Essex County, Massachusetts - Chapter 1: Intkoductory, 1888

By William T. Davis

On the 20th of April, 1606, King James issued letters-patent dividing between two companies, popularly called the Northern and Southern Virginia companies, a strip of land one hundred miles wide along the Atlantic coast of North America, extending from the thirty-fourth to the forty-fifth degree of north latitude, a territory which then went under the name of Virginia, so called after Elizabeth, the virgin Queen. The Southern Company was composed of knights, gentlemen, merchants and adventurers of London, and received a grant of all the lands between the thirty-fourth and forty-first degrees, while the Northern Company was composed of persons of the same description in Bristol, Exeter and Plymouth, and received a grant of the lands between the thirty-eighth and forty-fifth degrees. That portion lying between the thirty-eighth and forty-first, which was included in both grants, was open to the company first occupying it ; and it was stipulated that neither company should make a settlement within one hundred miles of any previous settlement of the other company. On the 3d of November, 1620, Sir Ferdinando Gorges and his associates, the members of the Northern Virginia Company, received a new patent, which passed the seal on the 3d of the following July, under the title of " The council established at Plymouth, in the county of Devon, for the planting, ordering, ruling and governing of New England in America." Under this patent the company was authorized to hold territory extending from sea to sea, and in breadth from the fortieth to the forty-eighth degree of north latitude. This patent or charter conferred power to make laws, appoint Governors and other ofiicers, and generally to establish all necessary forms of government.

On the 19th of March, 1627-28, the Plymouth council granted a patent to Sir John Roswell, Sir John Young, Thomas Southcoat, John Humphrey, John Endicott and Simon Whitcomb, covering a territory extending from three miles north of the Merrimac River to three miles south of the Charles River. This patent was afterwards confirmed by letters-patent under the broad seal of England, issued on the 4th of March, in the following year. Sir Henry Roswell, Sir John Young and Thomas Southcoat subsequently sold their interest to John Winthrop, Isaac Johnson, Matthew Cradock, Thomas GofF and Sir Richard Saltonstall, who, with John Humphrey, John Endicott and Simon Whitcomb, the remaining original patentees, formed a new association. The pecuniary interests of the company were managed in England, and Matthew Cradock, who had been named in the charter by the King as Governor, was there chosen to that office. John Endicott was, however, sent out in the summer of 1628, and began a plantation at Salem. The charter was made in duplicate, one copy being sent to Endicott and the other brought to New England by Winthrop in 1630. By this charter a corporation was created under the name of " the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England," and twenty -six persons were named in it as the patentees. It provided that the officers should consist of a Governor, Deputy-Governor and eighteen assist ants, to be chosen annually by the freemen at the General Court to be held on the last Wednesday in Easter term. The General Court, consisting of the Governor, assistants and freemen, was to be held four times in each year, and by it officers were to be chosen and laws and ordinances enacted.

Mr. Endicott was chosen Governor by the colony after its arrival at Salem, but inthe latter part of 1629, the character and plans of the associates in England having been changed and an extensive emigration been set on foot, John Winthrop was chosen Governor in England, and John Humphrey Deputy-Governor. Winthrop sailed in April, 1630, and arrived in Masn qachusetts Bay on the 12th of June, at once assuming power as Governor under the charter, which he had brought with him. The first General Court was held at Boston, October 19th, and at its first session the freemen of which it was composed made an important change in the form of government contemplated in the charter, surrendering to the assistants the election of Governor and Deputy-Governor; to the Governor and deputy and assistants the enactment of laws, reserving to themselves only the election of the assistants. Soon after, however, they resumed the privilege of choosing the Governor and deputy as well as the assistants, and in 1636 the General Court also assumed the exclusive power of making the laws. In 1634, in order to obviate the inconvenience of convening the whole body of freemen, a law was passed providing for the choice of delegates with all the powers of the freemen, except those relating to the election of officers. For this election the whole body of freemen met annually in the meeting-house in Boston ; but the inconvenience of this arrangement was felt also, and it was provided that Salem, Ipswich, Newbury, Saugus, Weymouth and Hingham might retain as many of their freemen at home at the annual elections as the safety of the towns required, and that the votes of these might be sent by proxy. A general law was afterwards passed to the same effect, applicable to all the freemen in all the towns.

At first the assistants and deputies met together; but in 1644, - in consequence of a dispute in which the deputies claimed that a majority vote of the whole court should rule, while the assistants claimed concurrent jurisdiction, - it was finally agreed that the two branches should sit apart, and that each should have a negative on the other. The Governor presided at the Court of Assistants, and a new office of Speaker was established for the Deputies' Court.

Until 1639 the whole judicial power was vested in the Court of Assistants. In that year, on the 9th of September, it was enacted that " for as much as the businesses of the ordinary Court of Assistants are so much increased as they cannot be despatched in such season as were fit, it is therefore ordered that such of the magistrates as shall reside in or near to Boston, or any five, four or three of them, the Governor or Deputy to be one, shall have power to assemble together upon the last fifth day of the eighth, eleventh, second and fifth months every year, and then and there to hear and determine all civil causes, whereof the debt or trespass and damages shall not exceed twenty pounds, and all criminal causes, not extending to life or member or banishment, according to the course of the Court of Assistants, and to summon juries out of the neighbor towns, and the marshal or necessary officers are to give their attendance as at other courts."

quarter, - one at Ipswich, to which Newbury shall belong ; two at Salem, to which Saugus shall belong ; two at Newtown, to which Charlton, Concord, Medford and AVaterton shall belong; four at Boston, to which Roxbury, Dorchester, Weymouth and Hingham shall belong.

" Every of these courts shall be kept by such magistrates as shall be dwelling in or near the said towns, and by such other persons of worth as shall from time to time be appointed by the General Court, so as no court shall be kept without one magistrate at the least, and that none of the magistrates be excluded who can and will intend the same ; yet the General Court shall appoint which of the magistrates shall specially belong to every of the said court. Such persons as shall be joined as associates to the magistrates in the said court shall be chosen by the General Court out of a greater number of such as the several towns shall nominate to them, so as there may be in every of the said courts so many as (with the magistrates) may make five in all. These courts shall try all civil causes whereof the debt or damage shall not exceed ten pounds, and all criminal causes not concerning life, member or banishment. And if any person shall find himself grieved with the sentence of any of the said courts, he may appeal to the next great Quarter Court, provided that he put in sufficient caution to present his appeal with effect, and to abide the sentence of the magistrates in the said great Quarter Court, who shall see fhat all such that shall bring any appeal without just cause be exemplarily punished.

" There shall be four great Quarter Courts kept yearly at Boston by the Governor and the rest of the magistrates ; the first the first Tuesday in the fourth month, called June ; the second the first Tuesday in September ; the third the first Tuesday in December ; the fourth the first Tuesday in the first month, called March."

It must be remembered that the term magistrate was synonymous with that of assistant, and that therefore, under these various enactments, the assistants retained judicial power. On the 25th of May, 1636, the following magistrates and other persons were appointed by the General Court to hold the courts referred to in the above enactment of the previous March, to wit: For Salem and Saugus, John Humphrey, John Endicott, magistrates or assistants, Captain Turner, Mr. Scrugge and Mr. Townsend Bishopp, associates, and Ralph Fogg, clerk ; for Ipswich and Newbury, Thomas Dudley, Richard Dummer, Simon Bradstreet, magistrates, and Mr. Saltonstall and Mr. Spencer, associates, and Robert Lord, clerk ; for Newtown, Charlestown, Medford and Concord, John Haynes, Roger Harlakenden, Increase Nowell, magistrates, and Mr. Beecher and Mr. Feakes, associates ; for Boston, Roxbury, Dorchester, Weymouth and Hingham, Richard Bellingham, William Coddington, mag- istratea, and Israel Stoughton, William Hutchinson and William Heath, associate;i. Under this law the first Quarter Court of Salem v/as held June 27, 1636, and the records of that session are well-preserved in the first volume of the Court Records in the ofiice of the clerk of the courts in Salem. At that court one magistrate, John Endicott, and three commissioners - Nathaniel Turner, Townsend Bishopp and Thomas Scrugge - were present. The following certificate is a part of the record :

"Thes three, viz., cp. Nathaniel Turner, mr. Towenshend Bishop and mr. Tho : Scrugge, did the day and yeare above written take the oath of Commissioners."

On the 6th of June, 1639, it was enacted that "for the more speedy dispatch of all causes, which shall concern strangers, who canno: stay to attend the ordinary courts of justice, it is ordered that the Governor or deputy, being assisted with any two of the magistrates (whom he may call to him to that end), shall have power to hear and determine (by a jury of twelve men or otherwise as is used in other courts) all causes which shall arise between such str?ngers, or wherein any such stranger shall be a party, and all records of such proceedings shall be transmitted to the Secretary (except himself be one of the said magistrates, who shall assist in hearing such causes' to be entered as trials in other courts at the charge of the parties. This order to continue till the General Court in the seventh month come twelve month and no longer."

On the 2d of June, 1641. it was enacted that " whereas it is desired by this Court to ease the country of all unnecessary travels and charges, it is ordered that there shall be four Quarter Courts kept yearly by the magistrates of Ipswich and Salem, with such others to be joined in commission with them as this Court shall appoint, not hindering any other magistrates that will help them ; this order to take effect after the next Quarter Courts shall be ended at Salem and Ipswich, two of these Quarter Courts to be kept at Salem and the other two at Ipswich ; the first Court to be kept the last third day of the seventh mouth at Ipswich (and the next at the same time the former Courts were), the next quarter at Salem, the third quarter at Ipswich, the fourth at Salem, and the magistrates of Ipswich and Salem to attend every of these Courts, but no jurymen co be warned from Ipswich to Salem, nor from Salem to Ipswich ; to each of these places a grand jury shall be warned once a year, and these Courts to have the same power both in civil and criminal causes the Court of Assistants hath at Boston, except trials for life, limbs or banishment, which are wholly reserved to Boston Court ; provided it shall be lawful to appeal from any of these Courts to Boston. And it shall be in the liberty of any jilaintiff that hath an action of above an hundred pounds principal debt to try his cause in any of these Courts or at Boston ; the fines of these Courts to defray the charges of the same, and the overplus to be returned to the treasurer for the public. And Salisbury and Hampton are joined to the jurisdiction of Ipswich, and each of them to send a grand juryman once a year to Ipswich."

These enactments show the precise arrangement and distribution of judicial powers at the time of the division of the Massachusetts Colony into counties, in 1643. On the 10th of May in that year it was enacted that "the whole plantation within this jurisdiction is divided into four shires, to wit :

These, of course, were at that time all the incorporated towns in the Massachusetts Colony. In the shire of Essex, Salem was incorporated June 24, 1629, as a town, and March 23, 1836, as a city; Lynn, in November, 1637, as a town, and April 10, 1850, as a city; Enon (afterwards Wenham), was incorporated May 10, 1643; Ipswich, August 6, 1634; Eowley, September 4, 1639; Newbury, May 6, 1635; Gloucester, May 22, 1639, as a town, and May 26, 1871, as a city; and Chochicawick (afterwards Andover), May 6, 1646, after the incorporation of Essex County,

In Middlesex, Charlestown was incorporated June 24,1629; Cambridge, September 8, 1633; Watertown, September 7, 1630; Sudbury, September 4, 1639; Concord, September 2, 1635; Woburn, May 18, 1642; Medford, September 28, 1630; Linn village (afterwards incorporated as Eeading), May 29, 1644.

In Suffolk, Boston was incorporated September 7, 1630, as a town, and February 23, 1822, as a city; Hoxbury, September 28, 1630, as a town, and March 12, 1846, as a city, and annexed to Boston June 1, 1867; Dorchester, September 7, 1630, and annexed to Boston June 4, 1869; Dedham, September 8, 1636; Braintree, May 13, 1640 ; Weymouth, September 2, 1635; Hingham, September 2, 1635; and Nantasket (afterwards incorporated as Hull), May 29, 1644,

In Norfolk, Salisbury was incorporated October 7, 1640 ; Hampton, September 4, 1639 ; Haverhill in 1645, as a town, and March 10, 1869, as a city ; Exeter and Dover and Strawberry Bank (now Portsmouth) became afterwards a part of New Hampshire.

1820. As the towns of Amesbury, Haverhill and Salisbury were the only towns in Norfolk County, outside of the territory of New Hampshire, which became a royal province in 1679, the following act was jjassed by the General Court on the 4th of February, 1679-80 :

" This Ooiirt being sensible of the great inconvenience and charge that it will be to Salisbury, Haverhill and Amesbury to continue their County Court, now some of the towns of Norfolk are taken off, and considering that these towns did formerly belong to Essex County, and attended at Essex courts, do order that these towns that are left be again joined to Essex and attend public business at Essex courts, there to implead and be impleaded, as occasion shall be; their records of lands being still to be kept in some one of their own towns on the North of Merrimack, and all persons according to course of law are to attend in Essex County."

By this act Norfolk County, as incorporated in 1643, was extinguished, to be revived in another section of the State by an act of incorporation dated March 26, 1793. The act above quoted alludes to a former union of Amesbury, Haverhill and Salisbury with Essex, which never actually existed. The allusion is probably to old court connections, which existed before the incorporation of the county, in 1643. Amesbury was a part of the old town of Salisbury, Boxford of the old town of Rowley, Beverly a part of Salem and afterwards of Danvers, Bradford a part of Rowley, Danvers a part of Salem, Essex a part of Ipswich, Georgetown a part of Rowley, Groveland a part of Bradford and Boxford, Hamilton a part of Ipswich, Lawrence a part of Andover, North Andover and Methuen, Lynnfield a part of Lynn, Manchester a part of Salem, Marblehead a part of Salem, Merrimac a part of Amesbury, Methuen a part of Haverhill, Middleton a part of Salem, Topsfield, Boxford and Andover, Nahant a part of Lynn, Newburyport a part of Newbury, North Andover a part of Andover, Peabody formerly South Danvers and a part of Danvers, Rockport a part of Gloucester, Saugus a part of Lynn and Chelsea, Swampscott a part of Lynn and Salem, Topsfield was New Meadows, Wenham was Enon, mentioned in the act incorporating the county; and West Newbury was a part of Newbury, incorporated as Parsons and changed to its present name June 14, 1820.

Since the addition to the county of the towns of Amesbury, Salisbury and Haverhill, in 1679-80, the only change in the boundaries of the county is that already referred to, caused by the annexation of a part of Chelsea, in Suffolk County, to Saugus. On the

22d of February, 1841, it was enacted that "so much of the town of Chelsea, with the inhabitants therein, as is embraced within the bounds hereafter named is hereby set off from said town of Chelsea and annexed to the town of Saugus, to wit : beginning at the southerly side of the Newburyport turnpike on Maiden line and running south 26 east 51 rods and 18 links on said Maiden line to a stake and stones; thence north 52 east to Saugus line ; thence by the line of Saugus South Reading and Maiden to the bounds first mentioned; provided, however, that the inhabitants thus set off shall be holden to pay all taxes heretofore assessed in the same manner as if this act had not been passed; provided, also, that all persons who shall have gained a settlement upon said territory, and who are now chargeable to the said town of Chelsea, shall remain and continue to be supported by said town of Chelsea, saving and excepting one John Burrell, who shall hereafter be considered as belonging to and shall hereafter be supported by said town of Saugus.

"If any persons who have gained a legal settlement in said town of Chelsea by a residence on said territory, or by having been proprietors of any part thereof, or who may desire such settlement from any such residents or proprietors, shall come to want and stand in need of relief and support, they shall be relieved and supported by the said town of Saugus in the same manner as if they had gained a settlement in said town."

Essex County, of which Salem, Lawrence and Newburyport are the shires, is situated in the northeast corner of Massachusetts, and is bounded on the northeast by the Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by Massachusetts Bay, on the southwest by Suffolk and Middlesex Counties, and on the northwest by New Hampshire. It contains about five hundred square miles of territory, traversed by the Merrimac River, which enters the county between Andover and Methuen and flows into the ocean at Newburyport ; the Shawsheen, which enters the Merrimac at Lawrence; the Parker River ; Bass River, navigable to Danversport; and the Ipswich River, which is navigable to Ipswich. The business of the county is chiefly that of manufactures and the fisheries, though a by no means insignificant portion of its inhabitants gains a livelihood from agriculture and general commerce. Statistics relating to these industries will be included in the town histories. The following table shows the population, valuation and number of schools in each town according to the last published returns :

Population. Valuation. Schools

It lias been already stated that at the time of the formation of the counties, in 1643, judicial power was vested in the General Court, the Court of Assistants (or Great Quarter Court) the Quarter Courts (held in specified towns) and the Strangers' Courts. After the formation of the counties the above courts continued, though the Strangers' Courts were modified, and the Quarter Courts, in their respective counties, were called County or Inferior Quarter Courts. It had also been provided by an act passed September 9, 1639, that records be kept of all wills, administrations and inventories, of every marriage, birth and death, and of all men's houses and lands. It had, before the above date, been provided by a law passed April 1, 1634, " that the constable and four or more of the chief inhabitants of every town (to be chosen by all the freemen there at some meeting there), with the advice of some one or more of the next assistants, shall make a surveying of the houses, backside, cornfields, mowing-ground and other lands improved or inclosed on, granted by special orders of the court, of every free inhabitant there, and shall enter the same in a book (fairly written in words at length, and not in figures), with the several bounds and quantities by the nearest estimation, and shall deliver a transcript thereof into the court within six months now next ensuing; and the same so entered and recorded shall be a sufficient assurance to every such free inhabitant, his and their heirs and assigns, of such estate of inheritance or as they shall have in any such houses, lands or frank tenements. The like course shall be taken for assurance of all houses and town lots of all such as shall be hereafter enfranchised, and every sale or grant of such houses or lots as shall be, from time to time, entered into the said book by the said constable and four inhabitants or their successors (who shall be still supplied upon death or removal), for which entry the purchasers shall pay six pence and the like sum for a copy thereof under the hands of the said surveyors or three of them."

"For avoiding all fraudulent conveyances and that every man may know what estate or interest other men may have in any houses, lands, or otlier hereditaments they are to deal in, it is therefore ordered that after the end of the month no mortgage, bargain, sale, or grant, hereafter to bo made of any houses, lands, rents, or other hereditaments, shall be of force against any other person except the grantor and his heirs, unless the same be recorded as is hereafter expressed ; and that no such bargain, sale, or grant, already made in way of mortgage, where the grantor remains in possession, shall be of force against any other but the grantor or his heirs, except the same shall be entered as is hereafter expressed, within one month after the end of this court, if the party be within this jurisdiction, or else within three months after he shall return. And if any such grantor, Jtc, be required by the grantee, kc, to make an acknowledgement of any grant, &c., by him made, shall refuse so to do, it shall be in the power of any magistrate to send for the party 80 refusing and commit him to prison, without bail or mayneprise, until he shall acknowledge the same.

" And the grantee is to enter his caution with the recorder, and this shall save his interest in the meantime ; and if it be doubtful whether it be the deed or grant of the party, he shall be bound with sureties to the next court and the caution shall remain good as aforesaid.

"And for recording of all such bargains, <tc., it is further ordered that there shall be one appointed at Ipswich, for which BIr. Samuel Symonds is chosen for that court, to enter all such bargains, sales, &c., of all lands, Ac, within the jurisdiction of that court ; and Mr. Emanuell Downing is chosen in like sort for the jurisdiction of the court of Salem ; and all the rest to be entered by Mr. Stephen Winthrop, the recorder at Boston."

The recorder was the clerk of the court. In 1641 it was provided that in every town " a clerk of the writs" should be appointed, and a part of his duties was to record all births and deaths, and yearly deliver to the recorder of the court a transcript thereof. It was also provided that every married man shall bring a certificate, under the hand of the magistrate who married him, to the clerk of the writs, to be recorded and returned by him to the recorder. Thus it will be seen how extensive the jurisdiction of the County Court was made. Aside from its ordinary judicial powers, it had charge of the records of deeds of probate matters and the laying out of highways, and included the departments now held by the judge and register of probate, the register of deeds, the clerk of the courts and county commissioners.

With regard to treasurers, their duties, up to 1654, were performed by the treasurer of the whole colony or of the country, as he was called. In that year it was provided " that henceforth there shall be treasurers annually chosen in every county, provided that no clerk or recorder of any County Court shall be chosen treasurer of the county." The officer now called sheriff was, in the days of the colony, called marshal. There was a marshal of the General Court alone up to the formation of the counties, in 1643, and after that date each court apparently appointed its own marshal, though it is possible that even before that time every Quarter Court had its own officer bearing that name. So far as Essex County is concerned, it is proper to state that the present registry of deeds contains the entire records from 1638, and that the original probate records prior to 1671 are to be found in the ofBce of the clerk of the courts, where they were originally kept. The registry of probate was located in Ipswich until 1851, when, under general powers conferred by law, the county commissioners removed it to Salem,

There is another court which should be mentioned to complete the colonial judicial system so far as it concerned the county. On the 6th of September, 1638, it was ordered " that for avoiding of the country's charge by bringing small causes to the Court of Assistants that any magistrate in the town where he may hear and determine by his discretion all causes wherein the debt, or trespass, or damage, etc., doth not exceed twenty shillings, and in such town where no magistrate dwells, the General Court shall, from time to time, nominate three men ; two thereof shall have like power to hear and determine all such actions under twenty shillings ; and if any of the parties shall find themselves grieved with any such end or sentence, they may appeal to the next Quarter Court, or Court of Assistants. And if any person shall bring any such action to the Court of Assistants before he hath endeavored to have it ended at home (as in this order is appointed), he shall lose his action and pay the defendant's costs." The jurisdiction of this petty court was afterwards extended to matters involving a sum not exceeding forty shillings. It should be added, however, concerning this petty court, that the selectmen of a town were authorized to try offences against their own by-laws where the penalty did not exceed twenty shillings, provided the by-laws did not extend to anything criminal. They were also competent to try cases where only one magistrate lived in a town and he was an interested party, and where there was no magistrate and one or more of the commissioners were concerned.

Up to 1685 the judicial system of Massachusetts Colony and its counties remained as has been traced above, as follows : 1st, the General Court with legislative powers and a limited appellate jurisdiction from the Court of Assistants ; 2d, the Court of Assistants or Great Quarter Court, with exclusive jurisdiction in all criminal cases involving neither life, limb nor banishment, and concurrent jurisdiction with the County Courts in civil cases involving not more than one hundred pounds, and appellate jurisdiction from the County Courts ; 3d, the County Courts or Inferior Quarter Courts, with jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases, except cases of divorce and crimes involving life, limb or banishment, having power to summon grand and petit jurors, and to appoint their own clerks and other necessary ofiicers, to lay out highways, license taverns, to see that a proper ministry was supported, to prove wills, grant administration and have general control of matters in probate, and have appellate jurisdiction from the Commissioners' Courts ; 4th, Strangers' Courts, held at first by the Governor or Deputy-Governor and two magistrates, or, in the absence of the Governor and deputy by three magistrates with the same jurisdiction as the County Courts so far as strangers are concerned, where judgments were final ; 5th, Petty Commissioners' or Selectmen's Courts in the various towns.

On the 18th of June, 1684, a judgment vacating the colonial charter was issued, and a copy was received by the colonial secretary, Edward Rawson, on the 2d of July in the next year. Joseph Dudley was thereupon appointed, by the King, President of Massachusetts Bay, Maine, New Hampshire and the Narraganset country, and received the commission May 15, 1686. The Council appointed by the King were Simon Bradstreet, Robert Mason, John Fitz Winthrop, John Pynchon, Peter Bulkley, Edward Randolph, Wait Winthrop, Richard Wharton, John Usher, Nathaniel Saltoustall, Bartholomew Gedney, Jonathan Tyng, Dudley Bradstreet, John Hicks and Edward Tyng, of whom Simon and Dudley Bradstreet and Nathaniel Saltonstall declined. The Governor and Council possessed no legislative power, except to establish such courts as might be necessary. They were a court of themselves for the trial of causes, and had authority to appoint judges. They established a Superior Court, with three sessions a year, at Boston, and" Courts of Pleas and Sessions of the Peace " in the several counties. The President assumed probate jurisdiction, but in some counties appointed judges of probate. William Stoughton was appointed to preside in the County Courts of Middlesex, Suffolk and Essex, and John Richards and Simon Lynde were appointed his assistants. These appointments were made July 26, 1636. Appeals could be taken from these courts to the President and Council.

But the administration of Dudley was of short duration. Governor Andros arrived in Boston on the 19th of December, 16&6, and as Governor assumed jurisdiction over the whole of New England, including the Plymouth Colony, which was not included in the commission of Dudley. He appointed thirty-nine members of his Council, and the Governor and Council possessed the exclusive power of making and executing the laws, subject to royal approval. He gave to justices of the peace eivil jurisdiction in cases not affecting lands and not involving a sum exceeding forty shillings. He established next the " Quarterly Sessions Court," held by the several justices in their respective counties, and next an "Inferior Court of Common Pleas," to be held in each county by a judge assisted by two or more justices of the county. Their jurisdiction was limited to cases in which not more than ten pounds were involved and no question of freehold, except in Boston, where the limit was twenty pounds. Above these courts was the Superior Court of Judicature, in which no action could be commenced involving less than ten pounds, unless it related to a question of freehold, and which was to be held in Boston, Cambridge, Charlestown, Plymouth, Bristol, Newport, Salem, Ipswich, Portsmouth, Falmouth, Northampton and Springfield. Joseph Dudley was appointed chief justice of this court.

In 1691 a new charter was issued, embracing Massachusetts, Plymouth, Maine, Nova Scotia and the intervening territory in one government, under the name of the " Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England." This charter reached Boston May 14, 1692, and under its provisions the government consisted of a Governor, Deputy-Governor and secretary aiDpointed by the King, and assistants or Councilors chosen by the General Court, and a House of Representatives chosen annually by the people. The Governor had the power of veto, and all acts and elections by the General Court must be transmitted to England and approved or disallowed by the King. The General Court was authorized " to erect and constitute judicatories and courts of records or other courts," and the Governor and Council could appoint udges, sheriflTs, justices of the peace and other officers of the courts. The regulation and management of probate matters were given to the Governor and Council, and delegated by them to judges in each county. Under this charter the General Court no longer possessed judicial power. The first court established under the charter was a special Court of Oyer and Terminer, organized by Governor William Phipps, the first Governor of the province, before any aw had been passed authorizing it, for the purpose of trying, chiefly in Essex County, persons charged with witchcraft. On the 2d of June, 1692, the Governor issued his commission appointing Wm. Stoughton chief justice, and Nathaniel Saltonstall (who declined and was succeeded by Jonathan Curwin), John Richards, Bartholomew Gedney, Wait Winthrop, Samuel Sewall and Peter Sergeant associate lustices; Stephen Sewall, clerk; Thomas Newton, attorney -general (succeeded July 22d by Anthony Checkley) ; George Corwin, sheriff. The first meeting of this court was held at Salem on the 2d of June, 1692, and its last meeting on the 17th of September following, after which the court was dissolved. During this time the expense of the court to Essex County was one hundred and thirty pounds, and nineteen persons were tried, condemned and hung, and one was pressed to death.

On the 25th of November, 1692, a law was passed establishing Courts of Justices of the Peace, four Courts or Quarter Sessions of the Peace in each county, an Inferior Court of Common Pleas for each county, a Superior Court of Judicature for the whole province, and a High CourtofChancery for the province. This act was disallowed. On the 19th of June, 1697, another act was passed establishing County Courts, which was also disallowed. On the 26th of June, 1699, three acts were passed, establishing in each county a Court of General Sessions of the Peace and an Inferior Court of Common Pleas, and a Superior Court of Judicature for the province. The Court of General Sessions of the Peace was authorized to be held at specified times and places " by the justices of the peace of the same county, who are hereby empowered to hear and determine all matters relating to the conservation of the peace and punishment of offenders." The Inferior Court of Common Pleas was to be held at specified times and places "by four substantial persons, to be appointed and commissionated as justices of the same court in each county, who shall have cognizance of all civil actions arising or happening within such county, provided that no action under the value of forty shillings shall be brought into any of the said Inferior Courts, unless where freehold is concerned or upon appeal from a justice of the peace." The Superior Court of Judicature was to be held at specified times and places in the province, by " one chief justice and four other justices, to be appointed and commissionated for the same, who shall have cognizance of all pleas, - real, personal or mixt, - as well as all pleas of the Crown and all matters relating to the conservation of the peace and punishment of offenders," etc. This court was ordered to be held for the county of Suffolk, at Boston, on the first Tuesdays in November and May ; for the county of Essex, at Salem on the second Tuesday in November, and at Ipswich on the third Tuesday in May ; for the county of Middlesex, at Cambridge on the last Tuesday in July, and at Charlestown on the last Tuesday in January ; for the county of Hampshire, at Springfield, on the second Thursday in August; for the county of York, at Kittery, on the Thursday before the Ipswich court; for the counties of Plymouth, Barnstable and Dukes County, at Plymouth, on the last Tuesday in March ; and for the county of Bristol, at Bristol, on the second Tuesday in September.

Jurisdiction in probate matters had, during the colonial period, been exercised by the common law courts. During the administration of Andros it was exercised by the Governor, but, by the charter of the province, it was conferred on the Governor and Council. Claiming, however, thepower of substitution, the Governor and Council appointed a judge of probate in each county, reserving to themselves appellate jurisdiction.

Appointed December 7, 1692. - Bartholomew Gedne}', Samuel Appleton, John Hathorne, Jonathan Corwin. 1G06, - Wm. Browne, in place of Samuel Appleton. 1698. - Daniel Peirce, in place of Bartholomew Gedney, deceased. 1699. - Same appointed.

1761. - Stephen Higginson, in place of Benjamin Pickman ; Nathaniel Kopes and Andrew Oliver, in place of Stephen Higginson, deceased, and John Tasker, deceased.

The Inferior Court of Common Pleas continued until July 3, 1782, when the Court of Common Pleas was established, to be held within each county at specified times and places, with four judges appointed by the Governor from within the county.

Those in the above list, after 1779, were judges of this court. This court continued until June 21, 1811, when an act was passed providing that the commonwealth, except Dukes County and the county of Nantucket, should be divided into six circuits, as follows : the Middle Circuit, consisting of the counties ot Suffolk, Essex and Middlesex ; the Western Circuit, consisting of the counties of Worcester, Hampshire and Berkshire ; the Southern Circuit, consisting of the counties of Norfolk, Plymouth, Bristol and Barnstable ; the Eastern Circuit, consisting of the counties of York, Cumberland and Oxford ; the second Eastern Circuit, consisting of the counties of Lincoln, Kennebec and Somerset; and the third Eastern Circuit, consisting of the counties of Hancock and Washington. It further provided that there shall be held in the several counties, at the times and places now appointed for holding the Courts of Common Pleas, a Circuit Court of Common Pleas, consisting of one chief justice and two associate justices, to whom were to be added two sessions justices from each county, to sit with the court in their county. The history of this court is so mingled with that of the General Court of Sessions that both should be sketched together. The Court of

General Sessions of the Peace remained substantially the same during the provincial period, and up to June 19, 1807, when it was enacted that it should consist of one chief justice, or first justice, and a certain number of associate justices for the several counties, to be appointed by the Governor with the consent of the Council. These justices were to act as the General Court of Sessions in the place of the justices of the peace in each county. On the 19th of June, 1809, the powers and duties of the General Court of Sessions were transferred to the Court of Common Pleas, and two years later, on the 25th of June, 1811, it was enacted, " that from and after the first day of December next, an act made and passed the 19th day of June, 1809, entitled ' an act to transfer the powers and duties of the Courts of Sessions to the Courts of Common Pleas,' be and the same is hereby repealed, and that all acts, or parts of acts, relative to the Courts of Sessions which were in force at the time the act was in force which is hereby repealed, be and the same are hereby revived from and after the said first day of September next."

Again, on the 28th of February, 1814, it was enacted that the act of June 25, 1811, above quoted, "be repealed, except so far as it relates to the counties of Suffolk, Nantucket and Dukes County, and that all petitions, recognizances, warrants, orders, certificatea, reports and processes made to, taken for or continued or returnable to the Court of Sessions in the several counties, except as aforesaid, shall be returnable to, and proceeded in, and determined by the respective Circuit Courts of Common Pleas,'' already referred to as having been established on the 21st of June, 1811, in the place of the old Court of Common Pleas. It further provided, " that from and after the first day of June next, the Circuit Courts of Common Pleas shall have, exercise, and perform all powers, authorities and duties which the respective Courts of Sessions have, before the passage of this act, exercised and performed, except in the counties of Suffolk, Nantucket and Dukes County ; and it was further provided that the Governor, by and with the advice of the Council, be authorized to appoint two persons in each county, who shall be session justices of the Circuit Court of Common Pleas in their respective counties, and sit with the justices of said Circuit Court in the administration of the affairs of their county, and of all matters within said county of which the Courts of Sessions had cognizance." The management of county affairs was controlled by this court until February 20, 1819, when it was enacted, "that from and after the first day of June next, an ' act to transfer the powers and duties of the Courts of Sessions to the Circuit Courts of Common Pleas,' passed on the 28th of February, 1814, be hereby repealed ; and it was further provided, that from and after the first day of June next the Court of Sessions in the several counties shall be held by one chief jus- tice and two associate justices, to be appointed by the Governor, Avith the advice and consent of the Council, who shall have all the powers, rights and privileges, and be subject to all the duties, which are now vested in the Circuit Courts of Common Pleas relative to the erection and repairs of jails and other county buildings, the allowance and settlement of county accounts, the estimate, apportionment and issuing warrants for assessing county taxes, granting licenses, laying out, altering and discontinuing highways, and appointing committees and ordering juries for that purpose."

The Court of Sessions continued in the management of county affairs until March 4, 1826, when that part of their duties relating to highways was vested by law in a new board of county officers, termed " commissioners of highways.'' The act creating this board provided " that for each county in the Commonwealth, except the counties of Suffolk and Nantucket, there shall be appointed and commissioned by His Excellency, the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Council, to hold their offices for five years, unless removed by the Governor and Council, five commissioners of highways, except in the counties of Dukes and Barnstable, in which there shall be appointed only three, who shall be inhabitants of such county, one of whom shall be designated as chairman by his commission." The act further provided that the doings of the commissioners should be reported to the Court of Sessions for record, and that said court should draw their warrants on the county treasury for expenses incurred by the commissioners in constructing roads located by them.

On the 26th of February, 1828, an act was passed providing "that the Act entitled, *An Act to establish Courts of Sessions,' passed on the 20th day of February, 1819; also the Act in addition thereto, passed on the 21st day February, 1820 ; also the Act entitled, 'An Act increasing the numbers and extending the powers of Justices of the Court of Sessions,' passed on the 6th of February, 1822 ; also the Act entitled, 'An Act in addition to an Act directing the method of laying out highways,' passed on the 4th day of March, 1826, be and the same are hereby repealed." It further provided that "there shall be appointed and commissioned by His Excellency, the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Council, four persons to be county commissioners for each of the counties of Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk and Worcester, and three persons to be county commissioners for each of the other counties of this Commonwealth, except the county of Suffolk," "that the Clerks of the Courts of Common Pleas within the several counties shall be clerks of said county commissioners," and "that for each of the counties in the Commonwealth, except the counties of Suffolk, Middlesex, Essex, Worcester, Norfolk and Nantucket,

On the 8th of April, 1835, it was provided by law that in every county except Suffolk and Nantucket the judge of probate, register of probate and clerk of the Court of Common Pleas should be a board of examiners, and that on the first Monday of May, in the year 1835, and on the first Monday of April, in every third year thereafter, the people should cast their votes for three county commissioners and two special commissioners. The law remained unaltered until March 11, 1854, when it was provided, that the county commissioners now in office in the several counties, except in Suffolk and Nantucket, shall be divided into three classes ; those of first class shall hold their offices until the day of the next annual election of Governor ; those of the second class until the same election day in 1855 ; and those of the third class until the same election day in 1856, the commissioners now in office determining by lot to which each shall belong, and that at such annual election each year thereafter, one commissioner be chosen for three years. It was also provided that at the annual election in 1856, and each third year thei'eafter, two special commissioners be chosen.

Since the passage of the law of 1828 establishing Boards of County Commissioners the following persons have been appointed members of the Essex County Board :

In this last year - in accordance with the law passed March 11, 1854, providing for the division of the commissioners by lot into three classes, one going out each year, and another chosen by the people for a term of three years - John I. Baker drew the first class, Benjamin Mudge the second, and Asa W. Wildes the third. At the election of 1854, and at subsequent elections, the following were chosen :

The Circuit Court of Common Pleas, which was established in 1811, was abolished on the 14th of February, 1821, and the Court of Common Pleas established with four justices, one of whom it was provided by law should be commissioned chief justice. On the 1st of March, 1843, the number of judges was increased to five; March 18, 1845, it was increased to six ; May 24, 1851, to seven. On the 5th day of April, 1859, the Court of Common Pleas was abolished, and the present Superior Court established, with ten judges, which number was increased, May 19, 1875, to eleven.

The Superior Court of Judicature, which was established June 26, 1699, received no appointments to its bench after 1775. During its existence the following judges were appointed:

Nathaniel Ropes, William Brown, David Sewall, Jedediah Foster and Nathaniel P. Sargeant were Essex County men. On the 20th of February, 1781, an act was passed establishing the Supreme Judicial Court as the successor of the Superior Court of Judicature. It was established with one chief justice and four associates, but in the year 1800 the number of associates was increased to six, and the State was divided into two circuits, the East including Essex County and Maine, and the West including all the remainder of the State, except Suffolk County. In 1805 the number of associates was again fixed at four, and so remained until 1852, when their number was increased to five. In 1873 the number of associates was increased to six, and of one chief justice and six associates the court is now constituted. Those in the above list after 1774 were judges of the Superior Court of Judicature of the State of Massachusetts, and not of the province. Of the judges of the Superior Court since its organization, in 1781, the following have been Essex County men : Theophilus Parsons, Charles Jackson, Samuel Putnam, Caleb Cushing, Wm. C. Endicott and Otis P. Lord, who will be referred to in another chapter containing sketches of the bench and bar.

The administration of probate affairs, as has been already stated, was in the hands of the County Court during the colonial period up to the accession of President Dudley, in 1685. It has also been stated that he assumed the jurisdiction to himself, but delegated it in one or more counties to a judge of probate appointed by him. Under the administration of Andros the Governor personally attended to the settlement of estates exceeding fifty pounds, and it is presumed that smaller estates came within the rules established by Dudley. After the deposition of Andros the old colonial method was resumed and continued until the charter of the province went into operation, in 1692. Under the provincial charter jurisdiction in probate affairs was conferred on the Governor and Council, who claimed and exercised the right of delegating it to judges and registers of probate in the several counties. During the provincial period there was no Probate Court established by law, but the judge and register exercised their jjowers under authority derived only from the Governor and Council. On the 12th of March, 1784, a Probate Court was established, of which the judge and register were appointed by the Governor until, under an amendment of the Constitution ratified by the people May 23, 1855, it was provided after some previous legislation that in 1856, and every fifth year thereafter, the register should be chosen by the people for a term of five years. In 1856 a Court of Insolvency was established for each county, with a judge and register, and in 1858 the ofiices of judge and register of this court were abolished, as well as those of judge and register of probate, and the ofiices of judge and register of probate and insolvency estab- lished. In the same year it was provided that the register of probate and insolvency should be chosen by the people, for a term of five years, at the annual election in that year and every fifth year thereafter. In 1862 the Probate Court was made a court of record. The ofiices of judge and register have been held by the following persons since the provincial charter went into operation, in 1692 :

The executive officer of the court was, in colonial times up to 1685, called marshal, except in the very earliest years, when he was called beadle. As early, however, as 1634 the records show that James Penn was chosen marshal. Under President Dudley he was called provost marshal, under Andros he was called sheriff", and after Andros, until the province was established, in 1692, he was again called marshal. As nearly as can be ascertained, the marshals in Essex were as follows :

Under a law passed in 1831 the Governor was authorized, with the power of removal, to appoint sheriffs for the several counties for five years. Under the nineteenth article of amendments of the Constitution, ratified in 1855, a law was passed in 1856 providing that in that year, and every third year thereafter, a sheriff" should be chosen by the peo^jle of each county at the annual election.

The clerks of the courts were appointed by the courts during the colonial period. During the provincial period the clerks of the County Courts and those of the Superior Court of Judicature, and afterwards of the Sujireme Judicial Court, were distinct until 1797, and the clerk of the latter two courts had his office in Boston. The appointment lay with the courts until 1811, when the Governor and Council were made the appointing power. In 1814 the appointment was given to the Supreme Judicial Court, and there remained until 1856, when it was provided by law that in that year, and every fifth year thereafter, clerks should be chosen by the people in the several counties. As nearly as can be ascertained, the following is a correct list of the clerks of the courts in Essex County:

During the colonial period the clerks of the courts were registers of deeds, and so continued until 1715, when it was provided "that in each county some person having a freehold within said county to the value of at least ten pounds should be chosen by the people of the county." In 1781 a law was passed renewing and continuing this practice, and the law remained in force until 1855, when it was provided that in that year, and every third year thereafter, a register of deeds should be chosen for the term of three years. The list of clerks, therefore, above given will cover the registers up to 1715. Since that date they have been as follows :

Up to 1869 the registry of deeds for the whole county was kept at Salem. But on the 22d of June, in that year, an act was passed providing that the city of Lawrence and the towns of Andover, North Andover and Methuen should constitute a district for the registry of deeds, under the name of the Northern District of Essex, and that the other towns in the county should constitute the Southern District. It also provided that the Governor and Council should, on or before the 1st day of the following October, appoint a register for the Northern District to hold office until a regis- ter should be chosen by the people of the towns in the district at the annual election in 1870. It further provided that the register of deeds then in office should continue until a register for the Southern District should be chosen by the people of the district in 1870, and that he should deliver on demand to the register of the Northern District all original deeds or other instruments recorded and remaining in his office conveying or relating to land or estates in said Northern District.

After the formation of the counties it was provided by law, in 1654, that each county should annually choose a treasurer. This provision was renewed by an act passed in 1692, after the formation of the province, and continued, it is believed, up to 1855, when it was provided that a county treasurer should be chosen in that year, and every third year thereafter, for the term of three years. Up to 1654, when provision was made for the election of county treasurers, the treasurer chosen by the General Court was the treasurer of the whole colony. These were as follows:

The only courts connected with the county remaining to be mentioned are the Police and District Courts. Of the Police Courts there are five - those in Gloucester, Lawrence, Lynn, Haverhill and Newburyport. That of Gloucester is for that city alone and its officers are James Davis, justice ; Ellridge G. Friend and Wm. W. French, special justices; and Sumner D. York, clerk. That of Lawrence is also for that city alone, and its officers are Nathan W. Harmon, justice; Wilbur F. Gile and Charles U. Bc41, special ju.stices ; and Albert A. Tyler, clerk. That for Lynn is for that city alone, and its officers are Rollin E. Harmon, justice ; Ira B. Keith and John W. Berry, special justices; and Henry C. Oliver, clerk. The Police Court of Haverhill comprises within its jurisdiction Haverhill, Bradford and Groveland, and its officers are Henry Carter, justice ; Ira A. Abbott and Henry N.Merrill, special justices; and Edward B. George, clerk. That of Newburyport comprises Newburyport and Newbury, and its officers are John N. Pike, justice ; David L. Withington and Horace I. Bartlett, special justices; and Edward F. Bartlett, clerk. The only district court is the First District Court of Essex, which comprises within its jurisdiction Salem, Beverly, Danvers, Hamilton, Middleton, Topsfield and Wenham, and is held at Salem. Its officers are Joseph B. F. Osgood, justice; Daniel E. SafFord and Nathaniel I. Holden, special justices; and Samuel P. Andrews, clerk. Police Courts were originally established in Salem, 1831 ; Newburyport, 1833 ; Lawrence, 1848 ; Lynn, 1849 ; Haverhill, 1854; Gloucester, 1858. That of Haverhill was re-established in 1867, taking Bradford and Groveland within its jurisdiction, and the jurisdiction of the Newburyport Court was enlarged by the addition of Newbury, in 1879. The first Essex District Court was established in 1874.

Little can be said in this chapter of the early history of the Essex bar. Of those who were early called to the bench were Nathaniel Saltonstall, of Haverhill, born in 1639, and a graduate of Harvard in 1659 ; Bartholomew Gedney, of Salem, born in 1640; Thomas Berry, of Ipswich, a graduate of Harvard in 1712; Andrew Oliver, of Salem, a graduate of Harvard in 1724; Samuel White, of Haverhill (Harvard), 1731 ; John Hathorne, of Salem, born in 1641; Jonathan Curwin, of Salem, born in 1640 ; Richard Saltonstall, of Haverhill, born in 1703 (Harvard), 1722; Stephen Sewall, of Salem, born in 1702 (Harvard), 1721 ; Benjamin Lynde, of Salem, born in 1700 (Harvard), 1718; Nathaniel Ropes, of Salem, born in 1726 (Harvard), 1745 ; William Brown, of Salem (Harvard), 1855, - all of whom were on the bench of the Superior Court of Judicature, but not all educated in the law. The bar was divided into two classes - barristers and attorneys, and this division continued until 1836, though after 1806 under a rule of court counselors were substituted for barristers.

The term " barrister " is derived from the Latin word harra, signifying bar, and was applied to those only who were permitted to plead at the bar of the courts. In England, barristers, before admission, must have resided three years in one of the Inns of Court if a graduate of either Cambridge or Oxford, and five years if not. These Inns of Court were the Inner Temple, the Middle Temple, Lincoln's Inn and Gray's Inn. Before the Revolution this rule seems to have so far prevailed here as to require a practice of three years in the Inferior Courts before admission as barrister. John Adams says in his diary that he became a barrister in 1761, and was directed to provide himself with a gown and bands and a tie wig, having practiced according to the rules three years in the Inferior Courts. At a later day the period of probation seems to have been four years, and at a still later seven years.

With regard to the continuance of barristers after the Revolution, the following entry in the records of the Superior Court of Judicature may be interesting:

"Suffolk, SS. Superior Court of Judicature at Boston, third Tuesday of February, 1781, present William (Uiahing, A'athaniel P. Sargeant, David Sevvall and James Sullivan justices : and now at this term the following rule is made by the court and ordered to be entered, viz.: whereas, learning and literary accomplishments are necessary as well to promote the hajipiuess as to preserve the freedom of the people, and tlie learning of the law when duly encouiaged and rightly directed being as well peculiaily subservient to the great and good purpose aforesaid, as jnuniotive of public and private j\istice : and the court being at al^ times ready to bestow peculiar marks of approbation upon the gentlemen of the bar, wlio, by a close application to the study of the science they profess, by a mode of conduct which gives a conviction of the rectitude their minds and a fairness of practice that does honor to the profession of the law shall distinguish as men of science, honor and integrity, Do order that no gentleman shall be called to the degree of barrister tintil he shall merit the same by liis conspicuous bearing, ability and honesty ; and that the court will, of their own mere motion, call to the bar such persons as shall render themselves worthy as aforesaid ; and that the manner of calling to the bar shall be as follows : The gentleman who shall be a candidate shall stand within the bar ; the chief justice, or in his absence the senior justice, shall, in the name of the court, repeat to hiui the qualifications necessary for a barrister-at-law ; shall let him know that it is a conviction in the mind of the court of his being possessed of those qualifications that induces them to confer the honor upon him ; and shall solemnly charge him so to conduct himself as to be of singular service to his country by exerting his abilities for the defence of her Constitutional freedom ; and so to demean himself as to do honor to the court and bar."

The act establishing the Supreme Judicial Court, July 3, 1782, provided that the court should and might from time to time make record and establish all such rules and regulations with respect to the admission of attorneys ordinarily practicing in the said court, and the creating of barristers-at-iaw. Under the provisions of this act the following rule was adopted and entered on the records of the Supreme Judicial Court:

" Suffolk SS. At the Supreme Judicial Court at Boston the last Tuesday of August, 1783, present William Gushing, Chief Justice, and Nathaniel P. Sargeant, David Sewall and Increase Sumner, Justices, ordered that barristers be called to the Bar by special writ to be ordered by the Court, and to be in the following form :

" which writ shall be fairly engrossed on parchment and delivered twenty days before the session of the same Court by the Sheriff of the same county to the person to whom directed and being produced in Court by the Barrister and there read by the Clerk, and proper certificate thereon made, shall be re-delivered and kept as a voucher of his being legally called to the bar: And the Barristers shall take rank according to the date of their respective writs."

It is believed that no barristers were called after 1784, and the following rule adopted in 1806 seems to have substituted counselors in their place :

"Suffolk SS. At the Supreme Judicial Court at Boston for the counties of Suffolk and Nantucket the second Tuesday of March, 180G, present Francis Dana, Chief Justice, Theodore Sedgwick, George Thatcher and Isaac Parker, Justices, ordered : First. Ko Attorney shall do the business of a Counsellor unless he shall have been made or admitted ae such by the Court. Second. All Attorneys of this Court who have been admitted three years before the sitting of this Court shall be and hereby are made Counsellors and are entitled to all the rights and privileges of such. Third. No Attorney or Counsellor shall hereafter be admitted without a previous examination, etc."

In 183(5 the distinction between counselor and attorney was abolished. Tlie rule of court adopted in 1783 by the Supreme Judicial Court was issued under the provisions of the law passed the year before. The rule adopted in 1781 by the Superior Court of Judicature seems to have been provided for by no previous law, and it is even doubtful whether before that time any rule had ever been made by the New England courts providing for barristers. Precisely how early they were introduced into our courts it is impossible to discover. It is known, however, as is stated by Washburne, in his history of the judiciary, that as early as 1768 there were twenty-five in Massachusetts, of whom Daniel Farnham, William Pynchon, John Chipman, Nathaniel Peaselee Sargeant and John Lowell were of Essex. It is possible that before the year 1781, during the provincial period, the Et)gli,sh rule was followed and that the rule of that year was adopted in consequence of the new order of things brought about by the Revolution.

It has been stated that the court termed "the Court of General Sessions," which consisted of the justices of the peace in each county and had existed during the provincial period, was changed to " the General Court of Sessions" in 1807. The judges ajtpointed to this court for Essex County were Samuel Holten (chief justice), Josiah Smith, Wm. Pearson, Thomas Kitteridge, John S-iunders, Henry Elkins (justices), and John Punchard (clerk). In 1809 this court was abolished, and its powers and duties transferred to the Court of Common Pleas. In 1811, however, it was re-established, and its officers consisted of Sam'l. Holten (chief justice), Thomas Kitteridge, Henry Elkins, John Prince and Joseph Fuller (justices) and Jo.seph E. Sprague (clerk).

Supreme : Law term at Salem on the first Tuesday in November. Jury terms at Salem on the third Tuesday in April and the first Tuesday in November.

Superior: Civil terms at Salem on the first Mondays in June and December ; Lawrence on the firet Monday in March ; Newburyport on the first JMonday in September. Criminal terms, - Salem on the fourth Monday in January ; Newburyport on the second Monday in May ; Lawrence on the fourth Monday in October.

Probate: Salem on the first Monday in every month and on the third Monday in every month, except August ; Lawrence on the second Monday in January, March, May, June, July, September, November ; Haverhill on the second Monday in April and Octiber ; Newburyport on the fourth Monday in January, March, 3Iay, June, July, September, November ; Gloucester on the fourth Monday in April and October.

The record of admissions to the bar in Essex County begins in 1795, and the following is believed to be a correct list up to 1887, inclusive :

Introductory

There remains little to be included within this sketch of Essex County. The details concerning the jails of Ipswich, the first of which was built in 1652 ; of the court-house and probate building in that town, the latter of which was built in 1817, and held the records until they were removed to Salem ; of the erection of a jail and house of correction in Lawrence in 1853, and of the erection of a court-house in that city in 1859, and of the county buildings in Newburyport and Salem, consisting in the latter city partly of a granite court-house, built in 1841, and a brick court-house built in 1861, will be included in the town histories. There are various corporations, associations and societies which would properly come within the scope of these histories, but in case they may be omitted it may, perhaps, be well to refer to them at least by name. Those best known are the Essex Institute, at Salem, established in 1821 and incorporated in 1848 ; the Essex County Natural History Society at Salem, incorporated in 1836; the Peabody Academy of Science, established at Salem in 1867 with a fund of $140,000, of which the sum of $40,000 was expended in the purchase of the hall and museum of the East India Marine Society ; the Essex Agricultural Society, founded by Colonel Timothy Pickering, in 1818 ; the Essex North and Essex South Medical Socieeties, and the Essex County Homoeopathic Medical Society; the Merrimac Valley Dental Association; the Veteran Odd Fellows' Association, of Essex County ; the Teachers' Association, incorporated in 1827, and Unitarian Conference and Congregational Club.

This sketch, feared by the author to be imperfect, more especially in its enumeration of the early offices and their incumbents, concerning whom the records are often confused, will close with a list of the present officers of the county :

Judge of Probate and Insolvency, George F. Choate, of Salem ; Register of Probate and Insolvency, Jeremiah T. JIahoney, of Salem ; Clerk of the Court, Dean Peabody, of Lynn ; County Treasurer, E. Kendall Jenkins, of Andover; Sheriff, Horatio G. Herrick, of Lawrence ; Register of Deeds (North District), John R. Poor, of Lawrence ; (South District), Charles S. Osgood, of Salem ; County Commissioners, John W. Raymond, of Beverly, until 1887 ; Edward B. Bishop, of HaTerhill, until 18S8 ; David W. Low, of Gloucester, until 1889 ; Special Commissioners, Aaron Sawyer, of Amesbury, until 1889 ; Ivory Emmons, of Swampscott, ui,iil 1889 ; Commissioners of Insolvency, Sherman Nelson, of Georgetown William L. Thompson, of Lawrence ; Horace I. Bartlett, of Newburyport ; Trial Justices, J. Scott Todd, of Rowley ; Nathaniel F. S. York, of Rockport ; William M. Rogers, of Methuen ; Orlando B. Tenny, of Georgetown ; George H. Poor, of Andover ; George W. Cate, of Amesbury ; Amos Blerrill, of Peabody ; Orlando S. Bailey, of Amesbury ; William Nutting, Jr., of Marblehead ; Wesley K. Bell, of Ipswich ; Stephen Gilman, of Lynnfield ; and Joseph T. Wilson, of Nahant.