Samuel M. (Samuel Miller) Quincy

Born in 1833, he was a member of the Quincy family of Massachusetts and built a career as a lawyer and public figure in Boston. He also became known for his interest in history and public memory, combining legal work with writing and editorial projects tied to New England’s past.

He edited an early edition of the Reports of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, and historical sources credit him as an important force in preserving the Old State House and in founding the Bostonian Society. Those efforts helped shape how Boston’s colonial and early American history would be remembered.

Quincy died in 1887. Today he stands out less as a novelist than as a civic-minded historical writer: someone who used research, editing, and public service to keep local history alive for later readers.