USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Professional and industrial history of Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Volume I > Part 9
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Among the most important changes in the jurisdiction of this court have been the following recent ones : By chapter 332 of the laws of 1887 exclusive jurisdiction was given to it "in all cases of divorce and nullity or validity of marriage." By chapter 379 of the laws of 1891 it was given jurisdiction in capital crimes, and by chapter 293 of the same year, jurisdiction in matters relating to telegraph and telephone wires given to the Supreme Court by chapter 27 of the public statutes, in matters relating to the abuse by towns of corporate powers given to the Supreme Court by the same chapter, relating to the construction, alteration, maintenance and use of buildings, given to the Supreme Court by chapter 104 of the public statutes and relating to the control of street railroads, given to the same court by chapter 113. The salaries of the chief justices of the Supreme Judicial Court and the Superior
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Court are $7,500 and $500 for travel for the former, and $6,500 and $500 for travel for the latter ; and for the associate justices, $7,000 and $500 for travel for those of the former, and $6,000 and $500 for travel for those of the latter.
The law establishing the Superior Court abolished not only the Com- mon Pleas Court, but also the Superior Court for the county of Suffolk and the Municipal Court of the city of Boston, whose functions and powers it assumed as well as those of the Court of Common Pleas. These two courts will be referred to hereafter.
The Court of General Sessions of the Peace was the third court es- tablished June 27, 1699. The act establishing it provided that it should be held in each county by the justices of the peace of the same county, who were empowered to hear and determine all matters relating to the conservation of the peace. The court for Suffolk was to be held on the first Tuesdays in July, October, January and April. This court con- tinued without material change until June 19, 1807, its powers having been renewed after the adoption of the constitution by an act passed July 3, 1782. By an act passed at the above date, June 19, 1807, it was provided that this court should be held in the several counties by one chief justice and four associates for Suffolk, six for Essex, six for Middlesex, six for Hampshire, four for Berkshire, four for Norfolk, four for Plymouth, four for Bristol, two for Barnstable, two for the county of Dukes county, two for Nantucket, four for York, four for Cumberland, four for Oxford, four for Lincoln, six for Kennebec, six for Hancock, and two for Washington. These justices were to act as the General Court of Sessions, instead of justices of the peace, and to have and per- form all the duties of the old court. On the 19th of June, 1809, the jurisdiction of the General Court of Sessions of the Peace was trans- ferred to the Court of Common Pleas. Up to that time the judges in Suffolk county had been :
William Dennison, appointed September 28, 1807, chief justice ; David Tilden, ap- pointed September 28, 1807, associate; Russell Sturgis, appointed September 28, 1807, associate ; Samuel Clap, appointed September 28, 1807, associate.
On the 25th of June, 1811, an act was passed providing " that from and after the first day of September next, an act made and passed on the nineteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight
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hundred and nine, entitled 'An act to transfer the powers and duties of the Court of Sessions to the Courts of Common Pleas, and for other purposes,' be and the same is hereby repealed," and that said General Court of Sessions should be revived. After the revival, on the 30th of August, 1811, William Dennison was again appointed chief justice and David Tilden and Russell Sturgis associates. Discretion was given to the governor to appoint one chief justice, and' not more than four nor less than two associates in any county.
On the 28th of February, 1814, still another act was passed repealing the act of revival of the General Court of Sessions, except so far as Suf- folk, Nantucket and the county of Dukes county were concerned, and transferring their jurisdiction to the Circuit Court of Common Pleas, which had been established on the 21st of June, 1811. By this act the governor was authorized to appoint two persons in each county to be session justices of the Circuit Court of Common Pleas in their respective counties, and to sit with the justices of the Circuit Court in the adminis- tration of all matters within their county over which the Courts of Ses- sions had jurisdiction. The administration of county affairs was con- ducted by the Circuit Court of Common Pleas until February 20, 1819, when the act which transferred the powers of the Court of Sessions to that court was repealed, and it was provided by law that the Court of Sessions in each county should be held by a chief justice and two asso- ciates. The Court of Sessions for Suffolk county continued until Feb- ruary 23, 1822, when it was abolished by an " act to regulate the ad- ministration of justice within the county of Suffolk and for other pur- poses." In addition to those already mentioned as judges at various times in the changing conditions of the court in Suffolk county, were Josiah Batchelder, appointed July 2, 1808; Benjamin Homans, ap- pointed May 18, 1812; William Little and Edward Jones, appointed May 25, 1812 ; William Smith, appointed January 20, 1814, and Ben- jamin Rand, appointed May 25, 1819.
The Courts of Justices of the Peace have been handed down from the earliest days of the province and were first established by the act for the establishing of judicatories and courts of justice within the province, passed November 25, 1692, and disallowed by the Privy Council Au- gust 22, 1695. They were again established by an act passed June 18.
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1697, and afterwards confirmed by repeated legislation. Their civil and criminal powers were so similar to those of justices of the Common- wealth, that it is not proposed to set them forth more fully than they have already been in an earlier part of this narrative.
The Boston Court of Common Pleas was established by an act passed February 26, 1814. At that time Suffolk county was a part of the mid- dle circuit. The act provided that after the 28th of March, 1814, a Court of Common Pleas should be held at Boston for the county of Suffolk on the first Tuesdays of January, March, May, July, September and November, to be called " the Boston Court of Common Pleas." It was to have one judge with a jurisdiction over all causes of a civil nat- ure which had been cognizable by the Circuit Court of Common Pleas. It was also to have original and concurrent jurisdiction in all civil ac- tions in the county of Suffolk under the sum of twenty dollars, and to hold a court to be called the Town Court for the summary trial without jury of all such actions on Wednesday of every week. The clerk of said court was to be called "Recorder" and have power to hold the court in case of the death or absence of the judge. This court continued until it was abolished by the act establishing a Common Pleas Court for the Commonwealth February 14, 1821. The judges of this court at various times were as follows :
Harrison Gray Otis, appointed March 16, 1814; William Minot, appointed March 2, 1818; William Prescott, appointed April 21, 1818; Artemas Ward, appointed May 11, 1819.
"An act to establish a Municipal Court in the Town of Boston " was passed March 4, 1800. The following are some of its provisions : " That there shall be holden within and for the Town of Boston, on the first Monday of every month, by such learned, able and discreet person as the governor shall appoint and commission pursuant to the constitu- tion, a court of justice by the name of the Municipai Court for the Town of Boston ; that said court shall have full power to adjourn from day to day and shall have cognizance of all crimes and offences committed within the town of Boston, which are now cognizable in the Court of General Sessions of the Peace; and cognizance of all crimes and of- fences against the By-Laws of the said Town; of frauds, deceits, mo- nopolies, forestalling, regrating, thefts aud nuisances."
Surges B, Bigelow
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The court was presided over by one judge until March 1, 1843, when it was provided by law that the judges of the Common Pleas Court should be ex-officio the judges of the Municipal Court. When the Su- perior Court of the county of Suffolk was established by an act passed May 21, 1855, the powers of the judges of the Common Pleas Court in relation to the Municipal Court were transferred to the new court, and when the Superior Court was established, April 5, 1859, the Municipal Court was finally abolished. The judges of this court at various times were :
George Richards Minot appointed 1800; Thomas Dawes, jr., appointed 1802; Josiah Quincy, appointed January 16, 1822; Peter O. Thacher, appointed May 14, 1823.
On the 21st of May, 1855, an act was passed to establish the "Su- perior Court of the County of Suffolk," which provided for the appoint- ment of four justices, one of whom should be chief justice, with juris- diction " in all cases, and in the same manner, and to the same extent, in which the Court of Common Pleas now has jurisdiction in said county, whether original and exclusive, concurrent or appellate ; and they shall also have exclusive jurisdiction in all cases in which the Court of Com- mon Pleas now has concurrent jurisdiction with the Supreme Judicial Court in said county, wherein the damages demanded or the property claimed shall not exceed in amount or value the sum of fifteen hundred dollars ; and no action in which the said Superior Court may have juris- diction under this act shall be brought in the Supreme Judicial Court in the county of Suffolk, except the damages therein demanded, or the property claimed, shall exceed in amount or value the sum of fifteen hundred dollars, and when the plaintiff, or some one in his behalf, shall before service of the writ, make oath or affirmation before some justice of the peace, that the matter sought to be recovered actually exceeds in amount or value the said sum."
The act provided for six terms per year in Boston, and at any term to suit public convenience, two sessions might be held. The city of Boston was to pay the expenses of the court, the justices were to be ex-officio justices of the Municipal Court, the terms of the Common Pleas Court in the county of Suffolk were abolished and "judges of the said Superior Court and of the Court of Common Pleas might inter- change services, and hold mutual consultations in matters of law and as
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to rules of practice." This court was also abolished by the act estab- lishing the present Superior Court passed April 5, 1859. The judges of this court were as follows :
Albert H. Nelson, chief justice, appointed October 13, 1855, resigned 1858 ; Josiah G. Abbot, appointed October 13, 1855, resigned 1858; Stephen G. Nash, appointed Oc- tober 13, 1855, court abolished 1859; Charles P. Huntington, appointed October 13, 1855, court abolished 1859 ; Marcus Morton, Jr., appointed March 14, 1858, vice Abbot; Charles Allen, chief justice, appointed March 19, 1858, court abolished 1859.
A Police Court was established in Boston by an act passed February 23, 1822, the most important provisions of which for the purposes of this narrative were as follows: "That the town of Chelsea shall con- tinue to be a part of the county of Suffolk, for all purposes relating to the administration of justice, as though this act had not been passed, excepting that the town of Chelsea shall not be liable to taxation for any county purposes, until the legislature shall otherwise order; and excepting also as hereinafter provided, concerning the jurisdiction of justices of the peace. That the Court of Common Pleas in the county of Suffolk shall have jurisdiction in all matters and things, which in re- lation to the town of Chelsea, or the inhabitants thereof, were cogniz- able by the Court of Sessions in the county of Suffolk before the passing of this act.
"That there shall be and hereby is established within and for the city of Boston, a Police Court to consist of three learned, able and dis- creet persons to be appointed and commissioned by the governor pur- suant to the constitution, and the session justice shall preside in said court ; and a court shall be held daily at nine of the clock A. M. and at three of the clock P. M., by some one or more of said justices, and at any other terms when necessary to take cognizance of all crimes, of- fences and misdemeanors, whereof justices of the peace may take cognizance by law, and of all offences which may be cognizable by one or more of said justices, according to the by-laws, rules and regulations which may be established by the proper authority of the city of Boston.
"That a court shall be held by one or more of said justices on two several days in each week, and as much oftener as may be necessary, to be called and styled the Justice's Court for the county of Suffolk ; which
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court shall have original, exclusive jurisdiction and cognizance of all civil suits and actions, which before, and until the passing of this act, might by law be heard, tried and determined before any justice of the peace within and for the county of Suffolk; and an appeal shall be al- lowed from all judgments in said justice's court in like manner as ap- peals are now allowed by law, from judgments of justices of the peace in civil actions in the said county of Suffolk."
The final provision of the act was "that it shall be of no force or effect unless a certain act establishing the city of Boston," passed at the present session, shall be accepted by the inhabitants of the town of Boston pursuant to the provision therein made.
The Police Court and the Justice's Court described in the above act remained distinct, one exercising criminal and the other civil jurisdiction, with the same judges for both, until 1860 when it was enacted in the general statutes that "all cases and proceedings pending in or return- able to the Justice's Court for the county of Suffolk, and the records and jurisdiction of said court are transferred to the Police Court." The judges who served at various times in this court were :
Benjamin Whitman, appointed June 10, 1822, senior justice ; William Simmons, ap- pointed June 10, 1822; Henry Orne, appointed June 10, 1822; John G. Rogers, ap- pointed August 10, 1831 ; James C. Merrill, appointed February 19, 1834 ; Abel Cushing, appointed June 30, 1843 ; Thomas Russell, appointed February 26, 1852 ; Sebeus C. Maine, appointed November 3, 1858; George D. Wells, appointed May 31, 1859; Ed- win Wright, appointed July 9, 1861; Mellen Chamberlain, appointed June 28, 1861, special justice.
The Police Court was abolished by an act passed May 29, 1866, es- tablishing the Present Municipal Court of the city of Boston. That act provided that " there shall be established a court to be called the Municipal Court of the city of Boston, which shall have the same powers and jurisdiction in all actions and proceedings at law, whether civil or criminal as the Police Court of the city of Boston now has, ex- cept as hereinafter provided "-that " all cases pending at the time this act shall take full effect, whether civil or criminal, in the Police Court of the city of Boston, shall be transferred to and have day in the proper day and term of the Municipal Court of the city of Boston; and all writs, processes, complaints, petitions and proceedings whatever which are made returnable or to be entered in said Police Court, shall be
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returnable to, entered and have day in the proper day and term of said Municipal Court, that there shall be appointed, commissioned and qualified, agreeably to the constitution, three suitable persons as justices of the Municipal Court of the city of Boston, one of whom shall be appointed, commissioned and qualified as chief justice thereof, one or more of whom shall hold a court for criminal business daily, ex- cept Sundays or legal holidays, in the forenoon at nine o'clock, and in the afternoon except on Saturday at three o'clock, or some hour there- after, and a court for civil business weekly, each term of which shall begin on Saturday.
By chapter 41 of the laws of 1882 the number of associate justices was increased to three and by chapter 419 of the laws of 1888 to four. The judges of the court have been the following :
John W. Bacon, appointed July 2, 1866, chief justice ; Francis W. Hurd, appointed July 2, 1866, associate ; Mellen Chamberlain, appointed June 29, 1866, associate ; Mellen Chamberlain, appointed December 1, 1871, chief justice ; Joseph M. Churchill, appointed March 3, 1871, associate; William £. Parmenter, appointed December 12, 1871, asso- ciate; John Wilder May, appointed October 12. 1878, chief justice ; William E. Par- menter, appointed January 24, 1883, chief justice ; W. J. Forsaith, appointed January 23, 1872, special; W. J. Forsaith, appointed March 8, 1882, associate ; Matthew J. McCafferty, appointed January 24, 1883, associate; George Z. Adams, appointed July 11, 1882, special ; John H. Hardy, appointed June 3, 1885, associate ; Benjamin R. Curtis, appointed April 28, 1886, associate ; Frederick D. Ely, appointed October 10, 1888, asso- ciate ; John H. Burke, appointed February 11, 1891, associate.
Within the present limits of Suffolk county there are the following Municipal, Police and District Courts :
1. The Municipal Court of the city of Boston, the establishment of which has been already stated with a jurisdiction including wards 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, and the following judges: William E. Par- menter, chief justice, William J. Forsaith, John H. Hardy, Frederick D. Ely and John H. Burke, associate justices, and George Z. Adams, spe- cial justice.
2. The Municipal Court of South Boston was established May 26, 1874, and now has a jurisdiction including wards 13, 14, 15, with the following judges: Robert I. Burbank, justice, and Joseph D. Fallon and Charles J. Noyes, special justices.
3. The Municipal Court of the Charlestown District was originally established as the Police Court of the city of Charlestown, April 4, 1862,
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but assumed its present name pursuant to the act uniting Charlestown with Boston passed May :4, 1873. It has jurisdiction over wards 3, 4, 5, with the following judges : Henry W. Bragg, justice, and Joseph H. Cotton and Simon Davis, special justices.
4. The Municipal Court of the Highland District was established by an act passed June 1, 1867, uniting Roxbury with Boston, under the name of the Municipal Court of the Southern District of the city of Boston, and acquired its present title pursuant to an act passed May 26, 1874. It has jurisdiction over wards 19, 20, 21, 22, and the following judges : Solomon A. Bolstor, justice, and George R. Wheelock and Walter S. Frost, special justices.
5. The Municipal Court of the Dorchester District was established June 10, 1870. 6 It has jurisdiction in ward 29 and the following judges: Joseph R. Churchill, justice, and George M. Reed, and George A. Fisher, special justices.
6. The Municipal Court of the Brighton District was established May 26, 1874. It has jurisdiction in ward 25, and the following judges : Henry Baldwin, justice, and James H. Rice and Charles A. Barnard, special justices.
7. The Municipal Court of the West Roxbury District was established' May 26, 1874. It has jurisdiction in Ward 23, and the following judges: James M. F. Howard, justice, and George R. Fowler and Henry Aus- tin, special justices.
8. The Police Court of Chelsea was established February 27, 1855. It originally included Chelsea, North Chelsea (Revere), and Winthrop in its jurisdiction, but in 1886 Winthrop was added to the jurisdiction of the District Court of East Boston. The judges of the court are Albert D. Bosson, justice, and William H. Hart and Frank E. Fitz, special justices.
9. The East Boston District Court was established as the Municipal Court of the East Boston District, May 26, 1874, and was re-established under its present name by an act passed February 16, 1886. Its juris- diction extends over Wards I and 2, and the town of Winthrop, which until the organization of this court was included within the jurisdiction of the police court of Chelsea. Its judges are William H. H. Emmons, justice, and James L. Walsh and Albert E. Clary, special justices.
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It will be proper here to state that by an act passed May 3, 1850, Chelsea, North Chelsea (Revere), and Winthrop, parts of Suffolk county, were placed under the jurisdiction of the county commissioners of Mid- dlesex. Suffolk county, of course, has no commisioners.
In the city of Boston the board of aldermen have all the powers and duties of county commissioners, except in relation to trials by jury and recovery of damages in such trials, in cases of laying out and discon- tinuing highways, and appeals from assessors for abatement of taxes.
It has been stated in an earlier part of this narrative that under the colonial charter matters relating to the probate of wills and the admin- istration of estates of deceased persons were within the jurisdiction of the county court. This jurisdiction was disturbed during the brief ad- ministrations of Dudley and Andros, but after the overthrow. of Andros the old method was resumed and continued until the province charter went into operation. By that charter probate affairs were placed in the hands of the Governor and Council, who claimed and exercised the right to appoint judges and registers of probate in the various counties. The following is believed to be a correct list of persons holding these offices in Suffolk county by appointment under the provincial charter, and until the first law was passed relating to probate affairs after the adop- tion of the constitution :
Judges of Probate .- William Stoughton, appointed June 18, 1692 ; Elisha Cooke, Aug- gust 8, 1701; Isaac Addington, November 19, 1702 ; Samuel Sewall, December 9, 1715 ; Joseph Willard, December 19, 1728; Joseph Willard, November 5, 1741; Edward Hutchinson, February 12, 1745-6; Thomas Hutchinson, April 3, 1752; Thomas Hutch- inson, November 5, 1761 : Foster Hutchinson, August 3, 1769 ; Thomas Cushing, 1775 ; Oliver Wendell, November 16, 1780.
Registers of Probate .- Isaac Addington, appointed June 18, 1692; Paul Dudley, No- vember 19, 1702; Joseph Marion, December 19, 1715; John Boydell ; Benjamin Rolfe, October 19, 1722, (Boydell absent) ; John Boydell, December 19, 1728 ; John Boydell, December 15, 1732; Andrew Belcher, December 21, 1739 ; Andrew Belcher, Novem- ber 5, 1741; John Payne, July 14, 1749, (Belcher absent) ; John Shirley, January 25, 1754; John Payne, September 20, 1754, (Shirley absent) ; John Payne, January 11, 1755, (Shirley absent); John Payne, March 28, 1755; John Cotton, March 28, 1755 ; William Cooper, 1759; John Cotton, 1759; William Cooper, 1761; John Cotton, 1761; William Cooper, October 30, 1776.
On the 12th of March, 1784, an " Act for establishing Courts of Pro- bate " was passed, providing that a court shall be held in the several
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counties, and that a judge and register shall be appointed in each county ; that the Supreme Judicial Court shall be the Supreme Court of Probate with appellate jurisdiction of all matters determinable by the probate judges.
Under this act and until 1838, when the offices of judges and regis- ters of probate and insolvency were created, the following officers ad- ministered the affairs of the court :
Judges of Probate .- Oliver Wendell, appointed November 16, 1780, (held over) ; James Sullivan, May 27, 1788; Thomas Dawes, February 19, 1790; George Richards Minot, February 1, 1792; Thomas Dawes, jr., January 26, 1802; Joseph Hall, Septem- ber 6, 1825; John Heard, March 15, 1836; Willard Phillips, May 3, 1839; Edward Greeley Loring December 17, 1847 ; John P. Putnam, March 27, 1858.
Registers of Probate .- William Cooper, appointed October 30, 1776, (held over) ; Perkins Nichols, November 19, 1799; John Heard, May 26, 1806; David Everett, October 22, 1811; John Heard, June 20, 1812; Oliver B. Peabody, March 15, 1836 ; Horatio M. Willis, February 8, 1842 ; Thomas Gill, April 1, 1852; Horatio M. Willis, July 1, 1853; William C. Browne, February 28, 1855.
An amendment to the constitution, ratified by the people on the 23d of May, 1858, provided that at the annual election and in every fifth year thereafter, the register of probate of each county should be chosen by the people. Pursuant to this amendment William C. Browne, then holding the office, was chosen register. In 1856 a Court of Insolvency was established by law in each county, and Isaac Ames was appointed, June 16, 1856, judge of insolvency for Suffolk county and Charles W. Storey, register. In 1858 the offices of judge and register of probate and those of judge and register of insolvency were abolished and the offices of judge and register of probate and insolvency were created. In the same year it was provided that the register of probate and in- solvency should be chosen by the people in that year and every fifth year thereafter. Isaac Ames was appointed judge of probate and in- solvency May 11, 1858, and at the election in November William C. Browne, the former register of probate, was chosen register. The suc- cessor of Judge Ames was John W. McKim, the present incumbent, who was appointed March 27, 1877. Mr. Browne was rechosen for five years in 1863, and was succeeded by William S. King, who was chosen in November, 1870. At the death of Col. King, Patrick R. Guiney suc- ceeded to the office, and after his death, which occurred March 21,
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