George F. (Francis) Choate (1822-1888) was born in the town of Essex, Massachusetts, and died in Sharon Springs, New York. He was married first to Rebecca Greenleaf and then, after her death, to Abigail Parker Cogswell. He was first educated at the Dummer Academy (today known as The Governor's Academy) in Byfield. He entered Bowdoin College in 1839 and graduated in 1843. He was admitted to the Essex County Bar in 1847 and soon after formed a law practice in Salem, Massachusetts, with William Dummer Northend called Northend and Choate. This partnership was dissolved in 1858 when Choate became the judge of probate and insolvency for Essex County, a position he held until his death. He was the referee in a civil suit filed by Mary Baker Eddy in 1878 against her former students, George H.Tuttle and Charles S. Stanley.

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