Freeman, Nathaniel, 1741-1827

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Nathaniel Freeman was born on March 28, 1741 in Dennis, Massachusetts. He was a lawyer, served as a Justice of the Peace, and commanded a regiment of American soldiers fighting the British at Newport, Rhode Island.

From the description of Nathaniel Freeman papers, 1775-1785. (Cornell University Library). WorldCat record id: 64072476

Nathaniel Freeman, (1741-1827) surgeon, jurist and statesman, was prominent in Massachusetts politics during and after the Revolutionary War. Born in Dennis, Massachusetts, to Edmund Freeman, he represented Sandwich in the General Court of Massachusetts in 1773, and was appointed chairman of the town's newly formed committee of correspondence. In 1775, he was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and served there again in 1778-1780. He served in the Massachusetts militia, becoming a brigadier general by 1781, and was honorably discharged in 1793. During and after the Revolutionary War, Freeman acted as the Barnstable County superintendent and as the judge of probate in of the Court of Common Pleas (1775-1811). In 1811, he was appointed chief justice of the Massachusetts Court of Sessions. He retired from medicine in 1804.

The committee of correspondence was responsible for investigating reports of Tory activity, conducting hearings, and administering the oath of allegiance in the Cape Cod area. In 1778, the committee investigated the activities of Edward Davis, who was seen in the company of known Tories. The inquiry exposed a group of Loyalists, their lines of communication with sympathizers in other towns and with the British at Newport, and their attempts to pass counterfeit money. The committee also supervised the training and equipping of local militia, and maintained communications with other neighboring committees.

Freeman was twice married, first to Tryphosa Colton (d. 1796) of Killingly, Connecticut, and then to Elizabeth Gifford. In all, Freeman had 20 children, including Nathaniel Freeman, Jr. (1766-1800), a Massachusetts congressman, and Russell Freeman (1782-1842) a Maine lawyer.

From the guide to the Nathaniel Freeman papers, Freeman, Nathaniel papers, 1773- [1818], (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)

Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Agty, Thomas, fl. 1786 person
associatedWith Atkins, Cornelius, fl. 1777 person
associatedWith Avery, John, fl. 1778 person
associatedWith Bartlett, Josiah, 1729-1795 person
associatedWith Bourne, Benjamin, fl. 1774 person
associatedWith Bourne, Edward, fl. 1774 person
associatedWith Bourn, Melaiah, fl. 1778 person
associatedWith Donnison, William, 1757? -1834 person
associatedWith Ellis, Abiel, fl. 1778 person
associatedWith Fith, Simeon, fl. 1775 person
associatedWith Hallet, Enoch, fl. 1778 person
associatedWith Hawley, Gideon, 1727-1807. person
associatedWith Hersey, Abner, fl. 1778 person
associatedWith Hilliard, Timothy, 1746-1790 person
associatedWith Hinckley, Samuel, fl. 1803 person
associatedWith Jennings, John, fl. 1778 person
associatedWith Knowles, Isaac, fl. 1778 person
associatedWith Machie, Andrew, fl. 1778 person
associatedWith Massachusetts. Council. corporateBody
associatedWith Nye, Lot, fl. 1775 person
associatedWith Nye, Obed Butler, 1774-1864. person
associatedWith Otis, James, 1725-1783 person
associatedWith Otis, Joseph, d. 1810 person
associatedWith Otis, Maria, fl. 1815 person
associatedWith Paine, Robert Treat, 1731-1814. person
associatedWith Perry, Lydia, fl. 1778 person
associatedWith Perry, Seth, fl. 1778 person
associatedWith Sedgwick, Theodore, 1746-1813 person
associatedWith Sullivan, James, 1744-1808 person
associatedWith Tobey, Eliakim, fl. 1776 person
associatedWith Tupper, Prince, fl. 1778 person
associatedWith United States. Continental Army corporateBody
associatedWith Warren, James, 1726-1808 person
associatedWith Watson, William, 1739-1815 person
associatedWith Winthrop, John, 1714-1779 person
Place Name Admin Code Country
United States
United States
Boston (Mass.)
Rhode Island
Mashpee (Mass.)
Northampton (Mass.)
Plymouth (Mass.)
Wareham (Mass.)
Falmouth (Mass.)
Sandwich (Mass. : Town)
Barnstable County (Mass.)
Subject
American loyalists
Boston Tea Party, 1773
Courts
Justices of the peace
Trials
Occupation
Activity

Person

Birth 1741

Death 1827-09-20

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