Youth.

Jeremiah Gridley was born on 10 March 1701 in Boston, the second of three sons of Captain Richard and Rebecca Gridley. His father, a leather tanner, died in 1710 and left the family business in the hands of his eldest son, John. Jeremiah attended Harvard, graduating in 1725, after which he taught school, started and edited a literary magazine, and read theology and law. He married Abigail Lewis in 1730. Since, at the time, there were no formal educational requirements to be met, his independent study was sufficient to gain him admission to the bar. Gridley started to practice law in the mid 1730s.

Leader of the Profession.

Gridley's education and intellect helped establish him quickly, and he was soon recognized as one of the most learned lawyers in Boston. Many students apprenticed themselves to him for their own study; among them were Oxenbridge Thacher, James Otis Jr...