Boston Board of Selectmen

Last updated
Boston Board of Selectman
Type Directorial Chief executive
StatusDissolved
Appointer Open town meeting
Styled: "Freeholders and other Inhabitants of the Town of Boston"
Term length 1 year (6 mo. initially)
FormationJuly 1, 1634 (1634-07-01)
First holder John Winthrop
William Coddington
John Underhill
Thomas Oliver
Thomas Leverett
Giles Firmin
John Coggeshall
William Pierce
Robert Harding
William Brenton
Richard Bellingham
Final holderDaniel Baxter
Samuel Billings
Abram Babcock
Jonathan Loring
Eliphalet Williams
Robert Fennelly
Jeremiah Fitch
Samuel A. Wells
David W. Child
AbolishedMarch 4, 1822 (1822-03-04)
Superseded by Mayor
Boston City Council

The Boston Board of Selectmen was the governing board for the town of Boston from the 17th century until 1822. Selectmen were elected to six-month terms early in the history of the board, but later were elected to one-year terms.

Contents

In colonial days selectmen included William Clark. At the time of the American Revolution, the selectmen were John Hancock, Joseph Jackson, Samuel Sewall, William Phillips, Timothy Newell, John Ruddock (Selectman), John Rowe and Samuel Pemberton.[ citation needed ]

Notable selectmen

NameLifespanYears of service
Samuel Adams, Sr.1689–17481731, 1732, 1743–46 [1]
Thomas Hutchinson 1711–17801737
John Hancock 1737–17931765–1774
John Rowe 1715–1787March 13, 1767–1769
Charles Bulfinch 1763–18441791-1817 [2] 1800-1815 President of Board [3]

17th century

1630s

1640s

1650s

1660s

1670s

1680s

1690s

18th century

1700s

1710s

1720s

Newspaper item related to the Boston Select Men, 1733 1733 selectmen WeeklyRehearsal Boston March19.png
Newspaper item related to the Boston Select Men, 1733

1730s

1740s

1750s

1760s

1770s

1780s

1790s

19th century

1800s

1810s

1820s

See also

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References

  1. John A. Schutz, Legislators of the Massachusetts General Court, 1691-1780, p. 146.
  2. According to the list in this article
  3. Municipal History of Boston by Josiah Quincy, Applewood Books, 1852.
  4. Boston (Mass.) Record Commissioners (5 October 1877). "Second report of the record commissioners of the city of Boston : containing the Boston records, 1634-1660, and the book of possessions". Boston : Rockwell and Churchill via Internet Archive.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 A catalogue of the city councils of Boston, 1822-1908, Roxbury, 1846-1867, Charlestown, 1847-1873 and of the selectmen of Boston, 1634-1822: also of various other town and municipal officers. Boston (Mass.): City of Boston Printing Department. 1909. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  6. Boston (Mass.) Registry Dept; Appleton, William S. (William Sumner); McGlenen, Edward W. (Edward Webster); Watkins, Walter Kendall; Whitmore, William Henry (1 July 1877). "Records relating to the early history of Boston ." Boston : Rockwell and Churchill, City Printers via Internet Archive.
  7. Thomas Bridgman (1851), Epitaphs from Copp's Hill burial ground, Boston, Boston: J. Munroe and Company, OL   13446875M
  8. Boston (Mass.) Registry Dept; Appleton, William S. (William Sumner); McGlenen, Edward W. (Edward Webster); Watkins, Walter Kendall; Whitmore, William Henry (1 July 1877). "Records relating to the early history of Boston ." Boston : Rockwell and Churchill, City Printers via Internet Archive.
  9. Oliver Ayer Roberts (1895), History of the Military Company of the Massachusetts, now called the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts. 1637-1888, Boston: A. Mudge & son, printers, OL   13440693M
  10. Boston (Mass.) Registry Dept; Appleton, William S. (William Sumner); McGlenen, Edward W. (Edward Webster); Watkins, Walter Kendall; Whitmore, William Henry (1 July 1877). "Records relating to the early history of Boston ." Boston : Rockwell and Churchill, City Printers via Internet Archive.
  11. Boston (Mass.) Registry Dept; Appleton, William S. (William Sumner); McGlenen, Edward W. (Edward Webster); Watkins, Walter Kendall; Whitmore, William Henry (1 July 1877). "Records relating to the early history of Boston ." Boston : Rockwell and Churchill, City Printers via Internet Archive.
  12. Boston (Mass.) Registry Dept; Appleton, William S. (William Sumner); McGlenen, Edward W. (Edward Webster); Watkins, Walter Kendall; Whitmore, William Henry (1 July 1877). "Records relating to the early history of Boston ." Boston : Rockwell and Churchill, City Printers via Internet Archive.
  13. Boston (Mass.) Registry Dept; Appleton, William S. (William Sumner); McGlenen, Edward W. (Edward Webster); Watkins, Walter Kendall; Whitmore, William Henry (1 July 1877). "Records relating to the early history of Boston ." Boston : Rockwell and Churchill, City Printers via Internet Archive.
  14. Boston (Mass.) Registry Dept; Appleton, William S. (William Sumner); McGlenen, Edward W. (Edward Webster); Watkins, Walter Kendall; Whitmore, William Henry (1 July 1877). "Records relating to the early history of Boston ." Boston : Rockwell and Churchill, City Printers via Internet Archive.
  15. Boston (Mass.) Registry Dept; Appleton, William S. (William Sumner); McGlenen, Edward W. (Edward Webster); Watkins, Walter Kendall; Whitmore, William Henry (5 October 1893). "Records relating to the early history of Boston ." Boston : Rockwell and Churchill, City Printers via Internet Archive.
  16. Boston (Mass.) Registry Dept; Appleton, William S. (William Sumner); McGlenen, Edward W. (Edward Webster); Watkins, Walter Kendall; Whitmore, William Henry (1 July 1877). "Records relating to the early history of Boston ." Boston : Rockwell and Churchill, City Printers via Internet Archive.
  17. "Massachusetts Historical Society: the Beehive". www.masshist.org. Archived from the original on 2015-07-21. Retrieved 2015-07-18.
  18. Boston (Mass.) Registry Dept; Appleton, William S. (William Sumner); McGlenen, Edward W. (Edward Webster); Watkins, Walter Kendall; Whitmore, William Henry (1 July 1877). "Records relating to the early history of Boston ." Boston : Rockwell and Churchill, City Printers via Internet Archive.
  19. Boston (Mass.) Registry Dept (1900). "A Volume of records relating to the early history of Boston : containing miscellaneous papers". [S.l. : s.n.] via Internet Archive.
  20. Boston (Mass.) Registry Dept (1900). "A Volume of records relating to the early history of Boston : containing miscellaneous papers". [S.l. : s.n.] via Internet Archive.
  21. Boston (Mass.) Registry Dept (1900). "A Volume of records relating to the early history of Boston : containing miscellaneous papers". [S.l. : s.n.] via Internet Archive.

Further reading