Hi, Wes.

Some info that might help you in your search:

History of the Office of the Attorney General

The roots of the Attorney General's Office lie deep in our constitutional 
heritage. In 1407 Henry IV gave Thomas Derham a patent empowering him to act as 
the King's attorney in all the courts of England. Previously, attorneys with 
limited powers had been appointed for each major court or geographical area. 
This practice was gradually superseded, and the Attorney General assisted by a 
Solicitor-General, became the crown's chief legal office: He was the only person 
who could initiate legal proceedings on behalf of the crown. As advisors to 
the King, the Attorney and Solicitor-general gave legal advice to all 
departments of state, and appeared for them in court. By the end of the seventeenth 
century the office held by such eminent lawyers ad Coke and Bacon, had achieved 
the importance and breadth of authority we associate with it today. 6 
Holdsworth, History of English Law, 457-72 (1924).

The Office of the Attorney General did not exist in early colonial 
Massachusetts. The first person designated as "Attorney General" was Anthony Checkley 
appointed in 1680. See 56 Proceedings Mass Hist. Soc. 171-73 (1923). In fact his 
appointment appears to have been for the limited purpose of prosecuting an 
alleged witch. Checkley was a merchant with no formal legal training. Indeed, 
Edward Randolph accused him of being "not only ignorant of the laws of England, 
but...himself an illegal trader." 4 Palfrey, History of New England 523-24 n.i 
(1875). (His successors would no doubt plead innocent, at least to the second 
half of the accusation.)

The first Attorney General of Massachusetts to be vested with the broad 
common law powers of the English office was Benjamin Bullivant. He was appointed in 
1686 by Joseph Dudley as part of a general reorganization of the judicial 
system. 10 Proceeding, Mass. Hist. Soc 289 (1896). After 1767 the Attorney 
General was assisted by a Solicitor-General. The Constitution of the Commonwealth 
adopted in 1780, recognized both offices. It provided for their appointment by 
the Governor, with the advice and consent of the council. Mass Const., Part 2, 
c. 2,§ 1, Art. 9. (The office of Solicitor General was later abolished by 
statute. St. 1832, c. 130, § 12.)

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The Attorney General is established under the Rhode Island Constitution as 
one of the five general officers subject to election by voters. The office of 
the Attorney General was first created in Rhode Island in May 1650. Since its 
creation, the office has been an elected position, except for a brief period 
from 1740 to 1742 when the charter allowed for the appointment of a King's 
attorney for each county. The office of the Attorney General was formally adopted 
under the Rhode Island State Constitution in 1842. The Department of Attorney 
General is divided into three distinct divisions; Criminal, Civil and 
Administration; each of which is responsible for several sub-units which together 
combine to meet the goals and objectives of the Department. The Department is 
divided into four Budget Programs; Criminal, Civil, General, and the Bureau of 
Criminal Identification. 

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and possibly the most definitive:

At the founding of Connecticut, each county had a "king's attorney," who 
became, after the revolution, a "state's attorney" to handle criminal prosecution 
for the state. These men were quite prominent and highly respected criminal 
prosecutors. Appointed by the judges, some served twenty years or more. (History 
of the Connecticut Attorney General's Office)



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