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Cyrus Alden


Gender:
Male
Born:
May 20, 1787
Died:
March 29, 1855
Home Town:
Bridgewater, MA
Later Residences:
Wrentham, MA
Boston, MA
Fall River, MA
Marriage(s):
Mary Jones Alden (May 24, 1813)
Biographical Notes:
Cyrus Alden was the son of Captain Joseph Alden and Bethiah Carver. He was born in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, the fifth of nine children.

Alden graduated from Brown University in 1807 and attended the Litchfield Law School in 1808. After completing his studies in Litchfield, he read the law with Judge Rice in Litchfield and later with Judge William Baylies of West Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

Following his admission to the Massachusetts bar in 1810, Alden began his legal practice in Wrentham, Massachusetts. He remained there for six years before moving to Boston, where he continued to practice law until 1822. At that time, Alden left Boston to pursue a legal practice in Fall River, Massachusetts.

In addition to his legal career, Alden also pursued literary ...
[more]
Quotes:
"I think I never was in a more agreeable, pleasant Country Village in all my travels. The advantages here to acquire a knowledge of the Law are very great. I think I shall acquire more Law information here in six months than I did all the last year. Judge Reeve, who deliveres the lectures, is a very pleasant, agreeable, communicative man. It is said that there never was a student here but what loved him." Cyrus Alden to Thomas Alden, September 25, 1808 (LHS)

Education
Years at LLS:
1808
Other Education:
Attended Brown University in 1807.

Profession / Service
Profession:
Lawyer; Political Office
Admitted To Bar:
Massachusetts in 1810
Training with Other Lawyers:
After attending the Litchfield Law School Alden studied law with Judge Rice in Litchfield, CT and later with Judge William Baylies of West Bridgewater, CT.
State Posts:
State Representative (MA) 1837

Related Objects and Documents
In the Ledger:
help The Citation of Attendance provides primary source documentation of the student’s attendance at the Litchfield Female Academy and/or the Litchfield Law School. If a citation is absent, the student is thought to have attended but currently lacks primary source confirmation.

Records for the schools were sporadic, especially in the formative years of both institutions. If instructors kept comprehensive records for the Litchfield Female Academy or the Litchfield Law School, they do not survive. Researchers and staff have identified students through letters, diaries, family histories and genealogies, and town histories as well as catalogues of students printed in various years. Art and needlework have provided further identification of Female Academy Students, and Litchfield County Bar records document a number of Law School students. The history of both schools and the identification of the students who attended them owe credit to the early 20th century research and documentation efforts of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel and Samuel Fisher, and the late 20th century research and documentation efforts of Lynne Templeton Brickley and the Litchfield Historical Society staff.
CITATION OF ATTENDANCE:
Catalogue of the Litchfield Law School (Hartford, CT: Press of Case, Tiffany, and Company, 1849), 7.
Secondary Sources:
Alden, M.D., Ebenezer. Memorial of the Descendants of Hon. John Alden. Randolph, MA: Samuel P. Brown, 1867.

Hurd, D. Hamilton. History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men. Philadelphia, PA: J.W. Lewis & Co., 1884.

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