“JURYMEN

In Provincial times the list of proposed jurors, prepared f by the selectmen, or by a special committee, was offered to the town for acceptance, as at the present day, and some were excused by vote of the town. On occasion each name / in the list was acted on separately, and committees were appointed to “Regulate the Jury Box’s”, which were kept locked until a juryman was required. In modern times their names are drawn by the selectmen and one of the constables. The first record of a juryman in Needham is when Ephraim Ware, Sr., was selected as a Grand juror on July 1, 1719, and the second instance is the choice of Captain Cook as a Traverse juror on March 11, 1733/4. Prior to 1776 the names of but twenty-nine other jurors are preserved in the Needham records; some of these were for the Superior Court, others for the General Sessions of the Peace or the  Inferior Court.”

Reference Data:

History of Needham, Massachusetts,1711-1911, In cluding West Needham, by George Kuhn Clarke, 1912, page 689