John S. Keyes

John Shepard Keyes (September 19, 1821 – May 15, 1910) was an American politician and jurist who was a member of the Massachusetts Senate, sheriff of Middlesex County, Massachusetts (1853–1859), United States Marshal for the District of Massachusetts (1861–1867), and judge of the Concord District Court (1874–1910).

Early life Keyes was born on September 19, 1821, in Concord, Massachusetts, to John and Ann (Shepard) Keyes. He attended Concord's common schools and the Concord Academy. He graduated from Harvard College in 1841. He read law with his father and Edward Mellen and attended Harvard Law School (then known as Dane Law School). Keyes was admitted to the bar in 1844 and had a law office in Concord until 1853. Martha Keyes died on December 2, 1895. On November 23, 1898, he married Mary H. L. Grant in Boston. He held office in Concord continuously until 1901, when he resigned from the board of trustees of town donations, a position he had held since 1868. In 1861, Keyes was appointed United States Marshal for the District of Massachusetts by president Lincoln. He left office in 1866 and returned to his farm in Concord. In 1905, he oversaw the inquest into the Baker Bridge train wreck. The inquest concluded that engineer Horace W. Lyons was at fault for the crash and he was charged with manslaughter. The case was brought before a grand jury which found that Lyons "was greatly at fault in not slowing down sufficiently, and for disregarding the cautionary green lights...[and] red fusees", but chose not to indict him.

Later life and death Keyes resigned from the bench in 1910 due to ill health. He died on May 15, 1910, at Massachusetts General Hospital.