Paul Revere The Coroner of Boston
Paul Revere's 46 Coroner Inquests. Please find a listing of the inquests below. Original documents available at the Massachusetts Archives in his handwriting, Suffolk Collection, Microfilm volume 692, 693 and 702.
PAUL REVERE THE CORONER OF BOSTON
Why did Paul Revere become a Coroner at the age of sixty-two? He found murder, suicide, infanticide and many cases of drowning.
John Winthrop, in 1630, obtained the Massachusetts Bay Charter from King Charles of England. He and his nine-hundred Puritan followers used the charter to leave a religion they felt had abandoned its Christian values. The Charter granted the Puritans the land area known as Massachusetts, after the original Indian tribe, and the distance over an ocean provided the freedom to practice their religion. Not to be left on shore, British Common Law sailed on John Winthrop’s eleven ships. The Puritans brought with them the English legal system.
The concept of coroner arrived in America on the Arabella, Winthrop’s command ship. “Coroune” represented the initial spelling, relating to the “crown” from which the function of coroner derived.
Crime was rampant in England between the 13th and 14th centuries. Famine, migration, consolidation of wealth and power contributed to the rise in violence. Initially, the corone defended cases against the crown. To meet the escalating volume of violent events, the coroner’s function adapted to address unexplained deaths. The coroner’s first duty was to identify the body. The coroner pre- convened an inquest jury of thirteen men to judge facts.
The function of a coroner expanded beyond its intent over three hundred years. Sixty-two years into his maturity, Paul Revere applied for the role of coroner. His first inquest was February 21, 1796. By the way, the average life expectancy of a man in Colonial Boston was fifty-s
By 1796, Paul and his sons developed one of America’s most innovative foundries, producing gunpowder, cannon, church bells and copper plating for naval vessels. Financially, he was on a good footing. The Revere Copper Company would succeed to his son and into the 21st Century. [i]
By his semi-retirement in 1811, Paul and sons had already produced hundreds of church and ships’ bells. The United States government, with hesitation, then exclusively, ordered copper plating for its warships including the U.S.S. Constitution, “Old Ironsides.” During the revolution Paul established factories to make gun powder and cannon at his new Canton foundry. He was sixty-six years of age.
Money did not appear to motivate Paul at 62 years of age to accept this assignment.With this in mind, we set off to learn his motivation for becoming a coroner. In our pursuit, we stumbled upon three themes in the forty-six inquests completed by Paul Revere. Below is his frame of reference based on the bibliographies listed below and the common themes among them.
Paul had to identify the remains of his best friend, Dr. Joseph Warren, nine months after the British buried him in a common shallow grave on Bunker (Breed’s) Hill. Finding the brutalized remains of Dr. Warren, by his false teeth, was the first time dental records were used to identify a corpse. Paul had spent two years learning dentistry from Dr. Joseph Baker and often cleaned teeth or provided rudimentary bridges.
Paul defied Boston’s medical practices by standing up to the selectmen of Boston, when several of his children developed smallpox. He refused to send them to a “pesthouse.”[ii] They all survived, though Mary, born one month into their quarantine, died within the year.
With the above practical experience, Paul Revere established the first Board of Health in America in 1799. He became president and chairman and snuffed out a cholera epidemic.
It appears from his account books that he didn’t need the money. More likely, his determination to be accepted as an Esquire in Boston society was his primary aim in becoming a coroner. [iii]
Nineteen doctors in Boston cared for sixteen-thousand citizens. They cherished the financial rewards of conducting a postmortem. Holding an inquest, arranging for a jury and reaching a judgment on the accused trickled down to Paul’s social level. And so the opportunity was available to Paul Revere. He served for five eventful years.
The results of the forty-six inquests in Paul’s handwriting are available from the Massachusetts Historical Society microfilm library. Visit our sample below. His notes described the sudden cause of death, the jurors’ seating, their judgment, and whether they received payment for their services.
Three themes among the forty-six sudden deaths stand out. Drowning was a major problem. Boston was a nautical society. Suicide and murder by opium, was common in this staunch religious community. In its liquid form, laudanum, used to eliminate physical or mental pain, was a household staple.
Pictured below is a PDF file summarizing all of Paul Revere’s inquests. Though he had the best handwriting, we had difficulty reading the names of the deceased. If anyone gets close to this, please help us with the victim’s full identity.
Paul Revere’s letter of resignation from the coroner’s position suggested that he did not have the time to fulfill his duties. Time must have caught up with him, though he did not officially retire from his foundry business for another twelve years.
[i] The Revere Copper Company now resides in Troy New York but has not forgotten its heritage.
[ii] Forbes, Esther. Paul Revere & the World He Lived in. Vol. 1. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1942. Print and online p. 77.
[iii] Robert Martello, MIdnight Ride, Industrial Dawn: Paul Rvere and the Growth of American Enterprise.
Bibliography
Forbes, Esther. Paul Revere & the World He Lived in. Vol. 1. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1942. Print.
Fischer, David Hackett, Paul Revere’s ride. Norwalk, CT. Easton Press 1996. Print.
Han, Shin-Kap. “THE OTHER RIDE OF PAUL REVERE: THE BROKERAGE ROLE IN THE MAKING OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION*.” © 2009 Mobilization: An International Quarterly 14(2): 143-162 14.2 (2009): 143-162. Print.
Healy, Kieran. “Using Metadata to Find Paul Revere: Kieranhealy.org.” Using Metadata to Find Paul Revere. Blog, 9 June 2013. Web. 18 Aug. 2015.
“H-Net Reviews.” H-Net Reviews. If There Is Additional Discussion of This Review, You May Access It through the List Discussion Logs At: Http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl. Citation: Allan Branstiter. Review of Martello, Robert, Midnight Ride, Industrial Dawn: Paul Revere and Th, 1 Sept. 2012. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.
Martello, Robert. Midnight ride, industrial dawn: Paul Revere and the growth of American enterprise. Baltimore: Md., 2010. Print.
Massachusetts Historical Society, Microfilm rolls,
Massachusetts State Archives, vole 14.Suffolk Collection, Microfilm volume 692, 693 and 702, cases 107545 and 107566 and 108204 cases, Skillmore, Wellman and Jefre & Hannah Porter.
Acknowledgement to Elizabeth Bouvier of the Massachusetts Superior Court for her assistance finding the actual court records involving the deaths by infanticide.
P.S.
Drowning is a worldwide issue today.
In the 18th Century opium was monopolized by imperial governments as a source of revenue.
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The 46 Inquests Conducted by Paul Revere, Coroner
Date of inquest Deceased Occupation Domicile Verdict Evidence or conclusion
1 2/21/1796 Daniel Keller seafaring man Dublin suicide Mr. Sheridan presents bottle of Ladunum at the house of Mr. Sheridan
2 4/2/1796 Joshua Skillmore Child Boston neglect by mother "Accused Rebecca Skillmore of of Centre St., Boston of Neglect."
3 5/28/1796 Henery Lewis not given not clear Drowned At Codmans Wharf
4 6/22/1796 Thomas Bell not given not identified no written verdict not available
5 11/4/1796 Joshua Barton Carpenter Oxford Ma accidental drowning "he fell from a shed and was carried through the flood gates into the Mill Pond 11/4/1796 age 25,"
6 11/30/1796 Dick a Negro not given not given Drowning Found in the waters near Cambridge Bridge.
7 12/2/1796 Samuel Hall construction not given accident A pile of wood boards fell on him.
8 12/25/1796 stranger a man indigent Boston Frozen to Death Jury's conclusion that he crawled into a house under construction into a carpenters bench and froze.
9 1/20/1797 Male infant not applicable Boston neglect by mother Found in the valut of Mr. XXXX? In Boston. Rebecca Wellman was the mother.
10 William Weth Well Fleet Fall from 3rd story of town dock laid for several days need better print out.
11 4/17/1797 Samuel Wollf Alias Samuel Selig Stranger North Europe opium poisoning "Boarded at Mrs Dunlaps, drank opium in small glass of juice and water went into a rage. Lived until the next morning."
12 6/14/1797 Samuel Gallop a Tailor by trade Swallowed Laudinum* Boarded with Capt Winslow Lewis
13 8/12/1797 Mrs. Hovey Housewife Copps Hill Boston drowning She fell off Copps Hill Wharf at high tide
14 4/12/1798 Thos' Hinckley not given Cape Cod drowning "very intoxicated with liquor, that this night was very stormy and he strayed. . .down the wharf and drowned."
15 6/17/1798 Jacob Sharp Mariner Frigate Constitution Drowning It is only clear that Jacob was going to the head on the Constitution and slipped before or after and drowned. He was cheeful the night before.
16 7/2/1798 Walter Holley construction an Irish man drowning he fell into the water as he was handing up material .
17 8/10/1798 Jams Dill not given Boston Lightning strike "Three witnesses say it was the first lightning of the day and there was no rain. ""The body was very offensive"""
18 10/1798 John Tuni Boater not given drowning / boat accident appears to have overloaded a boat and drowned along with inquest victims 19.
19 10/1798 Nicholas Peterson not given not given drowning / boat accident appears to have overloaded a boat and drowned along with inquest victims 18 and 19.
20 10/20/1798 Sivania Reed ??? Or Creed not given not given drowned Drowned near New Boston Bridge.
21 12/19/1798 Cornelius Smith Stranger not given Landinum the jury's opinion he destoyed himself and not in his right mind.
22 12/23/1798 Man Stranger not given drowned Drowned near the Fourth Battery
23 3/7/1799 two male children Children Sons of Jefre & Hannah Porter opium poisoning "ingested in stomach given to them by their parents ""he was arraigned for murder and acquited."
24 4/11/1799 male child approximately 6 yrs child not given killed Can't determine cause. Appears to be an accident
25 5/12/1799 George Wild seamen Boston accident """came to his death by falling through the mast hole of the frigate Boston"""
26 5/13/1799 John Wil Wa?? not given Dorchester drowning Body was found on Deer Island
27 5/18/1799 William Street? Boston Sick and insane Found dead in the street while family was asleep.
28 5/22/1799 Jon Bartlett stranger Sailor Drowned at "drowned at the end of Long Wharf jury verdict, ""misfortune""."
29 6/17/1799 Holmes Simpson mis fortune """in liquor fell down the stairs of Mr Cade's??? Ham jr? Home; verdict misfortune"
30 7/27/1799 John Pitman stranger sailor fell drowned "from the yard of a ship at the end of long wharf, struck his head against the ship and fell into the water. Verdict misfortune."
31 7/30/1799 Old Negro man named Harper Hanged himself in Judge Wendles gardin. It appears to the jury he was insame. Verdict misfortunre
32 11/1/1799 stranger a man Noddles Island drowned "on Noddles Island, verdict misfortune"
33 11/1/1799 Thomas Tormenian? Or Torman Knocked overboard in the harbor verdict misfortune
34 5/29/1800 Cap Barnabas Young "Shot himself, fell into water" "Drunken Man, that could not vie his owners a proper account of his ….. Was in great deal of trouble "
35 7/11/1800 John Fairfield a Negro Lad death from a punch Thomas Willoughby a black man the juyr's opinion was that he had no intention of killing. . .?
36 7/31/1800 Ebenezer Austin ? Parents lived in Charlestown Drowned 29 years of age; Father was Nathaniel Austin and mother was Anna Kent
37 8/1/1800 Daniel L??????????? West Boston death by hand killed by a stranger?
38 8/5/1800 stranger a man drowned
39 10/2/1800 stranger a man found drowned on long island.
40 10/12/1800 Mary Frothingham Hanging hung herself in a fit of insanity
41 11/17/1800 Male in child Infanticide found in a vault
42 11/17/1800 John Goodwin Stranger drowned ?
43 12/1/1800 John Hoyt stranger death by hard drinking
44 1/8/1801 (Mr.) Laurens Robins Fall from third floor happened in his sleep
45 11/14?/1801 Joshua Rogers Hung Self in a fit of insanity
46 1/22/1801 William Barton or Burton drowned
As best as possible we did not correct Old English or typo's.
"*Laudanum is an alcoholic solution containing morphine, from opium and used as a narcotic pain killer. Wide spread use continued to the Victorian era; 19th Century."
Laudinum a/k/a laudanum was a cheap pain killer typically 90% alcohol and 10% opium flavored. In the 18th Century use had no stigma.
