Harvey Jewell

Who was Harvey Jewell?

Harvey Jewell was a U.S. politician who served as the Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1868 to 1871. He was born in Winchester, New Hampshire on May 26, 1820, the first of ten children born to Pliny and Emily Alexander Jewell. His younger brother, Marshall Jewell would later be elected Governor of Connecticut and would serve as President Grant's U.S. Postmaster-General.

Jewell graduated from Dartmouth College in 1844. He moved to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1847 where he began his legal career and became active in local and state politics. He wed Susan A. Bradley on December 26, 1849. He was originally a Whig until the dissolution of the party in the 1850s and later became a Republican. In 1861 he was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives and was re-elected for the 1862 session. He returned again to serve from 1866 until 1871, serving his last four 1-year terms as Speaker. He acquired a reputation for "able and impartial rulings." After his retirement from the general court, he served on the Court of Commissioners of Alabama Claims from 1875-76.