STEARNS, Asahel, educator, born in Lunenburg, Massachusetts, 17 June, 1774; died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, 5 February, 1889. His ancestor, Isaac Stearns. came to this country from England in 1680, and was among the first, settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts Asahel was graduated at Harvard in 1797, studied law, was admitted to the bar, and began practice at Chelmsford, Massachusetts He was for several years county attorney for Middlesex, a member of congress in 1815-'17, and professor of law at Harvard in 1817-'29. He was a member of the American academy of arts and sciences, and was one of the commissioners for revising the statutes of Massachusetts, which was his last labor. He published "Summary of the Law and Practice of Real Actions, with an Appendix of Practical Forms" (Hallowell, 1824), and, with Lemuel Shaw, "General Laws, 1780-1822," edited by Theron Metcalf (Boston, 1828).