The Thacher collection consists of a folio album containing an account between George Thacher and his nephew, Silas Lee; one photograph of George Thacher’s portrait, painted by Henry Williams; and eighteen pieces of correspondence. The correspondence includes a letter written to Thacher by Squire Samuel Peirson of Biddeford, another of Biddeford’s founding fathers.
Call Number: MS 001
Title: George Thacher papers
Dates: 1789 — 1824 Inclusive
Extent: 1 album (17 3/4″ x 15 1/2″)
Creator: Thacher, George (1754-1824)
Abstract: Mainly correspondence collection to and from Judge George Thacher of Biddeford, Maine on various business and personal topics. Also contains one business paper, an accounting between Thacher and nephew Silas Lee.
Language: English
Administrative Information:
Accession Number: 2007.000
Barcode: 34005002402922
Reference Code: US MeBiMPL MS001
Repository: McArthur Public Library, Biddeford, Maine, USA.
Citation: From MS001 George Thacher papers, McArthur Public Library, Biddeford, Maine.
Restrictions: None.
Copyrights: Any copyright questions should be directed to the library’s Director.
Processed By: Legacy; finding aid prepared by RD 11/12/14
Arrangement & Processing Notes: All materials place in album, no special arrangement discerned. Not re-arranged.
Collection Information:
Scope & Contents:
The Thacher collection consists of a folio album containing one business paper, an account between George Thacher and his nephew, Silas Lee, one photograph of George Thacher, sixteen letters addressed to George Thacher, and two written by him.
Biography/History:
George Thacher (Thatcher*) was born, in Yarmouth, Ma. on April 12,1754. He was graduated from Harvard College in 1776 and studied law with an attorney named Shearjashub Bourne. He was admitted to the bar in 1778 and combined a law practice with school-teaching unitl about 1780, when he moved to York Maine. He moved to Biddeford, Me., in 1782 and set up a law practice. In July 1784 he married Mary Savage of Weston, Mass. They lived most of their married life in a house on South Street in Biddeford. Their ten children (five girls and five boys) were all born in that house between 1785-1806.
George Thacher was a delegate to the Continental Congress, 1787-1788, as Maine’s first congressional representative and he served for fourteen year (March 4, 1789-March 3, 1801). As a member of Congress he witnessed in New York, in 1789, the inauguration of George Washington as first president of the United States.
In 1801 Thacher was appointed associate judge of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts (1801-1820). He also served a district judge in Maine, 1792-1800, judge of the supreme court of Maine, 1820-1824, and a delegate in the state constitution convention of Maine in 1819. He was a founder of the Second Parish Church in Biddeford. He died in Biddeford, Me., April 6, 1824, just six days before his 70th birthday. He is buried in Woodlawn cemetery.
See biographical account of George Thacher in the Dictionary of American Biography, vol. 18, pp. 386-387. According to that account, Thacher spelled his name Thatcher until about 1815, when he was 61 years old.
Controlled Access Terms:
Thacher, George (1754-1824)
Lee, Silas (1760-1814)
Related Materials:
Maine Historical Society (Portland, Me.); Massachusetts Historical Society (Boston, Mass.); Library of Congress.
Contents List/Inventory:
| Contents | Year |
| Business record. George Thacher, Esq., in account with Silas Lee, Nov. 27, 1787-Sept. 23, 1789. Signed by Silas Lee, Oct. 23, 1789. | 1789 |
| Photograph. Photo (8.5”x7.5”) of painting “Hon. George Thacher” by Henry Williams. Courtesy of Macbeth Gallery, 11 East 57th Street, NY, NY. (Image 0714) |
|
| Letter. Biddeford, Me., Silas Lee to George Thacher. No address. | 1789/02/08 |
| Letter. Biddeford, Me., Silas Lee to George Thacher. No address. | 1789/02/28 |
| Letter. Biddeford, Me., Silas Lee to George Thacher. No address. | 1789/03/04 |
| Letter. Biddeford, Me., Silas Lee to George Thacher. No address. | 1789/03/07 |
| Letter. Biddeford, Me., Silas Lee to George Thacher. No address. | 1789/03/15 |
| Letter. Biddeford, Me., Silas Lee to George Thacher. No address. | 1789/03/22 |
| Letter. Biddeford, Me., Silas Lee to George Thacher. No address. | 1789/04/11 |
| Letter. Wiscasset Point, Me., unsigned to George Thacher. No address. | 1789/04/28 |
| Letter. Pownalboro, Me., Silas Lee to George Thacher. No address. | 1789/05/01 |
| Letter. Portland Me., Samuel Deane to George Thacher. New Yorke. | 1789/05/21 |
| Letter. Biddeford, Me., Silas Lee to George Thacher. No address. | 1789/05/22 |
| Letter. Biddeford, Me., Silas Lee to George Thacher. No address. | 1789/06/18 |
| Letter. Biddeford, Me., Silas Lee to George Thacher. No address. | 1789/06/30 |
| Letter. Biddeford, Me., Silas Lee to George Thacher. No address. | 1789/07/28 |
| Letter. Wiscasset, Me., Silas Lee to George Thacher. No address | 1789/08/11 |
| Letter. Biddeford, Me., George Thacher Jr. to George Thacher, Boston, Mass. Addendum: “From your nephew.” Note in pencil “Letter from Philip and George.” | 1806/03/22 |
| Letter. Biddeford, Me., George Thacher Jr. to George Thacher, Newburyport, Mass. | 1806/03/30 |
| Letter. Wiscasset, Me., Sam S. Wild to George Thacher, Biddeford, Me. (About death of Silas Lee.) | 1814/05/01 |
| Letter. Newburyport, Mass., George and Sarah Thacher to Elizabeth Wardrobe, Portsmouth, N.H. | 1822/02/16 |
| Letter. Plymouth, Mass., George Thacher to Russell Streeter, Portland, Me. | 1823/10/13 |
| Letter. Saco, Me., George Thacher Jr. to George Thacher, Newburyport, Mass. | 1823/12/02 |
| Letter. Saco, Me., George Thacher Jr. to George Thacher, Newburyport, Mass. | 1823/12/18 |
| Letter. Biddeford, Me., from Samuel Peirson to George Thacher, Newburyport, Mass. | 1824/01/06 |
