The Old Avery Oak Tree was a white oak tree that stood in Dedham , Massachusetts until it was knocked down in 1972. It had a circumference of over 20 ft (6 m) and stood on East Street near the Fairbanks House . It was named for Jonathan Avery, the owner of the tree, who had an estate that was bounded roughly by East Street, Mt. Vernon Street, Barrows Street, and Brookdale Avenue. The Avery family was one of the early settlers of Dedham, arriving in 1650.
65-600: By the time the first settlers arrived in Dedham in 1635, the tree was already quite old. It was owned by the Dedham Historical Society after being donated by J.W. Clark in 1886. Clark, who owned the house where the tree was located, also donated a square of land around it extending seven and a half feet from three sides of it, and to East Street on the fourth. The deed also allowed the roots and branches to grow over and under Clark's land. Today, wood from
130-541: A judicial case resulted in another reform in 1638, where the Council of Assistants became an upper house that sat separately, with consent of both houses required to pass legislation. In October 1650 the General Court took exception to the book The Meritorious Price of Our Redemption by William Pynchon . They regarded it as containing many errors and heresies and decided to make their views very plain by having
195-507: A large number of pamphlets, portraits, maps, articles of ancient furniture, and relics. Most were acquired in the years 1887–1890. In 1883, the first publication of the Society was issued entitled A Plan of Dedham Village. It contained the record of the original allotments of land in the centre and upper villages and a heliotype of the plan made by Henry Sylvester Talbot, facts for which were collected by William Billiard and assisted by
260-557: A later date were published in 14 volumes. Dedham Historical Society (2001). Dedham . Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-0944-0 . Retrieved August 11, 2019 . Great and General Court Minority (4) Minority (24) Vacant (1) The Massachusetts General Court , formally the General Court of Massachusetts , is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts located in
325-426: A law. It is usually effective in ninety days. The day after the governor signs the bill is considered to be the first day, and each succeeding day, including Sundays and holidays is counted until the ninetieth. Laws considered "emergency" in nature take effect immediately upon signing if the legislature has voted to attach an "emergency preamble" to the bill. Adoption of the preamble requires a two-thirds standing vote of
390-409: A lecture-display hall, basement storage area, and office space. It was described at the time as "one of the finest architectural buildings in the shire town of Norfolk." Hill wanted to hang a portrait of Hannah in the hall to honor the great benefactor of the Society, but it was determined that no photograph or portrait had ever been taken of her. Hill then devised a plan to obtain her likeness that
455-519: A limb at the top was knocked off. The tree lived until late July 1972, when a strong thunderstorm toppled it. Then-police chief Walter Carroll was driving down East Street when it toppled, and the tree very nearly struck his car. Hundreds of people gathered to see the fallen tree, and the police protected it while the Historical Society made plans for how to dispose of it. The tree was estimated to be over 450 years old. Samuel Nicholson ,
520-491: A multiyear renovation in 2017. The Society's collections include Dedham Pottery , Katharine Pratt silver, paintings, photographs, pre-Columbian stone tools, local and Civil War artifacts, and a historical and genealogical library. It also has antique furniture including the Metcalf Chair, the oldest piece of American furniture, and one of only two known “astronomical shelf clocks” by Simon Willard . It also owns
585-769: A special meeting was held in the Vestry of the First Church on September 14, 1885, to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the settlement of the town, at which time "interesting historical sketches were read by several members." The first transatlantic direct dial telephone call took place at the Dedham Historical Society and was placed by the president-emeritus of the Society, Dr. Arthur Worthington. It connected Sally Reed in Dedham, Massachusetts to her penpal, Ann Morsley, in Dedham, Essex , in 1957. It
650-578: A state legislature in the United States. She was outed against her will following the election and served one term. As of 2018, the General Court was composed of 75 percent male and 25 percent female representation. There are 40 senatorial districts in Massachusetts, named for the counties in which they are located. There are 160 representational districts in Massachusetts, named for the counties in which they are located. The speaker of
715-491: A sum of money to construct a building. The home, which served as the first post office in Dedham under her father, Jeremiah Shuttleworth , was moved and a new building constructed. Shuttleworth was a niece of Nathaniel Ames . When Ames died in 1822, he left his fortune to the unmarried Hannah, his closest living relative. Shuttleworth left $ 10,000 to construct the building upon her death in 1886, and members raised an additional $ 1,500. The Society's new headquarters
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#1732776025890780-602: A trustee of the Dedham Public Library for 19 years, spent much of his presidency gathering a library of several thousand volumes. On the 21st of March, 1864 the library contained 68 bound volumes, a large collection of pamphlets, and a small number of newspapers and manuscripts. By 1890 there are about 2,000 volumes, comprising standard works on American history, histories of towns in New England, especially Massachusetts, and genealogies. It also contained
845-856: Is a bicameral body . The upper house is the Massachusetts Senate which is composed of 40 members. The lower body , the Massachusetts House of Representatives , has 160 members; until 1978, the state house had 240 members. It meets in the Massachusetts State House on Beacon Hill in Boston. Since 1959, Democrats have controlled both houses of the Massachusetts General Court, often by large majorities. The Democrats enjoyed veto-proof supermajorities in both chambers for part of
910-457: Is a full-time legislature, although not to the extent of neighboring New York or some other states. The earliest history of the General Court is in the original charter of 1629. Massachusetts Bay Colony , one of the original Thirteen Colonies , was a royally chartered joint stock company founded in 1628 in London . Much like other joint-stock companies of the time the first General Court
975-412: Is composed of six senators and eleven representatives. The standing committees schedule public hearings for the individual bills, which afford citizens, legislators and lobbyists the opportunity to express their views. Committee members meet at a later time in executive session to review the public testimony and discuss the merits of each bill before making their recommendations to the full membership of
1040-737: Is referred to the Senate or House Committee on Ways and Means after the first reading. Adverse reports ("ought not to pass") are also referred to the Committee on Steering and Policy in the Senate or placed without debate in the Orders of the Day for the next session of the House. Acceptance by either branch of an adverse report is considered the final rejection and the matter of the matter. However, an adverse report can be overturned. A member may move to substitute
1105-560: The Great and General Court passed an Act incorporating the Society for the “purposes of collecting and preserving such books, newspapers, records, pamphlets and traditions, as may tend to illustrate and perpetuate the history of New England, and especially the history of the town of Dedham.” The Act was accepted on the 9th day of the following June. Before the adoption of the new by laws on March 2, 1887, quarterly meetings were held at which papers were read on subjects relating to Dedham. At
1170-606: The legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts since the adoption of the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780. The body was in operation before Massachusetts became a U.S. state on February 6, 1788 . The first sessions, starting in 1780 , were one-year elected sessions for both houses. This was expanded to two-year sessions starting with the 142nd General Court in January 1921. Thereafter,
1235-619: The 1990s (i.e., enough votes to override vetoes by a governor) and also currently hold supermajorities in both chambers. State senators and representatives both serve two-year terms. There are no term limits ; a term limit was enacted by initiative in Massachusetts in 1994 but in 1997 was struck down by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court , which ruled that it was an unconstitutional attempt to provide additional qualifications for office by statute, rather than constitutional amendment. The legislature
1300-506: The Committee on Bills in the Third Reading. This amounts to preliminary approval of the bill in that branch. That committee examines technical points, as well as the legality and constitutionality of the measure, and ensures that it does not duplicate or contradict existing law. The committee then issues a report and returns the bill to the House or Senate for its third reading. At that time, legislators can further debate and amend
1365-425: The House has historically been quite powerful, exerting significant influence over all aspects of state government. The General Court is responsible for enacting laws in the state. The two legislative branches work concurrently on pending laws brought before them. Lawmaking begins when legislators, or their delegates, file petitions accompanied by bills, resolves or other types of legislation electronically, using
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#17327760258901430-604: The House or Senate. Matters not requiring reference to another Joint, House or Senate committee are, following the first reading, referred without debate to the Committee on Senate Rules if reported in the Senate, except certain special laws (relative to a city or town) are placed directly on the Senate Calendar (Orders of the Day), or, without debate to the House Steering, Policy and Scheduling committee if reported into
1495-524: The House or Senate. The Health Care Financing Committee is required to provide an estimated cost of the bill, when making their report. If the estimated cost is less than $ 100,000, the bill bypasses having to be referred to Ways and Means. If a bill is not related to health care, but affects the finances of the Commonwealth, or, if it is reported by the Health Care Financing Committee with an estimated cost greater than $ 100,000, it
1560-512: The House or Senate. The public may still observe "executive" sessions, but may not participate in these meetings. The committee then issues its report, recommending that a bill "ought to pass" or "ought not to pass" and the report is submitted to the Clerk's office. The first reading of a favorably reported bill is automatic and generally occurs when the committee's report appears in the Journal of
1625-558: The House. Reports from Senate Rules or House Steering, Policy and Scheduling are placed on the Calendar of the Chamber receiving the report for a second reading. If a bill reported favorably by a joint committee affects health care it is referred by the House or Senate Clerk to the joint committee on Health Care Financing; and the first reading is delayed until the next favorable report, thus allowing Health Care Financing to report to either
1690-597: The Legislative Automated Workflow System (LAWS). The electronically submitted legislation is received in the House or Senate Clerk's office where the petitions , bills , and resolves are recorded in an electronic docket book. The clerks number the bills and assign them to appropriate joint committees. There are 26 of these committees, each responsible for studying the bills which pertain to specific policy areas, taxation , education , health care , insurance , and others. Each committee
1755-434: The authority of the General Court. Under this new system the religious qualification, that suffrage be for only Puritan men, was changed to a qualification of property ownership. The Assistants were also officially changed to a Governor's Council to be selected by the governor to act as an upper house as well as a council for advice and consent . All laws passed by the General Court were to be approved by Royal Governor of
1820-417: The bill for the report, and, if the motion to substitute carries, the matter is then given its first reading and follows the same procedure as if reported favorably by committee. After a bill is read for a second time, it is open to debate on amendments and motions . Following debate, a vote is taken and if the bill receives a favorable vote by the membership, it is ordered to a third reading and referred to
1885-425: The bill, first in the House and later in the Senate, is the final step in the passage of a bill by the legislature. Following enactment, the bill goes to the governor , who may sign the bill into law, allow it to become law without signing it (if the governor holds the bill for ten days without taking any action while the legislature is in session, it becomes law without his or her signature), veto it, or return it to
1950-554: The bill. Following the third reading, the body votes on "passing the bill to be engrossed." The bill must then pass through three readings and engrossment in the second legislative branch. Should that occur, it is sent to the Legislative Engrossing Division where it is typed on special parchment in accordance with the General Laws . However, if the second branch passes an amended version of the bill,
2015-824: The book burnt on Boston Common . With the collapse of the Dominion of New England in the Glorious Revolution in 1689 The Assistants convened an assembly of delegates from each town to reform the General Court. With the Massachusetts Charter in 1691 the Province of Massachusetts Bay absorbed the colony of Plymouth . The Plymouth Colony , along with the District of Maine and the islands off Cape Cod , Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket were to be an extension of Massachusetts and thus under
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2080-548: The city on March 17, 1776. The Governor's Council acted as the executive in the absence of the governor and lieutenant governor, administering the rebel forces of the colony during the early years of the American Revolutionary War , which began in Massachusetts at the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. The General Assembly declared Massachusetts independent from Britain on May 1, 1776. With
2145-659: The colony. Soon after, Governor John Winthrop and the Deputy Governor Thomas Dudley broke with protocol when they themselves traveled to New England and moved the government to Massachusetts Bay. Along with them came the stock holders of the company and the Council of Assistants . Once in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the new government reorganized itself out of convenience. Instead of attempting to assemble all stockholders to
2210-488: The company. These officials were to have royally assented governmental control of the colony and would be tasked with the management and defense of the colonial plantation. The first Court assembled would be made from these members to discuss and evaluate the situation of the colony. The first meeting of the original General Court took place in London in 1629. The General Court selected John Endicott as its representative to
2275-432: The crayon portrait which now hangs in the place of honor over the great mantel in our Historical Society room.” The addition of a second exhibition room and more storage space in the basement was added in 1965, permitting the original basement to become a historical and genealogical library. Today the Society keeps its documents, maps, and most fragile artifacts in a fireproof climate-controlled vault. The building began
2340-519: The discretion of local magistrates creating a theocratic quasi-democratic state. By votes of the General Court in the 1630s, the system of government changed to have an elected governor and to restrict the list of "freemen" to those affiliated with certain Puritan churches. In 1634, after complaint the charter was not being followed, a compromise resulted in recomposition of the General Court as two deputies elected by freemen in each town. Problems with
2405-632: The first captain of the Constitution, was living in Dedham at the time the ship was being built. The Avery Oak at that time had limbs full of crooks and angles, which Lord Bacon called knee timber, and which was particularly required in ship building. Its massive trunk would also have yielded a good quantity of planking. Designer Joshua Humphreys specified white oak for the hull of the USS Constitution . Timber merchants from New Jersey to Maine scrambled to find old growth trees that had
2470-446: The first meeting Wight was chosen chairman and Guild secretary. A committee was then appointed consisting of Bullard, Hildreth, and Guild to draft the Constitution and by laws. These were adopted at the next meeting, on February 15. The founders then invited 41 citizens of Dedham to join the Society, but only 22 accepted. At the end of the first year 37 members were enrolled, and by 1890 there were 147 members, including several women,
2535-525: The first of whom were admitted on December 1, 1886. The first regular meeting was held on March 10, 1859, and the officers chosen were the Rev. Alvan Lamson as president, Wight as vice president, Hildreth as corresponding secretary, and Guild as recording secretary, treasurer, and librarian. Additionally, Cobb, Bullard, and Waldo Colburn were selected as curators, and Enos Foord and Henry White Richards were elected auditors. Three years later, on April 23, 1862,
2600-641: The form of the Governor, the Governor's Council, etc. had more executive authority the Court could cause political stalemate if its demands were not met. Even the Governor's reserve power to dissolve the General Court was ineffective because a new assembly had to be elected the following year. With the passage of the Intolerable Acts by the Parliament of Great Britain there was political turmoil in
2665-504: The late Judge Colburn. The original plan was given to the Society by Bullard on June 9, 1862. In their annual report in 1890, the curators announced that they were preparing to publish the first issue of the Dedham Historical Register. The Register would be published quarterly from 1890 to 1903. Long articles were often broken up and serialized . The quarterly pamphlets were bound together bi-annually, and at
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2730-415: The legislation returns to the original branch for a vote of concurrence in the amendment. If concurrence is rejected, a conference committee consisting of the three members from each legislative branch representing both political parties may be formed to effect a compromise piece of legislation. When a compromise is reached, the bill is sent to both legislative branches for their approval. A vote "to enact"
2795-429: The legislative year was defined as: "The first legislative year starting with the opening of the biennial session and ends at midnight on Tuesday before the first Wednesday of the following year. The second legislative year starts on the first Wednesday of the second year and ends when the legislature prorogues or at midnight on Tuesday before the first Wednesday of the following year. Watson F. Hammond , seated in 1885,
2860-462: The legislature with recommended changes. If the legislature has concluded its yearly session, and the governor does not sign the bill within ten days, it dies. This is referred to as a " pocket veto ." This ten-day period includes Sundays and holidays, even if they fall on the tenth day, and it begins the day after the legislation is laid on the governor's desk. A bill signed by the governor, or passed by two-thirds of both branches over his veto, becomes
2925-473: The library was moved to the new location where meetings were held until the erection of the present building. On February 25, 1886, a law was passed by the General Court giving the Society the power to hold property. That same year, the 250th anniversary of the founding of the town, Don Gleason Hill announced at the Society's annual meeting in March that Hannah Shuttleworth had left the Society her home and
2990-443: The meeting of the General Court the government decided on having each town elect two representatives to send in their stead. The General Court became a de facto bicameral legislature by virtue of the distinction between delegates elected by towns and the Council of Assistants. The assistants acted as magistrates and counselors of jurisprudence, however when in session they served as a sort of upper house . Their assent and approval
3055-512: The membership. The governor may also declare an act to be an emergency law and make it effective at once. A special act takes effect thirty days from the day it is signed, unless it contains a provision to make it effective immediately. The State House News Service is an independent privately owned wire service based in the Massachusetts State House that provides comprehensive coverage of the Commonwealth's government. It
3120-547: The position was established in 1982. During the first years of the Society's existence, it did not have its own building. Until June 25, 1816, meetings were held in the office of Dedham Savings where the Society kept its small library. When the bank needed the space, other quarters were secured in the Court House basement through the friendly offer of the County Commissioners. During the following summer
3185-529: The province. The powers of the monarch to be expanded in this new system as well. The King had full control of maritime affairs and acted as an executive, through the Royal Governor, to enforce commercial law. This separation of powers led to some friction with the Royal Governor and the General Court. The General Court retained power over spending and budget and while the Royal Officers, in
3250-579: The province. With political disorder Thomas Gage , then the Royal Governor, cancelled the new elections for the General Court and in 1774 the assembly was essentially dissolved. This allowed the governor to rule by decree and appoint town governments. In defiance of both Crown law and Gage, members of the General Court formed the Massachusetts Provincial Congress and seized control of the colony except for Boston, where British troops maintained control until when they evacuated
3315-600: The residents could not access their woodlot, another Avery chopped off the top of the tree to keep his family from freezing. By the 1790s, the Avery Oak’s gnarled and crooked branches spread more than 90 feet from a trunk five feet in diameter. Although over 450 other trees, on public land alone, were felled by the New England Hurricane of 1938 , the Avery Oak survived. It was struck by lightning, however, and
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#17327760258903380-529: The smallest bell known to have been made by Paul Revere . the bell, which dates from 1796 and cost $ 888, once hung in the Norfolk County Courthouse and announced the start of court sessions. It was given to the Society in 1894 by the County Commissioners. The Society's library includes over 10,000 volumes, including old street directories, church and civil documents, yearbooks, histories, and genealogical resources. From 1886 and until it
3445-492: The state capital of Boston . The name "General Court" is a holdover from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony , when the colonial assembly, in addition to making laws, sat as a judicial court of appeals . Before the adoption of the state constitution in 1780, it was called the Great and General Court , but the official title was shortened by John Adams , author of the state constitution . It
3510-401: The straight trunks needed to cut long runs of plank, but also crooks and bends that could supply the hundreds of hanging, standing, and lodging knees needed to support deck beams. The ship builders, presumably Nicholson, made several offers to buy the tree, eventually rising to "the unheard of price of $ 70," but the owner would not sell. Local legend contends that it was Avery's wife who spared
3575-665: The tree is used in the chairman of the Board of Selectmen's and the Town Meeting Moderator 's gavel. Historical Society president Henry Hildreth also commissioned a chair to be built from the timber. The tree also lives on in the seal adopted by the Town in 1878, and that of the Dedham-Westwood Water District . In the terrible winter of 1723, when the snow lay so thick over the landscape that
3640-499: The tree. Dedham Historical Society The Dedham Museum and Archive (formerly known as the Dedham Historical Society and Museum and the Dedham Historical Society ), is a historical society dedicated to preserving and establishing a greater sense of appreciation for the history of Dedham, Massachusetts. It consists of a museum and an archive. As of 2002 , it had nearly 1,000 members. As early as 1853, Henry Orin Hildreth
3705-543: The war still ongoing, demands for government reform resulted in the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1778 , but the text proposed by the legislature failed in a statewide voter referendum. The Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1779–1780 was held by a specially-elected body, and the resulting text, after amendment and ratification, became the current state constitution. The current Massachusetts General Court has met as
3770-495: Was "literally snatched from the grave." As he wrote in Dedham Records , published in 1888 “The morning following her funeral, a cold blustering February day, Gariboldi, the statuary manufacturer, was summoned from Boston, and inside the receiving tomb a plaster cast of her face was taken, and from this alone, with the descriptions which a few friends who knew her best could furnish, Miss Annie R. Slafter, of Dedham, made
3835-549: Was a meeting of shareholders, known as freemen . The "Great and General Court" was to meet in London and elect its officers and members in the same manner as other colonial charted companies of the time such as the Virginia Company and the East India Company . The freemen would meet annually to elect representatives in the form of a Royal Governor, a Deputy Governor, and a Council made from the directors of
3900-542: Was calling for the creation of a historical society dedicated to the history of Dedham. On February 1, 1859, Hildreth, along with Calvin Guild, Danforth Phipps Wight, Jonathan Holmes Cobb, Francis Marsh, and William Bulliard met in the office of the Dedham Institution for Savings to form an organization dedicated to "preserving and transmitting to posterity all possible memorials of past and present times." At
3965-593: Was designed by architect Edwin J. Lewis Jr. , constructed by men named Woodbury and Leighton, and the construction was supervised by the curators sitting as a building committee. Construction on the Romanesque Revival building began in the fall of 1886 and was completed in December 1887. There was no formal dedication, but it opened with a notable exhibition of historical relics on January 25, 1888. The fireproof, colonial style building consisted of
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#17327760258904030-552: Was felled in a storm in 1972, the Society owned the Old Avery Oak . Portraits include that of John W. Thomas , Edmund Quincy , C.C. Churchill , Jerauld Newland Ezra Mann , and Henry O. Hildreth, a founder of the Society. It also holds a plaster bust of Benjamin Bussey . Other paintings include those by John Constable , Gilbert Stuart , Amasa Hewins , Henry Hitchings, and Alvan Fisher . Hill, who also served as
4095-451: Was needed in order for any decision from the house of delegates to be passed. The new legislature was elected annually. Suffrage was allowed only for men who were Puritan church members and freemen. This General Court removed any feudal restraints on the population and codified a Bill of Rights and powers of a judiciary. The General Court also enshrined the Laws of Moses as legal code under
4160-503: Was the first Native American to be elected to the body. Florence Slocomb was one of the first three women in the Commonwealth to be elected to the state Legislature and the first woman from Worcester to win a state legislative seat, representing that district from 1926 to 1928. Althea Garrison was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1992 and is known as the first transgender person to serve in
4225-507: Was witnessed by Reed's teacher, Grace Hine, Dedham's former chief telephone operator of 39 years, Margaret Dooley, Selectman Arthur Lee, and several representatives of New England Telephone and Telegraph Company . Today the Museum and Archive is a 501(c)(3) charity. The public, but not official, name of the organization was changed in 2013 to become the Dedham Historical Society & Museum. There have been six executive directors since
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