Thomas Graves or Greaves (1684–June 19, 1747) was an associate justice of the

Massachusetts Superior Court of Judicature 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 ...

from 1737 to 1738. Appointed by Governor

Jonathan Belcher Jonathan Belcher (8 January 1681/8231 August 1757) was a merchant, politician, and slave trader from colonial Massachusetts who served as both governor of Massachusetts Bay and governor of New Hampshire from 1730 to 1741 and governor of New J ...

, he served as a temporary replacement for Edmund Quincy while the latter was in England on other business, and was replaced after Quincy's death by

Stephen Sewall Stephen Sewall (December 14, 1702 – September 10, 1760) was a judge in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colonial Massachusetts. Born in Salem, Massachusetts, he was the son of Stephen Sewall (clerk), Stephen Sewall, the clerk of court at the Sa ...

. Graves was born in Charlestown and 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 1703. His father, also named Thomas, was a magistrate in Middlesex County best known for denouncing the

Salem witch trials The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Thirty people were found guilty, 19 of whom w ...

of 1692. Graves was trained as a medical doctor, but was drawn into legal work with an appointment as a special judge in Middlesex County in 1731. He was eventually appointed to that county's court of common pleas, where he served until his temporary appointment to the provincial high court in 1737. Edmund Quincy, whose seat he took, was sent to England as a commissioner concerning the border between Massachusetts and

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, died in England of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

. After Sewall was named to replace Quincy, Graves resigned from the high court and returned to the court of common pleas, on which he served until his death.

References

Justices of the Massachusetts Superior Court of Judicature 1684 births 1747 deaths Lawyers from Boston Harvard College alumni {{Massachusetts-state-judge-stub