CHARLESTOWN CHIEF PROBATION OFFICER ACQUIRES ARTIFACTS
THAT ONCE BELONGED TO PIONEERING JUDGE

Barbara Burke, Chief Probation Officer of the Boston Municipal Court - Charlestown Division, was recently presented with several artifacts which once belonged to Judge George L. Ruffin, one of the country’s first African-American judges who served as presiding justice of Charlestown District Court from 1883-1886.

Maude Jenkins, Ruffin’s grand-niece, gave Burke an original postcard and other correspondence bearing Ruffin’s personal signature. Judge Ruffin sent a postcard, dated August 6, 1884, to his daughter in Richmond, VA. The other document, also dating back to the 1800's, included an invitation to a fraternity social.

These items are among a collection Burke oversees at the historic courthouse which is now one of eight divisions of the Boston Municipal Court system, managed by Chief Justice Charles Johnson.

The items are available for viewing by appointment only. For an appointment or more information, contact Chief Probation Officer Burke at 617-242-1230.

The Massachusetts Probation Service is a department of the Massachusetts Trial Court. There are 14 Superior Court, 62 District Court, eight Boston Municipal, and 14 Probate and Family Court probation departments throughout the Commonwealth. Probation’s Juvenile Court system includes 11 divisions which represent every county in the state. The Office of the Commissioner of Probation (OCP) serves as the central administrative office for the state Probation Service and the Office of Community Corrections which operates 21 Community Correction Centers throughout the state.