Jedediah Foster (October 10, 1726October 17, 1779) was a judge and advocate for independence during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

, and ultimately a 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 ...

. Foster was born in

Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 387. As of th ...

and studied law at Harvard University. He graduated in 1744 at the age of 18. He subsequently settled in Brookfield (now West Brookfield). He served in the First Provincial Congress of Massachusetts and as a colonel in the American Revolution. He was later appointed a judge for

Worcester County, Massachusetts Worcester County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 862,111, making it the second-most populous county in Massachusetts while also b ...

. He was one of four judges to oversee the trial and subsequent execution of

Bathsheba Spooner Bathsheba Ruggles Spooner (February 15, 1746 – July 2, 1778) was the first woman in American history to be executed following the Declaration of Independence. The daughter of prominent Loyalist brigadier general and jurist Timothy Ruggles, Ba ...

, who was the first woman to be executed in the United States by Americans rather than the British. Foster was part of a committee of three which was appointed to draft the first

Constitution of Massachusetts The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the fundamental governing document of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, one of the 50 individual state governments that make up the United States of America. As a member of the Massachuset ...

. However, Foster died before the work was completed in 1779. The site of his home, known as Jedediah Foster Homesite is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. It is now a small park.

References

1726 births 1779 deaths People from Andover, Massachusetts Massachusetts lawyers Harvard University alumni Continental Army officers from Massachusetts County judges in the United States People of colonial Massachusetts {{US-judge-stub