an inhabitant of one town or plantation of lands allotted to him to the inhabitant of another town was at first strictly prohibited.
The courts thus established had power to determine all civil causes, and all criminal the penalty of which did not 1 See Vol. I. p. 73, for times and places of holding county courts.
extend to life, member, or banishment. Grand and petit juries were summoned to attend them. Appeals from them lay to the Court of Assistants, and then to the General Court. According to Hutchinson, from whose digest of the laws our account is chiefly derived, " the higher offences against law were cognizable by the assistants only, except upon application, by appeal or petition, to the General Conrt. In all actions, civil or criminal, in which any stranger was a party, or interested, who could not stay without damage to attend the ordinary courts of jns- tice, the governor or deputy-governor, with any two magis- trates, had power to call a special court to hear and determine the cause if triable in a county court." The record was to be made on the records of the Court of As- sistants. "In divers towns a petty court was established for small debts and trespasses under twenty shillings; and in every town the selectmen, who were annually chosen by the town, had power to hear and determine all offences against the by-laws of the town."
For more than ten years after the settlement the parties to a suit spoke for themselves. When the importance of the cause required it they were sometimes assisted by a "patron, or man of superior abilities," who received neither fee nor reward. Thomas Lechford adds to this (1641), that the parties were warned to 'challenge any jurymau before he was sworn. Jurors were returned by the marshal, who was first called a beadle, the title being changed in 1634. James Penn was the first beadle. His successor was Edward Michelson, of Cambridge, appointed Novem- ber, 1637.
Lechford complains that as none but church-members were eligible to any office or to serve upon juries, great injustice was felt by the majority of persons in the colony who were not church-members, but who were liable to be tried for offences touching life or limb by those whom they regarded in the light of adversaries. Oaths were admin- istered, as now, by holding up the hand.
In 1640 provision was made for a public registry, and no mortgage, bargain, sale, or grant of any realty was good where the grantor remained in possession, against any per- sons, except the grantor and liis heirs, unless the same was acknowledged before a magistrate and recorded. All grants made before that time were to be acknowledged and re-
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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
corded before the end of November, otherwise to be void. Every marriage, birth, or death was also registered, first in the town, and at the end of the year the record was to be taken by the town-clerk, or clerk of the writs, as he was then called, to the county register. Neglect was punisha- ble by a fine of twenty shillings for each offence.
By the province charter power to appoint all officers of courts of justice was conferred upon the governor, subject to the consent of the council. The first General Court held under it assembled in June, 1692, when an act passed declaring those laws of Massachusetts and Plymoutli colo- nies, not repugnant to the laws of England, to be con- tinued in force until November. All justices of the peace had the same powers given to them as magistrates formerly had. Under this law justices of the peace sat with the regular judges in Middlesex County.
Charlestown continued to be one of the places for hold- ing conrts until 1775. Regular terms were held at Con- cord from 1692 till 1867; and at Groton from 1778 to 1796. Lowell became one of the regular seats of justice in 1837. The first county court-house in Cambridge was burned in 1671, with a volume of the conrt records from 1663 to 1671. In 1816 the county buildings which had stood in Harvard Square were abandoned for the present location at East Cambridge.
Following is a list of judges for Middlesex under the new or province charter : -
Court of Common Pleas.
John Phillips, December 7, 1692, to 1715.
James Russell, December 7, 1692, to 1709.
Joseph Lynde, December 7, 1692, to 1719.
Samuel Hayman, December 7, 1692, to 1702.
Jonathan Tyng, July, 1702, to 1719. Francis Foxcroft, June, 1709, to 17 19. Jonathan Remington, December, 1715, to 1733.
Jonathan Dowse, June, 1719, to 1741.
Charles Chambers, June, 1719, to 1739. Francis Fulham, June, 1719, to 1755.
Thomas Greaves, 1733 to 1738, and from 1739 to 1747.
Francis Foxcroft, March, 1737, to 1764.
Samuel Danforth, July, 1741, to Revolution. Chambers Russell, August, 1747, to 1752.
Andrew Boardman, April, 1752, to 1769. William Lawrence, June, 1755, to 1763.
Jolin Tyng, September, 1763, to Revolution. Richard Foster, March, 1764, to 1771. Joseph Lee, May, 1769, to Revolution. James Russell, May, 1771, to Revolution.
The Middlesex Convention, held in August, 1774, passed a resolve to the effect that no obedience ought to be paid to processes issuing from the Courts of Sessions or of Com- mon Pleas, and declared two of the justices of the Court of Common Pleas -Danforth and Lee - incapable of holding any office whatever. These two judges were soon compelled to resign,1 and the functions of the court virtu- ally ceased nntil November 2, 1775, when the council ap- pointed John Tyng, Henry Gardner, and Samuel Phillips Savage justices, and David Cheever special justice of the Court of Common Pleas. Abraham Fuller was appointed Marchı 4, 1779.
1 See Vol. I. p. 108.
A reorganization of the judicial system closely followed the adoption of the state constitution, but many changes took place both in the construction and jurisdiction of the inferior courts before the present efficient organization was reached. Upon assuming office, Governor Hancock, by proclamation, directed all officers, civil and military, to continue in the exercise of their functions until otherwise ordered. An act establishing County Courts of Common Pleas passed July 3, 1783. It provided for four justices, who should be inhabitants of the county, three to consti- tute a quorum. The justices of the old Court of Common Pleas were then : -
Jolin Tyng, reappointed March 27, 1781.
Ilenty Gardner, reappointed March 27, 1781.
Samuel Phillips Savage, reappointed March 27, 1781. Abraham Fuller, reappointed March 27, 1781.
The following appointments were made from time to time : -
James Prescott, of Groton, December 21, 1782; appointed chief justice June 3, 1805.
Nathaniel Gorham, of Charlestown, July 1, 1785.
Special Justices. 1
Josiah Stone, of Framingham, 1780.
Ebenezer Bridge, of Chelmsford, June 28, 1785.
Jolin Pitts, of Dunstable, July 1, 1785. Eleazer Brooks, of Lincoln, March 13, 1786.
James Winthrop, of Cambridge, October 14, 1789.
William Hull, of Newton, May 14, 1792. Ephraim Wood, of Concord, March 12, 1795. Joseplı B. Varnum, of Dracut, March 13, 1795. Loammi Baldwin, of Woburn, March 14, 1795. Abiel Haywood, of Concord, February 25, 1801.
Benjamin Gorham, of Charlestown, February 20, 1810. Asahiel Stearns, of Chelmsford, May 18, 1810. Joseph Locke, of Billerica, May 18, 1810 .:
In 1811 the old Courts of Common Pleas were abol- ished, and the Circuit Court of Common Pleas established, Suffolk, Middlesex, and Essex counties constituting the Middle Circuit. The judges were : -
Samuel Dana, Chief Justice. William Wetmore, First Associate. Stephen Minot, Second Associate.
Court of General Sessions of the Peace.
A court with this title was constituted as early as 1692. July 3, 1782, an act passed constituting a Court of General Sessions of the Peace, to consist of the justices of the county and to have jurisdiction in cases coguizable by justices of the peace at common law, or under acts of the legislature.
June 19, 1807, an additional act reorganized the court by the appointment (for Middlesex county) of one chief and six associate justices, who were to hold the courts for- merly held by justices of the peace. The court, as newly constituted in Middlesex, was as follows : ---
Joseph B. Varnum, of Dracut (chief justice), appointed July 10, 1807.
Aaron Hill, of Cambridge (associate), appointed July 10, 1807.
1 Special justices were appointed under a law of 1784 to sit when the regular justices were interested parties or absent.
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APPENDIX.
Amos Bond, of Watertown (associate), appointed July 10, 1807.
Joseph Cordis, of Reading (associate), appointed August 28,1807.
Joseph Heald, of Pepperell (associate), appointed August 28, 1807.
John Kittell, of Charlestown (associate), appointed Sep- tember 3, 1S11.
John Hurd, of Reading (associate), appointed September 30, 1811.
Ebenezer Hobbs, of Weston (associate), appointed May 25, 1812 ..
In 1814 the Courts of Sessions were abolished, and their powers transferred to the Circuit Court of Common Pleas. Two justices, called " Sessions Justices of the C. C. C. P.," were appointed in each county to sit with the regular justices of that court, which was to hear and de- termine all matters of which Courts of Sessions had for- merly jurisdiction.1
Sessions Justices County Court of Common Pleus. John Walker, of Burlington, appointed May 24, 1814. Abiel Heywood, of Concord, appointed May 24, 1814. Joseph Locke, of Billerica, appointed July 2, 1814. Loammi Baldwin, of Woburn, appointed May 10, 1815.
The Circuit Court of Common Pleas was superseded in 1821 by the Court of Common Pleas, whichi gave way in 1859 to the Superior Court of the Commonwealth. The judges of this court are : --
Chief Justice, - Lincoln F. Brigham, of Salem. Associate Justices, - Julius Rockwell, of Lenox ; Francis H. Dewey, of Worcester ; Ezra Wilkinson, of Dedham ; John P. Put- mam, of Boston ; Robert C. Pitmau, of Newton ; John W. Bacon, of Natick ; P. Emery Aldrich, of Worcester ; Wil- liam Allen, of Northampton ; Waldo Colburn, of Dedham; William S. Gardner, of Newton.
Civil terms of this court are held at Lowell, second Mon- day in March and first Monday in September; at Cam- hridge, first Monday of June and second Monday of December. Criminal terms at Cambridge, second Monday in February and first Monday in June ; at Lowell, third Monday in October.
In 1867 the courts which had been held at Concord were removed to Cambridge, the county buildings at Concord becoming, subsequently, the property of that town.2
Sheriffs.
Timothy Phillips, appointed May 27, 1692.
Samuel Gookin, October 23, 1702.
Edmund Goffe, December 9, 1715.
Samuel Gookin, December 12, 1728.
Samuel Dummer, September 27, 1729.
Richard Foster, July 9, 1731.
Richard Foster, November 20, 1761.
David Phips,
March 7, 1764.
I The Court of Sessions for Middlesex was re-established in 1819, with Joseph Locke as chief justice, Abiel Haywood and Isaac Fiske associates.
2 In compiling the civit list of the county I have been mate- rially aided by Charles Cowley's Middlesex County Manual and by Whitmore's Massachusetts Civil List. - ED.
James Prescott, appointed September 6, 1775.
Loammi Baldwin, 1780.
Joseph Hosmer, 1794.
William Hildreth 66
180S.
Joseph Hosmer October 11, 1811.
William Hildreth,
October 11, 1811.
Nathaniel Austin, 1813.
Benjamin F. Varuum, 1831.
Samuel Chandler, 1841.
Fisher A. Hildreth, 1852.
John S. Keyes,
1854.
Charles Kimball, 1860.
Eben W. Fiske,
1879
Judges of Probate.
James Russell, appointed June 18, 1692, O.S.
Jolın Leverett, October 23, 1702, O.S.
Francis Foxcroft, July 8, 1708, O.S.
Jonathan Remington, September 30, 1725, O S.
Samuel Danforth, December 20, 1745, O.S.
John Winthrop, September 6, 1775.
Oliver Prescott, 1779.
James Prescott,
February 1, 1805.
Samucl P. P. Fay,
May 9, 1821.
W. A. Richardson,
Aprd 7, 1856.
The office of Judge of Probate was superseded in 1858 by that of Judge of Probate and Insolvency. William A. Richardson was appointed to the latter office July 1, 1858, and upon his resignation was succeeded by George M. Brooks, the present incumbent, May 13, 1872.
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