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Mellen Chamberlain (4 June 1821,
He graduated from
Besides chapters in
Pembroke, New Hampshire
Pembroke is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 7,207 at the 2020 census. Pembroke includes part of the village of Suncook. The center of population of New Hampshire is close to the Pembroke town center ...
- 25 June 1900, Chelsea, Massachusetts
Chelsea is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts
Suffolk County ( ) is located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 797,936, making it the fourth-most populous county in ...
) was a United States lawyer, librarian and historian. He was librarian of the Boston Public Library
The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also Massachusetts' Library for the Commonwealth (formerly ''library of last recourse''), meaning all adult re ...
for over a decade.
Biography
He graduated from Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...
in 1844 and from the Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...
in 1848. In 1849 he was admitted to the bar, opened a law office in Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
and made his residence in Chelsea, where, during 51 years of citizenship, he served the town in many public capacities. In 1858 and 1859 he was 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 (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...
and the Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
in 1863–64. He was associate justice of the Municipal Court of Boston 1866–70, and chief justice 1870–78.
On 26 August 1878, he was chosen librarian-in-chief of the Boston Public Library, where he served until ill health compelled his retirement in 1890. During his administration, a new library building was begun and the cornerstone laid. Throughout his life he was a close student and investigator of American history.
Historical works
Besides chapters in Justin Winsor
Justin Winsor (January 2, 1831October 22, 1897) was an American writer, librarian, and historian. His historical work had strong bibliographical and cartographical elements. He was an authority on the early history of North America and was elec ...
's ''Memorial History of Boston'' (1881), he wrote:
* ''The History of Winnisimmet, Rumney Marsh, and Pullin Point'' (1880)
* ''Narrative and Critical History of America'' (1888)
* ''John Adams
John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...
, the Statesman of the Revolution'' (1884)
* ''The Authentication of the Declaration of Independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...
'' (1885)
* ''John Adams, the Statesman, with Other Essays and Addresses'' (1898)
* ''The Journals of Captain Henry Dearborn
Henry Dearborn (February 23, 1751 – June 6, 1829) was an American military officer and politician. In the Revolutionary War, he served under Benedict Arnold in his expedition to Quebec, of which his journal provides an important record ...
, 1775-83'' (1886–87)
* ''The Constitutional Relations of the American Colonies to the English Government at the Commencement of the American Revolution'' (1887)
See also
* 84th Massachusetts General Court (1863) * 85th Massachusetts General Court (1864)Notes
References
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chamberlain, Mellen 1821 births 1900 deaths Librarians from New Hampshire 19th-century American historians 19th-century American male writers Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Massachusetts state senators Dartmouth College alumni Harvard Law School alumni People from Pembroke, New Hampshire Lawyers from Chelsea, Massachusetts Politicians from Chelsea, Massachusetts Historians from Massachusetts Librarians of the Boston Public Library 19th-century American lawyers American male non-fiction writers Judges of the Boston Municipal Court 19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court