Peter Oxenbridge Thatcher (1776 - 1843)

Born 22 Dec 1776 in Malden, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA

Ancestors

Husband of Charlotte Ignatius (MacDonough) Thacher — married 11 Mar 1808 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States

Died 22 Feb 1843 at age 66 in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, USA

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Biography

Peter was born in 1776. He was the son of Peter Thatcher and Elizabeth Hawkes.

In 1808 he married Charlotte Ignatius MacDonough in Boston, Mass. ^[1]

Peter assumed his middle name in 1811

He held offices: Judicial Office(s): Judge of the Municipal Court in Boston, 1823-1843

Peter was a founder of the Massachusetts Bible Society - 1809

Excerpt from Massachusetts Bible Society:

Peter Thacher graduated from Harvard in 1796 with thoughts of following his father (who was the pastor of the Brattle Street Church) into ministry. He taught at Phillips Academy the following year where he helped to instruct a young Daniel Webster.

Instead of ministry, however, Peter Thacher followed the example of his grandfather, Oxenbridge Thacher, and adopted not only his grandfather’s profession in Law, but in 1811 adopted his name as well, taking Oxenbridge as his middle name.

Peter Thacher was admitted to the Suffolk bar in 1803. In 1823 Peter Oxenbridge Thacher was appointed Judge of the Municipal Court of the City of Boston, a position he held until his death on Feb. 22, 1843. A federalist and classic conservative, Judge Thacher was known both as a very severe judge but also as the judge who expanded the legal use of recognizance by continually releasing juvenile offenders. ^[2]

He was targeted in 1832 by William Lloyd Garrison for implying to jurors that the rhetoric in an abolitionist newspaper might be an indictable offense as it could incite revolt or insurrection.

Judge Thacher was one of the founders and original Trustees of the Boston Athenaeum, as well as a founder of the Massachusetts Bible Society,

Written by Massachusetts Bible Society MBS Founder This link has been removed by MBS (old)

Boston Municipal Court Cases by Judge Peter Oxenbridge Thacher^[3]

He passed away in 1843 of paralysis. ^[4]

Originally interred at Trinity Church. The Great Boston Fire of November 1872 destroyed the church that was here. The people in the tombs were eventually re-interred to the Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, although there are no records as to who was actually moved.

Known Children

George McDonough Thacher 1809–1858

Theodore Oxenbridge Thacher 1810–1837

Joseph Stevens Buckminster Thacher 1812–1867

Peter Oxenbridge Thacher 1813–1818

Peter O Thacher was also a writer, Here are some of his writings and sermons Writings

Sources

1. ↑ Marriage Record
2. ↑ The Path to Statutory Probation in the United States and England
3. ↑ Judge Peter O Thacher Criminal Court Cases
4. ↑ Memorial

• Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 for Boston Births, Marriages, Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook). and Death pg 8860/60705 (viewable)

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillips_Academy

• Thacher, Augustus, and Hill—The Path to Statutory Probation in the United States and England, Charles Lindner Emeritus Professor, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York Volume 71 Number 3, Published by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/71_3_6_0.pdf

• Founders of the Massachusetts Bible Society - 1809, Massachusetts State House Senate Chamber on that historic day to sign the Charter founding MBS. NEWTON CENTRE, MA, UNITED STATES Link Removed

• Reports of Criminal Cases: Tried in the Municipal Court of the City of Boston, Judge Peter Oxenbridge Thacher, https://books.google.com/books?id=0DY4AAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 11 April 2020), memorial page for Peter Oxenbridge Thacher (22 Dec 1776–22 Feb 1843), Find a Grave Memorial no. 192515031, citing Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by BeNotForgot (contributor 46974545) .