Stephen Sewall

Who was Stephen Sewall?

Stephen Sewall was a judge in colonial Massachusetts. Born in Salem, Massachusetts, he was the son of Stephen Sewall, the clerk of court at the Salem witchcraft trials, and a nephew of Chief Justice Samuel Sewall, who presided at the witchcraft trials. He was the uncle of lawyer Jonathan Sewall.

Although never formally trained as a lawyer or admitted to the bar, he was appointed as Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court of Judicature, the highest court in the colony. He also served on the Massachusetts Governor's Council, which was then the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court. He was generally respected by both friends and foes of royal government.

Sewall's death in Boston in 1760 was followed by controversy. James Otis, Jr. believed that his father, James Otis, Sr., had been promised the office of chief justice, but Governor Francis Bernard appointed Crown supporter Thomas Hutchinson instead, creating a political rift that would have important implications in the development of the American Revolution.