Sewall, David

Born October 7, 1735, in York, ME
Died October 22, 1825, in York, ME

Federal Judicial Service:
Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Maine
Nominated by George Washington on September 24, 1789, to a new seat authorized by 1 Stat. 73. Confirmed by the Senate on September 26, 1789, and received commission on September 26, 1789. Service terminated on January 9, 1818, due to resignation.

Education:
Harvard College, A.B., 1755
Read law, 1760

Professional Career:

Private practice, York, Maine, 1760- , 1818-1825
Register of probates, York County, Maine, 1766-
Justice of the peace, Maine, 1767-
Member, York [Maine] Committee of Correspondance
Member, Legislative Council of Massachusetts, 1776-1777
Justice, Superior Court of Massachusetts, 1777-1789 (name changed to Supreme Judicial Court in 1780)
Delegate, Massachusetts constitutional convention, 1779-1780

Bibliography

Burnham, Edward P. "Memoir of Judge David Sewall, LL.D." Maine Historical Society, Collections and Proceedings, 2nd ser., 2 (1891): 300-17.

Manuscript Collections

Harvard University
Cambridge, Mass.
Papers of David Sewall, 1753-1756.
0.03 cubic feet (1 folder). Three letters written to David Sewall (Harvard AB 1755). The first letter, written on September 21, 1753 by Samuel Sewall in York, to his brother at Harvard sends general news, asks after a hat sent to David, and requests he have a wig made for him. The second letter, written by Harvard student David Wyer on August 28, 1756, enthusiastically thanks Sewall for his past advice. The third letter, also sent from his brother Samuel in York on December 9, 1766, offers David advice on love. The two later letters were sent to Sewall while he was a schoolmaster in Wells, Maine.

Massachusetts Historical Society
Boston, Mass.
David Sewall journal, 1810-1811.
1 vol. in a case. Journal of judge David Sewall of Hallowell, Maine kept in a Massachusetts Register for the year 1810 (with entries through Feb. 1811). Entries consist primarily of financial information, including stock dividends and payments made to workers on his farm. Occasional entries note judicial matters, farm chores, and Sewall family genealogy.

David Sewall legal brief, 1769.
1 folder; brief of a June 1769 case regarding land titles in Maine.

Maine Historical Society
Portland, Me.
David Sewall court docket book, 1800-1803.
1 vol. Court docket book of Sewall, judge of U.S. District Court, District of Maine.

Portraits

Portrait of Judge David Sewall; by John Johnston; Oil on canvas; ca. 1790; Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, Maine, ref. #: 1870.8.

Federal Judicial Center

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Sewall, David