James Henry Blake (October 7, 1808 – August 1, 1874)Vital Records 267:172 was the City Marshal of Boston from 1840 to 1845.Lane 46 He was a son of Edward Blake and Sarah (Parkman) Blake and nephew of George Parkman.Blake 73 The Parkmans and Blakes were two prominent families of the Boston Brahmins who were well respected merchants.
Early life and career Blake established himself as a merchant and real estate brokerBoston Directory 28 and also served in the Massachusetts Artillery as Major of Independents Cadets beginning in 1830.Artillery 437 In 1831, while conducting business aboard the ship Mentos, two pirates boarded the boat where Blake witnessed their arrest.Salem Gazette 04-26-1831; Volume: IX; Issue: 33; Page: He testified against the pirates in the first of his many court appearances.
On May 12, 1835, he married Marianne Wildes of Boston and ran his brokerage on State Street. He was appointed City Marshal of Boston on May 1, 1840, at an annual salary of $1,000.00.Police Museum, Lane 46 Most of Blake's term as Marshal was involved overseeing July 4 celebrations on the Common,The Daily Atlas; Date: 07-02-1844; Volume: XIII; Issue: 2; Page: 1 taking a census of buildings,The Daily Atlas; Date: 11-11-1843; Volume: XII; Issue:114; Page 2 banning illegal hay scales along the wharf,Boston Evening Transcript, published as Daily Evening Transcript; Date: 12-02-1843; Volume: XIV; Issue: 4098; Page: 3 and clearing the streets of snow.Boston Evening Transcript, published as Daily Evening Transcript; Date: 12-11-1843; Volume: XIV; Issue: 4105; Page: 3; Boston Evening Transcript, published as Daily Evening Transcript; Date: 12-19-1844; Volume: XV; Issue: 4418; Page: 4 He also passed a leash law forbidding large dogs to roam the streets.Boston Evening Transcript, published as Daily Evening Transcript; Date: 02-07-1844; Volume: XV; Issue: 4154; Page: 3 The most violence he saw was snowball fights, against which he swiftly levied hefty fines.Boston Evening Transcript, published as Daily Evening Transcript; Date: 12-23-1843; Volume: XIV; Issue: 4116; Page: 3 For his diligence, he received a salary increase of $100 in 1844.Daily Atlas, published as The Daily Atlas; Date: 06-18-1844; Volume: XII; Issue: 300; Page: 2
Blake was replaced as Marshal by Ira Gibbons in 1845,Police Museum whereafter he returned to the business of real estate.Daily Atlas, published as The Boston Daily Atlas; Date: 06-24-1845; Volume: XIII; Issue: 252; Page: 2 He opened an office on State StreetDaily Atlas, published as The Boston Daily Atlas; Date: 07-26-1845; Volume: XIV; Issue: 22; Page: 3 Daily Atlas, published as The Boston Daily Atlas; Date: 08-04-1845; Volume: XIV; Issue: 29; Page: 1 and later, as his business grew, moved to Congress Street.Daily Atlas, published as The Boston Daily Atlas; Date: 12-14-1846; Volume: XV; Issue: 142; Page: 4 In 1847, Blake, along with police officer Samuel D. Fuller, helped recover articles stolen from Ebenezer Mann, another merchant.Boston Evening Transcript, published as Daily Evening Transcript; Date: 04-23-1847; Volume: XVIII; Issue: 5135; Page: 2
In May 1849, the City of Boston and 17 citizens petitioned to have Blake return to fill the post and oust their City Marshal, Francis Tukey,Boston Evening Transcript, published as Daily Evening Transcript; Date: 05-08-1849; Volume: XX; Issue: 5765; Page: 2 but Tukey kept the position.
Disappearance of George Parkman On November 23, 1849, after Blake's uncle, George Parkman disappeared after not returning from lunch, the Parkman family began a search with Blake and his brother Edward. While Edward went to City Marshal TukeyBemis 46-7 to appeal for police help, James searched in Boston.Bemis 167 Tukey sent police officers to drag the river and search the areas the doctor frequented. On November 25, Blake was standing outside the Harvard Medical College, speaking to police officer Trenholm,Journal 35; Globe 40 when he was approached by one of the professors from the College, John White Webster who was eventually found to be responsible for Parkman’s MurderBemis 167; Stone 94-5Bemis 146; Stone 94;
After this encounter James met William V. Thompson, the City Clerk.Bemis 265; Journal 43 Thompson told James that he had seen his uncle the afternoon of November 23, just after 2:00 p.m. He also told him he had spoken to Webster about Parkman and Webster told him that Parkman was angry and excited regarding Webster's failure to pay on the outstanding debt to him.Bemis 265; Journal 42-3; Globe 57 On November 30, 1849, Parkman's remains were found by the College janitor in Webster's privy. Blake requested his own Medical Examiner, Charles T. Jackson, be present to examine the remains.Bemis 73; Stone 47
Blake recounted his meeting with Webster in the court trial.Stone 94-5; Boston Evening Transcript, published as Daily Evening Transcript; Date: 03-26-1850; Volume: XXI; Issue: 6037; Page: 1 At the end of the twelve-day trial, Webster was found guilty.Bemis 497; Stone 302; Journal 554; Globe 73 Amid the furor of the verdict, Blake returned to his business.
Blake was involved in other court cases, either as a juror or a plaintiff.Daily Atlas, published as The Boston Daily Atlas; Date: 05-31-1855; Volume: XXIII; Issue: 283; Page: 2; Farmer's Cabinet, published as The Farmers' Cabinet.; Date: 11-15-1855; Volume: 54; Issue: 15; Page: 2 Two of his appearances as plaintiff involved the burglary of his clothes.Boston Evening Transcript, published as Daily Evening Transcript; Date: 07-25-1849; Volume: XX; Issue: 5831; Page: 2; Farmer's Cabinet, published as The Farmers' Cabinet.; Date: 05-09-1860; Volume: 58; Issue: 41; Page: 2 James Henry Blake died on August 1, 1874, in a boating accident in the Boston Harbor.Boston Journal, published as Boston Morning Journal; Date: 08-03-1874; Volume: XLI; Issue: 13737; Page: 4;
Notes
References Bemis, George. Report of the Case of John W. Webster. Boston: Little, Brown, 1850 Blake, Samuel. Blake Family Boston: E. Clapp & Sons, 1857 Boston Police Museum Lane, Roger. Policing in the City: Boston 1822-1885. Cambridge, MA:Harvard University Press, 1967 Massachusetts State Archives, Vital Records Roberts, Oliver Ayer. History of History of the Military Company of the Massachusetts, Vol. III Boston: Mudge & Son, 1898 Stone, James W. Report of the Trial of John W. Webster. Boston: Holden, 1850 Sullivan, Robert. The Disappearance of Dr. Parkman. Boston: Little, Brown, 1971. Webster, John W. and The Boston Journal. The Trial of Prof. John W. Webster Indicted for the Murder of Dr. George Parkman. Boston: Redding & Company, 1850 Webster, John W. and The New York Globe. Trial of Professor John W. Webster for the Murder of Doctor George Parkman. New York: Stringer & Townsend, 1850. Whitman, Zachariah. The History of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. Boston: Eastburn, 1842.