Peleg Emory Aldrich

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Peleg Emory Aldrich
Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court
In office
1873 – March 14, 1895
Appointed byWilliam B. Washburn
Member of the
Massachusetts House of Representatives
In office
1866–1867
12th Mayor of
Worcester, Massachusetts
In office
1866 – January 3, 1863
Preceded byIsaac Davis
Succeeded byD. Waldo Lincoln
District Attorney
for the Middle District
In office
1853–1865
Appointed byJohn H. Clifford
Personal details
BornJuly 24, 1813[1]
New Salem, Massachusetts[1]
DiedMarch 14, 1895 (aged 71)
Worcester, Massachusetts[2]
Political partyWhig, Republican
Alma materHarvard Law School, L.L.B. 1844[3]
OccupationAttorney

Peleg Emory Aldrich (July 24, 1813 – March 14, 1895) was a teacher, lawyer, politician and jurist who served as the twelfth mayor of Worcester, Massachusetts, and as an Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court.

Early life[edit]

Aldrich was born on July 24, 1813, in New Salem, Massachusetts.[1]

Family life[edit]

Aldrich married Sarah Woods, of Barre, Massachusetts, in 1850.[4] They had five children,[5] three daughters and two sons.[6]

Early education and career[edit]

For his early education, Aldrich attended the public schools of New Salem, Massachusetts. At the age of sixteen, Aldrich entered the academy in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts.[3] After he left the academy, Aldrich went into teaching, first in Ashfield, Massachusetts, later, in 1837, in Tappahannock, Virginia.[7][3] Aldrich studied law while he was teaching. In 1842[7] Aldrich entered Harvard Law School, graduating with the L.L.B. degree in 1844.[3] Soon after he graduated from Harvard Law School, Aldrich returned to teaching in Virginia.[3]

Early legal career[edit]

Aldrich was admitted to the Virginia Bar in 1845, but he did not practice law there.[3] Aldrich returned to Massachusetts and began working for the firm of Ashman, Chapman & Norton in Springfield, Massachusetts. Aldrich was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar at Hampden County[2] in the spring of 1846.[3] In December 1846, Aldrich moved to Barre, Massachusetts, where he opened a law office.[3] Aldrich would stay in Barre for seven years.[3]

Barre Patriot[edit]

For three of the years he was in Barre, Aldrich edited the Barre Patriot,[2] which was a pro-Whig party newspaper.[3]

District Attorney[edit]

In 1854 Governor Clifford appointed Aldrich as District Attorney for the Middle District,[2] Aldrich moved to Worcester after he was appointed District Attorney.[7] Aldrich served as the District Attorney until 1865.[3]

Political career[edit]

Aldrich was a member of the Whig Party until that party dissolved, at which point he joined the newly formed Republican Party.[3][4]

Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1853[edit]

Aldrich was a member of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1853.[3]

Mayor of Worcester[edit]

Aldrich served as the mayor of Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1862.[3] It was as the mayor of Worcester that Aldrich was present at the battle of Antietam because he had gone to the front to visit soldiers from the city.[3] In 1865 he was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society,[8] which is located in Worcester.

Massachusetts House of Representatives[edit]

Aldrich served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1866 to 1867.[4]

Later legal career[edit]

In January 1865, Aldrich formed a law firm, Bacon & Aldrich, in partnership with Peter C. Bacon.[3] Aldrich stayed in this partnership until he was elevated to the bench in 1873.[3][4]

Judicial career[edit]

In 1873 Governor Washburn appointed Aldrich as an Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court.[4] Aldrich remained on the court until his death on March 14, 1895.[3]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c American Bar Association (1895), Report of the Eighteenth Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association held at Detroit, Michigan, Detroit, Michigan: American Bar Association, p. 508
  2. ^ a b c d American Antiquarian Society (1896), Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society, New Series, Volume X (PDF), Worcester, MA: American Antiquarian Society, p. 22
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Reno, Conrad (1901), Memoirs of the Judiciary and The Bar of New England for the Nineteenth Century, Volume III, Boston, MA: The Century Memorial Publishing Company, p. 476
  4. ^ a b c d e Reno, Conrad (1901), Memoirs of the Judiciary and The Bar of New England for the Nineteenth Century, Volume III, Boston, MA: The Century Memorial Publishing Company, p. 477
  5. ^ American Antiquarian Society (1896), Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society, New Series, Volume X (PDF), Worcester, MA: American Antiquarian Society, p. 24
  6. ^ American Bar Association (1895), Report of the Eighteenth Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association held at Detroit, Michigan, Detroit, Michigan: American Bar Association, p. 511
  7. ^ a b c American Bar Association (1895), Report of the Eighteenth Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association held at Detroit, Michigan, Detroit, Michigan: American Bar Association, p. 509
  8. ^ American Antiquarian Society Members Directory
Political offices
Preceded by 12th Mayor of Worcester, Massachusetts
January 6, 1862-January 3, 1863 		Succeeded by
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