Document signed ("Hutchinson"), appointing Caleb Cushing, Andrew Oliver Jr, William Brown, and Peter Frye to the Massachusetts Court of Common Pleas for the county of Essex

Hutchinson, Thomas

Published by Boston, 1772

About this Item

2 pp, recto and verso. Partially printed and completed in manuscript. Signed on verso by Andrew Oliver, Benjamin Lynde Jr., and Benjamin Parkman. Folio. Massachusetts Bay governor Thomas Hutchinson makes what would prove to be the final colonial appointment of judges to the Inferior Court of Common Pleas. "The last appointment . of Judges to this court, bears date January 15, 1772, and embraces Caleb Cushing as Chief Justice, Andrew Oliver, William Brown and Peter Frye. The vacancy created by the promotion of Judge Brown to the Superior Court seems not to have been supplied, and Cushing, Oliver and Frye consequently constituted the last bench of Judges of this court before the Revolution" (Washburn, Sketch of the Judicial History of Massachusetts, p 354). The Court of Common Pleas was the main trial court in Massachussetts until 1859. Oliver was originally appointed to the court in 1762 ANDREW OLIVER, JR (1731-1799) was the son of Andrew Oliver, the Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts at the time of this appointment and one of the most prominent loyalists in the years preceding the revolution. In addition to his role as a judge, Andrew Oliver, Jr is remembered as a man of science he was a founder of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a member of the Philosophical Society of Philadelphia, and a correspondant of Benjamin Franklin. Oliver's "Essay on Coments" (1772) gained him wide acclaim. 2 pp, recto and verso. Partially printed and completed in manuscript. Signed on verso by Andrew Oliver, Benjamin Lynde Jr., and Benjamin Parkman. Folio. Seller Inventory # 315480

Bibliographic Details

Title: Document signed ("Hutchinson"), appointing ...

Publisher: Boston

Publication Date: 1772

Condition: Matted and framed

Signed: Signed by Author(s)