James Putnam (1725-1789), a prominent Worcester, Mass., attorney and Harvard graduate (1746), was the last attorney general of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, espoused the loyalist cause, and fled with the British to Nova Scotia and New York, eventually residing in England with 1783. He then settled in St. John, New Brunswick, where he filled various official positions, including justice of the Supreme Court.
His son, James Putnam, Jr. (1756-1838) also graduated from Harvard (1774) and served with loyalist troops during the siege of Boston. He was commissioned an officer in the British army and served until 1783, when he moved to Nova Scotia. He became a provincial assemblyman, Marshall of the Court of Vice-Admiralty, and, late in England, a trustee for the estate of the Duke of Kent.
From the description of Papers, 1742-1838. (American Antiquarian Society). WorldCat record id: 191259650
