1851 as a member
of the Harvard College Board of Overseers, which position he filled
until 1860. In January, 1851, he became Governor of Massachusetts by
a fusion of the Democratic and Free-soil members of the Legislature,
and in 1852 was re-elected by the same body. He served in that
capacity until January, 1853, a period of two years, and discharged
the duties of the office with ability, dignity, and honor. As a
member of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1853, Mr.
Boutwell had further and better opportunities to make the acquaintance
and to observe the ways of the leading lawyers of the State.

At the close of the Constitutional Convention of 1853, Governor
Boutwell entered the law office of Joel Giles, who was engaged in
practice under the patent laws, and who as a mechanic and lawyer was
a well-equipped practitioner in Boston. As a counselor in patent cases
Mr. Giles had few equals. It was then Mr. Boutwell's purpose to pursue
the study and engage in the practice of the patent laws as a specialty,
but in October, 1855, without any solicitation and indeed without the
slightest knowledge on his part, he was chosen secretary of the
Massachusetts Board of Education, of which he had been a member from
1853. With much uncertainty as to the wisdom of his action in
accepting the place, he entered upon his duties and faithfully and
efficiently discharged them until January 1, 1861, although he had
tendered his resignation in 1859. His annual reports have always been
regarded as models of preparation, and that of 1861--the twenty-fourth
--contains a notable commentary on the school laws of the commonwealth.
He continued as a member of the board until 1863.

After several years Mr. Boutwell severed his relations with Mr. Giles,
and upon his admission to the Suffolk bar in January, 1862, on motion
of the late Judge Josiah Gardner Abbott, he began active practice in
Boston. His first jury case was before the late Judge Charles Allen,
of Worcester, yet at that time he had never seen a jury trial from the
opening to the close. Mr. Boutwell had scarcely entered upon his
professional career when he was called to assume a most important place
in national affairs, and one that was destined to keep him in close
relations with the Federal Government at Washington for many years
afterward.

Among the historical events, originating in the Civil War, was the
passage of the act "to provide internal revenue to suppo