Massachusetts: Presidency of the Council: 1775-1780 |
|
The House of Representatives elected under the Charter of 1691 met at Watertown on 19 Jul 1775 and elected 28 councilors (21 Jul 1775). The Council held its first meeting on 26 Jul 1775 attended by 14 members. On 28 Jul 1775 the House passed a resolution recognizing "the constitutional Council of the Province, or the major Part of them, as Governor of the Province" (Massachusetts House Journal, 1775, p. 21). The Council was elected annually at the beginning of the legislative year (last Wednesday in May 1776, 1777, 1778, 1779 and 1780) and combined executive, legislative, and judicial functions. According to the Rules of the Council approved on 2 Aug 1775, the most senior councilor present at the meeting always acted as the president ("1st. The Eldest Councellor present, always to Act as President"). The seniority was determined by the length of service in the Council and not by the age of the individual. At the beginning of each term, the members of the Council were "arranged" into a seniority list. The Council held "executive" and "legislative" meetings recorded in separate journals. The names of attending members were recorded under "Present in Council." The names were listed in order of seniority and, while the name of the president was not explicitly indicated for the period of 1775-1777, the first on the list is presumed to have acted as president of the meeting and signed as "president" under the texts of the resolutions. Starting from early 1777, the name of the president was recorded in the journals. Thus, the presiding councilors did not serve "daily" or "weekly" terms, but acted in this capacity only for the hours of the session. It was not unusual that the "executive" session was presided by one councilor and the "legislative" by the other on the same date. |
| Date of election | Councilors |
|---|---|
| 21 Jul 1775 | James Bowdoin, James Otis, William Sever, Benjamin Greenleaf, Walter Spooner, Caleb Cushing, John Winthrop, Benjamin Chadbourn, John Hancock, Thomas Cushing, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Joseph Gerrish, John Whitcomb1, Enoch Freeman, Jedediah Foster, James Prescott, Eldad Taylor, Benjamin Lincoln, Charles Chauncy, Michael Farley, Joseph Palmer, Samuel Holton, Jabez Fisher, Moses Gill, John Taylor, Benjamin White2.
1 Elected on 26 Jul 1775 in the place of Azor Orne who had declined to serve.
2 Elected on 1 Aug 1775 in the place of James Pitts who had declined to serve. |
| 29 and 30 May 1776 | James Bowdoin, Jeremiah Powell, William Sever, Artemas Ward, Benjamin Greenleaf, Walter Spooner, Caleb Cushing, John Winthrop, Benjamin Chadbourn, Richard Derby, Jr., Thomas Cushing, John Whitcomb, Eldad Taylor3, Benjamin Lincoln, Samuel Holten, Jr., Jabez Fisher, Moses Gill, John Taylor, Benjamin White, William Phillips, Benjamin Austin, Henry Gardner, Ebenezer Thayer3, Daniel Davis, Joseph Cushing, David Sewall, Daniel Hopkins, Francis Dana.
3 Elected on 31 May 1776 in the place of Azor Orne and Timothy Danielson who had declined to serve. |
| 28 and 29 May 1777 | James Bowdoin, Jeremiah Powell, William Sever, Artemas Ward, Benjamin Greenleaf, Walter Spooner, Caleb Cushing, Richard Derby, Jr., Thomas Cushing, John Whitcomb, Samuel Holten, Jr., Jabez Fisher, Moses Gill, John Taylor, Benjamin White, Benjamin Austin, Henry Gardner, Daniel Davis, David Sewall, Daniel Hopkins, Francis Dana, Joseph Palmer, Timothy Edwards, Oliver Prescott, Josiah Stone, Timothy Danielson, Nathan Cushing, Charles Chauncey. |
| 27 and 28 May 1778 | Jeremiah Powell, William Sever, Artemas Ward, Benjamin Greenleaf, Walter Spooner, Caleb Cushing, Thomas Cushing, Jabez Fisher, Benjamin White, Benjamin Austin, Daniel Hopkins, Francis Dana, Timothy Edwards, Oliver Prescott, Josiah Stone, Timothy Danielson, Oliver Wendell, Samuel Niles, John Pitts, Eleazar Brooks, Samuel Baker, Daniel Davis, Nathan Cushing, Jedediah Prebble, Joseph Simpson, Henry Gardner, Moses Gill, Abraham Fuller. |
| 26 and 27 May 1779 | Artemas Ward, Benjamin Greenleaf, Caleb Cushing, Thomas Cushing, Jabez Fisher, Moses Gill, Benjamin White, Francis Dana, Timothy Edwards, Oliver Prescott, Josiah Stone, Abraham Fuller, Timothy Danielson, Samuel Niles, Samuel Baker, John Pitts, Noah Goodman4, Aaron Wood, William Sever, Walter Spooner, Daniel Davis, Thomas Durfee5, Jeremiah Powell, Joseph Simpson, Edward Cutts, Henry Gardner, Nathan Cushing, Samuel Adams.
4 Johathan Greenleaf was elected on 2 Jun 1779 in the place of Azor Orne who had declined election, but Greenleaf also declined to serve and Noah Goodman was elected on 17 Jun 1779.
5 Elected on 2 Jun 1779 in the place of James Warren who had declined election. |
| 31 May and 1 Jun 1780 | James Bowdoin, Thomas Cushing, Jabez Fisher, Samuel Holten, Moses Gill, Benjamin Austin, Timothy Danielson, Josiah Stone, Abraham Fuller, Samuel Niles, Samuel Baker, John Pitts, Eleazer Brooks, Aaron Wood, Stephen Choate, Caleb Strong, William Whiting, Joseph Dorr, Walter Spooner, Daniel Davis, Nathan Cushing, Thomas Durfee, Jeremiah Powell, Joseph Simpson, Edward Cutts, Henry Gardner, Robert Treat Paine, Benjamin White. |