Auchmuty, Robert, Jr. (1725–11 December 1788), lawyer and Loyalist, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Scottish-born Robert Auchmuty, a judge of admiralty in Massachusetts, and Mary Julianna. As a youth Robert attended Boston Latin School and was admitted to Harvard, class of 1746, but never matriculated. He benefited from growing up in an upper-class family and learned law from his father. In 1762 he became a barrister, and many considered him the third best lawyer in Massachusetts, just behind ...
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Auchmuty, Robert, Jr. (1725-1788), lawyer and Loyalist
David E. Maas
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Leonard, Daniel (1740-1829), lawyer, Loyalist, and chief justice of Bermuda
Carol Berkin
Leonard, Daniel (18 May 1740–27 June 1829), lawyer, Loyalist, and chief justice of Bermuda, was born in Norton, Massachusetts, the son of Ephraim Leonard, an ironmonger, and Judith Perkins. His family had enjoyed social and political prominence in southern Massachusetts for more than a hundred years, their wealth having come from the iron industry, which they established in Taunton, Massachusetts. In 1760 Leonard entered Harvard College and was ranked second among his class. His scholastic achievement merited his selection as a commencement speaker, and he delivered his speech in Latin. Returning to Taunton he practiced law alongside Samuel White, Speaker of the Massachusetts Assembly. In 1767 Leonard married White’s daughter Anna White, who died at the birth of their daughter in 1768. Leonard, like his father-in-law, became the king’s attorney for Bristol County in 1769. In 1770 he married Sarah Hammock; they had three children....
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Ruggles, Timothy (1711-1795), Loyalist lawyer, soldier, and judge
William Pencak
Ruggles, Timothy (20 October 1711–04 August 1795), Loyalist lawyer, soldier, and judge, was born in Rochester, Massachusetts, the son of the Reverend Timothy Ruggles and Mary White. His father hoped he would become a minister, but he preferred the law. He was sworn into the bar at Plymouth in 1733, the year after he graduated from Harvard College. Ruggles soon ranked with the elder James Otis (1702–1778) at the top of the South Shore bar. “His reasoning powers and his legal information placed him among the most able advocates of that day; but his manners were coarse, rough, and offensive; his wit was brilliant, but harsh and unpleasant” ( ...
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Sewall, Jonathan (1728-1796), lawyer and Loyalist
Carol Berkin
Sewall, Jonathan (17 August 1728–26 September 1796), lawyer and Loyalist, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Jonathan Sewall, a merchant, and Mary Payne. Orphaned at the age of three, Sewall was heir to the substantial social and political connections that his family, one of the most important in Massachusetts, offered. However, his father’s financial failures had left him penniless. He was raised by family and friends who made sure that he was prepared for college, and his uncle, Chief Justice ...
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Worthington, John (1719-1800), lawyer, politician, and Loyalist
Joseph Carvalho III
Worthington, John (24 November 1719–25 April 1800), lawyer, politician, and Loyalist, was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, the son of John Worthington and Mary Pratt. Graduating from Yale College in 1740, he remained as a dean’s scholar and tutor from 1742 to 1743. For a short time, he studied law under ...
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Wragg, William (1714-1777), Loyalist and lawyer
Robert M. Weir
Wragg, William (1714–02 September 1777), Loyalist and lawyer, was born in the South Carolina lowcountry, the son of Samuel Wragg, a merchant of Welsh background, and Marie DuBose, a Huguenot. Samuel Wragg and his brother Joseph Wragg became leading suppliers of slaves to South Carolina during the 1730s. Samuel, who operated the British side of the business from London, took his son to England for schooling in 1718; en route, they became captives of ...
