Note from William Croswell to the Selectmen of Boston, 1782 June 5

A brief one-page note from Croswell resigning from the South Grammar School.

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.

Certificate to John Walton, guardian to Nathaniel Jarvis, 1804 November 22

This brief handwritten document certifies that the guardianship of Richard Nichols of Reading, Massachusetts, was granted to yeoman Thomas Hartshorn of Reading according to the records of the Probate Court in Framingham, Massachusetts. The document is attested by James Winthrop in his capacity as register of probate for Middlesex County.

Payment order for Phillips Payson on behalf of his son, 1782 July 8

Handwritten order to John Sale to pay scholarship funds to Phillips Payson for use by his son, signed by John Clarke, Charles Chauncey, James Thwing, and Jacob Williams.