Overview
This is a collection of briefs in cases argued by Coolidge and others in the state and federal courts of New England. The cases frequently relate to railroads.
Dates
- Creation: 1879 - 1897
Conditions Governing Access
Access to these papers is governed by the rules and regulations of the Harvard Law School Library. This collection is open to the public, but is housed off-site at Harvard Depository and requires 2 business-day advance notice for retrieval. Consult the Special Collections staff for further information.
Conditions Governing Use
The Harvard Law School Library holds copyright on some, but not all, of the material in our collections. Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be directed to the Special Collections staff. Researchers who obtain permission to publish from the Harvard Law School Library are also responsible for identifying and contacting the persons or organizations who hold copyright.
Extent
1 collection (1 Paige box)The volumes in this collection encompass the early years of Coolidge's career and contain briefs in cases argued by Coolidge and others in the state and federal courts of New England. The contents of Volumes 1 and 2 are alphabetized by party name, and most are cases argued either by Coolidge or his colleagues at bar in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
Coolidge frequently represented railroads in tort and other suits, and these dominate the collection. The collection also contains railroad cases in a variety of other matters (for example, land use, bankruptcy, and constitutional law), and miscellaneous corporate suits.
Historical/Biographical Information
William Henry Coolidge
b. Feb. 23, 1859 in Natick, Mass.
A.B., magna cum laude, Harvard University, 1881
Studied law at Harvard (class of 1884, but did not earn an LL.B.) and at the Boston firm of Hyde, Dickinson & Howe
Admitted to the Suffolk bar, Jan. 1885
m. May Humphreys, Oct. 3, 1887 in Bergen Point, N.J.
Partner in the Boston firm of Strout & Coolidge and Assistant General Counsel to Boston & Lowell R.R. Co. and Boston & Maine R.R. Co., to ca. 1898
Partner in the Boston firm of Coolidge & Hight
d. May 28, 1936
Physical Location
Harvard Depository
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This four-volume set was received by the Harvard Law Library on March 3, 1936 as part of a larger gift of 264 volumes from William H. Coolidge. This collection is numbered Volumes 1, 2, 3, and 5; the unknown Volume 4 was not included in the gift to HLS.
Processing Information
Processed by Jennifer Carter, 2004.
Subject
- Massachusetts. Supreme Judicial Court (Organization)
- Title
- Coolidge, William Henry. Briefs, 1879-1897: Finding Aid
- Author
- Harvard Law School LibraryCambridge, MA 02138
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- law00147
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard Law School Library, Historical & Special Collections Repository
Harvard Law School Library's Historical & Special Collections (HSC) collects, preserves, and makes available research materials for the study of the law and legal history. HSC holds over 8,000 linear feet of manuscripts, over 100,000 rare books, and more than 70,000 visual images.
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