Isaac Parker (congressman)
Encyclopedia
Isaac Parker was a Massachusetts
Congressman and jurist
, including Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
from 1814 to his death. He was born in Boston, the son of Daniel Parker, a goldsmith, and Margaret (née Jarvis) Parker. He was descended from John Parker, of Bideford
, Devon
, who emigrated to America in 1629 and whose children settled in Charlestown
. After preparation at the Latin Grammar School
, he entered Harvard
at the age of fourteen and graduated in 1786 with high honors. For a short time he taught at the Latin School. Then, after studying law and being admitted to the bar
, he moved to Castine
, in what was later the state of Maine
. There he set up his law practice, later moving to Portland
and holding several local offices. On June 17, 1794, he married Rebecca Hall, daughter of Joseph Hall of Medford
, a descendant of John Hall who settled in Concord
in 1658. They had eight children.
In 1796, when he was twenty-eight, Parker was elected as a Federalist
to the 5th
Congress
, but after one term of which little record of activity is available, he retired voluntarily to become United States Marshal
for the Maine district (serving from March 5, 1799 to December 21, 1803). He was displaced upon Thomas Jefferson
's accession to the presidency and returned to his law practice. He had made his impression, however, and on January 28, 1806, Governor Caleb Strong
, upon the death of Justice Simeon Strong
, appointed him an Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
. Parker was inclined to refuse the honor, but upon his friends' urgent solicitations accepted and moved to Boston. He was shortly called upon to sit in the trial of T. O. Selfridge, charged with shooting the son of Benjamin Austin in a political quarrel. Feelings ran high and Parker won a great reputation for impartiality. In 1814 he was elevated to the chief justiceship. In 1816 he was inaugurated as first Royall Professor of Law at Harvard. It was not a teaching chair, and in May 1817 he laid before the Corporation a plan for a law school. The plan was adopted and Harvard Law School
was established, with Asahel Stearns as first instructor. Parker continued to lecture until 1827. He was a twenty-year overseer of Harvard and for eleven years a trustee of Bowdoin
; he also served as president of the Massachusetts constitutional convention of 1820. His published works were confined to his judicial decisions and to a few orations, revealing a somewhat less florid style than that which characterized the times. He remained Chief Justice until his death in Boston, after which he was buried on Copp's Hill
.
Among his more controversial rulings was in an 1820 case involving the First Church of Dedham
, the majority of whose regular churchgoers, more conservative Congregationalists
, had left the parish when a liberal Unitarian
pastor was appointed by the town, and claimed the property as their own. The Unitarian Parker wrote: "When the majority of the members of a Congregational church separate from the majority of the parish, the members who remain, although a minority, constitute the church in such parish, and retain the rights and property belonging thereto" – including recognition as an established church. Consequently, 3,900 Congregationalists from 81 churches left behind property valued at $600,000; church and state were separated in Massachusetts in 1833.
Parker's decisions illuminate both the man's character and the jurisprudence of the period. They indicate a mind of exceptional clarity and penetration, albeit with a sensitivity to the needs of changing times. In the words of Justice Story
: "It was a critical moment in the progress of our jurisprudence... We wanted a mind to do in some good degree what Lord Mansfield had done in England, to breathe into our common law an energy suited to the wants, the commercial interests and the enterprise of the age". It was a time when equity was more important than law. Parker rendered this kind of service, and many of his decisions came to be recognized as authoritative generally through the state and federal courts. "He felt that the rules, not of evidence merely, but of all substantial law must widen with the wants of society". In addition he rendered no small service by consolidating the reforms in the Massachusetts judicial system, instituted in the early years of the century. His character was eminently suited to his role. Above the petinesses of party strife, free from affectation, at the same time both patient and gay, he carried into his public life the rectitude of an active and sincere religious conviction.
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
Congressman and jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
, including Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The SJC has the distinction of being the oldest continuously functioning appellate court in the Western Hemisphere.-History:...
from 1814 to his death. He was born in Boston, the son of Daniel Parker, a goldsmith, and Margaret (née Jarvis) Parker. He was descended from John Parker, of Bideford
Bideford
Bideford is a small port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is also the main town of the Torridge local government district.-History:...
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, who emigrated to America in 1629 and whose children settled in Charlestown
Charlestown, Massachusetts
Charlestown is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and is located on a peninsula north of downtown Boston. Charlestown was originally a separate town and the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; it became a city in 1847 and was annexed by Boston on January 5, 1874...
. After preparation at the Latin Grammar School
Boston Latin School
The Boston Latin School is a public exam school founded on April 23, 1635, in Boston, Massachusetts. It is both the first public school and oldest existing school in the United States....
, he entered Harvard
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
at the age of fourteen and graduated in 1786 with high honors. For a short time he taught at the Latin School. Then, after studying law and being admitted to the bar
Bar (law)
Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...
, he moved to Castine
Castine, Maine
Castine is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States and was once the capital of Acadia . The population was 1,343 at the 2000 census. Castine is the home of Maine Maritime Academy, a four-year institution that graduates officers and engineers for the United States Merchant Marine and marine...
, in what was later the state of Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
. There he set up his law practice, later moving to Portland
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
and holding several local offices. On June 17, 1794, he married Rebecca Hall, daughter of Joseph Hall of Medford
Medford, Massachusetts
Medford is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States, on the Mystic River, five miles northwest of downtown Boston. In the 2010 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 56,173...
, a descendant of John Hall who settled in Concord
Concord, Massachusetts
Concord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 17,668. Although a small town, Concord is noted for its leading roles in American history and literature.-History:...
in 1658. They had eight children.
In 1796, when he was twenty-eight, Parker was elected as a Federalist
Federalist Party (United States)
The Federalist Party was the first American political party, from the early 1790s to 1816, the era of the First Party System, with remnants lasting into the 1820s. The Federalists controlled the federal government until 1801...
to the 5th
5th United States Congress
The Fifth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives...
Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, but after one term of which little record of activity is available, he retired voluntarily to become United States Marshal
United States Marshals Service
The United States Marshals Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice . The office of U.S. Marshal is the oldest federal law enforcement office in the United States; it was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789...
for the Maine district (serving from March 5, 1799 to December 21, 1803). He was displaced upon Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
's accession to the presidency and returned to his law practice. He had made his impression, however, and on January 28, 1806, Governor Caleb Strong
Caleb Strong
Caleb Strong was Massachusetts lawyer and politician who served as the sixth and tenth Governor of Massachusetts between 1800 and 1807, and again from 1812 until 1816.-Biography:...
, upon the death of Justice Simeon Strong
Simeon Strong
Simeon Strong was a justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.Simeon Strong was the son of Nehemiah Strong and Hannah French. He was born in Amherst, Massachusetts on March 6, 1735-6, and graduated from Yale College in 1756. He studied Christian theology and preached in various...
, appointed him an Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The SJC has the distinction of being the oldest continuously functioning appellate court in the Western Hemisphere.-History:...
. Parker was inclined to refuse the honor, but upon his friends' urgent solicitations accepted and moved to Boston. He was shortly called upon to sit in the trial of T. O. Selfridge, charged with shooting the son of Benjamin Austin in a political quarrel. Feelings ran high and Parker won a great reputation for impartiality. In 1814 he was elevated to the chief justiceship. In 1816 he was inaugurated as first Royall Professor of Law at Harvard. It was not a teaching chair, and in May 1817 he laid before the Corporation a plan for a law school. The plan was adopted and Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
was established, with Asahel Stearns as first instructor. Parker continued to lecture until 1827. He was a twenty-year overseer of Harvard and for eleven years a trustee of Bowdoin
Bowdoin College
Bowdoin College , founded in 1794, is an elite private liberal arts college located in the coastal Maine town of Brunswick, Maine. As of 2011, U.S. News and World Report ranks Bowdoin 6th among liberal arts colleges in the United States. At times, it was ranked as high as 4th in the country. It is...
; he also served as president of the Massachusetts constitutional convention of 1820. His published works were confined to his judicial decisions and to a few orations, revealing a somewhat less florid style than that which characterized the times. He remained Chief Justice until his death in Boston, after which he was buried on Copp's Hill
Copp's Hill
Copp's Hill is an elevation in the historic North End of Boston, Massachusetts. It is bordered by Hull Street, Charter Street and Snow Hill Street. The hill takes its name from William Copp, a shoemaker who once owned the land...
.
Among his more controversial rulings was in an 1820 case involving the First Church of Dedham
Dedham, Massachusetts
Dedham is a town in and the county seat of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 24,729 at the 2010 census. It is located on Boston's southwest border. On the northwest it is bordered by Needham, on the southwest by Westwood and on the southeast by...
, the majority of whose regular churchgoers, more conservative Congregationalists
Congregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
, had left the parish when a liberal Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
pastor was appointed by the town, and claimed the property as their own. The Unitarian Parker wrote: "When the majority of the members of a Congregational church separate from the majority of the parish, the members who remain, although a minority, constitute the church in such parish, and retain the rights and property belonging thereto" – including recognition as an established church. Consequently, 3,900 Congregationalists from 81 churches left behind property valued at $600,000; church and state were separated in Massachusetts in 1833.
Parker's decisions illuminate both the man's character and the jurisprudence of the period. They indicate a mind of exceptional clarity and penetration, albeit with a sensitivity to the needs of changing times. In the words of Justice Story
Joseph Story
Joseph Story was an American lawyer and jurist who served on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1811 to 1845. He is most remembered today for his opinions in Martin v. Hunter's Lessee and The Amistad, along with his magisterial Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, first...
: "It was a critical moment in the progress of our jurisprudence... We wanted a mind to do in some good degree what Lord Mansfield had done in England, to breathe into our common law an energy suited to the wants, the commercial interests and the enterprise of the age". It was a time when equity was more important than law. Parker rendered this kind of service, and many of his decisions came to be recognized as authoritative generally through the state and federal courts. "He felt that the rules, not of evidence merely, but of all substantial law must widen with the wants of society". In addition he rendered no small service by consolidating the reforms in the Massachusetts judicial system, instituted in the early years of the century. His character was eminently suited to his role. Above the petinesses of party strife, free from affectation, at the same time both patient and gay, he carried into his public life the rectitude of an active and sincere religious conviction.