Theron Metcalf
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Theron Metcalf (October 16, 1784 – November 12, 1875) was an American attorney and politician from
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
. He was a
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...
and served as an associate justice of the
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the court of last resort, highest court in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the di ...
.


Personal life

Metcalf was born in
Franklin, Massachusetts The Town of Franklin is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Franklin is one of thirteen Massachusetts municipalities that have applied for, and been granted, city forms of government but wish to retain "The town of" in their o ...
, the son of Hanan Metcalf and Mary (Allen) Metcalf. He graduated from
Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
in 1805, and studied law at the
Litchfield Law School The Litchfield Law School of Litchfield, Connecticut, was the first independent law school established in America for reading law. Founded and led by lawyer Tapping Reeve, the proprietary school was unaffiliated with any college or university. (Wh ...
after graduation. On November 5, 1809, he married Julia Tracy, daughter of United States Congressman
Uriah Tracy Uriah Tracy (February 2, 1755July 19, 1807) was an American lawyer and politician from Connecticut. He served in the US House of Representatives (1793 to 1796) and the US Senate (1796 to 1807). From May to November 1800, Tracy served as Preside ...
. Metcalf and his wife had three children: George Tracy Metcalf, William Pitt Metcalf and Julia Metcalf. Metcalf died in Boston, Massachusetts on November 12, 1875.


Career

Metcalf edited the ''Dedham Gazette'' from 1813 to 1819. The editor was Jabez Chickering.


Legal

He opened a law school in Dedham in 1828 where he gave lectures. He was appointed Reporter of the
Massachusetts Supreme Court The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the distinction of being the oldest continuously functi ...
in 1839, and sat on the bench of that court from February 24, 1848, until his resignation on August 31, 1865. His annotations were considered valuable for their philosophical investigation and discriminating analysis. He was admitted to the bar in Massachusetts in 1807, and moved to
Dedham, Massachusetts Dedham ( ) is a town in and the county seat of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 25,364 at the 2020 census. It is located on Boston's southwest border. On the northwest it is bordered by Needham, on the southwest b ...
in 1809 to practice law. He served as Norfolk County Attorney for twelve years, until the position was eliminated. Metcalf defended the arsonist who admitted to burning down the Phoenix Hotel. In the case of
Baker v. Fales ''Baker v. Fales'', also known as The Dedham Case, was a seminal case of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. It involved the First Church and Parish in Dedham rejecting the minister the Town of Dedham selected for it and its split into the ...
, he served alongside Samuel Haven in representing a group of church members who objected to the hiring of a minister at the
First Church and Parish in Dedham First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
.


Political

In 1815, he was appointed Reporter of Contested Elections for that year. In 1831, 1833 and 1834, he served as a member of the
Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...
, and was chairman of the Judiciary Committee.


Honors

Brown gave him the degree of
LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...
in 1844, and
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
did the same in 1848. He was elected a member of the
American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...
in 1844. In 1832 and 1847, he was elected a fellow of Brown University. He delivered an address before the
Phi Beta Kappa Society The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ar ...
of Brown in 1832, and in 1840 delivered the Fourth of July oration at Dedham. Metcalf donated a set of fifty volumes of ordination sermons that he had collected to Brown University.


Published works

His publications include: * ''A Digest of the Cases decided in the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts from 1816 to 1823, including the Five last Volumes of Tyng's and the first of Octavius Pickering's Reports'' (Boston, 1825) * ''Reports from 1840 till 1849'' (13 vols., 1840–51) * the first volume of ''Digest of Decisions of Courts of Common Law and Admiralty in the United States'' (1840) * a ''Supplement to the Revised Statutes of Massachusetts till 1844'', with Luther S. Cushing (1844) * articles to ''The American Jurist'' on the "Law of Contracts."


Edited works

His edited works include: * Asahel Stearns and Lemuel Shaw, ''The General Laws of Massachusetts till 1822'' (2 vols., 1823) * George Maule and William Selwyn's ''Reports'' * Russell on ''Crimes'' * Starkie on ''Evidence'' * Yelverton's ''Reports''


References


Works cited

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External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Metcalf, Theron 1784 births 1875 deaths 19th-century American writers American legal writers American male non-fiction writers Brown University alumni People from Franklin, Massachusetts Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Politicians from Boston Litchfield Law School alumni Massachusetts lawyers Justices of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Lawyers from Boston Members of the American Antiquarian Society 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American judges Lawyers from Dedham, Massachusetts 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers