James Henry Blake

Who was James Henry Blake?

James Henry Blake was the City Marshal of Boston from 1840–1845, Blake was the son of Edward Blake and Sarah Blake and nephew of Dr. George Parkman. The Parkmans and Blakes were two prominent families of the Boston Brahmins who were well respected merchants. James established himself as a merchant and real estate broker and also served in the Massachusetts Artillery as Major of Independents Cadets beginning in 1830. In 1831, while conducting business aboard the ship Mentos, two pirates boarded the boat where Blake witnessed their arrest. He testified against the pirates in the first of his many court appearances.

On May 12, 1835, he married Marianne Wildes of Boston and ran his brokerage on State Street. He was appointed City Marshal of Boston, May 1, 1840 at an annual salary of $1,000.00. Blake's term as Marshal was a quiet one and most of his activities involved overseeing July 4 celebrations on the Common, taking a census of buildings, banning illegal hay scales along the wharf, and clearing the streets of snow. He also passed a leash law forbidding large dogs to roam the streets. The most violence he saw was snowball fights, against which he swiftly levied hefty fines.