Pratt, Benjamin

Pratt, Benjamin (1710–63) judge; born in Cohasset, Mass. The son of poor parents, he was to have learned a trade when, crippled by the loss of a limb, he was sent to Harvard instead. A successful lawyer with political interests, he represented Boston in the Massachusetts General Court from 1757 to 1759. He served briefly as chief justice of New York, a post a political ally helped him obtain. He had begun to collect material for a projected history of New England at the time of his death.