Concise Encyclopedia of Tufts History
Sauer, Anne
Branco, Jessica
Bennett, John
Crowley, Zachary
2000
Hammond, John W., 1837-1922
John Wilkes Hammond (1837-1922), A1861, H1891, justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court, was a trustee of Tufts College (1895-1922). | |
Hammond was born in Mattapoisett (formerly Rochester, Plymouth County), Massachusetts, on December 16, 1837. He attended local schools before entering Tufts College, from which he graduated in 1861. He taught at schools in nearby communities until he enlisted in the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia and fought in South Carolina during the Civil War. He returned to Boston in 1863, again teaching until he began an apprenticeship at a local law firm in 1864.He continued his legal studies at Harvard Law School in 1865-66 and was admitted to the Massachusetts bar. In 1866, Hammond married Clara Ellen Tweed, the daughter of Tufts professor Benjamin Tweed. Together, they had three children. Hammond practiced law in Cambridge for twenty years, participating in several civic organizations and committees. He acted as city solicitor from 1873 to 1886 and also served as the district attorney of Middlesex county. | |
On March 10, 1886, Hammond was appointed to the bench of the Superior Court of Massachusetts, and two years later was selected to serve in the state's Supreme Judicial Court. | |
In 1895, he was selected as a trustee of the college, a position he held until the time of his death, and in 1891, Tufts conferred on Hammond an honorary L.L. D. degree. | |
Having been in poor health for several years, Hammond died at home in Cambridge in March of 1922. | |
Source: VF | |
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