Shearjashub Bourn (April 18, 1721 – February 9, 1781) was an associate justice of the

Rhode Island Supreme Court The Rhode Island Supreme Court is the court of last resort in the U.S. State of Rhode Island. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices, all selected by the Governor of Rhode Island from candidates vetted by the Judicial No ...

from August 1776 to May 1778, and chief justice from May 1778 until his death in 1781.
Manual - the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
' (1891), p. 208-13. Bourn graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1743 and moved from

Sandwich, Massachusetts Sandwich is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, and is the oldest town on Cape Cod. The town motto is ''Post tot Naufracia Portus'', "after so many shipwrecks, a haven". The population was 20,259 at the 2020 census. History Cape Cod wa ...

Bristol, Rhode Island Bristol is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, US as well as the historic county seat. The town is built on the traditional territories of the Pokanoket Wampanoag. It is a deep water seaport named after Bristol, England. The population of B ...

in 1745. He became a teacher while studying law, "in which profession he became distinguished, presiding several years as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court", where he remained until his death, at the age of 59.Calbraith Bourn Perry, ''Charles D'Wolf of Guadaloupe, His Ancestors and Descendants'' (1902), p. 285-86. He had a daughter and two sons, one of whom was

Benjamin Bourne Benjamin Bourne (September 9, 1755September 17, 1808) was a United States representative from Rhode Island, a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island and a Uni ...

, appointed by President

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

as a judge of the

United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island The United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island (in case citations, D.R.I.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Rhode Island. The District Court was created in 1790 when Rhode Island ratified the ...

References

1721 births 1781 deaths People from Sandwich, Massachusetts Harvard College alumni Chief Justices of the Rhode Island Supreme Court {{RhodeIsland-state-judge-stub