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Boston Metropolitan Railroad Company. James P. Wade died on December 30, 1900. His wife Ella F. Wade died on May 30,
1908 and they are buried in Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, MA. (FamilySearch.com) (Manual for the General Court)
(Genealogybank.com) (Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors)

Benjamin H. Linscott was born in Alfred, Maine on August 29, 1833,
son of Joseph and Sarah Temple Linscott. Benjamin Linscott married
Sophia A. Fitch of Cornish, New Hampshire on July 9, 1855. In the 1857
census, Benjamin and Sarah were living in Saint Francis, Anoka Territory,
Minnesota, and Benjamin listed his occupation as a farmer. In 1860
Sophia gave birth to a son Franklin while they were living in Medford.
Linscott, a carpenter by trade, enlisted with the 40th Massachusetts
Voluntary Infantry on August 2, 1862 as a sergeant and was promoted
to lieutenant. He was promoted to captain and mustered out on June
16, 1865 as a captain with Company “K.” Benjamin and Sophia had
two sons, Franklin T., and Guy Henry Linscott. On Guy Henry’s birth
record in 1866, they were living in Chelsea and Benjamin Linscott listed
his occupation as “State Constable.” Chief Constable King appointed
Benjamin Linscott as one of the first deputy constables for Suffolk County
in July of 1865. Linscott was shot during the arrest of three burglars’ near
Chelsea Beach (Now Revere Beach) in September of 1866. One of the
suspects, Coal Oil Johnny, was shot and killed by state police constable
James P. Wade. As the result of his being shot in the knee, Linscott
became severely crippled. He continued to serve as a deputy constable
until 1870. In 1870, according to a Boston Journal story on February 24,
1870, seventy –two (72) deputy constables were suspended because
the legislature refused to budget for the state police. Twenty-two
constables agreed to work without pay until the issue was resolved and
Chief Constable Jones discharged the rest of the officers. Linscott was
discharged. The museum staff believes that Benjamin H. Linscott was
the first state police officer to be shot in the line of duty. He died at age
84 on December 20, 1917 in Chicago, Illinois. His occupation at the
time of his death was grain inspector. He is buried in Rosehill Cemetery
and Mausoleum in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. (FamilySearch.com)
(Atlantic Traveler September 15, 1866) (Genealogybank.com) (Manual
for the General Court) (Fold3) (Soldiers & Sailors of Massachusetts)
(Find A Grave)

James William Kirk was born in 1834 in Macias, Maine, son of Thomas and Joanna Kirk, both from Ireland.
James Kirk enlisted as a 1st sergeant with the 8th Battery Light Artillery (Cooks Battery) on May 30, 1862. He was
commissioned 2nd lieutenant September 24, 1862 and mustered out November 29, 1862. He re-enlisted with the
15th Battery Light Artillery as a 1st lieutenant on January 16, 1863 and discharged September 26, 1863. He mus-
tered into the 1st Regiment Calvary on September 6, 1864 and discharged for promotion on February 4, 1865. He
was promoted to 1st lieutenant and adjutant with the 91st NY Infantry in February 1865 and mustered out on July
3, 1865. James married Abbie F. Damon of South Scituate, and they had one son Willie Edmund Kirk born on
May 28, 1865 in South Scituate. Chief Constable Jones appointed James W. Kirk as a state police constable on
March 1, 1866. James was involved in the shooting of the notorious criminal Coal Oil Johnny at Chelsea Beach
in September 1866. James W. Kirk died in Chelsea at age 33 of “Inflammation of the Wind Pipe” on August 24,
1867 while serving as a state constable. James W. Kirk is buried in the First Parish Cemetery in Norwell, MA.
(Soldiers & Sailors of Massachusetts) (Family Search.com) (Atlantic Traveler September 15, 1866) (Manual for
the General Court) (genealogybank.com) (Boston Herald - August 26, 1867) (Find A Grave)

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