1785 1859 John Augustus Moved by the plight of the unfortunate in the jails and prisons of his day a humble Boston shoemaker began a great move-ment in the reformation of offenders when in 1841 he took from the court for a period of probation one who under his care and with his friendship became a man again This tablet marking the centenary of probation is inscribed to his memory by those who follow in his footsteps National Probation Association May 30 1941