Newton, Rejoice, 1782-1868

Rejoice Newton was a prominent Worcester attorney and Massachusetts state legislator. He was born of father Isaac Newton on 11 Oct. 1782 in Greenfield, Mass., and died on 4 Feb. 1868 in Worcester. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1807 and completed his legal studies in Northampton shortly after. Newton opened a successful practice in the city of Worcester and was appointed county attorney in 1818, a post which he held for six years. A law partnership with his brother-in-law William Lincoln was forged in 1826, which lasted until Newton's final years of practice. From 1829 to 1831 Newton occupied a state representative position, and in 1834 he was elected to the state senate. This brief period was the conclusion of his political career, while his legal practice subsequently continued. Newton owned a great deal of property throughout New England and had amassed a significant estate by the time of his death in 1868.