Samuel Putnam (1768-1843)

He was born at Danvers, Massachusetts. He studied law and in 1790 opened a practice in Salem. Not before long, he attained high rank at the Essex County bar and was elected to represent the county in the State Senate (1808-14) and in the Legislature in 1812. From 1814 to 1842 he served as Judge of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts and was awarded a LL.D. by Harvard in 1825. He married Sarah, daughter of John Goole and niece of U.S. Secretary of State Timothy Pickering. They had 8-children (listed) who married into some of the most prominent Brahmin families in Boston.