Benjamin Kent
[3] Prior to the American Revolution, Kent was notable for his representation of slaves suing their masters for their freedom,[4] which contributed to the demise of slavery in Massachusetts.[7] He was ordained as minister of the Marlborough Congregational church in 1733,[8] where charges of heresy were soon leveled against him "due to his public questioning of the doctrines of the Trinity, of Absolute Election, and of Infant Damnation.[19] On August 4, 1776, Kent wrote Samuel Adams, "It is GOD's doing the bringing about his truly astonishing and unparalled'd union the declaration of Independence.When the Revolutionary War began, as Attorney General, Kent was forced to briefly to hold his son-in-law Blowers in jail for being a loyalist.The records had been taken by the son of Edward Winslow (scholar) and given to the loyalist judge Foster Hutchinson, who had left Boston on the eve of the Revolution (1776).[22] Nova Scotia Governor John Parr facilitated the negotiations with Foster, which led to Cushing returning to Massachusetts with the legal documents.