Officers of Middlesex County Carte de Visite Album, 1894
Library of Congress Subject Headings
Series Description and Folder Listing
1 Album
.25 linear feet
Processor: Mark Vassar
Date: January 2007
Acquisition:
Access: There are no restrictions on items in this collection.
Permission to Publish: Requests for permission to publish from the collection should be made to the Executive Director.
Copyright: The Cambridge Historical Society does not hold copyright on the materials in the collection.
Middlesex County was one of the four first counties (Suffolk, Essex, Norfolk, and Middlesex) established by the Massachusetts General Court on 10 May 1643 (although Plymouth had been settled earlier in 1620, the Plymouth General Court had not seen fit to established counties until 1685). It originally contained the towns of Cambridge, Charlestown, Watertown, Sudbury, Concord, Woburn, Medford, and Reading, but as new towns were established and boundaries altered, it came to encompass the fifty-four towns within its boundaries today. County government was originally established in Massachusetts in order to send regional representatives or “deputies” to the General Court, but varied greatly over time, establishing new offices such as that of sheriff, deputy sheriff, highway commissioner, register of deeds, and register of probate, and as county courts were established and the counties grew in power, additional individuals were appointed as, county commissioners, assistant county commissioners, district attorneys, assistant district attorneys, masters and deputies of the houses of correction, probation officers, court stenographer, building superintendents, and engineers, among other positions. While the county court system is still in operation in Massachusetts, county government is largely defunct, most of its former duties having been taken over by state government by 1997.
Gould, Levi S. Ancient Middlesex with Brief Biographical Sketches of the Men Who Have Served the County Since its Settlement. Somerville Journal Print: Somerville, Mass., 1905.
Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Historical Data Relating to Counties, Cities, and Towns in Massachusetts. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1997.
This album consists of thirty-three cartes de visite of various officers of Middlesex County Massachusetts for the year 1894. The album was originally in the possession of John M. Fisk, identified in the front cover of the album as Special Sheriff and Keeper of the House of Correction and in a Middlesex County annual report as Master of the House of Correction and Keeper of the Jail in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is presumed that similar albums were created and presented to the various officers of Middlesex County, given that the county seal appears on the front cover. Most individuals in the photographs are identified, their names, titles, and towns of residence appearing in the inventory. Although towns of residence are listed, most court officers worked out of offices in the East Cambridge Court House. For a brief biographical sketch of many of the individuals appearing in this album, please see Ancient Middlesex with Brief Biographical Sketches of the Men Who Have Served the County Officially Since its Settlement by Levi S. Gould.
Library of Congress Subject Headings:
- County officials and employees
- Middlesex County (Mass.)—History
- Middlesex County (Mass.). Sheriff
- Middlesex County (Mass.). Superior Court
Officers of Middlesex County Carte de Visite Album (1894)
[table colwidth=”10%|90%”]
Photograph|
1.01 OMC|John M. Fisk, Master of the House of Correction and Keeper of Jail, Cambridge
1.02 OMC|Theodore C. Hurd, Clerk of the Court, Winchester
1.03 OMC|Edwin O. Childs, Court Officer, Newton
1.04 OMC|Walter C. Wardwell, Deputy Sheriff, Cambridge
1.05 OMC|Charles [F.] Morse, Deputy Sheriff, Marlborough
1.06 OMC|Samuel [W.] Tucker, Deputy Sheriff, Newton
1.07 OMC|James [H.] McKenna, Deputy Sheriff, Waltham
1.08 OMC|John R. Fairbairn, Deputy Sheriff, East Cambridge
1.09 OMC|John [E.] Tidd, Deputy Sheriff, Woburn
1.10 OMC|David Fiske
1.11 OMC|Charles [G.] Whitman, Deputy Sheriff, Marlborough
1.12 OMC|William H. Walsh, Deputy Sheriff, South Framingham
1.13 OMC|George Kingsbury [or G. Tidsbury, Deputy Sheriff, Ashland]
1.14 OMC|Lyman [H.] Richards, Deputy Sheriff, Malden
1.15 OMC|[M.] Frank Eastman, Deputy Sheriff, Melrose
1.16 OMC|George [F.] Stiles, Deputy Sheriff, Lowell
1.17 OMC|Brad [or John A.] Tolman, Deputy Sheriff, Waltham
1.18 OMC|[Charles J. McIntire, Judge of Probate, Cambridge]
1.19 OMC|George [W.W.] Saville, Court Officer, Malden
1.20 OMC|Alvah S. Baker, Deputy Sheriff, Lowell
1.21 OMC|Frederick [M.] Estey, Court Officer, Framingham
1.22 OMC|[Henry C. Sherman, Deputy Sheriff, Ayer]
1.23 OMC|George D. Ford
1.24 OMC|John [L.] Ambrose, 1st Assistant Clerk of the Courts, Somerville
1.24 OMC|William [C.] Dillingham, 2nd Assistant Clerk of the Courts, Malden
1.26 OMC|Fred [N.] Weir, District Attorney, Lowell
1.27 OMC|George [A.] Sanderson, Assistant District Attorney, Littleton
1.28 OMC|Joseph O. Hayden, Treasurer, Somerville
1.29 OMC|J. Henry Read, County Commissioner, Westford
1.30 OMC|Samuel O. Upham, County Commissioner, Waltham
1.31 OMC|William Wright?
1.32 OMC|Isaac I. Doane, Court Stenographer, Winchester
1.33 OMC|Frederick G. Coker, Superintendent of Buildings, East Cambridge
[/table]