Theron Metcalf
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Theron Metcalf (October 16, 1784 ā€“ November 12, 1875) was an American attorney and politician from
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
. He was a
New England New England is a region consisting of 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 (state), New York to the west and by the ...
jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...
and served as an associate justice of the
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial 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 fu ...
.


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 ...
, the son of Hanan Metcalf and Mary (Allen) Metcalf. He graduated from
Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
in 1805, and studied law at the
Litchfield Law School The Litchfield Law School was a law school in Litchfield, Connecticut, that operated from 1774 to 1833. Litchfield was the first independent law school established in America for reading law. Founded and led by lawyer Tapping Reeve, the proprietar ...
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 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 ...
on November 12, 1875.


Career

Metcalf edited the ''Dedham Gazette'' from 1813 to 1819. The editor was
Jabez Chickering Jabez Chickering (circa 1782-October 20, 1826) was a lawyer and businessman from Dedham, Massachusetts. Personal life Chickering was the son of the minister in Dedham's South Church, also named Jabez Chickering, and his wife Hannah, the daughter ...
.


Legal

He opened a law school in Dedham in 1828 where he gave lectures. He was appointed Reporter of the Massachusetts Supreme Court 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 New England town, town in, and the county seat of, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Located on Boston's southwestern border, the population was 25,364 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. First settled by E ...
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, 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 The First Church and Parish in Dedham is a Unitarian Universalist congregation in Dedham, Massachusetts. It was the 14th church established in Massachusetts. The current minister, Rev. Rali M. Weaver, was called in March 2007, settled in July, and ...
.


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 (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...
, and was chairman of the Judiciary Committee.


Honors

Brown gave him the degree of
LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double ā€œLā€ in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...
in 1844, and
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
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
Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...
society 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) * ''An address to the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Brown University: Delivered 5th September, 1832'' * ''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

* {{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 Justices of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Lawyers from Boston 19th-century American male writers 19th-century Massachusetts state court judges Lawyers from Dedham, Massachusetts 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court