Letter from Benjamin Colman to Edward Wigglesworth about John Leverett, 1728 March 4

Benjamin Colman wrote this letter to Edward Wigglesworth on March 4, 1728; it was sent from Colman, in Boston, to Wigglesworth, in Cambridge. The letter concerns their mutual friend, John Leverett, who had died several years before. It appears that Wigglesworth was charged with writing an epitaph for Leverett and had solicited input from Colman. Colman writes of his great admiration for Leverett, praising his "virtue & piety, wisdom & gravity [...] majesty & authority [...] eye & voice, goodness & courtesie."

Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket counties, Massachusetts, 1858 (Raster Image)

This layer is a georeferenced raster image of the historic paper map entitled: Map of the counties of Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket, Massachusetts, the details from actual surveys under the direction of Henry F. Walling, supt. of the state map. It was published by D.R. Smith & Co., in 1858. Scale 1:63,360. The image inside the map neatline is georeferenced to the surface of the earth and fit to the Massachusetts State Plane Coordinate System, Mainland Zone (in Feet) (Fipszone 2001). All map collar and inset information is also available as part of the raster image, including any inset maps, profiles, statistical tables, directories, text, illustrations, or other information associated with the principal map. This map shows features such as roads, railroads, drainage, public buildings, schools, churches, cemeteries, industry locations (e.g. mills, factories, mines, etc.), private buildings with names of property owners, town and county boundaries and more. Relief is shown by hachures. It includes many cadastral insets of individual county towns and villages, and an inset geological map of county. Includes also ill., business directories, and tables of statistics and distances. This layer is part of a selection of digitally scanned and georeferenced historic maps of Massachusetts from the Harvard Map Collection. These maps typically portray both natural and manmade features. The selection represents a range of regions, originators, ground condition dates (1755-1922), scales, and purposes. The digitized selection includes maps of: the state, Massachusetts counties, town surveys, coastal features, real property, parks, cemeteries, railroads, roads, public works projects, etc.

Notes about cases heard as Justice of the Peace, 1784-1795

This small paper-bound notebook contains notes Winthrop made concerning the cases he heard between 1784 and 1795 as a Justice of the Peace for Middlesex County. These notes provide insight into the nature of crimes being committed in Cambridge in the post-Revolutionary period, as well as the names and occupations of those accused and their victims. The cases involved the following individuals, among others: Samuel Bridge, Benjamin Estabrook, Joseph Jeffords, Cato Bordman, John Kidder, Spenser Goddin, Jacob Cromwell, Benjamin Stratton, Mary Flood, Bender Temple, John Willett, Joseph Hartwell, Nathaniel Stratton, Amos Washburn, Francis Moore, Thomas Malone, Thomas Cook, and Amboy Brown. The cases involved a range of offenses, and occasionally Winthrop decided that a case exceeded his jurisdiction and forwarded it to the General Court or the Supreme Judicial Court.

Receipt book for legal services, 1798-1810

A receipt book containing fees charged for legal services of John Rowe who practiced in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Indenture acknowledging sale of property, Boston, 1753

Document acknowledges the sale of the late Samuel Clark's house and property to Alexander Hill. Samuel Clark's executor, James Clark, was required by law to sell the property to the highest bidder in order to pay the debts of the deceased.

Forms of declarations / August 24, 1799

Thomas Paine's,

Lawyer's account book, 1799-1815

Contains information about client accounts for legal work done in Fall River and New Bedford, Massachusetts.

Book of records for the trial of actions begun May 3, 1762 [-1774]

Record book of justice of the peace Eldad Taylor, covering cases of debt, libel, rape, profanity, assault, breach of contract and theft. Each entry gives a full statement of the case and its settlement, including decisions of referees, costs, damages, appeals, etc.

[Court appointment to inventory the Gannett estate], 1818 April 29

A one-page printed Middlesex County Court of Probate form appointing and authorizing William Hilliard, James P. Chaplin, and Royal Morse to inventory of the estate of Caleb Gannett.

Will, 1747, June 24

Handwritten copy of Last Will and Testament of Andrew Bordman II, with an approval of the document by Samuel Danforth, Judge of the Probate of Wills, Middlesex County. The document provides detail on the inheritance of Bordman's wife Elizabeth.

Writ, 1808 April 23

Writ of the Middlesex County Court of Common Pleas for the case of Andrew Bordman vs. John Bates ordering Bates to relinquish possession of a house lot in Concord and to pay costs and damages to Andrew Bordman IV.

[Copy of the Maguntaquoq deed], 1715 October 11

Four-page 18th century handwritten copy of the deed between the "Committee or Agents for the Indian Proprietors of the Plantation of Natick" and the Trustees for 800 acres of land in Middlesex County known as Maguntaquog.

Justice of the Peace record book, Windham, Vermont, 1799-1807

Contains records of summons and judgements in various kinds of court cases, fees and fines paid, and index of names.

Motion for change of venue in the case of the Inhabitants of Massachusetts Bay Colony v. Charles Paxton, October 1761

A motion that the case not be tried in Suffolk County, on the grounds that the judges and jurors were residents of the colony. Pratt was attorney to Paxton, an attorney and commissioner of customs, who had incurred a debt to the Colony.

Judge's notes on cases heard in Lincoln County (Maine), 1788-1789?

Includes notes and summaries of witnesses' testimony on cases involving contracts and land disputes. One pamphlet bears note "Lincolns. July 7th 1789. Pownalboro. Supreme Court." Pownalborough Court House is in Dresden, Maine, which succeded from Pownalborough. In 1804, the town Pownalborough was renamed Wiscasset.