Aldrich was admitted to the Virginia Bar in 1845, but he did not practice law there.[3] Aldrich returned to Massachusetts and began working for the firm of Ashman, Chapman & Norton in Springfield, Massachusetts. Aldrich was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar at Hampden County[2] in the spring of 1846.[3] In December 1846, Aldrich moved to Barre, Massachusetts, where he opened a law office.[3] Aldrich would stay in Barre for seven years.[3]
Barre Patriot
For three of the years he was in Barre, Aldrich edited the Barre Patriot,[2] which was a pro-Whig party newspaper.[3]
District Attorney
In 1854 Governor Clifford appointed Aldrich as District Attorney for the Middle District,[2] Aldrich moved to Worcester after he was appointed District Attorney.[7] Aldrich served as the District Attorney until 1865.[3]
Political career
Aldrich was a member of the Whig Party until that party dissolved, at which point he joined the newly formed Republican Party.[3][4]
Aldrich served as the mayor of Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1862.[3] It was as the mayor of Worcester that Aldrich was present at the battle of Antietam because he had gone to the front to visit soldiers from the city.[3] In 1865 he was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society,[8] which is located in Worcester.
In January 1865, Aldrich formed a law firm, Bacon & Aldrich, in partnership with Peter C. Bacon.[3] Aldrich stayed in this partnership until he was elevated to the bench in 1873.[3][4]
Judicial career
In 1873 Governor Washburn appointed Aldrich as an Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court.[4] Aldrich remained on the court until his death on March 14, 1895.[3]
Notes
^ abcAmerican Bar Association (1895), Report of the Eighteenth Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association held at Detroit, Michigan, Detroit, Michigan: American Bar Association, p. 508
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrReno, Conrad (1901), Memoirs of the Judiciary and The Bar of New England for the Nineteenth Century, Volume III, Boston, MA: The Century Memorial Publishing Company, p. 476
^ abcdeReno, Conrad (1901), Memoirs of the Judiciary and The Bar of New England for the Nineteenth Century, Volume III, Boston, MA: The Century Memorial Publishing Company, p. 477
^American Bar Association (1895), Report of the Eighteenth Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association held at Detroit, Michigan, Detroit, Michigan: American Bar Association, p. 511
^ abcAmerican Bar Association (1895), Report of the Eighteenth Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association held at Detroit, Michigan, Detroit, Michigan: American Bar Association, p. 509