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Essex County Massachusetts Freedom Case Participants 1760 - 1783
Jeremiah Gridley (1702-1767)
Boston
Biography: JEREMIAH GRIDLEY (1702-1767). Harvard 1725. Admitted attorney, SCJ, Feb. 1732; barrister, Aug. 1762. (Sometimes called Jeremy.)
The leading lawyer of his time. Many of the outstanding lawyers of the next generation studied under him, including William Cushing, James Otis, Benjamin Prat, and Oxenbridge Thacher, qq.v. Others, notably JA, were deeply influenced by his knowledge of the law. Founder of the "sodality," a legal discussion group in which JA participated, 1765. Broadly interested in literary matters as well, founding the Weekly Rehearsal (1731) and (with others) the American Magazine (1743). Appointed Justice of the Peace and of tl1e Quorum, 1746. Represented Brookline in the House frequently, 1755-1767. Appointed Attorney General, 1767. Represented the Crown in the argument on writs of assistance in 1761 (No. 44), but appeared with JA before the Council in 1765 to argue on behalf of the merchants of Boston that the courts be opened during the Stamp Act crisis. 7 Sibley-Shipton, Harvard Graduates 5 18-53 o .
Adams, John, L. Kinvin Wroth, and Hiller B. Zobel. Legal Papers of John Adams. Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1965.
Comments:
Jenny Slew vs. John Whipple, Jr. (1766) Attorney for original Defendant on Appeal