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 Supreme court, 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 ...

from August 1776 to May 1778, and chief justice from May 1778 until his death in 1781. Bourn graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

in 1743 and moved from

Sandwich, Massachusetts Sandwich is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States 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. Histor ...

Bristol, Rhode Island Bristol is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States, as well as the county seat. The population of Bristol was 22,493 at the 2020 census. It is a deep water seaport named after Bristol, England. Major industries include boat buil ...

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 district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island and a United States Circuit Judge of t ...

, appointed by President

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

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 18th-century American lawyers People from colonial Rhode Island {{RhodeIsland-state-judge-stub